Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2
Under
the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit was given to just a remnant few – usually to
prophets, priests and kings. Joel prophesied that a time would come when the
Holy Spirit would be poured out upon all flesh.
Joel
2:28-29 says, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My
Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the
servants and upon the handmaidens in those days will I pour out My Spirit.”
Before
Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, He said that after He ascended to heaven
that He would not leave us comfortless. But He would send the Comforter, the
Holy Spirit, to be with us forever. Jesus said that He would baptize us with
the Holy Ghost and with fire. He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until
they be endued with power from on High.
Ten
days after Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God,
there were 120 people in the Upper Room waiting on the Lord. Included among the
120 were Jesus’ disciples and His mother Mary. When the Day of Pentecost was
fully come, they were gathered together in one accord waiting to be endued with
power from on High. Pentecost was a Jewish feast, which was observed fifty days
following Passover.
And
suddenly there came a very loud sound, like the sound of a powerful rushing
wind. The place shook and it filled all the house. Then there appeared to be
cloven tongues of fire resting upon each of them. They were all filled with the
Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them
utterance. They began to praise God in languages that they had never learned
before, by the divine enablement of the Spirit.
Many
Jews from many nations were gathered in Jerusalem that day to observe the
Festival of Pentecost. When they heard the roaring in the sky above the house
where the 120 were gathered, the crowds came running to see what it was all
about. They were stunned to hear Galileans fluently speaking their native
language or the language of other nations who were present at the feast.
Acts
2:7-11 says in the Living Bible, “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “For these
men are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking all the native
languages of the lands where we were born! Here we are—Parthians, Medes,
Elamites, men from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia Minor, Phrygia,
Pamphylia, Egypt, the Cyrene languages areas of Libya, visitors from Rome—both
Jews and Jewish converts—Cretans and Arabians. And we all hear these men
telling in our own languages about the mighty miracles of God!”
Others
in the crowd began to mock saying that they were all drunk. Peter stood up and
told them that they were not drunk.
And besides, even drunks did not get drunk that early in the morning, as it was
only 9:00 am.
Peter
went on to say that what was happening was prophesied by the prophet Joel: “And
it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that 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” (Acts 2:17-18). Verse 21 says, “And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
In
Acts 2:30-39, it says that David prophesied of the coming Messiah.
Acts
2:30-39 NKJV
30
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him
that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the
Christ to sit on his throne,
31
he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His
soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
32
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
33
Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the
Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and
hear.
34
“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said
to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand,
35
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’”
36
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the
rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
39
For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as
many as the Lord our God will call.”
The
following Scriptures are cross references that say that the Father exalted
Jesus and seated Him at His right hand:
Romans
8:34
Acts
7:55-56
Ephesians
1:20
Colossians
3:1
Hebrews
3:1,13
Hebrews
8:1
Hebrews
10:12
Hebrews
12:2
1
Peter 3:22
Matthew
26:64
Mark
14:62
Mark
16:19
Luke
22:69-70
For
with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people (Isaiah
28:11, xref 1 Corinthians 14:21).
