What Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Updated: Oct 1
When we talk about Pentecost, one of the first things people think about is speaking in tongues.
And yes, tongues are part of what happened on the Day of Pentecost.
But Pentecost is about so much more than tongues.
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The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the Promise of the Father that Jesus told His followers to wait for before beginning their mission. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they would receive power to be His witnesses.
On the Day of Pentecost, the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Speaking in tongues is an important part of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but it isn't the entire purpose.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is about Holy Spirit power, boldness, and being equipped to be a witness for Jesus Christ.
Prefer to Watch?
Watch Pastor Jack Pidgeon's Pentecost Sunday teaching and discover the difference between salvation, water baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit—and why the power believers received at Pentecost was about far more than speaking in tongues.
What Happened on the Day of Pentecost?
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples specific instructions.
He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait until they were endued with power from on high.
Jesus said:
“For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”— Acts 1:5 NKJV
Then He explained what would happen:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me...”— Acts 1:8 NKJV
The disciples obeyed.
Then, on the Day of Pentecost, the believers were together when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind.
If you've ever been around a military aircraft flying low to the ground, think about the overwhelming sound of that massive jet engine.
That's the closest comparison I can think of to what Acts describes.
The sound filled the house. Tongues like fire appeared, and the believers began speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Something had changed.
Pentecost wasn't simply about receiving a new way to pray.
The Church was receiving power to fulfill its mission.
KEY TRUTH:
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is about far more than speaking in tongues. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit so His followers would receive power to be His witnesses.
Didn't I Receive the Holy Spirit When I Got Saved?
This is where there can sometimes be confusion.
You might ask:
“When I got saved, didn't I get the Holy Spirit?”
Yes.
When you said, “Jesus, come into my life. Be my Lord and be my Savior,” His Spirit came inside of you.
You were born again.
First Corinthians 12:13 says:
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body...”— 1 Corinthians 12:13 NKJV
When you're saved, you're baptized into Christ and brought into God's family.
You become a temple of the Holy Spirit.
God has always wanted to dwell with His children, and under the New Covenant, He lives and dwells within the believer.
But then Scripture shows us something else.
Jesus told His followers to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
He called it the Promise of the Father.
So we need to understand the difference.
Understanding the Three Baptisms
There are three baptisms discussed in this teaching, and understanding them helps clear up much of the confusion.
1. Baptism Into Christ
The first takes place when you're born again.
When you receive Jesus, you are baptized into Christ. You are transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God.
There should be a change.
Zacchaeus gives us a great picture of this.
He was a wealthy chief tax collector—a man who had made his living taking from people.
Then Jesus came into his life.
Luke 19 tells us that Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully. Afterward, Zacchaeus declared that he would give half of his possessions to the poor and repay fourfold anyone he had cheated.
Something had happened inside him.
He went from being a taker to a giver.
Jesus said:
“Today salvation has come to this house...”— Luke 19:9 NKJV
That's a picture of what happens when somebody is born again.
There should be change. There should be fruit.
I know that from my own life.
Before I was saved, there were things in my life I wanted to change but couldn't change on my own.
But when I got saved, I had His Spirit inside of me.
I knew what I once was, and I knew I was becoming different.
That's what Jesus does.
2. Water Baptism
Then there is water baptism.
Water baptism is an external public announcement of an internal change.
When someone goes beneath the water and comes back up, we're witnessing a picture of death, burial, and resurrection.
Water baptism doesn't take the place of salvation.
Salvation comes first.
Then the believer is baptized in water as an act of obedience and a public identification with Jesus Christ.
3. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Then there is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
This is what Jesus called the Promise of the Father.
Jesus said:
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you...”— Acts 1:8 NKJV
This is different from what happens when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us at salvation.
This is the Holy Spirit coming upon the believer with power.
And Jesus tells us exactly what that power is connected to:
being His witness.
What Changed Peter After Pentecost?
If you want to understand what the baptism of the Holy Spirit can do in somebody's life, look at Peter.
Peter walked with Jesus.
Peter talked with Jesus.
Peter saw the miracles.
He was there when Jesus fed the multitudes.
He was in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm.
Peter was even there on the Mount of Transfiguration.
There weren't many people who had experienced more of Jesus' earthly ministry than Peter.
And yet when Jesus went to the cross, what did Peter do?
Three times he denied Him.
Peter had seen the miracles, heard the teaching and walked with Jesus personally.
But when the pressure came, he lacked the boldness to stand up for Jesus.
Then Pentecost happened.
The Holy Spirit fell.
The believers began speaking in other tongues, and the sound drew people together because they heard their own languages being spoken.
Then the same Peter who had denied Jesus stood up.
Remember, this wasn't years later.
This was shortly after the crucifixion.
The same man who had been afraid to acknowledge Jesus now stood publicly and preached the gospel.
And about 3,000 people were saved.
What happened to Peter?
He had been filled with the Holy Spirit.
REMEMBER
Peter went from denying Jesus under pressure to boldly proclaiming Jesus publicly. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was about far more than giving Peter a prayer language.
The Holy Spirit Gives Us Boldness
We see this transformation continue in Acts 4.
Peter and John had been arrested after the healing of a man.
Now Peter is standing before the religious leaders.
Think about this.
The same Peter who denied Jesus in front of a servant girl is now preaching to the very people who had opposed Jesus.
Acts 4:8 says:
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them...”
And Peter began preaching Jesus.
Then Acts 4:13 tells us what the religious leaders noticed.
They saw the boldness of Peter and John.
It wasn't tongues that Scripture points out in that moment.
It was their boldness.
Later, after Peter and John were threatened and told not to preach in the name of Jesus, the believers gathered together and prayed:
“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word...”— Acts 4:29 NKJV
Then Acts 4:31 tells us:
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”— Acts 4:31 NKJV
Do you see what the Holy Spirit was doing?
There was a boldness coming upon the Church.
There Is More Than a Prayer Language
When I got baptized in the Holy Spirit, no one ever talked to me about boldness.
What I was taught was: you come down front, we're going to pray with you, and you're going to receive your prayer language.
And that was it.
That's all I was ever taught.
No one ever told me about boldness.
Now, I love tongues, and I love praying in tongues.
It's a wonderful, beautiful thing.
But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is so much more.
Look at Peter.
Look at the Church in Acts.
There is a boldness that God wants to put upon His Church so that we become the witnesses we're supposed to be.
There are also gifts of the Spirit.
There is prophecy.
There is more of the Holy Spirit for us to learn to walk in.
We can't stop at tongues and think that's as far as the river goes.
Tongues aren't the end of the river.
There is more.
What Is the Purpose of Speaking in Tongues?
Speaking in tongues is important.
But we can't allow the debate over tongues to distract us from the bigger picture of what Jesus promised.
Jesus said:
“You shall receive power...and you shall be witnesses to Me.”
The power has a purpose.
We got baptized in the Holy Spirit so that there would be a boldness upon the Church to become the soul winners we're supposed to be.
That doesn't take anything away from praying in tongues.
It shows us that the Holy Spirit wants to take us further.
God wants what He's doing in us to affect the people around us.
He wants His Church empowered to go.
Empowered to speak.
Empowered to proclaim Jesus.
Empowered to be His witnesses.
Don't stop at the evidence and miss the purpose.
There Is More of the Holy Spirit
We can make the mistake of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, praying in tongues, and thinking:
“That's it. I've got it.”
But what if we've only stepped into the river?
There are gifts of the Spirit.
There is prophecy.
There is boldness.
There is power to witness.
I challenged our church on Pentecost Sunday to be willing to go deeper into the things of the Holy Spirit.
Not because tongues are unimportant.
But because there is more.
We don't want just a little taste of what the Holy Spirit can do.
We want everything God has for His Church.
Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for Believers Today?
Yes.
Acts 2:39 says:
“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”— Acts 2:39 NKJV
The Holy Spirit's power hasn't ended.
The Church still has a mission.
People still need Jesus.
And believers still need the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish what Jesus has called us to do.
We shouldn't read Acts merely as a history book about what God did through somebody else.
We should expect the Holy Spirit to move in His Church today.
Expect the Holy Spirit to Move
Have you ever wondered why the Day of Pentecost involved a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire, while our experiences don't always look like that?
Look at the people in that room.
They were praying.
They were believing God.
They were doing what Jesus told them to do.
And there was an expectancy.
If we want to see the Holy Spirit move, there needs to be an expectancy in us as well.
There needs to be a preparation of our hearts.
And we have to be willing to give the Holy Spirit room to move.
Our attitude should be:
“Lord, I want it all.”
I don't want just a partial experience.
I don't want just a little taste of Your Holy Spirit.
I want the same Holy Spirit I see moving in the book of Acts.
I want Holy Spirit boldness.
I want to walk in the gifts of the Spirit.
I want everything You have for me.
How Do I Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Remember what Jesus called it:
the Promise of the Father.
Acts 2:39 says the promise is for you, your children, those who are afar off, and as many as the Lord will call.
Come to God believing His promise.
Ask Him.
Receive by faith.
Yield yourself to the Holy Spirit.
The believers on Pentecost were praying, believing and doing what Jesus had told them to do.
Then the Holy Spirit came upon them.
There should be an expectancy in us that says:
“Lord, I want everything You have for me.”
What Should Happen After You're Baptized in the Holy Spirit?
Don't stop at receiving.
And don't stop at tongues.
Pray in the Spirit.
Spend time in God's Word.
Learn to recognize the Holy Spirit's leading.
Be willing to step into the gifts of the Spirit.
And above all, be a witness.
There are people around you who need Jesus.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn't just about what you receive.
It's about what God wants to do through you.
If you want to grow in recognizing the Holy Spirit's direction in everyday life, read How to Hear God's Voice.
Jesus didn't empower the Church so we could stay in the upper room.
He empowered us to go.
Ready to Experience More of the Holy Spirit?
At West Houston Christian Center, we're passionate about helping people know God's Word, grow in their relationship with Him, and become the disciples He has called them to be.
We are a Go Ye church—making disciples, living by faith, and walking in love.
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