Baptism In The Spirit: His Indwelling Of All Believers, And In The Churches Of God.

by THOMSON, A. J. S. | Category: The Holy Spirit | Oct 1961

Elisha said to Elijah, "Let a double portion of thy Spirit be upon me" (2 Kings 2.9). We are told that the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12. 7): therefore the Spirit on Elijah must have been the Holy Spirit. Concerning Gideon we read, "The Spirit of the LORD clothed itself with Gideon" (Judges 6.34, R.V.M.). When we come to the New Testament we find, "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit " (Acts 2.4). This too is in keeping with the Lord's words, "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you " (Acts 1.8). When this filling took place, the people were under the control of Another, and spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The word "other" is " heteros," "another of a different kind". Therefore it is clear that the Holy Spirit may possess a person so as to have complete control of him. It was in the Spirit and power of the Lord that Gideon accomplished the otherwise impossible task. He is said to be a mighty man of valour. The Septuagint renders it, "Even the Lord mighty in valour." So when the Lord says, "Ye shall receive power" (dunamis) there is embedded the thought of a miracle, that is, a going forth with miraculous power.

When Moses was sent to the Hebrews, he stood before the fire in the burning bush in the wilderness. It was the token of God's presence with him. The pillar of fire remained with God's people throughout their wilderness journey. It sometimes went before them, sometimes behind, and at times remained with them.

The record of the early days of the Acts reveals the coming of the Holy Spirit as in tongues like as of fire, and the apostles began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance, burning words indeed. Oh for burning hearts! Cold words, however logical, will never reach human hearts.

This visitation of the Holy Spirit is described as " the rushing of a mighty wind" (Acts 2.2), and as a consequence, "with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4.33).

While Acts 2. 1 says, " They were all together in one place," "epi to auto," meaning "upon one thing," or " to one intent" (Rotherham), the giving of the Holy Spirit was an individual experience. "It sat upon each one of them" (verse 3). But while that is so, the purpose of His coming was to create a unity. Just as John baptized (by immersion) in water, so the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12.12, 13).

The Lord said, "Tarry... until ye he clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24.49). The word "clothed" comes from two words, "en" meaning " in " and "duno " meaning " down " in the sense of sinking down into the garment (Dr. Strong). The filling of the Holy Spirit should not be confused with the Spirit's indwelling of all believers: the latter is once for all. The filling of the Holy Spirit is not an experience once for all, as this scripture shows; "Be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5.18). While wine confuses the mind, the Spirit makes clear; He corrects the spiritual vision. "The Holy Spirit shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you" (John 14.26). The excuse is often advanced in the law courts of our land, that because the person was drunk, nothing of the incident in question can be remembered. How differently the Spirit of God works! The estuaries round our coast can be very unpleasant when the tide is out, but when the tide comes in and fills all the offensive area with its cleansing waters, what a change takes place! They can become attractively inviting and favourite spots. On the other hand the believer may be like the empty estuary.

It is possible to have the gift of the Holy Spirit and yet live fruitless lives. The fig tree of which the Lord spoke was in the vineyard, the place where it had every attention and care. It lived in an atmosphere congenial to fruitbearing, but because it was never fruitful, it was worthless. What is true of the individual believer in this respect is true of a church of God.

A unity is made up of units. The Holy Spirit is given to create a unity amongst believers, "Till we all attain unto the unity of the Faith" (Ephesians 4.18). This is not a company of believers of all denominations disagreeing over all sorts of doctrines, yet gathering together and agreeing to be silent over certain questions so that a gospel campaign, for example, may be held. The chairman of a certain gathering of Christians recently said in his address of welcome, "We put aside our theological and ecclesiastical differences as did Edinburgh in 1910." They met on the basis of "All one in Christ Jesus."

The Spirit of God is a Teacher with one doctrine which must of necessity make a unity if the tenets are obeyed. A house cannot be divided against itself, otherwise it will fall. So," Each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit" (Ephesians 2.21, 22).

THOMSON, A. J. S. | Oct 1961
The Holy Spirit