The Baptism of the Holy Ghost

This is a subject that if never experienced or properly taught, it might very well confuse people. Many churches and teachers have erroneously taught that water baptism saves and is the only baptism. People from “Pentacostal” denominations teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what saves and if you don’t speak in tongues then you are not saved. We were taught growing up that when we were baptized in water is when we received the Holy Spirit. This is partially true and partially false, but we would like to qualify that statement. If when you were baptized in water, you in your heart asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior at the same time, you may have been born again at that moment. However, someone that watched you get baptized at the very same moment could have asked the Lord into their heart as well, while they were not baptized in water and never have been. Both are saved, as we established in our last portion of teaching, water baptism is not what saves, Jesus is.

When it comes to the Holy Ghost, people seem to freak out over the Word, “Ghost” because they might not be accustomed to hearing that particular term. It is nothing to be afraid of. He’s not some mystical “being” like in “Ghost Busters,” or anything fictitious like that. It is real and it is of God. “Ghost” just means “Spirit or Spirit of God.”

There is a scripture that seems to cause confusion when there is teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, One faith, One baptism…” It is always the “one baptism” part that has thrown so many believers off. If the Word says that there is one baptism, how can there be another?

When we are baptized into Christ, it is like we are given a glass that we drink water from. This is how one could visualize being saved. That is no small thing, for we have been given water to drink when before we were depraved and dying of thirst, (like a flower wilting in a dry and barren land). But when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues, it is as though we have just taken a dive into a pool of water! Again, when saved, it’s like we drank, but when we receive the Holy Ghost and speak in an unknown language as evidence, we are consumed and submerged into Him in a much greater capacity. It could be referred to as a “greater manifestation” of the Spirit of God in our lives.

Some preachers like to state that one cannot be saved without it. That is incorrect and leads many people to a works-based religion, rather than into a deeper relationship with the Lover of their soul. One can be saved and never speak in tongues, but we will state that their life is not what it could be in Christ, than if they had received it.


What it’s not:

1. The baptism of the Holy Ghost with initial evidence of speaking in tongues is not of the devil. A lot of “dry” denominations like to either shy away from tongues or teach that it is “of the devil,” simply because they are either afraid of what they don’t understand or they are ignorant as to why God gave it to us.

Let’s address the “of the devil” accusations first. John the Baptist was chosen of God and set apart for the Lord’s use. The Bible says of John the Baptist that there was none greater among men than he was, (Mt 11:11, Lk 7:28).

We think we could also agree that Jesus was from God? What did the religious men of that day say of Him? The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out devils by the help of Satan! (Mt 12:24) Obviously, their accusation was false, since Jesus is God and not Satan.

Not everything that comes from Heaven is what we are able to understand with our intellect. In fact, often times it is our intellect that gets in God’s way. He says that the carnal mind is His enemy, He also states that His ways are Higher than our earthly ways. (Rom 8:7, Is 55:9) God says that no man can tame a man’s tongue, and yet God chooses something like that little member of our body, (the tongue) and uses it to bring forth praise and a prayer language that the human mind cannot translate without the help of the Holy Spirit.

What is the Holy Ghost baptism used for?

It is given to comfort and leading, bring rest, edify, and build up in faith:

In John 16 Jesus says that He would send us the “Comforter” which is the Holy Ghost, and we are told that He will comfort us and lead us into all truth. The Greek Word, “Comforter” means to summon or call to ones side to help. Christ says that when He went away to the Father that He would not leave us comfortless, but that He will come unto us.

He brings us the rest and refreshing that Isaiah prophesied of when he said, “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to his this people. To whom he said, This is the rest ye may cause the weary to rest: and this is the refreshing:” and it is also stated at the end of that verse, that there were some that would not hear this saying from the Lord. There are many people today that for one reason or another have not sought to receive this very treasured gift that God has given, which is a true tragedy. Why wouldn’t we want to have everything that Jesus died to give us?

In the book of Jude, he says that we are to “build up our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost.” This edifies us as an believer and it builds up our faith. There are times that we don’t know what to say to God, what to pray, or what we need. But the Holy Spirit knows what it is that is needed in every situation. In Rom 8:26 we read that, “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” We can be dependent upon the Lord through this gift that He can pray through us or others His precise will for our lives and situations. That is a good thing to know.

Is it just for the Apostles?

No, that is what a lot of unbelieving believers would say, because they are usually ignorant of what it is and how He works through this gift. We can see that it was poured out upon more than just the apostles, (Acts 2:2-4, 11). Peter also went to Cornelius’ house in Acts 10 and Cornelius (a gentile) was baptized and everyone that was with them. In fact, the only apostle mentioned there is Peter. When Paul addresses the church of Corinth about the use of this gifting, he urges them to do all things in order because in the middle of a service, someone would stand up and give a tongue, then another, and another. There would be no interpretation brought forth and it was not edifying to the body, since no one knew what was being said, so Paul urged them to be in order, but not to forbid speaking in tongues. None of these people were so called “apostles,” yet they had the gift. Then there is Apollos who was saved and preached the good news of Jesus Christ, (Acts 19:1-6) was asked by Paul, “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?” The man said that he didn’t know what it was. He then told Paul that he was water baptized (“John’s baptism”), and Paul told him to believe on Christ and he would receive the Holy Ghost. He received it and spoke with other tongues.

In continuing to use the example of Apollos, we would like to bring up something important. We stated in the last paragraph that Apollos was saved when Paul met him, but how would we know that? In Acts 18:25, the Bible states that he was, “fervent in the spirit,” and that he had been instructed in the ways of the Lord. We looked up the word, “fervent” and it means “boiling hot,” let the reader understand that anyone that is truly born again will be “on fire” for the Lord, desiring to share this new found love with anything that has ears. Sinners do not do this. Unsaved people are not fervent about sharing the things of the Lord with anyone, in effect, unbelievers are usually very uncomfortable and disinterested when it comes to talking about the Gospel of Christ. Just because he didn’t necessarily understand everything that happened when he got saved, it doesn’t mean that he wasn’t saved. We bring this up because there is no evidence that anyone received the baptism of the Holy Spirit without first being saved. They could have “believed on Him” for the first time ever, gotten saved and simultaneously been filled with the Holy Ghost. But we’ve never seen where someone received the Holy Ghost that was not either previously or simultaneously born again. You can’t receive the Holy Ghost and not be a believer in Christ, it’s just not possible.

Who is it for?

Anyone can receive it! One can receive salvation and/or the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the same manner we would receive anything from God, by simple faith in Jesus Christ and His Sacrifice for us on Calvary.

How do I receive this gift?

First of all, one would need to believe. We can’t receive anything from God that we don’t believe in. There’s really not a whole lot to do accept ask Him for it, thank Him for this gift, and allow Him to have His way. Yielding to the Holy Spirit is probably one of the hardest things for humans to do, but in our submission, God can bring forth excellent blessings that we could never have imagined.

Some people teach that someone must lay hands on the one desiring this gift, but that is not true. God can fill someone with the Holy Ghost, while they are driving down the road in their car, standing in line at a store, or walking the dog down the road. Being in a church setting or at an altar with others is not required, although for some people it is more comforting. The truth is, God will respond to our hunger. If we truly desire this gift in our lives, God can fill the person right away! Everyone’s experience in receiving it is a personal and individual experience for them, because we serve a personal God.

How do I know if I have it?

There are some that are confused and may feel like they already have this gift, but they really are not sure. The easiest way to know is this: “I don’t know, would be a no.”

We’re sure that there might be other questions that people might have regarding this gift, but the real answer will always come from the Lord Himself. Even after reading all of this, there might still be some few that are skeptical about “tongues,” feel that they don’t want it, or are just unsure. We pray that the Lord begin to move on your hearts where this is concerned though. Don’t totally rule it out, just because you are unsure of it. Seek the Lord and ask Him to show you more about it. We pray whether the reader wants it or doesn’t want it, that God fill you anyway because “every good gift comes from above,” and anything that God would have to give us we want, that it might bless our lives.