From Doctrine to Dynamic

Introduction: We studied Jesus’ last sermon in John 14-17. There He repeatedly mentioned about the Holy Spirit. Still the Holy Spirit was a doctrine and not a dynamic for the disciples. If we had asked the disciples, “Who is the Holy Spirit?,” they would have rightly answered, “He is the Comforter.” If we asked, “What does the Holy Spirit do?”, they would have answered, “The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment.” In fact they would have given all the right answers in a catechism. But if we asked them, “How much do you know Him in your personal experience?” they would admitted a considerable amount of ignorance. Same is the situation of most Christians in our days. We all know the Holy Spirit as a doctrine, but very few know Him personally, very few know Him as a dynamic. So, we want to consider this morning:

How the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in John’s gospel became to the disciples a dynamic in the Acts?

Remember however that as soon as we talk about the Holy Spirit not as a doctrine but a dynamic difficulty arises, people get tensed and worried. It is because we can keep the doctrine inside of a book or in some compartment of your mind. But when He becomes a dynamic we are talking about the personal experience of Him, letting Him take control over lives.

FIRST STEP:

By way of review: If what Jesus said in the most important sermon about the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit is Allos Parakletos or Another Comforter, then two things follow:

First, His personality. The Holy Spirit is a person like Jesus is a person. The Holy Spirit speaks, listens, loves, feels, grieves just as Jesus does. Even many Christians make the mistake of calling the Holy Spirit “it” rather than “He.” All the cult groups such as the Jehova’s Witness, the Mormons and the Christian Science address the Holy Spirit as a “it” or an impersonal “force” rather than a personal being to be addressed “He.”

Second, His deity. Not only God (or the Father) and Jesus are Gods, the Holy Spirit is equally God like the Father and the Son. As God, we can pray to Him, request Him, talk to Him, praise Him and worship Him. Did you realize that when we were singing the song “Pavitra Aatma Aaa” or “Come, Holy Spirit” we were actually directly talking or praying to the Holy Spirit! There are many Christian songs and Hymns wherein we directly talk or pray to the Holy Spirit.

Identical in their personality, yet the Trinity have unique roles. The Holy Spirit is Another Comforter, meaning He is identical to Jesus. He is in essence just like Jesus. Yet the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have unique roles in our lives. Consider for example, looking at a house three different persons say: “This is my house.” All three of them are right. The first person is the architect or the builder of the house. The second person is the owner who bought the house. And the third person is the tenant of the house. A similar parallel can be drawn. Looking at a Christian all Three persons of the blessed Trinity say: “He is my son / daughter.” The Father, is the architect and the Maker of that person. The Son is the One who bought that person by paying a heavy price of His own blood. The Holy Spirit is the tenant who lives and dwells in that person.

Another example: Superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away and now there is going to be division of his property between his legal wife, Dimple, his living mate and other family members. Mr Khanna prepared his will before he died and as soon as he died his will come to effect. What is God’s will for His children and how is it effected? God the Father prepared the Will. But as you know unless someone dies his will does not come into effect. For God’s will to come into effect, God the Son died. We know that Jesus had nothing valuable possession in His earthly life. He had no house or other property to leave behind. Then what did he leave for us? Twice in the passage we read (John 20:19-23), the Risen Jesus says to His disciples “Peace be with you.” The disciples are locked behind the doors for the fear of the Jews. Their lives are in danger of persecution. How could Jesus say “Peace be with you?” Was he suggesting, “Guys, don’t worry this situation is going to change. We will not have anymore threat from the Jews. We will not face any persecution in you life. Just chill!” No, Jesus knew it well how the disciples were going to face more severe persecution in the days ahead. But He was giving them peace that is beyond human circumstances and human understanding. He promised to them peace not as the world understand. He promised to them peace because they were soon going to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. They were going to have peace as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Peace is the only thing that Jesus left for us in this world. But peace is the biggest thing we need. True peace that Jesus gives means the forgiveness of all our sins, restoration of our relationship with God and mankind, restoration of life’s meaning and purpose. In essence all what we need is peace that Jesus died to give us. The Holy Spirit is the executor of the Will for which Jesus died. Regardless of our human situation, when the Holy Spirit lives in us, we will have peace! 

Now let us examine the passage (John 20:19-23) we want to study today a little more. Look at versus 21 & 22. “Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit...” (John 20:22-23) This was the evening of the first Easter Sunday. Jesus appeared to His disciples. It says that Jesus breathed on them. The Greek word here for breathing is not the gentle, quiet, often unnoticed breathing we do. But strong, noisy and powerful breathing: “ru-akh!”  With that kind of breathing Jesus said or rather commanded his disciples “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

My question is did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit at this time? The Scriptural evidences suggest that they did not. In fact Jesus would tell them, “Wait in Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit…” If we say that the disciples received the Holy Spirit at this time, then Thomas who was not present at the moment, when did he receive? And if they did not receive the Holy Spirit, why did Jesus breathe on them? And why did he say “Receive the Holy Spirit.”? What was Jesus trying to communicate to his disciples? Jesus was communicating three things about the Holy Spirit.

First, a sign. Jesus breathing the strong wind on them was for them to be a sign. The next time, after nearly two months, when he breathed from heaven, when a strong rushing might wind came, the disciples knew it was Jesus breathing on them.

Second, a connection. Jesus was telling them that the Holy Spirit is His breathe. The Holy Spirit is His wind. That is why the Holy Spirit is often described as the Spirit of Jesus. He was showing them the connection between Him and the Holy Spirit.

Third, a command. We know that with the best intentions in the world a gift can be rejected. When Jesus said “Receive” it was imperative, it was a command. Believe it or not, the Holy Spirit can be rejected. His gifts can be rejected and despised. We can shut Him out of our lives and families and churches. It is as if, “We know the Father, we know Jesus and we have the Bible to guide us now.”

SECOND STEP:

Authority and Ability: Now let us look to the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. In fact the last of mention of the Holy Spirit in the gospel of Luke and the first mention of Him in Acts take place at the same mountain top. There the Risen Jesus, before He was taken up to heaven, tells His disciples: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5). Then He goes on to say, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Notice the words “wait” and “power.”

Too often we evangelicals make a rushed conclusion about our mission based on Matthew 28:18-19 “ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In fact this verse has been the foundation for mission in many Churches and fellowships I have known, and need a bit of examination.

The Risen Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. And he gave this authority to his disciples. Based on the authority of Jesus the disciples can go and make other disciples. But the same Risen Jesus said, “Wait…” Wait until you receive power. In Matthew 28 he gave them authority. But in Acts 1:8 , in spite of His authority, He wanted them to wait, until they also got power.

Exousia and Dynami—Authority and Ability: There are two Greek words that are often translated in English as power. In Matthew 28 Jesus used the word exousia, meaning authority. In Acts 1:8 Jesus used the word dynamis, meaning “ability.” It is one thing to have authority to make disciples, but it is quite another thing to have the ability to make disciples. And Jesus said, “Wait until you receive ability when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”

Let’s take an example. When a person applies for a provisional (or learning) license he gets the authority to drive on the road. But that license does not give him the ability to drive on the road. So the instructor always keeps a hand ready to pull the handbrake when this person is on the road!

Every born again believers has Jesus’ authority to make disciples. Based on Jesus’ authority we can go anywhere and talk to anyone about Jesus, because we have His authority. But do we have the ability to make them disciples? How often we leaders and preachers are guilty of sending people to go and evangelize without waiting for the ability they need! And how do we try to get ability? Programs, Conferences, Strategies, Handbooks, Manuals, Studies! Yes they have some value, but they do not give us the ability to make disciples. The Church is full of people who have the authority but do not have the ability, until unless they are baptized by the Holy Spirit.

How much of our churches are busy to get authority? “If only I had more control over people, finances and decisions!” “If only I had more authority!” When in fact what we should be talking about and aiming for is not “authority” but “ability.” And Jesus said, “You will receive power (read ability) when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses …”

We still have not answered the question, how the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in John’s gospel became for the disciples a dynamic?

The answer is in Jesus’ word “wait.” What, wait? Do nothing? That is the irony of the English language when Bible words get translated. The original word “wait” does not mean doing nothing. It is not a passive word. The word “wait” in the bible is a active, busy word! When we go to a restaurant the person we call “waiter” is not a passive person, sitting and doing nothing, but a busy person doing all that necessary for you to have a good meal.

We know that the disciples waited ten days until they receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But they weren’t sitting a doing nothing. They were jolly busy. For sure, Acts 1 tells us that they were getting themselves organized. They selected an apostle to take Judas’ place. They were preparing the machinery. They were studying the Bible. They had prayer meetings. They were as busy as after they had received the Holy Spirit. Only difference is that, before the Pentecost everything they achieved was within the Church. After the Pentecost, most of what they achieved was outside of the Church! As we wait to be baptized in the Holy Spirit we must learned to wait. However, instead of waiting for the Lord, we must learn waiting on the Lord! And both are not the same thing.

THIRD STEP:

The Pentecost experience. We shall talk about it next week.

Allos Paraklétos – Another Comforter

Introduction: If Sermon on the Mount is the first recorded sermon of our Lord Jesus Christ, here in John chapters 14 to 17, we have the record of his last sermon. Imagine your best friend is going to be hanged by the neck tomorrow. He is charged with a crime he never committed. And for his final few hours left he has invited you to spend time with him. This is going to be the most memorable day of your life. Every word your friend speaks to you in this final hour of his life is definitely going to be of utmost importance for you and your friend.

How much important speaking about the Holy Spirit for Jesus was? The Lord Jesus Christ was going to die next morning. He called his friends, those most close to him, his twelve disciples, to spend final hours with him before his dies.  He has got six hours. In this six hours he spoke what he thought the most important things for his disciples. He also washed their feet and taught them to love one another. He prayed for them, what we call the high priestly prayer. He taught them the importance of bearing fruit in the vine and branch relationship. These things were so profoundly important and would eternally affect his disciples and the church they would build. But in this last six hours, he also promised them the Holy Spirit and explained to them about His (the Holy Spirit’s) ministry to them. He spoke quite a lot about the person and the work of the Holy Spirit in this last six hour of His life.

What Jesus spoke about the person and the work of the Holy Spirit in these chapters? Before speaking about what I have in my heart to speak for this morning, first I want to go through the Scriptures in John 14-17 and find out straight forward facts about the person and work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus himself spoke about.

John 14:16 The Holy Spirit does not come automatically, but as a result to Jesus’ prayer to the Father. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father on behalf Jesus, for the sake of the believers

John 14:17 The unbelieving, unregenerate world neither can believe nor can receive the Holy Spirit.

John 14:25 The Holy Spirit is sent in Jesus’ name. He (the Holy Spirit) accomplishes things in Jesus’ name. When we pray for someone in Jesus’ name, the answer to the prayer is executed by the Holy Spirit

John 14:25 One of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is teaching. We as servants of God’s word can teach and preach day in and day out, but unless the Holy Spirit takes the word and plant in our hearts to germinate all our effort is in vain. The Holy Spirit also brings understanding to truth that are never known by us. He loves to wow us. It is good to have someone teaching us  God’s truth. But it is better that we have the Holy Spirit to teach us.

John 14:26 The Holy Spirit is also reminder of Jesus’ words to us. We are amazed how the gospel writers could remember precisely and accurately Jesus’ words so as to record them. But when we see the ministry of Holy Spirit who loves to remind Jesus’ words, we should  not be surprised.

John 15:26 The Holy Spirit is the source of all truth. All Scriptures is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught some deep truths to his disciples. The Holy Spirit would continue to guide them into all truths. Our life becomes a journey of discovering new truths that the Holy Spirit highlights as we make progress.

John 15:26 The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus, as we see from the Scriptures, often accompanied with signs and wonders. His testimony about Jesus is the primary motivation for our testimonies.

John 16:7 Jesus must go back to the Father first, for the Holy Spirit to come and take His place

John 16:8 The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin. No matter how hard we preachers and teachers try, we cannot convict anyone of his or her sin. We can convict people of a crime they committed but we cannot convict them of their sin. It is because a crime is committed against another fellow human. But a sin is committed first and foremost against heaven and against God. Only the Holy Spirit can convict people of their sin.

John 16:9 The Holy Spirit not only convicts sin, but also of the availability of righteousness. Jesus says that not only God is fully righteous, there is a human being who was fully righteous in the sight of God. He is Jesus. Jesus going back to the Father is the proof of his righteous living. There is righteousness available for us who are unrighteous, because God credits the righteousness of Jesus to us. We were not there when Jesus was crucified. We have not seen him alive in his physical body. But because of the Holy Spirit’s testimony we are sure of the forgiveness and sure of being made righteous in our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 16:9-10 The Holy Spirit convicts the world of God’s judgment on all ungodly. We did not see Satan’s defeat at the Cross. But because of the Holy Spirit’s testimony we are sure of our ultimate victory. The fear of standing before God and all our shameful sin being exposed became real to us when the Holy Spirit convicted of judgment and hell.

John 16:12 The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

John 16:13 The Holy Spirit takes the secrets of Jesus’ heart and makes them known to us, even the things and events that are yet to happen, in order to prepare us

John 16:14 Jesus is a King. But his kingship is from the position of servantship. Jesus did everything to bring glory to the Father. In the same way, the Holy Spirit loves His position of servanthood especially to bring glory to Jesus. The Holy Spirit loves to remain anonymous while magnifying and glorifying Jesus.

… We can go on finding more truths about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. But please do your own study and come out with more understanding on this subject …

The three "goings and comings" Jesus spoke about: Jesus repeatedly spoke about His going and coming back in these chapters. But he spoke about three different goings and comings in three different contexts. But the contexts are so mixed up that when we read first time we get utterly confused. Even the twelve disciples were utterly confused about his “goings and comings” (John 16:17-18). I am sure that they could only sort out the three different ones only after the coming of the Holy Spirit. Let’s examine them.

First, going in death and coming back in resurrection with a gap of three days. The verses that fit to this are John 14:18; 16:16; 16:22

Second, going to heaven to the father in the Ascension and returning to earth at the Second coming, with a gap of hundreds of years. No one knows the day or the hour of His return. But Jesus’ second coming is as sure as His first coming. The verses that describe this are John 14:2-3; 16:5

Third, removing His physical presence from them when he went to heaven and returning to them  in the Spirit, with a gap of 10 days, on the day of Pentecost. The verses that describe this are John 14:23; 16:7

It is this third going and coming that we are primarily concerned this morning.  Now I want to talk about two key verses in these chapters.

Another Comforter: In John 14:16, Jesus says: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever…” The Holy Spirit is described by Jesus as a Counselor. A counselor is one who gives direction and advise. The same word “Parakletos” in Greek is translated by the King James Version as Comforter (Jn 14:16 KJV), by the New King James Version as Helper (Jn 14:16 NKJV), by the New Living Translation as Advocate (Jn 14:16 NLT), by the Message Bible as Friend (Jn 14:16 MSG). Counselor, Comforter, Helper, Advocate and Friend all describe the attributes of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit. I want to think deeply of His name Comforter in the KJV.

What does a Comforter mean to you? The one who takes you out of your troubles and difficult situations and soothes your pain! That is the irony of the modern English language. The original word Comforter actually comes from the latin word fortress, from which are also derived fort and fortitude. That’s what is meant when the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. He does not take us away from our problems and difficulties. He rather puts us into the problem and difficult situations and gives the necessary strength to face it. He fortifies us. He equips us not to run away from life but to face it and be victorious. He makes us more than conquerors in the midst of all kinds of battles. That is what Jesus meant when he promised the Comforter for the disciples.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world.” Jesus meant that we too can overcome the world because the Comforter will be in us. The world is full of troubles and as the end of the age approaches, Jesus has predicted about great trouble or the Great Tribulation. Some Christians claim that they will be whisked away before this great tribulation comes, although there is not even a single Bible verse that explicitly talks about this. But instead of trying to figure out how to escape the great tribulation, we must have the Comforter in our side, for whom no trouble or tribulation is great enough! If we learn how to walk in the Spirit, the time of great darkness can be our finest hour to rise and shine the light of Jesus and bring in the Great Harvest!

Now I want you to notice that word another Comforter, this time the emphasis on “another.” In English the word another does not convey the meaning quite clearly. There are two equivalent words for another in Greek: Allos and Heterous. Heterous is used when another object is described which is different in substance, meaning and purpose. The word allos is used when describing another object that is exactly same or identical as the previous one.

Allos Parakletos: When Jesus said another Comforter, he mean “allos Parakletos,” an identical Comforter, exactly same like Jesus in every way. This helps us to see some deeper truths. The Holy Spirit is exactly like Jesus in his personality and attributes. The Holy Spirit is equal in His deity. Not only this the Holy Spirit is a Friend like Jesus was. Jesus was known as the friend of sinners. The Holy Spirit loves sinners too. Jesus was Advocate of the broken and the weak. He still is our defense Lawyer in the heavenly court room! To save one helpless and weak soul from being murdered Jesus once said, “Whoever is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” The Holy Spirit is an Advocate like Jesus. Jesus was a servant King. The Holy Spirit is the greatest Servant in God’s household. He is a Helper like Jesus was.

The second key verse I want us to look is John 16:7. “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” Jesus said that he must go and the Holy Spirit must take His place for the good of the disciples. Some other version of Bible translation says, “for your advantage…” In other word, having the Holy Spirit in us is even better than having the physical resurrected Jesus. If we do not have the Holy Spirit we are missing something important, we are in disadvantage by Jesus’ own words!

How is the absence of Jesus’ physical presence and rather His spiritual presence in the Holy Spirit for our good, for our advantage? I want to think about the answer in two ways. First, how often can we have Him in HN. 36, Malviya Nagar? Maybe once in a lifetime! We know that even with His resurrected body Jesus could be only at one place at one time. There is no record in the Scriptures that says the Jesus was at two different places at the same time. Even the great miracles Jesus performed were only when he was physically present at the situation. Only on one occasion Jesus performed a miracle from a distance, but even then a close relative was with Jesus when the miracle occurred. This is why when Jesus arrived after Lazarus’ death, Martha said to him, “Lord, if you were here my brother would not have died,” and Mary said the same thing too. That is the limitation of Jesus because though He is fully God, He is also fully a man. Moreover, we claim that He is seated on the right hand of God, then how can we say that He is alive on the earth  and working? The answer is He is here as the Holy Spirit. That’s why the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Jesus. That’s is why Jesus can be at the throne room of God at this hour on July 15, 11:00am and yet He is here in HN 36, Malviya Nagar, He is there in a nearby place where they are having worship service, and He his everywhere in India and all over the world where people have gathered to worship Him.

You shall do greater things than Jesus did. Jesus in the Spirit opens up tremendous possibility for evangelism and soul winning. We know that Jesus was very close with His disciples. Yet at times he expressed frustration about their slow learning, their inability to comprehend deeper spiritual truth, and their ineffectiveness at times. But the same Jesus promised that a day will come when His disciples would do greater things than He did. John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” This statement of Jesus becomes true, only when the Holy Spirit is no longer with us but in us (John 14:17).

In a previous lecture, we already learned that the great and mighty things Jesus did was because He was anointed and baptized in the Holy Spirit. At His baptism through John, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove and remained on Him. It is here after that Jesus began to do great things as the Messiah. He was what He was because of the Holy Spirit and Jesus did not hesitate to clearly proclaim about it in His hometown synagogue when he said, Lk 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." … Lk 4:21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." The Holy Spirit in Jesus opened up great possibilities for evangelism. Imagine, the Holy Spirit in all of the believers! What tremendous opportunity to extend the Kingdom of God, what tremendous opportunities to set people free and bring them to the Kingdom.

When a person becomes so full of the Holy Spirit that the Spirit knows all of his thoughts and not only that the Spirit can put His thoughts into the person’s mind. The Spirit uses this person’s vocal chord and his mouth to utter the words of God the Spirit would like to speak. The Spirit lets Him pray for things that are close to God’s heart. The Spirit uses this person’s hands as if his hands become the very hands of God from where God’s blessings are released as this person lays his hands on others. What tremendous possibilities when the Holy Spirit is in us. In fact the Spirit in us molds us to become a Comforter, a Friend, an Advocate, a Helper after Jesus’ image and after His own image.

A word of caution, a warning! God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have unique roles in our lives, families and ministries. However often it is so easy and in fact common practice to shut the Third person of the Blessed Trinity outside of our lives, families and ministries. It is also possible to have a kind of faith in Him, but in actual practice men instead of letting the Spirit taking His rightful place as the Counselor, Comforter, Helper, Advocate and Friend, those in leadership assuming the role of the Holy Spirit! It is here that serious damage can happen such as I as a leader giving direction and advises to people based on my experience and understanding instead of letting the Counselor do His job; me trying to produce the fruit I want to see in the life of those I serve instead of letting the Helper produce His fruit in their lives; me trying to defend and justify a mistake or a situation when the Advocate might actually want that situation being exposed into the light of Jesus and being confessed and repented so that true healing can come; me trying to gather people whom I can like and who also like me rather than letting the Friend of sinners touching all kinds of people and transforming them so that whatever done will bring glory only to Jesus and build the Church that can withstand the storms and fire that come to test the quality of our building.

Jesus Baptizes in the Holy Spirit

Passage Reading: John 1:19-34

John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus: John the Baptist, the Forerunner of the Messiah, said two things about Jesus in his testimony:

1.       Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29,36)

2.       Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Jn 1:33)

These two things, which John said Jesus would do, are they related or unrelated? Was he speaking about two entirely different things or two facets of the same truth? Carefully examining, we will find that John was talking about one great reality. In repenting our sins and trusting in Jesus as the Lamb (Savior who dies on the cross), a divine transaction / transfer takes place. Our sin belongs to us no more, but the Lamb of God, Jesus takes away our sin. 

Forgiveness of sin and baptism in the Holy Spirit both these truths about Jesus' ministry are witnessed by John in the same passage (John 1:29-34). You must have heard many time messages preached on “Look the Lamb of God.” Yet how many times have you heard about Jesus giving baptism in the Holy Spirit? How many times speakers and Bible teachers have considered it important to explain the meaning, significance, necessity and the way to being baptized in the Holy Spirit? In fact I was told not to talk about the Holy Spirit and because of my “disobedience” I left a ministry I had been associated with ever since I learned faith in Jesus. This is the kind of picking and choosing of Scriptures we have done for a long time. The result is, sorry to say, we don’t have a balanced view of the Scriptures, and Biblical understanding of the Christ and of the Christian life.  

Jesus empties the sin in us, he empties us from the burden of sin, he forgives our sins, he remembers them no more, he sweeps clean our sin stained soul. But after cleaning and emptying, he does not want to leave us in the empty state. He desires to fill our soul with His Spirit by baptizing us in the Holy Spirit. An emptied soul not getting filled is more dangerous than before. There is popular Indian saying, “Khali dimag (we can also say heart, body, soul, mind) Shaitan ka ghar hota hai,” which when translated means “An empty soul, body, or heart becomes the temple of the devil.” It is true even as Jesus explained this through a parable (Mt 12:43-45). But we after being emptied of our sins, we are not to become the temple of the devil, but the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Co 6:19-20).

(Matthew 12:43-45) "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. [44] Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. [45] Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

1Co 6:19,20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price.

God used John to preach the message of repentance. By baptizing them in water he helped them turn from their sin to make a new beginning. He also helped people to put faith in Jesus. In a way John was instrumental in helping people emptying themselves from their sin. But John truthfully and humbly admitted his limitation to fill them. Only Jesus can fill people with the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, John used the word “baptism” in reference to Christ’s ministry. Baptism means being plunged, soaked, dipped. It is much more than being born again and starting the Christian life, as we shall soon see it from the Scripture.

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near! Both Jesus and John the Baptist at the beginning of their ministry announced the coming of the Kingdom. The hope of the Old Testament can be summed up as: the coming of the Kingdom of God. But what does that mean? A Spirit-filled King ruling over Spirit-filled subjects. Jesus declared that He is the promised King who is filled with the Holy Spirit to reign on earth.

(Luke 4:16-21) He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. [17] The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: [18] "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [20] Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, [21] and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

By taking away our sin through forgiveness when we repent, Jesus qualifies us to enter the kingdom of God, He enables us to make a new beginning; by baptizing us in the Holy Spirit He helps us live out the life of the Kingdom of God even here and now. The Kingdom of God is not so real unless we are filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Can I know whether I am baptized in the Holy Spirit? Baptism in the Holy Spirit like baptism in water is a definite experience in a person’s life. Can we be baptized in Holy Spirit and not know about it? I think we should be able to date the day we are baptized in the Holy Spirit just as we can date the day we got baptized in water.

What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit?  There are diverse of opinion as the baptism in the Holy Spirit is interpreted in so many ways by different scholars, groups and especially denominations. We will examine the five major views about when and how the baptism in the Holy Spirit takes place.

1.   The Historical view: This view upholds that Jesus did baptize people in the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and on few other occasions such in Samaria and to the Gentiles. However, it happened 2000 years ago and that’s it. It does not happen anymore. However, Peter said something about being baptized in the Holy Spirit that does not go along with this view.

(Acts 2:38-39) Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

2.   The Sacramental view: The Church having received the Holy Spirit has the power to pass on through a sacrament or ritual. There are two rituals that correspond to the Holy Spirit being passed on. At the confirmation, the Bishop wears a symbol of the Pentecost. This view is held by the Anglicans. However, in reality there are many Christians who received confirmation and yet there are no signs of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in them. The second ritual is the baptism in water, which says that at the time of water baptism one also gets the baptism of the Holy Spirit automatically. This view is held by the Baptists.

3.  The Evangelical view: This view upholds that being born-again and being baptized in the Holy Spirit are one and the same thing. However to be full of the Holy Spirit a person needs to be perfect meaning sinless and obedient. However this does not correspond with the Scripture either. Pentecost did not happen after Acts 28 but in Acts 2, meaning not after people became perfect but at the beginning of their Christian life to get them going. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a reward for the good work and good behavior but necessary if we must go on doing good work and go on living God-pleasing life.

4.  The Perfectionist view: Methodists believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a “second blessing” after which you do not sin anymore. You can be tempted but you cant sin. John Wesley held this view. But Scripture says otherwise. You may have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and demonstrating the gifts of the Spirit and yet living in sin. Paul’s letter to Corinthians tells us this situation. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not same as infallibility or doctrinal purity.

5.  The Pentecostal view: This view upholds that Pentecost experience (or baptism in the Holy Spirit) is promised for every believer of all time. The Pentecost experience is separated from belief in Jesus by a matter of time. For example in case of the 120 disciples it was ten days after Jesus’ ascension (they had already been believers before Pentecost happened), in case of Paul Paul, it was three days after he met the Risen Christ, in case of those who believed in Samaria possibly a week or two, and in many cases like Cornelius on the same day. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary for New Testament atmosphere and experiences.

How to test which of the above view is true to the New Testament experience? First, through Scripture. Second, through experience. Definitely we are not to build doctrine on experience. The basis of all doctrines must be the Scripture. In the same way basis of examining every doctrine should also be the Scripture. Experience cannot be the basis of a doctrine, however experience validates a doctrine. Now, when I look at the above views, only the Pentecostal view is close to the New Testament scripture and experience regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean the Pentecostal believers are perfect or everything else they say or do is right!

Why is it important to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? First, because it is one of the two important things John said Jesus would do. Secondly, in order to be a fully operational Christian, by this I mean a Christian whose life resembles to that of the early Christians of first century. To become a fully operational Christian, four things are necessary. 1. Repentance, 2. Belief in Jesus, 3. Baptism in water, 4. Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Please bear in mind that to be saved or to enter heaven we need only the first two things: Repentance and faith in Jesus. But to be a fully operational Christians we need all four, otherwise we are like a car that is running on two cylinders instead of all four. The problem comes when we are driving uphill. I have discussed this in detail in my previous sermon on how to be born again?. Look at the following passage about how Paul helped step by step a group of disciples in Ephesus to be what we call “fully operational Christians.”

(Ac 19:1-7) 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.

What difference does baptism in the Holy Spirit make in the life of a believer? Again we will look at the New Testament scripture and New Testament experiences to answer this. There are four significant differences we can think of:

1.  Toward Self- Release of a great deal of emotion. The 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost were accused of having too much of wine (Ac 2:13). Why? I think it was because many of them behaved like drunkards. Perhaps they laughed loudly in sheer joy as the Spirit resided inside them. Many perhaps danced or sang loudly. This is what many a times happen when people get baptized in the Holy Spirit. There comes release of a great deal of emotions. People laugh out of joy, sometimes they dance and spontaneously praise. Before we became Christians we enjoyed the pleasures of sin. But is Christain life supposed to be devoid of pleasure? Bored and dull and all intellectual and no emotion? Is there no more pleasure in Christian life? That is a wrong idea even many sincere Christians have. But the truth is Jesus wants to fill our life with right kind of pleasures and right kind of emotions. We don’t need to be “a prodigal son in the far country” to enjoy dancing and music when there is “dancing and music in the father’s house itself!” This kind of release of emotion cleanses us and helps us to appreciate our Lord and enjoy His grace more and more.

2.  Toward God – Rlease of Praise: When we see those who got filled with the Holy Spirit we see that they all declared the wonders of God’s praise (Ac 2:11; 10:44-46; 19:6). This helps us worshipping God not as a duty but as a devotion.

3.  Toward Church – Release of Spiritual gifts: Out of nine spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament, only one is for self, rest eight are for others and for building up the church. A church can have natural gifts or spiritual gifts or both. A church that relies on natural gifts more tends to become intellectual and middleclass because this is where you find natural gifts, for example a natural talent of singing. But gifts like prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, healing etc can make the church an exciting place to be inspiring at the presence of God and solving people’s immediate needs through the gifts. Apostle Paul said that there is one thing we most covet (eagerly desire) in our Christian life and it is spiritual gifts (1Co 14:1). Jesus releases spiritual gifts for building up His Church when he baptizes people in the Holy Spirit (Ac 19:6).

4.  Toward World – Boldness: Repeatedly we see what happened to people in NT who got baptized in the Holy Spirit as bold (Ac 4:31). Bold to proclaim Jesus to the point of martyrdom. How often we shy away from talking about Jesus to colleagues in our office, to people in our neighborhood and market place. We need boldness and the NT tells us that this comes through baptism in the Holy Spirit.

A Warning: The Devil hates us studying this subject of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Because the devil is no match for a spirit-filled believer. He does everything possible to hinder people getting filled in the Holy Spirit or even talking and thinking about it. There are some ways in which the Devil tries to do this

1.  “Be out of it”: “You have been a Christian for too long now. It is too late.” “Get upset about it and become uncomfortable.” “This is not the tradition of your denomination.”

2.  If you don’t give up his subtle lies, the devil then offers “human substitutes” and “demonic counterfeit” of what looks like a baptism in the Holy Spirit. We should not be surprised that peoples’ emotions can be stirred up by human hysteria. “Common everybody … !” We also should not be surprised that demons can give false prophecy (sorcery, fortune telling, contacting spirits) and demons can also offer healing and material blessings. We need discernments.

3.  If you still persist and by God’s grace get baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Devil can still deceive you to believe: “You are a first class citizen and those not like you, and not having gifts you have got, are inferior.” “You can do and say whatever you want!” “You can speak in tongue every time you want.” Sadly, baptism of the Holy and possession of spiritual gifts can divide the Church in stead of building her up, if those having those “gifts of the Spirit” lack “the fruit of the Spirit.”

Finally, how to go about it? How to get baptism of the Holy Spirit?

1.  Read from God’s word about what the Bible actually says about this subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Do not believe because your favorite preacher or author says so. Especially, soak yourself in John’s Gospel, Acts, Romans and 1&2 Corinthians and ask "Is what they believed, and how they lived and experienced for me as well?"

2.  Get some second hand experience: from those you know are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Ask them, “Tell me how did you get this? How has been your experience.” Witnessing the work of the Holy Spirit in others’ life can help us appreciate how beautiful, lovely and real these things are. Luckily we have friends like the Prayer Tower ministry and P. feroze where we can witness what people do and how the Holy Spirit is working in their lives. Just be careful that those you seek help from should be balanced meaning not only having “gifts of the Spirit” but also “fruit of the Spirit.”

3.  A bit of self examination is required as to “Do I have any prejudice about the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Spirit?” “Am I afraid to be filled as if I will become out of control or unusual?” Just say in your heart, “I am ready to be a fool if Jesus tells me to be so!”

4.  Waiting: Jesus said “Wait until you receive… (Ac 1:4-5)” “Ask until you receive … (Lk 11:11-13)” Waiting is a very active posture from where comes the word “waiter” in contrast to what many of us think as waiting means doing nothing. We must go on doing what we ought to. We must go on asking with persistence before the Lord until he answers.

5. Finally, receive when it is given. A glass of water given to someone is of no use unless the person drinks it. When Jesus gives a gift use it, exercise it, develop it. God likes to give in pieces. The prophets did not know the whole picture before they started prophesying. God went on revealing things to them, as they went on speaking what was being given to them at that time and moment.