Baptism in The Holy Spirit

PART 2 - The Evidence

In this next part of the study we must now ask the question, “How does a person know if he/she is baptised in the Holy Spirit?” And if you should determine that you are not, or someone you are trying to help isn’t, how do you get there? The latter point will only be addressed in the briefest way at the end of this section. Mainly, we are now going to concentrate on the former issue, dealing with what can and what cannot be taken seriously as ‘evidence’. I have included four areas in seeking to establish something about this. This is in no way exhaustive. There are doubtless many other valid points and observations that could be made.

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

I think it is a good idea to start first of all by looking at the ‘gifts’ question; in particular, I have in mind here the gift of ‘tongues’. Much has been made of this as being the initial evidence in certain movements during the last century. Without doubt, God does give gifts to His children, but the question here is, can such be taken as a sure sign of the Spirit’s indwelling presence? The plain answer is no, and that for a number of reasons. We’ll look at the simple chapter and verse statement on the issue first.

On a number of occasions in the Book of Acts we read of people being ‘filled’ (*meaning in this instance ‘baptised’ – see note on ‘filled’ in conclusion) with the Holy Spirit and then immediately afterwards we read, “and they all began to speak with other tongues.” Clearly then, speaking with tongues can be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. However, we do not always read that when such and such was baptised with the Spirit that they always spoke with tongues. For example, when Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit there is no mention that he did so. If this were intended by God to be the sign then one would expect this to be made explicit in each case. However, we have more direct verification than just this. Paul, writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, on the very topic of ‘the gifts of the Spirit’, says this:

“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? (1Cor 12:27-30)

The question “do all speak with tongues?” is clearly rhetorical, it doesn’t require any answer, the context gives us the obvious truth of the matter. No, all do not speak with tongues anymore than all are apostles etc. Therefore, although the gift of tongues can be a manifestation of the Spirit such a gift cannot be relied upon as a consistent proof of His presence or absence.

Further to this it is important to realise that totally unregenerate people are, through various means, quite capable of manifesting any or all of these gifts. Occultists frequently claim to ‘speak in tongues’, psychics can ‘prophesy’, healings have been known to happen by means of strange ‘religious’ experiences and some people are quite capable of reproducing all kinds of manifestations by psychosomatic means. For example, if you keep telling someone to utter a few nonsensical syllables pretty soon they’ll learn to make some up themselves and will be convinced they are operating in the God-given gift of tongues! The stark fact is that tongues, and all other gifts, can be faked or performed through ungodly means.

Having seen that gifts can be operated by all sorts of means apart from the Holy Spirit it is perhaps even more important to note that gifts can also come genuinely from God but quite apart from a person being baptised in the Spirit. So far as prophecy, healing, words of knowledge and words of wisdom and so on are concerned we must remember that prophets under the Old Covenant were genuinely moved of God in many of these gifts, but none of them were ‘baptised in the Spirit’. In those days God came upon a man or woman in a transient way but the Spirit was not then given as an abiding gift. God may still utter His Word in some way through and unsaved person if He wishes. If it suits the plan and purposes of God He can even speak through an ass (ref the story of Balaam) if and whenever He so desires. Therefore, not only are spiritual gifts not to be relied upon as sure evidence of the baptism of the Spirit, but they are not even necessarily evidence of a close communion with God. The church at Corinth is a good case in point.

The sound conclusion here then must be that gifts cannot be taken as a conclusive evidence of the indwelling of the Spirit of God. However, I would like to end on a more positive note concerning the gifts of the Spirit. Just because I have concluded that they are not admissible as certain proof of the Spirit’s presence in a man, this does not detract one iota from the Bible message that they can be profitable for our growth in Christ and as tools to aid others’ growth in the Lord. Paul said we should “seek after spiritual gifts,” and so we should.

On a more anecdotal note, I once heard a man describe the mouth as being like an overflow of a bath. When the water fills the bath to the brim the overflow lets out the excess. I would certainly agree on the grounds of experience that when a man or woman is filled with the Spirit of God it is very probable that in some way or other his mouth will overflow with God’s abundance, be it praise, prayer, testimony or indeed tongues or prophecy. When God comes in His fullness it is quite usual that we just have to shout about it in some way – Hallelujah!

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal 5:22-25)

I believe here we move towards a little surer ground when speaking of evidence of the Spirit’s presence. However, unlike the instantaneous manifestation of gifts, fruit is something that grows and matures in its season and therefore must be observed over time. Having said that, spiritual timescales are not exactly in step with earthly ones and some of the fruit of God’s working in our lives may have already begun to develop even before the baptism takes place. For example, I would at the least expect to see in the newest of newborn babes in Christ a clear manifestation of fruit in the form of humility and repentance.

Jesus used ‘fruit’ as an illustration for spiritual realities a number of times, not least relevant is the following:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Mat 7:15 – 20)

It has been said of the Galatians quote above that because it mentions ‘fruit’ only in the singular that therefore the first, love, is the fruit and the other eight are really segments contained within it. Certainly love must always be the pre-eminent test here but it is vital that we understand what sort of love this is. Love, in the realm of the things of God, is not just an ineffectual nice feeling about people kind of love. It is a solid rock, a consistent demonstration of kindness, mercy and compassion to all men, but above that, it is demonstrated most clearly in simple obedience to the Word of God. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

The other eight points of course require much consideration, which we do not have time for here. I would just like to end on yet another note of caution though. Many men and women by the power of their natural man can, on the surface at least, behave in all of these ways. There are undoubtedly many folk who just by their natural disposition tend to be kind, loving, self-restrained etc. I believe the test comes when we see someone in pressurized circumstances. Like the olives in the olive press, when the skin is broken and the flesh crushed then what’s really contained on the inside will come forth. But, as I said earlier, fruit does have to develop, and not every Spirit-baptised child of God will instantaneously ooze with graciousness when put through the olive press!

In conclusion, the fruit of the Spirit is certainly an evidence of the Baptism in the Spirit but it is to some extent a case of ‘time will tell’.

THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT

“Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” (1John 4:13)

“This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” (1John 5:6)

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14-16)

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1Cor 2:9-12)

The above Scriptures are just a few examples in the New Testament that show that if you are truly born of God then the Holy Spirit lives within you and He is more than capable of communicating His presence to you. It is one of His first functions when He comes.

We are told that the Spirit of God ‘reveals’ things to us. Let me give a bit of personal testimony here. I came to the Lord from a totally irreligious background. So ignorant was I of anything biblical that though I had heard of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and I had also heard of Jesus, yet I didn’t realise that Jesus was the Son in the former list! A few days/weeks after I was converted I met with some good Christian people who continually expounded ‘The Way’ unto me more perfectly. Although I didn’t formerly know the detail of the Bible as I listened my experience wasn’t always, “Oh, I didn’t realise that,” but rather, on so many occasions, I just nodded and said, or thought within myself, “hmm, yes that is right.” Who was I, a babe in arms as it were, to say if what these people were teaching me was correct? I’ll tell you. I was a child of God indwelt of the Holy Spirit and he ‘testified’/‘witnessed’ within me to all that was truth. It was as though as each new thing came to my ears my heart leapt inside and said, “Yes! I know that!” Can I put that communication with God in my heart into words? I’m afraid not really. The Bible speaks of a “still small voice.” That is as close as I can come to explaining it, but all those who know the ‘voice’ of God within them will instantly relate to what I am saying here. For those who are born of the Spirit they will scarcely need much more to tell them that it is so. It is a case of “I know” that I am His and “I know” He is mine.

There are some who constantly fret and worry about whether or not they are really born of God. Often they want to know what other believers make of them. “Do you think that I am born again?” In such cases I would say that it is more likely that such a one hasn’t yet come into this fullness of the Spirit’s presence. However, and a very important point this, the devil is a liar and deceiver and will seek to upset the saints in any way he can. One of his tactics in the early stages of the believer’s walk is to try to bring doubt about their salvation in Christ. So yet again, although the witness of the Spirit is a very powerful testimony to ones own salvation, I would not like to say that this is fail-safe. However, once a believer has experienced the unshakeable testimony of the Spirit Himself ‘witnessing’ from within, there is little that will ever convince such a person otherwise. I believe that this is the most potent evidence that one can have of ones own condition. Thank God that we do not live by a ‘book religion’. As much as the child of God loves to read the Scriptures (and there is another evidence!) he is ever aware that his relationship with God is conducted first and foremost by a living presence within.

Spiritual Discernment

In concluding this section on the witness of the Spirit I want to mention the subject of spiritual discernment. The first thing that must be said here is that God alone sees the hearts of all men and there is no such thing as the gift of ‘perfect discernment’. That is not to say that we never have any idea ‘who is’ and ‘who isn’t’ born again. We have the witness of the Spirit within if we are born of God and He not only testifies to our own condition but also at times we will have a ‘witness’ from God concerning others. I love the episode recorded for us by Luke where the two pregnant women meet, Mary and Elizabeth. Both are carrying within them a child that is a gift from God:

“And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb.” (Lu 1:41)

The witness of the Spirit in us toward others is sometimes like this.

Using a little poetic license see Psalm 42:7:

“Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts”

People of like spirit will attract and recognize one another just as people of an opposing spirit (not necessarily words) will cause internal unrest at times. A good example of the latter is recorded for us in the book of Acts:

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.” (Acts 16:16, 17)

I am not saying that spiritual discernment is always so pronounced. It is usually subtle, in the depths of us. It can be evidenced in a quiet joy or a faint alarm bell sounding. Spiritual discernment must be combined with spiritual understanding. We have the testimony of the Spirit AND the Word. We need to grow in both together. My own personal experience is this; sometimes I meet one who believes and instantly I just recognize that he is a child of God. This is the witness of the Spirit in me. Other times I meet one who professes to be the Lord’s and I know instantly that he is not. This also is the witness of the Spirit. The third group, the ‘I just really don’t know’ without doubt counts for the majority for me! Thankfully, I have learned with time not to concern myself with the question. Ultimately only God knows in every case and primarily we just need to know for sure our own standing in God. If God puts you in a situation where He wants you to help another then He will give light concerning their condition if he needs you to know.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLE JOHN

The above heading may seem almost trifling at first glance in comparison to the things we have just considered - ‘the witness of the Spirit’. How can John’s testimony compare with the Holy Spirit’s? We must remember that the Bible authors were writing directly under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Himself, therefore what they had to say about the matter is of equal importance to that inner witness of the Spirit in our hearts today. As we have just seen, the testimony of the Spirit is primarily of use to those who are born of God, although those who aren’t (those of an open heart that is) should be able to detect that ‘something is missing’ in themselves when they encounter real Spirit filled believers. Bearing in mind that we have long since concluded that ‘the baptism in the Spirit’ and ‘new birth’ are but one and the same, we find that John, above all other New Testament writers, furnishes us with lots of ‘evidences’ to look for. So many in fact that we will not cover these in detail but I shall outline as many as I can for your further thought and meditation.

All of the following quotations are from 1John:

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”

“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.”

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”

“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”

“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

“We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

This then is a summary (drawn from the above plus some other New Testament Scriptures) of just some of the attributes we can and should expect from one professing to be ‘Spirit filled’:

• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Loves God.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Loves Jesus.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Loves his brothers and sisters in Christ (without partiality).
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Loves all others too.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Loves righteousness.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Keeps Jesus’ commandments.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Is full of faith towards God.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Is full of compassion towards his fellow man.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Keeps himself in a disciplined manner.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Is not held captive by the devil.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Does not find great attraction in ‘the world’.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Is taught personally by the Holy Spirit.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Seeks truth and shuns error.
• He that is born of the Spirit of God: Does not continue in sin (see next paragraph).

As you can see1 John alone is packed full of ‘evidences’ of the Spirit’s indwelling presence. There are others in 1 John and many more scattered throughout the rest of the New Testament. What must be emphasised though is this; some of these things will only be evident as a believer continues to walk with God. The last one in particular causes great consternation at times when quoted as an isolated text. It must be seen in conjunction with this further statement of John on this matter:

“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” (John 3:5&6)

Note very carefully the word ‘abide’ above. Earlier I mentioned about Jesus being ‘The Door’ (let’s say in this instance we’ll liken this to the baptism in the Holy Spirit), but He is also ‘The Way’. The latter we will liken to our moment-by-moment walk with Him in spiritual life or, put in the language of John, abiding in Him. However, the sin issue cannot be underestimated as a pointer towards someone’s true state of heart. I hope that it has been clear in this study that one of the most central purposes of God’s establishing a New Covenant, and the reason why it is better than the Old, is that God can not only forgive sin, but also remove its root from our hearts by this spiritual baptism. The New Covenant does not stop at solely ‘imputed’ righteousness. It brings us into ‘imparted’ righteousness that should be seen every day of our lives in this world.

I’ll leave you to meditate on these quotes from 1 John and recommend that you read the whole epistle, which is very much centred around the subject of what should be the expected spiritual behaviour of anyone professing to have the Life of God within them.

CONSCIENCE AND CHASTISEMENT

“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8)

From John’s testimony alone we have seen many of the things that we should rightly expect to observe in a person who professes to be immersed in God’s Spirit, but what about if things do go wrong? What can we expect to see if a Christian does fall and sin? The New Testament has much to say about the human conscience. Even men living in their fallen condition can still demonstrate some level of conscience. So how much more can we expect to see a thoroughly alive and sensitised conscience in him who has been Spirit baptised. Through the conscience inwardly and by all kinds of circumstances physically and outwardly God will most definitely convict, reprove and chastise the disobedient son.

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Heb 12: 6-11)

If a man or woman professes to be filled with God’s Spirit and yet seems to have no battle of conscience over sinning then it would be safe to conclude that they are not what they deem themselves to be. The noticeable thing about so-called believers who are not real at heart is that they contradict God’s Word in the most blatant ways with seeming impunity. If you have ever wondered why individuals appear to be getting away with all manner of blatant sin (as an ongoing condition) this is the reason. They are not really God’s people! Anyone truly born of God’s Spirit will have tremendous conviction about wrongdoing and even observable situations of chastisement if they act manifestly against God’s standards.

Scripture also has much to say on the subject of people becoming ‘hardened’. It speaks of those who have seared their consciences and have rejected God’s speakings to their hearts. So I acknowledge that one may have to weigh up whether a person who is in an ongoing state of sin and yet without conviction and chastisement is either: 1. Simply not really born again, or 2. Has passed into a state of ‘hardening’. The latter state having many shades before reaching that dreadful place of ‘searing one’s conscience’. As we have already read from John, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin” - that is, I believe this to be saying in its context that a Christian cannot continue in a habit of sin without being convicted and chastised of God. Beware the one who professes to be filled with the Spirit of God and yet shows no distress whilst walking contrary to His Word!

HOW DO I RECEIVE THIS BAPTISM?

First of all, I am not about to offer any slick formulas here. I would not wish to present the Gospel in this way. I do not think that it is entirely wise to simply say that if you follow these steps… then at the end of it you will be born again. This is not something that is in our power to guarantee! The A, B, C’s of the Gospel, so to speak, are indeed worthy of much attention. I touched on these basics of the Gospel in a note earlier concerning Hebrews chapter six, where it speaks of “repentance from dead works” and “faith toward God.” However, we must not think that just so long as a person has said sorry for his sins and asked God to help him, even save him, that it is therefore guaranteed that he must have been born again. There may be reasons that are beyond our human sight why someone, who apparently believes, has not yet entered into the Life of God. God sees the heart of every man and woman and there may yet lie within a person elementary things that are being held back from God. Sometimes an individual can appear to be a repentant sinner and yet, in that person’s dealings with God, it turns out that he is not yet unreservedly repentant of all that God has shown him. It is sadly the case that repentance can sometimes take place at a shallow level; a half-hearted response made in such a way that is thought to be just enough to have Jesus save someone from the consequences of his sins. That is, a person may desperately come to see the realities of hell and he wants to be saved from that and yet, at the same time, he still has a resistance to God’s taking complete charge of his life. A slight adjustment of an old adage comes to mind; people often only want Jesus as Saviour but not as Lord. He will only come on the basis of complete Lordship. I know that there are many things that God brings to light after we are born again. It is only by the power of His presence within that we are able to receive grace and the ability to live in the way that he wants us to. However, there must be at least willingness in the first instance for God to take complete control over our lives. We do not always realize this when we first ask Jesus to forgive our sins. Sometimes we lack this understanding simply because those who have preached to us have only preached ‘forgiveness of sins’ and have failed to convey the rest of the New Covenant message, that is, the complete death to your old life and that Christ must be utterly, in actual reality, in full charge of your life. Therefore, there are a number of reasons why a person may have taken steps toward God in some measure, becoming a seed in the womb as it were, and yet he may not have necessarily been brought instantly to the birth.

I ought to make clear that equally it does not follow that just because someone makes a ‘good job’ of presenting the New Testament message that automatically the hearers always enter straight into the depths, as it were. The power of the Gospel and God’s work in human hearts are ultimately beyond any words. A person may hear or know very little at all about the New Covenant message and yet God can just open someone’s heart, like Lydia who was mentioned at the start of this study. We are dealing here with spiritual matters and although we can understand certain principles about God’s work on one level, at the end of the day these things are things to be marvelled at. This is what Jesus said about the new birth:

“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

Also I need to make clear that I am not saying that there needs to be some kind of gap period between a person first ‘believing’ and that belief being turned into new birth. There is no reason why our first steps toward God cannot turn instantly into the fullness of salvation if the circumstances are right. Jesus has paid the price for our complete salvation and God wants to give you and me everything there is ‘in Christ’. But… He will not send the Holy Spirit into a man unless that person is ready to obey Him with all his heart.

God has His eternal plans, purposes and timing. Ultimately this gift, the gift above all gifts ever to be received in this world or the world to come, is in the hands of almighty God to bestow. The bringing forth of a newborn babe in Christ is a miraculous and even, in some ways, mysterious event (see quote above). We must never just assume that because a person has put up their hand at some evangelistic rally and has been dunked in some water that this guarantees that they are now begotten of God. To assume so, without seeing the evidences, is to lack mature spiritual insight and will prove very unhelpful to someone who yet may find themselves struggling with so many dilemmas. Telling a person who really isn’t born of the Spirit of God that they most assuredly are, and exhorting them to ‘live the Christian life’ is nothing short of heaping condemnation on them. For it is impossible for such a one ever to ‘live the Christian life’.

We must of course hear and obey those simple A, B, C’s that I mention above, namely repentance from sin/self and faith toward God. However, these two alone do not make up the fullness of the New Covenant message, as we saw with being ‘reconciled’ and being ‘saved’. Turning from our sins and trusting in Christ’s sacrificial death for us (repentance and faith) only bring us as far as the reconciliation stage. Such repentance and faith must then result in ‘receiving’ the gift of eternal life – the Holy Spirit to live within us. We need also to hear the message of ‘Christ in you’, which by implication means hearing that one’s own life must depart in order for God to come. You won’t be able to choose your own job, your own place to live or what you do with your life. You will be sold to Him. The Holy Spirit will come and be your Master for life! Now that is a Holy Spirit message of salvation. Of course, God is so good that once He has come on the grounds of being absolute Lord and Master He frequently allows us things we might desire (but not always). He is a good Master, a kind Master, a loving and gentle Master, but he does not come into a man or woman on the basis of any provisos made by us. Without doubt He must come as MASTER. Here I think we may see something of the reason why he hasn’t yet come into so many who have in all sincerity called upon Jesus to forgive their sins. Forgiveness of sins is of the Old order; those who want to be in the New must be willing to become bondservants of Christ with a readiness to be humble, contrite and obedient in all things. This is all by God’s grace and enabling of course, as we do not have the power in our own flesh to live this way.

Now we shall read what Jesus and Peter had to say about receiving the Holy Spirit:

“And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32)

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:9-13)

If you want to know the nearest thing to a formula for being baptised in the Spirit then it is this: Repent from all known sins, trust wholly and solely in Jesus to be justified before God, be ready to obey God in all things whatsoever He shows you, and then ask Him. You may not even get as far as the last part as sometimes God answers even before we call on Him. Why? Because He knows your heart. If you have asked, and mean it with all your heart, and there is some reason why God is not permitting this at this time, He will show you the cause. In fact, I suspect that most people already know in their hearts if there is some issue, which they are holding back on. My personal opinion based on my own experience and observation of others is that often God raises a particular issue in someone’s life, a kind of test case. He doesn’t reveal every change he wants to make in us right away, that would be too much for us to bear all at once. All that we are aware of that is plainly sinful in our lives must be repented of but so often it does seem that there is some very specific issue at hand. You’ll know what it is right away and it is the thing that you perceive will be the most difficult situation/habit to repent from and change. It is God’s test case! Let go! Obey! And then… “ask and you shall receive.”

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