The ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts’ for use by GMO OMs
Purpose
GMO has written this article to help OMs respond to contacts who ask about the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer or the church, including questions about the Baptism of the Spirit and certain gifts of the Spirit.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The Scripture tells us what the Baptism of the Spirit is. In Acts 11:15-17, Peter describes what happened in the household of Cornelius and defines it as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit: “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” In looking at the event Peter is describing from Acts 10, we see that the Holy Spirit came at the moment of their salvation. In fact, this Baptism of the Holy Spirit was also intended to be the evidence of their salvation.
Paul gives a very similar message in Ephesians 1:13-14: “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (also see 2 Corinthians 1:22). Thus if we do not have the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our salvation, we are not saved (Romans 8:9).
An Alternative View for The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Many Christians see the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Acts account as two events rather than one. They view the baptism by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ as our salvation (1 Cor. 12:13). Here the One that effects our salvation is the Holy Spirit. Then there is a baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit by Jesus in (or with) the Holy Spirit. Here the Father is the agent, Jesus is the intermediary and the Holy Spirit is the gift. This critical blessing in the Christian’s life is called the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16), being filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
The Filling of the Holy Spirit
Though all Christians are equally saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not all Christians are equally filled with the Spirit. Paul’s letters urge us to meet the conditions of the filling of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Thess. 5:19 the command is given, “quench not the Spirit.” Most of the references concerning the filling of the Spirit occur in the New Testament. When Peter was called before the Sanhedrin concerning his testimony for Christ, Scripture states that he was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:8). The group of Christians who met together for prayer following this incident were filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:31). In Acts 9:17 shortly after his conversion, Paul was said to be filled with the Spirit. Paul again was filled with the Spirit according to Acts 13:9. From these and other instances, it is obvious that a person is filled with the Spirit when he is under the control of or empowered by the Holy Spirit and is not Spirit-filled when under the control of sin in his life.
Spiritual gifts to the church
Spiritual gifts used for the benefit of the church are discussed primarily in 1 Corinthians 12. The Holy Spirit provides spiritual gifts as He chooses (1 Cor. 12:7-11). These spiritual gifts include but are not limited to: wisdom; knowledge; faith; healing; miracles; prophecy; discernment of spirits; tongues; interpretation of tongues; apostles; prophets; teachers; helps; government (1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28). The passage makes it clear that not all members of the body get the same gift (1 Cor. 12:11). Instead, the body of Christ needs them all, although a particular local church may not find each of them in their midst (1 Cor. 12:12-26). Because the Holy Spirit chooses which believers receive which gifts, and because not all members have the same gifts, it is clear that the entire local church will never have the same gifts.
This discussion of the gifts to the church does not deny the idea that the Holy Spirit can use tongues in the prayer closet of individual believers to tell one’s deepest desires directly to God the Father (1 Cor. 14:1-4).
We request that OM’s not bring up tongues or teach that believers must receive them. If specifically asked, we cannot be expected to give a less than truthful answer – and it will be based on our Scriptural understanding.
Convincing Others of our Salvation
What if a contact asks how they can get the gift of tongues to confirm their salvation to their local church? We must teach them graciously but clearly that it is not God’s will that any one gift, such as tongues, be used as evidence of salvation, because the Spirit Himself is intended as the evidence of our salvation. There is no way that the church can determine if a person has truly accepted Jesus Christ and become a Christian. Only God can do that (Heb. 4:12). Instead, the best evidence of a believer’s salvation is the fruit of the Spirit. Any person claiming to be a believer who consistently displays immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these may not be a believer (Gal 5:19-21). But if they display love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in their lives, then it is likely that the Holy Spirit is living in them and that they have come to Christ in salvation (Gal. 5:22-23).
Convincing Ourselves of our Salvation
If a believer is interested in confirming his own assurance of salvation, the primary evidence is the internal witness of the Holy Spirit:
1) Who draws us to Christ initially;
2) causes us to look at God as our Father;
3) helps us understand His Word, and
4) keeps us growing in Christ.
The internal witness of the Holy Spirit is shown in Romans 8:15-17, Ephesians 1:13 and John 14:16-17. For people coming to Christ, the moment the Holy Spirit begins to minister to their hearts and draw them to Christ is one that they treasure (John 16:8-11). In Galatians 4:6-7, we see the Holy Spirit causing us to look at God as our Father. We see Him teaching us the Scriptures in John 14:26. We see Him exhorting and convicting and growing us in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and 1 Peter 1:2. As we look into our own lives, Christians will see evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit and thus be assured of their own salvation (Romans 8:9). In addition to the work of the Holy Spirit, a change in love, allegiance, attitudes and actions is also evidence to us of our salvation.