The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Some people confuse the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the indwelling of God’s Spirit that occurs when we get saved. But they are as different from each other as a glass of water and a swimming pool. When you drink a glass of water, the water dwells in you. But when you jump in a swimming pool, you dwell in the water–you are baptized in it. To think that you are baptized in the Holy Spirit automatically when you get saved is sort of like thinking that you can swim just because you drank some water!
In John 7:38, the Christ described the “rivers of living water” flowing out of the heart of His believers; and the next verse specifically says that this was in reference to the Holy Spirit which “was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.” This is significant because Luke 1:15,41,67 describes the family of John the Baptist being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” How could they be filled if the Spirit was not yet given? The answer is simple: they were filled with the Spirit, but they were not baptized in the Spirit with the evidence of tongues. In other words, the family of John the Baptist had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (manifested in the form of prophecy), but tongues were not given until Christ’s believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Christ Himself described in Acts 1:5 that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a distinctly different experience than salvation. (“You will be baptized” means “you’re not yet baptized,” and was a prophecy that was fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4.) Therefore, we would be calling Christ a liar if we were to say otherwise. (Also see Acts 10:46 and Acts 19:7, which are two more examples of the scripture describing people who were saved but not yet baptized with the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues.)
In Acts 2:1-4, when Christ’s prophecy about the baptism of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled, the disciples began to speak in tongues. This was the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy in Mark 16:17, where He said that His followers would speak with new tongues. In other words, it would be a new language, not merely another human language. In 1 Corinthians 14:2, Paul expounds on this as he explains, “he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men.” In Romans 8:26, Paul describes praying in the Holy Spirit as “groanings that cannot be uttered,” or as another translation says, “groanings too deep for words.”
According to Paul, the Holy Spirit baptism is an experience that all Christian believers should pursue (1 Corinthians 14:1,5). And according to Peter, it is available for all, even those “afar off,” which would be you and I here and now! Therefore, if you are a new Christian and have not yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues, you should actively seek it!
C ref World CFM 1-10-13
The Potters House Christian Fellowship Church, Reading, PA Our vision is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Reading and the world. Our mission: The Christian Fellowship Ministries take seriously Christ’s commission to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Therefore, our mission as a fellowship has always been to fufill Christ’s Great Commission through discipleship, church planting, and world evangelism. It was Christ Himself who commanded His followers to “make disciples of all the nations,” and the simple obedience to this command by our founding Pastor Wayman Mitchell that has been imparted as our fellowship’s vision. With this focus, we are constantly endeavoring to reach unsaved and unchurched people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to spread the good news of God’s love and saving grace throughout the world. Whether we use Christian bands, movies, dramas, street preaching, or door-to-door evangelism, our focus and mission is to help lead people into their own personal relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ. The Potter’s House Church membership is composed of those persons who have accepted Christ Jesus as their personal savior and have voluntarily associated themselves together, for the purpose of serving God, according to the doctrines and policies of the church.
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