Look to the Apostles

The followers of Jesus “went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following” (Mark 16:20). This work for the Lord began with the apostles. In their day, people with open hearts and ears didn’t need long, drawn-out, intricate explanations (unlike many people today who have been confused by a multitude of false doctrines and spiritual concepts). If someone wanted to get right with God, it really was very straightforward – and it still is, when we find Truth…

The first converts to the "Way” (of Jesus) were told to:

• Repent: Recognize – and desire to turn from – the sin of their fleshly ways, being humbly grateful for Jesus’ momentous sacrifice on their behalf.

• Be baptized: By full immersion in water [the Greek word “baptizo” means “to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)”] in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins.

• Seek for the Holy Spirit: Pray and ask God for the anointing of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. It’s God’s promised gift that Jesus gives to all those who obey Him.

The apostles knew the Holy Spirit was a promise of God, so they passed on this expectation to others:

Luke 11:12-13, “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Acts 2:38-39, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

They even recalled the series of prophecies and directives about the Holy Spirit that Jesus had declared:

John 3:5, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

John 7:37-39, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

Luke 24:49, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Acts 1:4-5, “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”

Let’s pause the story of the apostles for a moment. Note the emphasis on “future expectation” in John 7:37-39 above. It was necessary for Jesus to depart from this Earth – that is, ascend to the Father – in order for the Holy Spirit to come upon believers. The word “glorified” refers to Jesus’ complete death, resurrection, and ascension experience. And, as you read further through the gospel of John and then into the book of Acts, you realize that the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus’ ascension.

It’s also important to realize that the presence of God on Earth in the form of Jesus was then replaced by the presence of God within believers in the form of the Holy Spirit. This is a profound concept to consider!

Jesus clearly proclaimed to His disciples, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18). Jesus was reassuring His followers that although they recognized who Jesus was, dwelling with them, He would soon be living inside of them. One of the titles of Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1, John 1:14, Revelation 19:13), and the Bible describes the infilling of the Holy Spirit as the Word of God coming to dwell within the body – the will of God transcribed upon the heart and mind. It’s by obedience to this indwelling power that God considers a person to be righteous – in right standing with Him:

Hebrews 10:15-17, “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith them Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sin and iniquities will I remember no more.”

Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Now, continuing our story of the apostles, you’re probably wondering how they knew when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. They knew because the experience was a tangible one. Hence, they could also ascertain when someone else was later baptized with the Spirit:

Acts 2:1-4, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Note: Don’t be fooled by typical kids’ stories that illustrate the disciples with visible flames of fire above their heads. When you examine the Greek from which the verses above were interpreted into English, you’ll see that they refer to all the people (there were 120 of them) suddenly receiving the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues like fire and a great noise of wind rushing through a room. “Cloven tongues” refers to the various languages with which they began to speak.

Acts 10:44-48 “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”
Note: This story receives particular attention in the Bible because it was the very first time a Gentile was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. (A Gentile was a non-Jew. The Jews were a portion of the descendants of the Israelites. The Israelites were God’s chosen – or specially blessed – people originating from the days of Abraham.) Up until Cornelius, the message of salvation through Jesus had only been deliberately brought to the Jews, but after the majority of the Jews rejected Jesus, the way was opened up unto all people. Peter retells his experience with Cornelius in Acts 11 as follows:

Acts 11:13-18, “And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

Acts 19:1-6, “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

When preaching, the apostles didn’t emphasize speaking in tongues as the first manifesting sign of receiving the Holy Spirit. (By the way, the terms “filled with the Holy Spirit,” “baptized in the Holy Spirit,” “anointed with the Holy Spirit,” and “received the Holy Spirit” are all synonymous.) They didn’t need to. It was just a given expectation based on their tangible experience and based on what Jesus had told them:

Acts 1:8, “…ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.”

Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

However, the apostles soon discovered the fullness of the power of the Spirit they’d been given, so they spoke more about the gifts (meaning supernatural abilities) of the Holy Spirit as they wrote letters to the various churches they founded. The epistles (letters) of the Bible are where we can find more references to speaking in tongues, especially in the Book of Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 14:2, “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.”

1 Corinthians 14:4, “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself…”

1 Corinthians 14:14-15, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”

The apostles also wrote about the other gifts of the Holy Spirit (Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Interpretation of Tongues). Anyone filled with the Holy Spirit has access to all of these supernatural abilities – to use when needed, mostly for the benefit of others and for the glory of God.

It’s important to emphasize that the Holy Spirit is a “He,” not an “it.” He, the holy Spirit of God, is a spiritual power, and He is part of God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You either have (are filled with) the Holy Spirit, or you don’t – it’s as simple as that. But you sure know when you do! You are complete in Christ once you’re born again of water and of the Holy Spirit. From then on, it’s up to you to use the power God has given you.

1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;”

Colossians 2:10, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”

John 1:16, “And of his fulness have all we received…”

1 John 2:27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

1 Corinthians 2:4-5, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

1 Timothy 4:14, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee…”

Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”