Many questions are always asked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and some skeptics have always kept one eye open when having discussions on the topic.
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills(founder of the Lighthouse Chapel International) however is an ardent advocate of the Holy Ghost Baptism and it’s benefits.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit – What Is It?
We should be careful to not confuse baptism in the Holy Spirit with the various other ministries of the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is how He empowers and controls us (Acts 4:31; Ephesians 5:18). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is God the Holy Spirit taking up permanent residence in our lives (John 14:17; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 1 John 4:4). The sealing of the Holy Spirit is God marking us as His permanent possession (Ephesians 1:13-14). Baptism in the Holy Spirit is related to these other ministries of the Holy Spirit, but at the same time, it is separate from them.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit – What Are the Results?
In the book of Acts, baptism in the Holy Spirit sometimes resulted in speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; Acts 19:6). However, in other instances, people believed and therefore received baptism in the Holy Spirit, but nothing is said of tongues (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 8:17; 13:12, 48; 14:1; 17:12, 34; 18:8). Again, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that every believer has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13), but not every believer speaks in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:27-31). As a result, there is no specific sign that a believer should expect when they are saved and receive baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit can be defined as: at the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit places a believer into permanent union with Christ and with other believers in the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Romans 6:1-4 are the central passages in the Bible where we find this doctrine. 1 Corinthians 12:13 states, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” Romans 6:1-4 says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Baptism in the Holy Spirit – Who Has It?
Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has experienced baptism in the Holy Spirit. That is why Paul could state, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body… we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). As we read in Acts chapter 2, baptism in the Holy Spirit began on the day of Pentecost. This was in fulfillment of Jesus’ words in Acts 1:5, “…but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” The Apostles experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. It resulted in them being empowered to proclaim the Gospel and lead thousands of people to faith in Christ (Acts 2:41). In two instances later in Acts, the baptism in the Holy Spirit was temporarily delayed in order to demonstrate to the Apostles that Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17) and Gentiles (Acts 10:27-48) were equally a part of God’s plan of salvation. The Apostle Peter proclaimed, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” From that point on, every believer received the baptism in the Holy Spirit the moment they believed.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit – What Does It Mean To You?
To summarize, baptism in the Holy Spirit does two things. First, it identifies us spiritually with the death and resurrection of Christ, uniting us with Him. Second, baptism in the Holy Spirit joins us to the body of Christ, and identifies us as united with other believers. Practically, baptism in the Holy Spirit means we are risen with Him to newness of life (Romans 6:4), and that we should exercise our spiritual gifts to keep the body of Christ functioning properly as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:13. Experiencing baptism in the Holy Spirit serves as an exhortation to keep unity of the church (Ephesians 4:5). Being identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection-through baptism in the Holy Spirit-establishes the basis for realizing our separation from the power of indwelling sin and our walk in newness of life (Romans 6:1-10, Colossians 2:12).
“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).