What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit?

[imperfectchristian]

(All tongues aside )

What does being baptized in the Holy Spirit really do?

I was talking with a friend about it on the way home tonight.

I have heard many different definitions, but they usually revolve around tongues (evidence) instead of the baptism itself.

To me it is literally being baptized into the holiness of God.

I remember distinctly when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit.

I went from someone who knew the love of God as an individual to a person that actually felt/experienced the love of God for all of His creation.

Holiness and God's love are one in the same.

My baptism in the Holy Spirit fundamentally changed me in that it literally immersed my heart in the love / holiness of God and then it flowed out of me.


Would you describe what the baptism of the Holy Spirit did to/for you?

Thanks

 

[icedtea]

I recall reading a book specifically about it months after I was saved. I wish I could remember the authors.
I did as it said, and boom. It was the first time I had ever gone to bed feeling no fear whatsoever.
Tongues is just the evidence of it.

 

[peacechild4]

It changed my whole life and the direction I was going!! I was in the midst of non-tongue talking people when one day at home alone while praying I suddenly started speaking in the spirit and have ever since though more of it lately.. It makes me smile just to think of God doing that for me..

I have grown amazingly since.. though for a time.. I was doubtful that it was a good thing.. I live and worship in a place where tongues isn't talked about or spoken around me.. So sometimes I am driven to distraction that God show me why me and why did it happen this way!! You know I tried going to a place where I thought people that did this hung out.. but nothing clicked there.. it was weeird.. It is like God wants me to want Him so bad right where I am because I am different where I am.. being who I am.. even for now if I am alone with this??

I do see that God has greater things in store for me.. every book I have laid my hands on just of recent.. without me trying.. has been about miracles.. the Holy Spirit, healing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.. etc.. I am so excited to see what will happen next!!

As I sat praying today in my lounge room.. a ray of sunshine just shone on me.. and that often happens.. YES mid winter.. not alot of sun.. but when I am praying often sitting there.. getting excited in the LORD.. and speaking in toungues with the LORD this ray of sunshine just floods in..

 

[JimB]

What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit?

It means that you have been inducted into the Body of Christ.

Here’s is the only mention of the baptism of/in/by/ the Holy Spirit outside the narrative gospels and Acts, Paul’s only mention of it:

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Cor. 12.13)
​

Every believer is “baptized of/in/by/with the Holy Spirit.”

~Jim

If the first step in an argument is wrong everything that follows is wrong. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain​

 

[SharonL]

Yes I believe everyone who is saved has the Holy Spirit - I don't know if there are 2 steps to it or not - maybe some of us don't know as much about it and God taps us on the shoulder at a later time and says "there is more."

I have been a Christian all my life but never had the joy and excitement of this walk until I received the "second" added touch.

I never knew about the Holy Spirit and the gifts flowing "mind you sitting in a church all my life" - so sad - but when the Holy Spirit is working in your life - it shows. I had a friend that had so much joy in the Lord that I searched and searched to find out what she had. I was reading a book 'In the Shadow of His Hand' - it was about a preacher searching for the Holy Spirit - I just laid the book down and said 'Lord if this is of you, I want it' - it was like electricity went all through my body - two foreign words formed in my mind and I spoke them out and my prayer language came forwared and for 3-1/2 hours I spoke in my prayer language.

I can honestly say I have never been the same - that was 15 years ago - I am all alone in my area with this and no one to talk to about it, but it is wonderful and the joy of the Lord has never left me.

 

[JimfromOhio]

I was baptized in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God created us in HIS IMAGE. God's image is "Father, Son, Holy Spirit" We are Body, Soul and Spirit You can go through the Old Testament and show the Trinity there. The first place to start would be in Genesis. “And God said”--what?--“Let us”--who’s that? Matthew 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

I don't folllow Pentecostal's definition of baptism.

 

[JimfromOhio]

double posted, not by me, but by CF.

 

[imperfectchristian]

What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit?

It means that you have been inducted into the Body of Christ.

Here’s is the only mention of the baptism of/in/by/ the Holy Spirit outside the narrative gospels and Acts, Paul’s only mention of it:

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Cor. 12.13)
​

Every believer is “baptized of/in/by/with the Holy Spirit.”

~Jim

If the first step in an argument is wrong everything that follows is wrong. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain​

Although it may be the only place where baptism in the Spirit is mentioned, it is not the only place outside the Gospels and Acts that the Spirit is mentioned.

According to my understanding, the early church did not compartmentalize the Holy Spirit. When Paul refered to "we" all being baptized by the same Spirit he was speaking to the Corinthians and they were all tongue talking, Spirit-filled Christians.

The context does not support your theory in my opinion.

 

[JimfromOhio]

Although it may be the only place where baptism in the Spirit is mentioned, it is not the only place outside the Gospels and Acts that the Spirit is mentioned.

According to my understanding, the early church did not compartmentalize the Holy Spirit. When Paul refered to "we" all being baptized by the same Spirit he was speaking to the Corinthians and they were all tongue talking, Spirit-filled Christians.

The context does not support your theory in my opinion.

So, when one does not speak in tongues as being baptized by the Holy Spirit means one is not saved in the "same spirit"?

 

[imperfectchristian]

I was baptized in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God created us in HIS IMAGE. God's image is "Father, Son, Holy Spirit" We are Body, Soul and Spirit You can go through the Old Testament and show the Trinity there. The first place to start would be in Genesis. “And God said”--what?--“Let us”--who’s that? Matthew 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

I don't folllow Pentecostal's definition of baptism.

Nevertheless, like so many who have experienced this second work of grace, I cannot ignore or set aside my own experience which was a distinct, seperate work from salvation.

 

[imperfectchristian]

So, when one does not speak in tongues as being baptized by the Holy Spirit means one is not saved in the "same spirit"?

Again...Paul IMO was speaking in a Cornithian context....had he been talking to someone besides the Corinthian church I think he would have probably not used that type of phrase.

He was speaking in terms that the Corinithian church could relate to. They related uniquely well to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (arguably more so than any other early church congregation.)

 

[imperfectchristian]

So, when one does not speak in tongues as being baptized by the Holy Spirit means one is not saved in the "same spirit"?

oh and to answer your question...no that is not at all what I was implying.

 

[JimB]

Although it may be the only place where baptism in the Spirit is mentioned, it is not the only place outside the Gospels and Acts that the Spirit is mentioned.

According to my understanding, the early church did not compartmentalize the Holy Spirit. When Paul refered to "we" all being baptized by the same Spirit he was speaking to the Corinthians and they were all tongue talking, Spirit-filled Christians.

The context does not support your theory in my opinion.

Where do you get the idea that “all” Corinthians spoke in tongues? Paul said to them, “I wish you all spoke with tongues” (1 Cor. 14.5), clearly inferring that all of them didn’t (see also 1 Cor. 12.30).

I believe all Corinthians could—and all Christians can—speak in tongues, as well as utilize any gift of the Spirit. When we were saved, we received all that God has for us …

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. (2 Peter 1.3)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Eph. 1.3)
​

God’s blessings do not come to us in increments. They are provided from the beginning of our union with Him. Why would God wait to give what we need? Why would He withhold it when we needed it most, at the beginning of our journey?

~Jim

If the first step in an argument is wrong everything that follows is wrong. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain​

​

​

 

[imperfectchristian]

Where do you get the idea that “all” Corinthians spoke in tongues? Paul said to them, “I wish you all spoke with tongues” (1 Cor. 14.5), clearly inferring that all of them didn’t (see also 1 Cor. 12.30).

I believe all Corinthians could—and all Christians can—speak in tongues, as well as utilize any gift of the Spirit. When we were saved, we received all that God has for us …

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. (2 Peter 1.3)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Eph. 1.3)
​

God’s blessings do not come to us in increments. They are provided from the beginning of our union with Him. Why would God wait to give what we need? Why would He withhold it when we needed it most, at the beginning of our journey?

~Jim

If the first step in an argument is wrong everything that follows is wrong. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain​

Actually I do agree with you. They are already provided and available to every believer, but the believer has to be willing to receive it.

I think Paul was speaking in general. Too many times we try to turn Scripture into technical documents. No probably not all the Corinthians spoke in tongues, but many of them did. Paul spoke to them as a group where many of them operated in the gifts of the Spirit. Those who did not speak in tongues still were a part of a body that primarily did and so the connotation of the statement in context supports the inclusion of speaking in tongues when it refers that we are all baptized by the same Spirit.

I'm not sure that we are disagreeing...just looking at it from two different angles.

I know you have stated before that you believe everyone receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit when they become a Christian. (Please correct me if I misquoted you) This to me is confusing and misleading. IMO We do receive the Holy Spirit when we are born again and we receive the ability to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, however being born again does not automatically mean that we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Even the Vineyard church speaks of a second work of the Holy Spirit so I am not sure where it is exactly that we are disagreeing on this point.

 

[JimfromOhio]

Faith and Grace are at the foundations of all Christian living, and because faith has to do with the character of God, not on Christian's faith. According to His grace, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit that being justified by His grace. In Ephesians 4:23, the Greek word translated "renewed" (ananeoo) is used which means "to create again" or "make new." According to His grace, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit that being justified by His grace I might be made heir according to the hope of eternal life.

Faith is a living, well-founded confidence in the grace of God, all of which the Holy Spirit works in faith. Our spiritual capacity is our charisma which is a gift of God's grace. We all didn't deserve grace but we have it in us now. Spirit indwells us. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then Jesus through His GRACE just flows out of you because if you DON'T, trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. It is God's will for us to be Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:17-18).

 

[JimB]

*****

Even the Vineyard church speaks of a second work of the Holy Spirit so I am not sure where it is exactly that we are disagreeing on this point.

I am not aware of this. I am sure some Vineyard ministers from a Pentecostal background may retain their “second work of grace” beliefs, but I do not know of an official Vineyard position on it. I am sure that Vineyard pastors from a non-Pentecostal (and a few of us from a Pentecostal) background do not believe it.

The official position of the Vineyard on the Holy Spirit is as follows:

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
​

We believe that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church at Pentecost in power,101 baptizing believers into the Body of Christ102 and releasing the gifts of the Spirit to them.103 The Spirit brings the permanent indwelling presence of God to us104 for spiritual worship,105 personal sanctification,106 building up the Church,107 gifting us for ministry,108 and driving back the kingdom of Satan by the evangelization of the world109 through proclaiming the word of Jesus110 and doing the works of Jesus.111

101Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4; 1021 Corinthians 12:13; 1031 Corinthians 12:4-7; 104John 14:16-17; 105Romans 12:1; Ephesians 5:18-20; 106Romans 8:3-4; 1071 Corinthians 14:12; 1 Corinthians 14:26; 108Romans 12:4-6; 109Luke 11:20;
​

~Jim

 

[SharonL]

Nevertheless, like so many who have experienced this second work of grace, I cannot ignore or set aside my own experience which was a distinct, seperate work from salvation.

Mine was an unmistakeable second work - I know I was saved at an early age and walked the walk of a Christian - but I never knew the joy and excitement of walking with Jesus until the Holy Spirit fell on me so strongly in a way that nothing else had ever shook me before.

 

[JimB]

Nevertheless, like so many who have experienced this second work of grace, I cannot ignore or set aside my own experience which was a distinct, seperate work from salvation.

I believe (based on 2 Peter 1.3 and Ephesians 1.3) that we received everything God has for us when we became a Christian. IOW, we were redeemed, justified, sanctified, filled with the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, made to drink of the same Spirit, etc.etc.etc. Nothing was withheld from us. Nothing.And we were not given God’s gifts in increments. There is no scriptural justification for believing that (IMO).

The fact that we did not know what all happened to us does not negate what we received. Until the birth of Pentecostalism in the early 20th Century there was no debate about this. Late in the 19th Century the Holiness movement imagined a “second work of grace,” a Baptism in the Spirit, which they identified as Sanctification and built a doctrine around it, that persists to this day. They strongly influenced the soon-to-birth Pentecostal movement who simply changed the “second work of grace,” a Baptism in the Spirit, that included their unique doctrine of tongues.

It seems clear from the NT (at least to me) that there is not just one infilling of the Spirit, there are many—we are to be continually filled with the Spirit. It’s like fuel in our cars which is depleted and must be refilled with use. When you were saved, among all the other things God gave you at that moment, He also filled you with His Spirit. Later, He very well may have filled you again (and again and again) with His Spirit and you were told that was the “Baptism of the Spirit” because you may have spoken in tongues at that time. But you could always speak in tongues, you were just convinced you couldn’t … until …

Every child of God, Pentecostal are not, is baptized and filled with in the Spirit, and can speak in tongues and utilize any other spiritual gift … provided they are told persuaded by others that they can’t.

~Jim

If the first step in an argument is wrong everything that follows is wrong. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain​

​

​

 

[imperfectchristian]

I believe (based on 2 Peter 1.3 and Ephesians 1.3) that we received everything God has for us when we became a Christian. IOW, we were redeemed, justified, sanctified, filled with the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, made to drink of the same Spirit, etc.etc.etc. Nothing was withheld from us. Nothing.And we were not given God’s gifts in increments. There is no scriptural justification for believing that (IMO).

The fact that we did not know what all happened to us does not negate what we received. Until the birth of Pentecostalism in the early 20th Century there was no debate about this. Late in the 19th Century the Holiness movement imagined a “second work of grace,” a Baptism in the Spirit, which they identified as Sanctification and built a doctrine around it, that persists to this day. They strongly influenced the soon-to-birth Pentecostal movement who simply changed the “second work of grace,” a Baptism in the Spirit, that included their unique doctrine of tongues.

It seems clear from the NT (at least to me) that there is not just one infilling of the Spirit, there are many—we are to be continually filled with the Spirit. It’s like fuel in our cars which is depleted and must be refilled with use. When you were saved, among all the other things God gave you at that moment, He also filled you with His Spirit. Later, He very well may have filled you again (and again and again) with His Spirit and you were told that was the “Baptism of the Spirit” because you may have spoken in tongues at that time. But you could always speak in tongues, you were just convinced you couldn’t … until …

Every child of God, Pentecostal are not, is baptized and filled with in the Spirit, and can speak in tongues and utilize any other spiritual gift … provided they are told persuaded by others that they can’t.

~Jim

If the first step in an argument is wrong everything that follows is wrong. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain​

Well I remember distinctly my salvation experience (indeed the most wonderful experience in my life) and I also remember the distinct difference when I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

They were two unique experiences and I am grateful to God for both experiences. I cannot in good conscience say that they were two separate instances of the same experience.

I did not even know about a baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues until the night before I spoke in tongues so the story in Acts 19 rings very true for me.

This was my experience as I understand it. I cannot speak for others. I can only speak for what I experienced.

Acts 19:1-7

1 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 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 into the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

 

[imperfectchristian]

I am not aware of this. I am sure some Vineyard ministers from a Pentecostal background may retain their “second work of grace” beliefs, but I do not know of an official Vineyard position on it. I am sure that Vineyard pastors from a non-Pentecostal (and a few of us from a Pentecostal) background do not believe it.

The official position of the Vineyard on the Holy Spirit is as follows:

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
​

We believe that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church at Pentecost in power,101 baptizing believers into the Body of Christ102 and releasing the gifts of the Spirit to them.103 The Spirit brings the permanent indwelling presence of God to us104 for spiritual worship,105 personal sanctification,106 building up the Church,107 gifting us for ministry,108 and driving back the kingdom of Satan by the evangelization of the world109 through proclaiming the word of Jesus110 and doing the works of Jesus.111

101Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4; 1021 Corinthians 12:13; 1031 Corinthians 12:4-7; 104John 14:16-17; 105Romans 12:1; Ephesians 5:18-20; 106Romans 8:3-4; 1071 Corinthians 14:12; 1 Corinthians 14:26; 108Romans 12:4-6; 109Luke 11:20;
​

~Jim

I was refering to the second half of that portion of the Vineyard statement of faith:


We believe in the filling or the empowering of the Holy Spirit, 116 often a conscious experience,117 for ministry today.118 We believe in the present ministry of the Spirit119 and in the exercise of all of the biblical gifts of the Spirit.120 We practice the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Spirit,121 for healing,122 and for recognition and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve the Church.

From the way it reads this seems like the Vineyard church believes in and advocates a second work of the Holy Spirit in life of the believer.​