By the time you finish reading this topic, you will recognize the fallacy of the following traditions of men, all of which are propagated in many churches today:

-- "You already received all there is of the Holy Spirit when you were born again."
-- "The Holy Spirit baptism is for some, but not all, believers."
-- "You have to tarry at the altar until God fills you with the Holy Spirit."
-- "God won't give you the Holy Spirit until you are holy."
-- "You should only speak in tongues when the Holy Spirit comes on you."
-- "Tongues should only be used for evangelism in unknown languages, not all the time."
-- "Tongues are not for today."


You won't believe any of this nonsense once you see that the Bible has to say about this wonderful gift. If you are a born-again believer, Jesus wants to baptize you with the Holy Spirit! This gift is available on the same basis as forgiveness from sin.


Hear the Word!

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Read for yourself what God says about the baptism with the Holy Spirit:


Matthew 3:11:

[John the Baptist speaking] I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:


Mark 1:7-8:

[Referring to John the Baptist] And preached, saying, there cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.


Luke 3:16:

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:


John 1:33-34:

[John the Baptist speaking] And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.


Luke 11:9-13:

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 them, 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 24:49:

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Mark 16:17
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;


John 7:37-39:

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)


John 14:16-17:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.


John 14:26:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.


John 15:26:

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:


John 16:7:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.


Acts 1:5-8:

[Jesus speaking] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.


Acts 2:1-39 (excerpted):

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
...
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

...
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
...
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus for [lit. because] of the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.


Acts 8:5-20:

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
And there was great joy in that city.
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
To whom they all have heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Now then the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.


Acts 9:17:

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.


Acts 10:44-48:

While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.


Acts 11:15-17:

[Peter relating his experience with Cornelius] And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost,
Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?


Acts 19:1-6:

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed [lit. having believed]? And they said unto him, We have not so much heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.


1 Cor 14:5:

I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.


1 Cor 14:15:

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.


1 Cor 14:18:

I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:


Gal 3:2:

This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

(Notes to those ministering along these lines: Gal 3:14 is sometimes used as an additional "proof text" of receiving the Spirit through faith, but this is out of context. The passage refers to the promise of [made by] the Spirit to Abraham. Those opposed to Pentecostal teaching rightly point out that this is a misapplication of the verse. Also, Eph 5:18's command to be filled with the Spirit is talking about a continuous process, not the initial baptism of the Spirit, and should not be used for this either. However, the fact that someone might use a verse incorrectly in no way invalidates the Scriptural proof that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is an experience subsequent to salvation, as demonstrated by the many passages above.)



Having the Spirit in you vs. being baptized with the Spirit

When you are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside you:


Romans 8:9:

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.


Romans 8:15:

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 [himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

In John 20:22, Jesus breathed on his disciples and said "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Yet they were not baptized with the Holy Ghost until Acts 2!

We can see that being baptized in the Spirit is an experience after salvation in the New Testament. The disciples in the upper room, the men of Samaria, the men at Ephesus, and Paul himself were baptized with the Spirit after being saved. (Paul was already called Brother, and Paul had already baptized the men at Ephesus before they received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. Paul would never have baptized them if they were not believers before they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.) One exception was that at Cornelius's house, they were saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit either simultaneously or very close to it.



Who can be baptized with the Spirit?

Simple answer: Any believer! Jesus said that the Father would give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. Peter preached that the gift of the Holy Spirit was for you, your children, those who are far off (that's you, unless you happen to live in the Middle East), even as many as the Lord our God shall call (that's you, if you're saved). The Gentiles at Cornelius's house did not have to become mega-holy; they received the Holy Spirit right away! No New Testament preacher ever said that you must qualify somehow (other than being born again) to be baptized with the Spirit. It is a gift, like salvation, offered to anyone. Frankly, there is no shortage of tongue-talking nitwits out there who don't bear much Christian fruit. They received the Holy Spirit not because they deserved to, but because they asked. That is just as well; if everything were on a merit basis, we'd all be going to the eternal lake of fire, anyway.


Remember Galatians 3:2 above. You receive the Spirit by faith, not by works.

The fact that as many as the Lord our God shall call may receive the Spirit is proof that this is still for today. The usual "explain-away" verse is the passage in 1 Cor 13 where Paul says that when the perfect comes, the imperfect (manifestations of the Spirit) will be done away. Turn on the news tonight and you will discover that the perfect has not yet come. Besides, when the perfect comes, we will fully know, just as we are known (1 Cor 13:12), and that statement obviously does not apply to anyone today. I don't know everything fully and neither does anyone else.


Why you need to be baptized with the Spirit

Jesus himself, who became totally human, only did miracles after the Holy Spirit came upon him. If Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to do these miracles, how much more do we?


By the way, the accounts in the so-called lost books of the Bible such as Jesus changing the color of a woman's dress and fixing Joseph's carpentry while a child are a bunch of bunk. The real Bible says that Jesus did not do any miracles until he turned water into wine at Cana (as stated in John 2:11: "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee..."). If you own any of those "lost books," I suggest you make them truly consistent with their name and lose them.

We can see several benefits of being baptized with the Spirit in Scripture:

The primary one is power for evangelism. God has always commissioned his preachers to perform signs and wonders to confirm his word. He considers this so important that the disciples were told not to leave Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. We are supposed to preach in the power of the Spirit, not with mere logical arguments of men. Anyone can argue, but not everyone can demonstrate the power of God! In our day, contrary to Jesus' instructions, most ministers go out with no Holy Spirit power to back them up. Perhaps this is why they don't get better results. The less honorable ones are usually the first to cast stones at preachers who do have signs and wonders in their ministries.


The baptism with the Holy Spirit is a door into operating in the manifestations of the Spirit found in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 through 14. It is the will of God for all believers, including you, to be used by the Holy Spirit in these ways. 1 Cor 12:7: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." 1 Cor 12:11: "But all these [nine manifestations of the Spirit] worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."

Along with this comes boldness. Peter denied the Lord three times before Jesus was crucified, but you can read in Acts how he boldly confronted the Jewish leaders who sent Jesus to his death. Peter was a different man after he got baptized with the Spirit in Acts 2!

Another obvious benefit is the ability to pray by the Spirit in languages you don't know ("tongues"). This is so vital, I don't know how any Christian gets by without this! When you have no idea how to pray in your own understanding, you can still pray perfect prayers to God about situations. This does not replace knowing the Word and praying in your native language, as 1 Cor 14:15 above should make obvious. God wants you to pray both ways!


Jude 20 talks about "building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." Praying in tongues does not give you faith, but it builds up your inner man. Given that Paul equates praying in the Spirit to praying in other tongues, we can see that you can build yourself up by praying in other tongues. I am convinced that most Christians live far below their privileges because they do not hook up with the Holy Spirit in this way.


A command, not an option

God wants all believers to walk full of the Spirit. If you do not desire to have the Holy Spirit manifest himself through you, you are out of the will of God in that area. God commands you to desire spiritual gifts and to walk in love. "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy" (1 Cor 14:1).


Preachers should not enter the ministry until they are baptized with the Spirit. That was Jesus' standard. I am aware that there are many ministers out there doing much good without being baptized in the Spirit, but I am quoting the Bible standard, not experience. Anyone could be even more effective filled with the Spirit, with the gifts of the Spirit operating through him. Jesus considered the baptism with the Holy Spirit to be so essential that he told his followers, "Don't leave Jerusalem without it" (Luke 24:49, New American Express translation).


Tarrying for the Holy Spirit?

An old, but unbiblical, practice is to "tarry at the altar" asking God to give you the Holy Spirit. No one ever tarried for the Holy Spirit after the day of Pentecost. The initial outpouring on the day of Pentecost is the one place in the New Testament where anyone had to wait to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them to tarry at Jerusalem. If you believe this command is for today, you will have to go to Jerusalem to do your tarrying. (Most people who live in Jerusalem today would not be pleased if you did this.)


Jesus said in Luke 11 (cited above) that your Father would give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. God gives good things to his children who ask. He does not tell them to wait for some mysterious reason. He won't hand you a stone or a scorpion. He won't let you get some evil spirit when you ask for the Holy Spirit!

Here is the main point for you to get: The Holy Spirit has already been given! John 7:39 (cited above) says that (at that time) the Spirit "was not yet given" because Jesus was not yet glorified. Now Jesus has been glorified, so the Spirit has been given! Jesus promised that he would send him (John 15:26, 16:7). As far as God is concerned, he has already sent the Holy Spirit! Note in Acts 19, Paul asked the Ephesians if they had received the Holy Ghost. He didn't ask if God had given them the Holy Ghost. God has already given him, it's now up to us to receive him.



The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force

Remember, the Holy Spirit is not "power" or "tongues" or a "force." He is the third member of the Trinity! You are not simply receiving power or tongues, you are being filled with a member of the Godhead himself! He is a person. The preachers in Acts did not talk about receiving "it" -- they talked about receiving the Holy Ghost.


Baptism vs. filling

You only need to be baptized with the Spirit once, just as you only need to be born again once. However, the fact that you were once baptized in the Spirit is no guarantee that you will always lead a Spirit-filled life. You are responsible to stay filled with the Spirit. The men in the Bible were never baptized in the Spirit more than once, but they were "filled with the Spirit" on subsequent occasions, and so it should be for us.



Acts 4:7-8:

And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel...


Acts 4:31:

And when they [the company of believers] had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.


Acts 6:3-5:

Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost...


Acts 7:55:

But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.


Ephesians 5:18:

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. [Literally, "be being filled with the Spirit."]


You shall speak in other tongues

The Holy Spirit does not speak in tongues. Believers do. The devil loves to talk people out of it by saying, "That's you." Yes, it is you, in fact. You have to do the speaking. The Holy Spirit will give you the words when you willingly yield your tongue to him, but he will not do the speaking for you and will never "make" you do anything.

Probably the worst thing you can do is get analytical and try to "make up tongue words" in your head. Jesus said that the rivers of living water (speaking of the Spirit) would come out of your belly (i.e., your spirit), not out of your head!


Some people (in error) think they have to wait for the Spirit to "make them" start speaking in tongues. This is not what Paul said at all. He said that he would pray with the spirit (i.e., in tongues). He made that choice. It was his decision. He did not say that the Holy Spirit ever told him when to do it.

On rare occasions God uses believers to witness to foreigners in other tongues, unknown to the speaker but known to the listener, as happened in Acts 2. This is nice, but it is the exception to the rule. Acts 2 was the only place where it happened. There is no record that any unbelievers understood the languages spoken by other men who were baptized with the Spirit. Therefore, it is an error to say that tongues are solely for evangelistic purposes. Again, praying in tongues is up to you, as it was up to Paul. You can do it whenever you want if you are baptized with the Spirit.



Get drunk, stay drunk, live drunk!

Figured that would get your attention. (I preached a sermon with that title once, and it got their attention, too!) God wants you to live full of the Spirit, not full of booze (Eph 5:18). If you want to stay drunk on booze, you have to keep drinking. If you want to live full of the Spirit, you have to keep drinking, too! The drinking you do is the kind found in John 7:37-39 above. "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." (Isaiah 12:3)

This is the key to overcoming sin. You don't do it by trying harder not to sin, beating yourself up and condemning yourself for sinning, inventing silly little punishments for yourself, and so on. You overcome sin by walking in the Spirit! Galatians 5:16: "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Concentrate on walking in the Spirit, and sin will lose its appeal. Galatians 5:25: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."


Please understand that I am not saying that you should spend all day rolling on the floor, laughing like a hyena. This can happen occasionally, but it is not the main way to stay continually "drunk" or "filled" with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18's context clarifies this: "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." True Spirit-filled living is holy, praise-filled, thanksgiving-filled living! Keep drinking!


What will you feel when you receive the Holy Spirit?


The Scriptures do not say that they "felt" anything! They do say that they began to speak with other tongues. We know that Paul spoke in tongues after he was baptized with the Spirit. That is clear from 1 Cor 14. The disciples in Acts 2 spoke in tongues after they were filled with the Spirit. The men at Ephesus spoke with tongues when they were filled with the Spirit. The folks at Cornelius's house spoke with tongues when they received the Spirit. We can assume, although it is not explicitly stated, that the believers in Samaria spoke in tongues, since Simon saw that people were receiving the Holy Spirit. There must have been some outward sign to see, then.

I remember when some believers laid hands on me to receive the Holy Spirit. I was hoping that the power of God would just shower me, and I would be caught up in the glory and have a vision or some other great spiritual experience. You know what happened? Nothing! I didn't feel a thing. I simply believed that I received the Holy Spirit. I may have stammered a few words in tongues; I forget. On my way home in the car, I began praying in other tongues, since I knew I could now that I was filled with the Spirit. Although I didn't feel much different, soon I developed a great zeal to lay hands on the sick and have God use me in the gifts of healings. This was not the case before I was baptized in the Spirit. I am not saying that this is exactly what will happen to you; God calls each of us to "major" in something different. I just wanted to say that I am experiencing the long-term blessings of being baptized in the Spirit even though I did not see angels or fall on the floor at the time. It was strictly a faith transaction. I believed that I would receive, and I did. Believe that you receive, and don't be thrown off by feelings or lack thereof.



Are you ready?

Study the Scriptures concerning the Holy Spirit until you are personally convinced that God will baptize you with the Holy Spirit if you ask him to. Once you see what God has said on the matter, receiving the Holy Spirit is easy! You can either do it right now, or you can wait until one or more Spirit-filled friends are around, which might make it easier for you.

You can do it right now, in front of your VGA-compatible monitor. Tell God that you believe that the Holy Spirit has been given and that you believe his promise is for you. Then ask him to baptize you with the Holy Spirit, believing that he will do what he promised. Then get ready for a bolder, power-filled life!

You can also have one or more Spirit-filled believers lay hands on you. This was the prevailing method used in Acts. Agree with them that you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit when they lay hands on you.


Be prepared to speak in other tongues. Do not try to make up tongue words in your head! Let them rise out of your spirit. The Spirit will give you utterance; yield your tongue to him. Relax and let it flow out of you! (One of the biggest hindrances is getting "uptight" about it.) There's no big rush; take your time. Don't let the devil or tradition deter you -- if you receive the Spirit, you can speak in tongues. Your flesh may fight it at first, but remember the Scriptures in Acts that say that believers who were baptized with the Spirit spoke with other tongues. You are receiving the same Spirit they did, so you can do what they did!