THE HOLY GHOST BAPTISM, Chapter 2 of 7 of

How Secret Societies Control The Rise And Fall Of Religions,

(The Religious Beast From The Earth, Rev. 13:11-18. )

With evangelists Glen & Renette Vermeulen, courtesy of Now Unbanned Publications C.C.

 

JESUS PROMISED TO BAPTIZE HIS BELIEVERS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: 

During the Old Testament as well as in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which portray the old dispensation before Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Kingdom of God only came ‘upon’ believers and ‘near’ them: Mt. 12:28; Lu.  2:25; 11:20; 21:31. 

However, after Jesus’ ascension He would mystically, (mostly without their explicit knowledge, but at the very moment they truly accept Him as their Messiah,) manifest His Kingdom in the hearts or spirits of all His born again believers.  Each and every sincere believer would receive spiritual power and authority over evil spirits when (and at the very moment) they become children of the Most High God - Jn. 1:12-13; Gal. 4:6; Mark 16:16-18, etc. 

There is no middle-path in our spiritual walk.  Either one belongs wholeheartedly to Christ, or one falls into the clutches and domain of the devil.  Either the Holy Spirit or the evil spirit possesses a person.  ‘The WHOLE world, [the religious world as well,] is in the power of the evil one,’ but ‘we [truly born again disciples] are of God,’ (1 Jn. 5:19; Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:111; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 6:12.) 

Jesus promised to baptize every one of His true believers with His Free Gift, the Spirit of Grace – or to ‘indwell,’ ‘fill,’ or ‘possess’ every one of them with the Holy Spirit, which would be the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, ‘the Kingdom of God will BE IN you.’ 

Paul declared in Eph. 1:13-14, ‘After [the disciples had] heard the word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in Whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the guarantee of our [heavenly] inheritance until the [day of] redemption of the [blood] purchased POSSESSION to the praise of His glory.’ 

This means we must first ‘believe’ or accept Jesus as our Savior, (Jn. 1:12-13.) 

Then Jesus plants His living, spiritual Kingdom in our born again spirits or ‘hearts,’ though the Holy Spirit Whom He sends to indwell us, (Gal. 4:6.) 

At that very moment Jesus baptizes, fills, or POSSESSES every born again child of God with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit Himself is God’s guarantee that ‘He will complete the good work that He had started in us.’  [Please do not think that this is the false doctrine of ‘eternal security,’ where a born again believer may sin without consequences!] 

The Spirit Filled Bible explained in Gal. 4:6, ‘The Spirit Himself is God’s Seal, or Stamp of Personal Possession’ in us, [so that no one can claim us spiritually until that day when He comes to take us home!]  ‘His seal or guarantee is literally a deposit, down payment, or first installment.  The Spirit invested in us is the Father’s title to possessing us entirely and forever.’

The Matthew Henry Commentary says more, ‘God’s Seal is the Spirit of Promise Himself, that is, believers are sealed or separated and set apart for God, and distinguished and marked as belonging to Him.  The Spirit [in us] secures the full sum, [which Jesus had paid for us.]  So Jesus’ Gift, the Holy Spirit; all His influences and operation, both as the [Possessor] and Sanctifier, are heaven begun; glory in the seed and bud.  The Spirit’s illumination is an earnest of everlasting light… until the [earthly] redemption of the purchased possession.  We may be called the possession, because the Spirit makes us heirs as though we already possessed all of [God’s Heavenly Kingdom,] as all of this was purchased for us by the blood of Christ.  Our redemption is mentioned because it was mortgaged and forfeited by sin; but Christ restored it all to us, and so is said to redeem us.’ 

‘Therefore,’ Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:17, ‘if anyone is in Christ, [spiritually] he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, ALL things have become new!’

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD BAPTIZE BELIEVERS INTO CHRIST: 

Once Jesus had baptized His disciples with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit Himself would mystically baptize every one of Jesus’ believers into Christ. 

The Spirit would place or build each one as a living stone into the spiritual building of God, which is His Personal temple – the body of Christ.  (There are definitely two separate spiritual baptisms; one by Jesus with the Spirit, and the other by the Holy Spirit into Jesus’ body.)  [Please read Mt. 3:11; 1 Cor. 12:13; 6:19; 12:4-11; Rom. 8:15-17; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Pet. 2:9-10.] 

Churches have derived a terrible fallacy from the Biblical Kingdom of God, Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit and with FIRE, as well as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, misinterpreting even whole portions of Scripture. 

John said in Mt. 3:11-12 that the Holy Spirit baptism of Jesus SAVES His disciples, and water baptism is the type or symbol of their salvation – please read these verses yourself. 

The Biblical water baptism ‘places the believing disciple in water, which is the symbol of Christ’s death and resurrection,’ (Rom. 6; Mt. 28:19-20.)  But Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit places the Kingdom of God inside the born again believer, while the Spirit Himself baptizes or places the believer into Christ.  As Christ is the Head of His body, the Spirit therefore actually places the believer into the body of Christ, completing the spiritual rebirth and ‘binding the believer to God,’ (1 Cor. 12:13.)  In effect, Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit, just as the Spirit’s baptism into Christ and His body, pertain to the SALVATION of the believer— [From the S.F. Bible.] 

 

THE GIFT OF TONGUES: 

Once Jesus’ disciples were born again of ‘water [which symbolizes the Word] and of Spirit,’ the Spirit would, ‘as He wills, give to EACH ONE His diversities of spiritual GIFTS for the profit of all.’  – [Please read Jn. 3:3-5; Mt. 3:11; 1 Cor. 12:13; 6:19; 12:4-11; Rom. 8:15-17; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Pet. 2:9-10.] 

Contrary to what traditional churches teach, Scripturally and in practice, from that day to this, Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit; Jesus’ baptism with fire; the Spirit’s baptism into the body of Christ, as well as the Spirit’s gifts – the gifts of tongues and prophecy as well – remained a reality for all the sincere disciples of Jesus.  So, according to the context of Scripture, tongues still remains ONE of the GIFTS of the Holy Spirit.  – 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Mark 16:15-18. 

Even if one interprets Jesus’ ‘baptism of fire’ as the Spirit’s power, and not as a process of refinement or purification, which will follow Jesus’ baptism with the Spirit, (Lu. 12:50, Heb. 10:32-39,) the Spirit-baptism still cannot be seen as the gift of tongues.  Jesus said, ‘You shall receive power when the Spirit has come [to indwell] you; [not to speak in tongues, but to] be My witnesses…’ - Acts 1:8. 

Once the Holy Spirit had indwelt the disciples on that Day of Pentecost, the Spirit Himself gave them His (dual) GIFT of tongues to (1,) either speak to God with ‘the tongues of angels, for in the spirit we speak mysteries, as my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.’  Or (2,) ‘to speak with the tongues of MEN as a SIGN for UNBELIEVERS,’ which is the gift of speaking in ‘different kinds of tongues’ - human tongues, unknown to the speaker, which was the case in Acts 2:4-6. - [Do not believe me, believe the Scriptures! - 1 Cor. 13:1; 14:2,14,22; 12:10-11; MARK 16:15-18.] 

ALL of the Spirit’s gifts are SIGNS that believers belong to God, (Mark 16:16-18.) Therefore the GIFT of tongues itself is not Jesus’ baptism with the Spirit.  If this gift were the actual ‘baptism with [or even the fire of] the Spirit,’ it would mean that billions of sincere believers, who never received the GIFT of tongues, would not be indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  Thus they would not belong to God, and they would never desire, or have the boldness to proclaim the Gospel. – Rom. 8:9; Acts 1:8. 

The truth is that the Holy Spirit does not indwell a believer only at the moment when that person starts speaking in tongues, as some denominations teach.  If that were so, the gift or sign of tongues would actually save us.  Sincere believers, however, know that the Spirit indwells ALL of Jesus’ disciples from the very moment of their rebirth: Rom. 8:9-14; Jn. 1:12-13; Gal. 4:6; 1 Cor. 14:22-23.

 

THE EVIDENCE OF SPIRIT-BAPTISM:

I do believe in the Spirit’s gift of tongues.  All His other gifts are real as well.  However, Jesus never said they will know His disciples by their tongues! 

The gift or ‘sign’ of tongues, (Mark 16:15-18, 1 Cor. 14:22,) itself is not the evidence, ‘fire,’ or ‘power’ of Jesus’ Holy-Spirit baptism, as many churches teach.  The context of Scripture declares that there are several pieces of real ‘evidence’ or proof of this baptism, which all fit together. 

Without denying or nullifying any of the Spirit’s wonderful gifts (as ‘signs,’ Mark 16:16-18,) the first piece of evidence that will prove the Holy-Spirit baptism would be the believer’s desire to continually draw closer to Jesus, or to know Him in spirit and in all Truth! – Jn. 4:24; 14:6. 

Jesus said in Jn. 16:14, ‘The Spirit will glorify Me…’

The S.F. Bible explains, ‘The Spirit’s ministry is not only directed to believers and to the world, but [primarily] to Christ.  The Spirit glorifies Christ in ALL that He does… He never exalts Himself, but He continually glorifies Christ Who glorifies the Father.’ 

Without making tongues into a ‘lesser’ gift, we should always remember that none of the gifts means anything if we have not love – which is the greatest gift: 1 Cor. 15. 

Jesus said, ‘If you love Me, you will obey my commandments,’ which means that the greatest evidence of the Holy-Spirit baptism and the fact that He completely possesses and continually indwells us, is our love for God.  This is not outward lip service, but love, which manifests itself as a sincere attitude of obedience to His entire, contextual Truth, (the Scriptures in their entirety,) summarized by and contained in His Moral, New Testament Law of Love. 

Then Jesus took this evidence a step further, and said, ‘By this ALL will KNOW, [or you will prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that I have baptized you with the Holy Spirit and that] you are My disciples, if you have love for one another…’ 

What’s more, Jesus did not say we will know His disciples by their gifts, but by their FRUIT.  Their continual behavior, in other words, or the type of character they display, will prove whether the Holy Spirit, or an evil spirit possesses them - 1 Cor. 13, Mt. 7:15-27; Jn. 13:34-35; 14:15. 

So, if there is any real ‘evidence’ of Jesus’ Holy-Spirit baptism, it is the continual, sincere, and Godly character of Jesus, which the Holy Spirit manifests in His sincere disciples.  And His growing, Godly character of love will compel His believing disciples to preach the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus Christ is the Creator God