Developing Situation
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”
—Jesus, Son of God

3 Baptisms

  1. First Baptism: The Holy Spirit baptizes us in Jesus. Repentance

  2. Second Baptism: The disciples baptize us in water. Water Baptism

  3. Third Baptism: Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit Baptism

  4. Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for Everyone?Acts 2:38-39 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

  5. What Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? • The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs when the Spirit of God comes upon a believer. Drenched, emersed. • The Holy Spirit fills the believer’s mind with a genuine understanding of truth, takes possession of the believer’s abilities, and imparts gifts that qualify the believer for service in the body of Christ. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as his or her Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit dwells inside him or her.

John 14:15-17 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.

1 Corinthians 3:16 16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

• But believers also need the baptism of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:5-8 NIV 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

3. Why We Need the Baptism of the Holy Spirit • The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to *empower believers for service, to witness, for spiritual warfare, and for boldness in their testimonies *(see Acts 1:8; 4:19–20, 29–31; 6:8–10; 1 Corinthians 2:4). • Jesus commanded the disciples not to begin the work to which He called them until they were baptized in the Holy Spirit . Luke 24:48-49 NIV 48You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:4 NIV 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

Acts 1:8 NIV 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

• When the apostles met other believers in Christ, they at once asked whether the believers had received the Holy Spirit. If not, they made sure they received Him. Acts 8:14-16NIV 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 19:1-5 NIV While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

• The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an absolute necessity in every Christian’s life for the service to which God has called us.

  1. How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit • Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13). • God fulfills His promises in a variety of ways, and no two human beings are alike in how they receive spiritual things.
 • The New Testament tells us that some believers received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the moment of their conversion, such as Cornelius and his family (see Acts 10). • Others, such as the believers in Ephesus, received it at a later time (see Acts 19:1–5). • We should never limit God by our own expectations. • He is sovereign and will work in whatever way He chooses.