The Holy Spirit - Part 2:
Evidence and Power
You may have heard the saying, “Speaking in tongues is the evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit”. It is the evidence in the sense that anything else is not a scriptural basis for judging something as valid or not.
“I found a dollar on the sidewalk. God is with me. I must have the Baptism.” There is no biblical reason to believe that something like this is so. If there needs to be any evidence, it needs to be the scriptural evidence. Therefore I believe that speaking in unknown tongues is the only biblical evidence for believing that someone has received the Baptism. However, why would there need to be evidence?
The first day that Jesus was raised from the dead, ...He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (John 20:22). If the resurrected Christ appears to you and blows on you, you can be assured it means something.
The very last day that Jesus was on the earth, He gave a command to His followers.
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts1:4-5)
Some may have thought, We just received the Holy Spirit 40 days ago. Why do we have to wait for the Holy Spirit again now? In the annual feast of Pentecost that is described in Acts 2, we see no more than 120 followers that actually obeyed and waited for “something” They did not know what.
1 ¶ And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts2:1-4)
God initiated a new thing. The Holy Spirit was living WITHIN the believers in the resurrected Christ and now, 40 days later, He was UPON them. These faithful followers of Jesus were entering into The Day of Grace. They had no idea what was in store for them and they had no understanding of God's plan to do a work greater than they could imagine.
Fast forward some time later.
Peter is dramatically called to go to the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. This was a Gentile household. Peter began telling them about the death and resurrection of Jesus.
44 ¶ While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? (Acts 10:44-47)
Peter and the other Jews that came with him knew that these Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit because of the evidence. They heard them speak with tongues. It did not matter that no one understood them. They knew this was the Holy Spirit because of the evidence. There had to be evidence in this case. God had given Gentiles the same gift that He originally gave the 120 Jewish believers.
God chose this way to confirm to the Apostles that God had now accepted the Gentiles who would receive the Gospel message by faith. There had to be evidence and there was, in this special case. Although speaking in tongues was the evidence that one had received the Holy Spirit, it was not the result or purpose.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me...(Acts 1:8)
The result of the Baptism in the Spirit is POWER, not tongues. Tongues are the EVIDENCE of the Baptism, when there needed to be evidence. There needed to be evidence when God brought the Gentiles into the Church, the Body of Christ. God also thought there needed to be evidence in Acts 19:1-7. Some years after the Jewish Pentecost of Acts 2 and the Gentile addition to the Church in Acts 10, Paul found some persons in the city of Ephesus. We are not told if these 12 men were Jews or Gentiles. I believe this account was given in Scripture because after the doctrinal question of Jews and/or Gentiles belonging to the Church was settled, God wanted to show that this experience was for all people and for all time, not just to establish doctrine.
Many people seek the Baptism. They earnestly ask for it but they speak in tongues and then stop seeking the Baptism. Tongues are not the purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Something great is lost: the promised power Jesus spoke about.
I know if I speak in tongues but how do I know if I have received the Baptism? How do I know if I have been run over by a Mack truck? You will know it.
The promise of power is not volume or emotionalism, necessarily. A preacher yells, spits, and throws things off the platform. This is not power, necessarily. A person touched by the reality of God certainly may have a severe reaction in their body or emotions. This is quite likely but this can also be learned behavior. We can learn to exhibit various behaviors, especially if we have seen them thousands of times and if everyone around us is doing the same.
Strangeness is not enough to judge people or events. It may or may not be of God. Sudden manifestations of evil spirits often accompany the genuine move of God. Ask Paul. You do not see the manifestation of demons in the Bible until Jesus comes on the scene. Sometimes you do not clearly see a tornado when it first forms. Let it pick up dirt and debris. Then you can see it clearly in all its terrifying form. Many times, a real move of God is ironically characterized by demonic activity. Weird is not how we judge. Spiritual discernment is.
Real power may be quiet. A genuine man of God who has met spiritual power may read his sermon word for word off his notes in a dry, monotone voice. The delivery is not necessarily indicative of spiritual reality. What will be present is enabling and results.
You shall receive power.
Dec. 15, 2022