By Don W. Basham

One common objection among Christians concerning the baptism in the Holy Spirit stems from the difficulty of seeing it as a second, separate experience following conversion or rebirth. "I thought I received the Holy Spirit when I became a Christian", is the way the objection is frequently voiced. Since it is a spiritual law that we receive from God in terms of our asking (Matt. 7:78) it must be obvious that if people don’t know there is an empowering of God beyond conversion, they won’t ask for it. Therefore, the initial task in helping people to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to make it clear to them from the word of God that there is such an experience, and that those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior (John 3:16) may also encounter him as the one who baptized in the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16).

Now, concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in the believers life at the point of conversion: Of course the Holy Spirit is operative in conversion since Paul says "No one can say Jesus Christ is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." (1 st Cor. 12:3). The Holy Spirit is present in conversion to introduce the unbeliever to Jesus Christ as Savior. But we are not talking about the introductory ministry of the Holy Spirit to the unbeliever—we’re speaking of the subsequent empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit for the believers. We are speaking of that experience which Jesus promised when he told his disciples (who already knew him as Savior) "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8). The scriptures draw a very clear distinction between the two experiences, especially in the book of Acts. Are you aware that the book of Acts is the only book in the entire Bible which contains the record of the life and activities of the first Christians? The only narrative we have of life in the early church? The Gospels are stories of the life of Jesus—the epistles are teaching letters, dealing with problems and difficulties in the Christian life, interpreting and explaining the provisions and promises of God to members of the Body of Christ. But only the book of Acts records the actual life and experience of the church of the New Testament age. And when we examine the book of Acts, we find five passages which describe the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in what we’ve come to call the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Here’s the list of those five passages with a brief description of each incident:

Acts 2:1-21 The Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 gathered in the upper room and they all began to speak in other tongues.

Acts 8:4-17 The Samaritan revival under the preaching of Philip. Miracles and signs and wonders accompany Philip’s preaching. Peter and John come down form Jerusalem to minister the baptism in the Holy Spirit to the new converts "for as yet he had fallen on none of them."

Acts 9:1-11

The conversion and subsequent healing and baptism in the Holy Spirit of Saul who became Paul. Converted on the road to Damascus, he is healed of his blindness and filled with the Holy Spirit when Ananias comes and prays for him.

Acts 10:34-46  Peter preaches to the household of Cornelius. The people receive forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus, are converted, and immediately the Holy Spirit falls, and they begin to speak in tongues and magnify God.

Events prior to the day of Pentecost clearly reveal that one hundred and twenty in the upper room were all believers in Jesus Christ. They were followers of His, they had witnessed His crucifixion and resurrection, they knew He had died for their sins and that he was their Risen Savior. They had heard Him commission them to go into all the world and preach the gospel and had seen Him ascend into heaven. But knowing Jesus was their Lord and Savior was not enough—at least, not in the mind of the Lord Himself. For He had told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). I must admit that for some years I preached and taught concerning the baptism in the Holy Spirit as if it were a kind of optional or elective course in the school of the Christian life. But no more. I see now it is not an elective, but a required course. Required not for salvation, but for truly victorious Christian living. I see now that all the centuries the church of Jesus Christ has been trying to proclaim the gospel without the baptism in the Holy Spirit, she has been doing it in direct disobedience to the clear command of Jesus who, after He had commissioned his disciples to go and "teach all nations" (Matt. 28:18), nevertheless said, "wait" or tarry. (Luke 24:19) "Don’t try to go teach and preach until you have been properly empowered." That’s what Jesus was saying.

And that is just what happened on the day of Pentecost—those 120 believers in the upper room were empowered, supernaturally, by the Holy Spirit. The miraculous evidence of their empowering was that old cowardly Peter, who had denied Jesus three times on the night of the crucifixion and had led the disciples into hiding for fear of Jews after the resurrection, was so transformed that he stood to his feet and preached an anointed message which led to the conversion of three thousand people.

The second of the five accounts of the Holy Spirit baptism is found in the eighth chapter of Acts. Philip, one of the first deacons ordained in the church, goes to a Samaritan city, and as he begins to preach the gospel, a great revival breaks out. Miracles accompany the preaching of the word of God. It is a revival in which "signs and wonders" put the divine stamp of authority and approval on the gospel message. People turn from paganism to Jesus Christ—from sin to salvation, from darkness to light. The new converts are baptized in water in the name of the Lord Jesus, thus becoming full-fledged members of the church, the body of Christ.

They are Christian. Yet strangely, when the word gets back to the apostles at Jerusalem about the Samaritan revival, we find them responding, not in terms of what is happening in Samaria but in terms of what isn’t happening. In the thinking of the apostles there is a vital, missing elements in the miracle-working revival Philip has underway. And they are so concerned about that missing element that they send Peter and John down to the Samaritan city to take care of the omission. What is it that’s missing? The baptism in the Holy Spirit! Peter and John come down to the revival for one reason and one reason only—to lay hands on and pray for the new converts that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for as the scripture says, The Holy Spirit 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.

Acts 8:16 -17

So again we see quite clearly from scripture that the Holy Spirit operating in conversion is an altogether different, and prior, manifestation from the Holy Spirit’s operation in the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is generally understood that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is an empowering experience which introduces the Christian into the supernatural realm of the Christian life. I believe the scriptural account of the Samaritan revival bears this out. There were supernatural signs and miracles in the Samaritan revival, but obviously, they ere taking place because of the anointing on Philip’s ministry, since Philip was a man "full of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 6:35). It was the concern of the apostles that these new converts, who had met Jesus as Lord and Savior, should also experience Jesus as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and so move into the same miraculous dimension of power which operated so vitally through Philip’s ministry.

The story in Acts 9 reveals how Saul, who became Paul, was converted on the road to Damascus when he was struck down by a blinding light from heaven, right in the midst of his campaign to persecute Christians. Jesus spoke from the midst of the light, saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And Saul answered, "Who are you, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus, who you are persecuting." So Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus in a most dramatic way. But while he was soundly converted in that experience, he was still not equipped with power for ministry. Therefore, God picked an obscure disciple named Ananias to come and pray for Paul, not only that his sight might be restored, but that he might "be filled with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 9:17)

Acts, chapter ten, contains the story of Peter being called to preach the Gospel at the house of Cornelius. As Peter preaches the good news, those hearing are converted and are immediately baptized in the Holy Spirit with the confirming evidence of speaking in tongues. This account of the baptism in the Holy Spirit differs from the others in the book of Acts in one major particular. The time span between accepting Jesus as savior and subsequently receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit is greatly telescoped from a matter of weeks or days or hours to a matter of minutes.

On the day of Pentecost it was ten days from the time Jesus promised the baptism in the Holy Spirit to his disciples until they received it. In Acts chapter eight, it was also a matter of days from the time the new converts in Samaria were converted under Philip’s preaching until Peter and John arrived to administer the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And in Acts, chapter nine, Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus took place three days before God sent Ananias to pray for him to receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

According to Acts ten, Peter is preaching a Spirit inspired sermon to the household of Cornelius, telling them about Jesus Christ. And when he reaches the point in his sermon where he proclaims forgiveness of sins for all who believe in Jesus (and the heart of the gospel is that Jesus Christ died to save sinners), the folk in Cornelius’ home believe the message of salvation. Immediately, things begin to happen. Everyone who believes Peter’s words is immediately baptized in the Holy Spirit. Even before Peter can conclude his sermon, "the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word." (Acts 10:44)

The final story of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts relates how Paul discovers a small band of disciples of Jesus in Ephesus. Noticing something missing from their Christian experience, he asks, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" (Acts 19:2) By the very question he asks, Paul illustrates the truth we are stressing in this chapter—namely that conversion is one experience and baptism in the Holy Spirit is a separate, subsequent experience. We could restate Paul’s question in a slightly different way and not strain it’s meaning at all. Paul was asking the Ephesian disciples, "Have you received the baptism in the Holy Spirit since you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior?" And when Paul discovers that not only have they not been baptized in the Holy Spirit, neither have they had Christian baptism in water, he takes care of both omissions. He baptizes them in water in the name of the Lord Jesus, then lays hands on them and prays for them to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The twelve men receive the baptism and begin praising God in tongues and prophesying.

Let us make this one final point concerning the two experiences—they are given for separate and distinct purposes. Conversion is that experience of Jesus Christ by which the nonChristian becomes a Christian, while the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that experience for the Christian to make him a powerful Christian. It is as simple as that.

We said in chapter one that the church is in the midst of worldwide revival and that central to that revival is the experience we call the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Now let us go a step further and state that central to the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a phenomenon called "Glossolalia" or speaking in tongues. And, let’s face it, speaking in tongues causes most of the controversy which continually swirls around the baptism in the Holy Spirit. As John Sherrill observed in his classic book, They Speak With Other Tongues, "Tongues make people fight." If it weren’t for this particular (some would insist, "peculiar") manifestation accompanying the baptism in the Holy Spirit, it would be far more readily received in many Christian circles.

The question is asked everywhere I go, "Why is there so much controversy over speaking in tongues?" Consistent experience in ministering the baptism has convinced me that there are two major reasons for the controversy. One is fear, the other is ignorance. The fear comes from years of dire warnings that speaking in tongues is "fanaticism, emotionalism or of the devil." And when these complaints have repeatedly bombarded the ears of earnest Christians who have never examined the scriptures carefully for themselves, or heard clear scriptural teaching about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the result is a deeply imbedded emotional prejudice against what God is doing in the church today.

We need to understand that it is Satan, not God, who stands to benefit most from the criticism and discrediting of spiritual gifts. And we need to recognize he is continually stirring up all the prejudice and false teaching he can against the provision God has made for us. Someone has said that the two words Satan seems to hate most are "tongues" and "demons." For speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of an experience designed to equip Christians with supernatural power with which to wage an effective battle against Satan, and the word "demon" brings to light and exposes the nasty little helpers Satan uses to torment the people of God and to undermine the works of God. No wonder Satan hates for Christians to become familiar and knowledgeable about either the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit or the cunning, hidden ways he uses to oppose the purposes of God.

Satan’s favorite tactic is to throw up an emotional smokescreen, to create controversy and anger when the gift of speaking in tongues is mentioned. More than once I have seen sincere Christians cooperate amiably and peaceably with religious leaders who deny the Divinity of Christ, who scoff at the Word of God and who frankly and openly admit their rejection of the historic truths of the Christian faith. And I’ve seen these same Christians become livid with anger when some Christian acquaintance testifies to the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Surely, it is not difficult to determine the source of such anger. It can scarcely be said to come from God. 

Personally, I believe it is more than coincidence that the criticism of speaking in tongues began within minutes after it first appeared on the Day of Pentecost. When the 120 began speaking in tongues and the curious onlookers gathered, they were amazed to hear them praising God in languages they had never learned. Those onlookers knew something supernatural was taking place—at least those who heard and understood the languages. (Acts 2:7, 12). But note that others standing by, who did not understand and of the twelve or more languages the various disciples were using in their praise to God, tried to discredit the experience saying, "These men are a bunch of babbling drunks!" (Acts 2:13). So the devil didn’t waste any time in trying to discredit the experience of speaking in tongues, and he’s been trying to do the same thing ever since.

Fear and ignorance, combined with false teaching, have proved powerful weapons I Satan’s hands. After I have taught on the place of speaking in tongues in relation to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, sometimes people will complain, "Why do you spend so much time talking about speaking in tongues?" The answer is simple—to try and generate a little light where before there’s been mostly heat! It’s tongues that is the point of controversy. That’s where the criticisms land. And the only way I know to clear up the subject. Of course, for some people, any mention of speaking in tongues is too much.

I know a Spirit baptized minister’s wife who teaches Sunday School in her husband’s church where people are very touchy about the charismatic movement and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. She chose one Sunday in the year to teach her intermediate Sunday School class about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. She wisely chose Pentecost Sunday, when the scripture lesson dealt directly with the subject. The following Sunday she asked her pupils if any of them had discussed the lesson with their parents. One little boy said, "Yes, I told my parents and they said they are sick and tired of all this talk about "speaking in tongues." So in that case, thirty minutes once a year was too much!

At a ministerial meeting in the town in Pennsylvania where I pastored several years ago, some of the ministers discussed speaking in tongues with me. (Word had spread through the community about a number of my church members receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.) From the totally negative (and unscriptural!) comments about speaking in tongues those ministers made, one would suppose God had made a horrible mistake on the Day of Pentecost when he sent speaking in tongues along as the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But I believe God knew exactly what He was doing on the day of Pentecost, that He did it right the very first time and that he hasn’t changed His mind since. I also believe it is the intent of God that every person receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit today should experience the miracle of speaking in tongues.

Such an observation brings us to the next obvious question: "Does a person have to speak in tongues in order to receive the baptism in the Holy spirit?" And by the critical way the question is often asked I can usually tell some skeptic has been busily at work warning the questioner about "fanaticism" or "emotionalism" or that "the devil can speak in tongues." The answer to that question is, "You don’t have to, you get to!" Speaking in tongues is a privilege. It is a precious gift from God. It is a new and intimate way of praying with direct, supernatural help. And the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not to be despised or criticized. Nor does God give gifts that are useless or "divisive."

                                                                                                                                                      Continued >>