What Does It Mean to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit?

People usually fall into one of two camps about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. On one side, you have the cessationists. They believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, ceased at the end of the first century or the closing of the biblical canon. They refer to the sign gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12. On the other side, you have the continuationists. They would argue that the work of the Holy Spirit and how he moves and operates is the same today as in the first-century church.

The gifts and power we see in the New Testament are the same ones available to us today.

For full disclosure, I fall into the camp of being a continuationist. I believe the same gifts and power of the Holy Spirit are available today, just as they were in the first century. However, at the same time, I can't entirely agree with what many charismatics teach about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, I believe some of those teachings have done more harm than good. I will highlight one of those teachings later in this article. For now, I want to help you understand what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Once you understand its true meaning and purpose, you will also want to seek this.

Before discussing the baptism, I have a personal story.

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When I was 16, I attended a funeral for a member of our youth group who had died tragically at a youth camp in upstate New York. At the funeral, his cousin, who was at the camp when he died, described an encounter he had with the Holy Spirit shortly after his cousin died.

How he described his engagement with God's presence caused me to desire the same thing. Later that day, after returning home from the funeral, I sat at a piano in our living room. I felt prompted by the Lord to let my mom know I wanted to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

At that moment, in my kitchen with my mom and sister, we began to pray and seek the Lord. I don't know how long we prayed, but I know at one point, I sensed the presence of God in a way I had never experienced before. While we were praying, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. In my case, I began to speak in tongues as the Holy Spirit enabled me to do it.

I share this story because I believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate act different from receiving the Holy Spirit at salvation. That's why some refer to it as a second act of grace. When I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I was already saved because I had given my life to Christ at six years old.

I know every believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation because being born again is a spiritual work only he can do. However, I also believe there is a deeper work the Holy Spirit will do in the lives of anyone asking him for it. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I know there are differing opinions on this topic, and we don't need to divide over it. However, I know what I experienced when I was sixteen was real, and it transformed my walk with Jesus.

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It is important to understand how the Holy Spirit worked in the lives of people in the Old Testament. There is an obvious difference in how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament versus the New Testament. The simplest way to describe it is in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon a person. He would give them the power or ability to achieve a specific task or complete an objective. 

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit doesn't just come upon people but dwells in their hearts. This is the day we are living in now. The Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the life of a believer and empowers them to live this Christian life. We find evidence of this in the Old Testament and we see this proclaimed by Jesus in the New Testament.

"And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (Ezekiel 36:27)

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17)

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In Acts 1, Jesus makes these remarks.

^"On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 1:4-5)

The first occurrence of people getting baptized in the Holy Spirit happened on the day of Pentecost. On this day, the Holy Spirit fell like a rushing wind and all the believers in the upper room were baptized in the Holy Spirit. When this happened, there were tongues of fire on their heads, and they spoke in other tongues or languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability. In the book of Acts, there are two more instances of people speaking in tongues after being baptized in the Holy Spirit. One occurs in Acts 10 at Cornelius' house, and the other in Acts 19.

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People have formed a doctrine because of what happened on the day of Pentecost, along with these two other instances in the book of Acts. It is common for people to teach that speaking in tongues is evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. When I was younger in my faith, I believed this to be true, but I no longer agree with that. I believe this teaching of using tongues as the evidence of being baptized by the Holy Spirit has done more harm than good. It has caused people to seek after the gift of speaking in tongues, which is not the primary purpose of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

To carry it a step further, every instance of people being baptized in the Holy Spirit in Acts did not result in people speaking in tongues. Take this one, for instance.

"When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." (Acts 8:14-17)

We know these people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. However, there is not any mention they spoke in tongues. We cannot even assume it happened because the Bible does not tell us that.

This connection with being baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues has caused some who teach this to feel the need to help you speak in tongues. After all, in their opinion, this is the only evidence. They may say, "Repeat after me, or listen to what the other person is saying." Even if the person repeats what they hear, this is not evidence they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. By doing this, they are not even speaking in tongues. If you are really speaking in tongues, it can only happen as the Holy Spirit gives you the power to do so. Anything else may be an emotional experience, but that is not evidence you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit.      

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The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not tongues. Listen to what Jesus told his disciples.

"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." (Acts 1:8)

This underscores the primary purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. God wants to empower you to be a better witness for Jesus. Notice the incredible change in the disciples' lives once they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. They were bolder and courageously declared the gospel's message, even in the face of opposition. This is exactly what Jesus said would happen.

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I believe every believer needs to be baptized in the Holy Spirit—not so you can speak in tongues, but to be a more effective witness. Let me ask you:

• Do you want to share your faith with more courage and boldness?
• Are you seeking strength to assist you in your daily walk with the Lord?
• Do you want to be everything God desires you to be in this life?

If you answer yes to those questions, then the ability to do that will come when you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit and don't worry about speaking in tongues. Please don't let anyone try to help you speak in tongues. If the Holy Spirit enables you, then fantastic, but don't get discouraged if he doesn't. If you are empowered to live holy and a more effective witness for Jesus, then you are operating in the way the Holy Spirit desires. This is the power Jesus has for you and wants you to walk in and live in.

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