The Baptism of the Holy Ghost
When John the Baptist stood along the banks of Jordan, calling people to repentance and baptizing them in water, he made it clear that something greater was coming.
“I indeed baptize you with water,” John said, “but one mightier than I cometh... he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Luke 3:16).
That declaration was not recorded in only one place. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all preserved John’s words about the One who would come and baptize with the Holy Ghost. The repetition itself points to the importance of what God was preparing to do.
Water baptism represented repentance and a decision to walk in a newness of life. But John was preparing the people for something beyond an outward ceremony. Jesus Christ would make it possible for the Spirit of God to dwell within His people.
The Spirit of God was certainly present throughout the Old Testament. Scripture records the Spirit coming upon men such as Samson and Zachariah, empowering them to accomplish something according to God’s will. Peter later explained that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). Yet the study pointed to an important distinction: the Spirit would move upon individuals for a purpose, but the promise of an indwelling Spirit was still to come.
Even Moses expressed a desire for something greater. When Joshua became concerned because Eldad and Medad were prophesying, Moses responded, “would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them” (Numbers 11:29). What Moses desired, John later announced was coming.
Jesus explained this promise to His disciples before His death.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever... for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).
Jesus would not remain with His disciples physically. He knew they would soon face persecution, rejection and circumstances that would test their faith. But He told them that His departure would make way for the Comforter. The Holy Ghost would teach them, bring His words back to their remembrance and guide them into truth.
Before ascending, Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were “endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). In Acts, He explained further: “ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8).
That promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost.
As the disciples gathered together, “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). The study followed this pattern through Acts, including the household of Cornelius and the disciples Paul encountered at Ephesus. Scripture describes outward manifestations accompanying the reception of the Holy Ghost, including speaking with tongues and prophesying.
But the Holy Ghost was never given merely so that someone could point to a spiritual experience.
The greater question is: What does the Holy Ghost do in a believer’s life?
Jesus called Him the Comforter and the Spirit of truth. Scripture also shows the Spirit bringing the Word of God back to the believer’s remembrance. A verse that was read days earlier can suddenly come alive in the exact moment it is needed. A person may face an offense, temptation or difficult decision, and something within reminds them, “This is how God wants you to respond.”
Isaiah wrote, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19).
That standard becomes especially important when human nature wants to respond differently. The mind may say, defend yourself. Get even. Say what you really want to say. Follow what feels good.
But the Spirit raises another standard: How would God have this handled?
Paul expressed this plainly in Galatians: “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
The Holy Ghost gives the believer power to resist the natural desires of the flesh and increasingly live according to the will of God. And when someone walks in the Spirit, there should eventually be fruit.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Fruit is evidence of what a tree is producing. In the same way, a life being led by the Spirit should increasingly produce something different. Love where there once was bitterness. Patience where there once was anger. Self-control where there once was little restraint. Peace where the mind once ruled unchecked.
Romans 8 takes the thought even deeper. The same Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead can dwell within the believer. Through that Spirit, Paul says, the deeds of the body can be mortified, or put to death. The greatest demonstration of spiritual power is not simply what someone can feel in a moment. It is the power for a person to change at the core and become more like Christ.
The Holy Ghost also helps believers understand the things of God. Paul wrote that “the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” and that believers receive “the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10, 12).
The baptism of the Holy Ghost, then, is not a minor subject tucked away in a few obscure passages. John proclaimed it. Jesus promised it. The disciples waited for it. Acts records believers receiving it. And the epistles explain how the Spirit continues working within the life of the believer.
The question is not simply whether someone has heard about the Holy Ghost.
The deeper question is whether His Spirit is being allowed to do what God sent it to do.
Is it bringing His Word back to remembrance? Is it raising a standard when the flesh wants to respond another way? Is it producing love, joy, peace and self-control? Is it helping put to death the things that are contrary to God?
Because the power of the Holy Ghost is not merely that God’s Spirit can dwell within a person.
It is that through His Spirit, a person who could never change himself can be transformed into someone who increasingly looks like Christ.
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