truth on the Holy Spirit

The promise of the Holy Spirit can be broadly traced back to what God promised through Ezekiel¹³. It’s then announced by John the Baptist¹ and Jesus². It first unfolds with Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit (e.g. “Helper”) to the apostles in the upper room³, and He repeats it again to them after His resurrection^4,5,6. This promise to the apostles includes both guidance into “all truth”^3,4,5,6 but also an outward manifestation of power^7,8 to confirm their word with miracles. “Not many days” later, on the day of Pentecost, they would experience the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” for the first Jews⁷ (and once more for the first Gentiles).

But God’s promise of the Holy Spirit was for all that obeyed Him¹³, and that’s what Peter tells the crowd that was responding to the gospel message⁹ for the first time. This is the “Spirit part” of what Jesus shared with Nicodemus² for those born again. It is the “indwelling of the Holy Spirit” for all/any (e.g. Jew or Gentile¹²) that would respond to the gospel¹² in baptism^2,9 and obedience^10,11,13.

Being baptized with the Holy Spirit only happened twice⁶ in the New Testament. Each occurrence^3,4 marked “firsts” – the first conversion of Jews³, and then of Gentiles⁴. It was the miraculous ushering in of the kingdom of God for “the Jew first and also the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

The baptism with the Holy Spirit was foretold by John the Baptist¹ and promised by Jesus² when, “not many days” later on the day of Pentecost², the apostles would preach the gospel to the Jews in Jerusalem, saving 3,000 souls. The second time we read of the Holy Spirit baptism is at the conversion of the first Gentiles⁴. It was a miraculous spectacle just like on the day of Pentecost^5,6. In fact, it was a necessary display to convince Peter, his traveling companions⁵ and the Christian Jews back in Jerusalem⁶ of God’s acceptance of Gentiles into the kingdom^4,5,6.

What it means to be baptized with the Holy Spirit can sometimes get mixed with other aspects of God’s promise of the Holy Spirit. For example, Holy Spirit baptism is not the same as water baptism⁴, nor is it the same as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As a result, other passages⁷ are sometimes promoted as speaking about this special Holy Spirit baptism but they are forced interpretations often taken out of context.

The miraculous power of the Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus to the apostles just before He ascended² (He had already given them authority to do miracles¹). They first received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit “not many days later” on the day of Pentecost³. From then on, the apostles alone could bestow the miraculous gifts to baptized believers^5,6 by the laying on of their hands^4,5,7. There is no other mention or example of this ability of non-apostles with the power to pass it on.

The Holy Spirit is dwelling in every baptized believer^{2,3,4,7,9,10,11,13,14,15}. It is rather “matter-of-factly” stated in many places^{3,6,9,10,11,14,15}. It is also a critical fulfillment to an ever-present Bible theme of God’s desire and promise¹¹.

God literally dwelt among His people during the wanderings (tabernacle) and Solomon (temple) years. However, during the captivity (no temple) and remnant years He was absent but promised a day when He would return^5,8. In the first century, Jesus alludes to this promise^7,11, and we see the fulfillment of that promise on the Day of Pentecost⁴. From that point on, we see these matter-of-fact statements by New Testament writers about the Holy Spirit dwelling in believers^{2,3,6,9,10,11,13,14,15} – and by extension, His church^1,12.