Baptism
in the Holy Spirit and Tongues
I wrote this for a friend who just received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and thought I'd share it here.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is tied to the Feast of Pentecost in the Old Testament (OT) (Acts 2), just as Passover is tied to the death of Jesus Christ (Exodus 12, John 1:29).
Here
is an overview of the Holy Spirit’s ministry.
We
find the Trinity throughout the OT with its first mention in Genesis 1:26: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness…” The Holy Spirit’s first mention is Genesis 1:2:
The earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over
the face of the waters.
The
difference between the OT and the NT (New Testament) regarding the Holy Spirit
is that in the OT He would come upon
people and in the NT He came in to
dwell permanently. In the OT He would come upon people only for various tasks.
There are a handful of times (maybe 5) where the Bible says that the Holy
Spirit came within someone and when
He did come in, He came in for a task not to stay. Under the New Covenant (NC) when
He came in He changed our nature, thus we were born again—a completely new
creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.)
With
that in mind let’s look at the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Baptism in the
Holy Spirit differs from being born again. In John 20:22 we read: And when He had said this, He breathed on
them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This was right after Jesus
had risen from the dead and is the first mention of anyone being born again. The
disciple received the Holy Spirit and were indwelt by Him (born again).
However, to these same disciples Jesus said to go to Jerusalem and they’d get the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit:
Acts
1:1-5, 8 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both
to do and teach, 2 until the day in
which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments
to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to
whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible
proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And
being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you
have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now…” 8 But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This
Promise of the Father is reference to the fulfillment of Feast of Pentecost in
Acts 2 (people today call this Pentecost, hence where the word “Pentecostal”
comes from). In Acts 2:1-4 we read that the Holy Spirit came and filled these
same people who were breathed on in John 20. This was another experience
prophesied way back in Joel 2:28-29 and then through John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11,
Mark 1:8. Luke 3:16, John 1:33) and by Jesus (Acts 1:5). The Baptism in the
Holy Spirit is largely associated with speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues
accompanied the first time the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2. Further
into Acts, tongues accompanied many, not all, times the Baptism in the Holy
Spirit (also called being filled with the Holy Spirit) is mentioned.
Everyone
who is baptized in the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues though not all do. In 1
Corinthians 14 we find the greatest explanation of tongues and its benefit to
the Christian. Tongues is also called “praying with my spirit” in 1 Corinthians
14. Tongues is not the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, but is accompanies the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Some
people are confused over the gift of tongues that must be interpreted versus
the pray language of tongues. Let’s look at the prayer language first.
The
prayer language (praying with/in my/the spirit) is available to all as Paul
says that he wished that everyone spoke in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:5). Consider
that as Paul wrote he was inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), so
though it was Paul saying he wished… it really is God’s desire that all speak
with tongues. The prayer language of tongues is what was seen and experience on
the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). There were 120 people in the upper room praying
together and no one interpreted the tongues. They spoke in tongues and the Holy
Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4).
Now
let’s deal with the tongue that must be interpreted. First, 1 Corinthians 12:30
asks: Do all speak with tongues? 1
Corinthians 14:27-28 further discusses the gift of tongues and its usage in the
church “service”: If anyone speaks in a
tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one
interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church,
and let him speak to himself and to God. This gift of tongues must be
interpreted, and yet in Acts 2:1-4 tongues was not interpreted. Paul states
that in the church “service” all things are to be done for edification,
decently and in order, and with regard to those around you. So if someone
speaks in their prayer language of tongues with no interpretation then how are
others edified? But, if someone speaks in tongues and it is interpreted,
bumping it up to the level of a prophecy, then others are edified. That is the
difference between the prayer language versus the gift used in the church. The
prayer language edifies the individual, while the gift used in the church, when
it is interpreted, edifies the church.
