What is baptism in the holy spirit

The fire, noise, and wind present in Acts are reminiscent of the scene on Mt. Sinai when Moses ascended it. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. Moses went up the mountain and came down with the law of God written on tablets of stone. In the Old Testament, the prophetic role was exclusive.

A select few among Israel were prophets, endowed with the Holy Spirit in a unique way. The answer to this prayer is promised by Joel in Joel , and fulfilled in Acts 2. I see that God used this to validate His authority in His true apostles, and also expose imposters who were greedy and enslaved to sin. We see an example of this in Simon the magician Acts We also see from Acts that the gift of tongues almost always accompanied the receiving of the Holy Spirit.

We know that the gift of tongues is the least of the gifts of the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians So the gift of tongues was the most basic of gifts of the Holy Spirit, and served as an instant and tangible way that newborn believers could know that their prayers for the Holy Spirit had been answered.

But the hope was that this would thereby build up their faith to seek for the greater gifts 1 Cor. So is this still applicable? Do we also receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit by the laying of hands? And does the gift of tongues usually accompany the baptism in the Holy Spirit? For us today, the Holy Spirit is not received through the laying of hands. I have never heard of anyone in the last many centuries who could lay hands on people such that they would definitely receive the Holy Spirit.

I believe that this was the prerogative of the 'God-sent-ones' apostles in the early church alone. Ananias was not an apostle, but he was a sent-one - Acts Further, the gift of the Holy Spirit is not confirmed today through the gift of tongues.

That gift is most definitely still active and useful in the church today. But, incredible saints of God like John Wesley, D.

Moody and Charles Finney were clearly filled with the Holy Spirit more than almost any Christian today. They each had Holy Spirit-empowered ministries in their generation. Yet none of them ever spoke in tongues. One reason why things are different now in both the receiving and the evidence of the Holy Spirit is that we now have the complete written Word of God.

The Bible tells us everything that we need to know about the Holy Spirit and life with God. The first century Christians did not have this.

So we who have the Bible today can depend with full confidence on His Word to have the assurance of the Holy Spirit within us. We must see that everything in the Christian life hinges on faith in our hearts. And our faith and assurance must ultimately come from the Word of God Romans It must not rest on the evidence of any external sign. There is, in fact, a perverse and wicked instinct within us to seek for signs See Matt.

And the Word of God acts as a super-sharp sword that penetrates to the deepest parts of us - beyond our soul with its emotions and intellect and into our spirit Heb. As it drives into our innermost being, it seeks to divide between soul and spirit, and show us whether we are baptized in the Holy Spirit in our spirits , or have been merely excited by some emotional experience in our souls. The implication of this rhetorical question, evangelicals say, is that it should be evident that not all speak in tongues—nor do they need to.

According to most Christian traditions, you will experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon conversion. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells within you, leading and guiding you.

The Holy Spirit indwelling each believer was better, He said, than His physical presence on earth. Romans says,. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Some call these occasions an anointing or filling with the Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit draws all of us together. The Holy Spirit makes us one family. The baptism of the Holy Spirit also connects us to God.

Whether you believe that it occurs at conversion or at some different time, we can all agree that the baptism of the Holy Spirit brings us closer to God and to other believers. For Further Reading:. What Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? What Is Baptism? Alyssa Roat studied writing, theology, and the Bible at Taylor University. She is a literary agent at C. Find out more about her here and on social media alyssawrote.