In The Hands of the Refiner

 

            “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear his threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”  Matthew 3:11-12

             “And he preached, saying, “After me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  Mark 1:7-8

 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”  Luke 3:16-17

 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

What Is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

First, the Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of unbelievers, showing them their need for salvation (John 16:7–11).  When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside the believer (John 14:15–17; 1 Corinthians 3:16).

The baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs when the Spirit of God comes upon a believer.  Jesus Christ “sinks into the Holy Spirit” the Christian who is baptized in the Holy Spirit.  The Baptism in the Holy Spirit has the idea of putting on clothing. Therefore, Jesus Christ “sinks us into or clothes us with” the Holy Spirit. We are to remain clothed with His power, as St. Paul says, “be being filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit empowers the believer’s mind with a genuine understanding of truth, takes possession of the believer’s abilities, imparts gifts that qualify the believer for service in the Body of Christ, and begins a work of grace in cleansing and sanctifying the believer.

“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5

Believers need the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit for every Christian?

Yes, because to do God’s work, we need God’s power. “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord (Act 2:38–39).

 Why Do We Need the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

The purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to empower believers for service, witness, spiritual warfare, and boldness in their testimonies (Acts 1:8; 4:19–20, 29–31; 6:8–10; 1 Corinthians 2:4).

Jesus commanded the disciples not to begin the work to which He called them until they were Baptized in the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:48–49; Acts 1:4, 8).  When the apostles met other believers in Christ, they at once asked whether the believers had received the Holy Spirit.  If not, they made sure they received Him (Acts 8:14–16; 19:1–5).

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is an absolute necessity in every Christian’s life for the service to which God has called us.

God’s energies in the Person of the Holy Spirit are communicated to believers for three particular purposes.

1.   That He might be in them, a sanctifying comforter, fortifying their souls and bringing to their remembrance whatever Jesus had before spoken to them.

2.   That their preaching be accompanied by His demonstration and power to the hearts of their hearers, so that they might believe and be saved.

3.   That they might be able to work miracles to confirm their pretensions to a Divine mission and to establish the truth of the doctrines they preached.

How Do I Know That I Have Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit gives the utterance is evidence of being Baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking with tongues are inseparable biblically (Acts chapters 2, 8, 9, 10, & 19). The cumulative Scriptural references of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit corroborates with the doctrine of speaking in other tongues is one evidence of the experience. St. Paul says he spoke in tongues, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” 1 Corinthians 14:18   This experience announces the beginning of a life of full service in Jesus Christ.

How do we receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

We must pray and ask God to baptize us in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13).  God fulfills His promises in a variety of ways, and no two human beings are alike in how they receive spiritual things.

Ask a Spirit-filled elder of the Church to lay hands on you and pray for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:16-17, “For he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”

The New Testament tells us that some believers received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit the moment they placed their faith in Jesus Christ, such as Cornelius and his family (Acts 10).  Others, such as the believers in Ephesus, received it later:

“And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.” Acts 19:1-7

We should never limit God by our own expectations.  God is sovereign and He will work in whatever way He chooses.

Prepare your heart. Repent and confess your sins. Pray and ask God to baptize you in the Holy Spirit and Fire today!