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 as each comes on the scene in the first century. At last, it begins to unfold with Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit (e.g. “Helper”) to the apostles in the upper room³, which He repeats again to them after His resurrection^4,5,6,7.

The promise of the Holy Spirit for these special messengers of God included 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 “Spirit promise” didn’t end there…

Remember 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 twice⁷ as a proper event in the New Testament. Each occurrence^4,5 marked “firsts” – the first conversion of Jews⁴, and then of Gentiles⁵. It was the miraculous ushering in of the kingdom of God for “the Jew first and also the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

The first occurrence was ten days later on the day of Pentecost⁴, 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 Gentiles⁵. It was a miraculous spectacle just like on the day of Pentecost^6,7. In fact, it was a necessary display to convince Peter, his traveling companions⁶, and the Christian Jews back in Jerusalem⁷ of God’s acceptance of Gentiles into the kingdom^5,6,7.

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 all disciples. For example, John the Baptist¹ preached that his cousin Jesus would bring a different baptism than what he taught. While this could have referred at least in part to the special anointing in Acts 2⁴ and Acts 10⁵, John was speaking to and about all disciples. When Jesus spoke about it^2,3, it was specifically to the appointed apostles. Furthermore, after the Acts 10 instance⁶, Peter refers back and connects it to what Jesus had said³ (not John). Both of those instances were also for the benefit or in witness to the others present — proving to them that this was God’s will.

John’s profession¹ fits much better with the water baptism of the new covenant⁵ that Jesus did bring for all mankind. A water baptism that would give the promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to the individual. As a result, other passages⁸ 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.