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.
This statement of Jesus on the day of his ascension backed up his
former statement to Nicodemus about being born of water and Spirit to enter the Kingdom of
God (John 3:3-5). The words: "which saith he, ye have
heard of me" is Jesus pointing the Apostles to a previous disclosure by
him of this Baptism. This we find in Luke 24:49--"but
tarry ye in Jerusalem until be be endued (Baptized) with power from on high"
(heaven); and in John 20:22--"And when he had said this,
he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
The sound of the rushing mighty wind on the day of Pentecost must be the *breath
(figurative)* or Spirit of Jesus Christ that FILLED all of them. The promise of
Spirit Baptism was the intent of Jesus when he said: "Even the
Spirit of Truth: whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him, but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John
14:17).
According to Mark 9:1 the Kingdom was to come with power.
According to Acts 1:8 the power was to come with the Holy Ghost. And in Acts
2:1-4 the Holy Ghost Baptism came on the day of Pentecost. So the coming of the Holy
Ghost Baptism signaled not only the inauguration of the Kingdom under the New Covenant, it
was the signal of the new birth of John 3:3-5 of water and Spirit to enter that Kingdom.
We know the Kingdom of God is the Church to which Apostle Peter was
given the keys (Mat 16:18-19). We also know that the Holy Ghost Baptism was the
personal evidence to a person of the resurrection of Jesus, as Jesus clearly said the Holy
Ghost at one point in time was not yet given because that he had not been glorified: that
is resurrected and ascended to heaven (John 7:39).
In fact Jesus said no other sign would be given to that unbelieving
generation except the sign of Jonas and that was the Death, Burial, and Resurrection
(DBR). Those that believed in the DBR could proceed on by faith to Pentecost and
Holy Ghost Baptism. Those that refused have only the one sign and until they believe that
they could not receive the Spirit Baptism. The Holy Ghost Baptism was then a later
sign to these and all other unbelievers the truth of the DBR (Rom 6:3-11). The
Baptism of the Holy Ghost was a testimony of God that the New Covenant had replaced the
Old and the Church had replaced the whited sepulchre on Mount Moriah.
Jesus emphasized this to the woman at the well when she complained
about where worship should be performed. Jesus said to her:
"Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when
ye shall neither in this mountain (Mt. Gerizim), nor yet at Jerusalem (Mt Moriah), worship the Father." Then in
verse 23 he told her: "But the hour cometh, and
now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth"
(John 4:21-24).
We may see then that to worship in Spirit the true worshipers had to
be baptized with the Holy Ghost and this would signal the end of a focused worship on
Mount Moriah or Mount Gerizim where the Spirit of God had long departed and Icabald was
written over the Jerusalem temple of desolation. A person without the Holy
Ghost is equal to the temple in Jerusalem without God. There may be religious
worship, there may be religious practice, and there may be a religious hierarchy promoting
it, but God is not in it. And that makes all such temples abominations of
desolations when the flesh sits in the Temple *as* God (that is his authority), and as
some in their flesh, rule over the Spirit of God and will not permit God's Glory in them
because of sin.
When we speak of the Holy Ghost being a *gift*
we are meaning that it was the promise of God to dwell in his sons and daughters to
be given at an appointed time (in the last days), in an appointed place (in Jerusalem),
and it would come in an appointed manner (with stamering "stuttering" lips and
speaking in other tongues as the witness or evidence; see Isaiah 28:11-12; 1Cor 14:21-22).
The Holy Ghost Baptism was first a sign to the unblieving Jews
and then remains so to all unbelievers afterward that the Spirit of God is indwelling in a
person as his Temple or Tabernacle. And remember, although a person is doing the
uttering, it is Jesus speaking through them these words in another language. Is
Jesus not the Holy Ghost? Why the doctrines and teachings then that Jesus speaking
through us in other tongues is not the witness or evidence of his indwelling?
We are not saying that the Holy Ghost is a gift in the sense it
comes with no prior qualifications or requirements in order to receive it. The
Tabernacle plan gives us the authority to teach this. There were prerequisites
before the indwelling presence of God would abide in the Tabernacle. This indwelling
was a gift to the Israelites and they could not earn it by works. They had only to
provide a holy place that met the conditions of God. God set the conditions and by
faith they followed that design and God honored their faith with his presence.
So it is with our human tabernacles. In fact, John the Baptist
gives us insight here being the first to mention the Baptism of the Spirit in the days
prior to the revealing of Jesus as the Messiah. John gave the Messianic Believers
who came to him for a salvation hope the first mention of this new birth experience
subsequent to the water baptism of repentance there along the Jordan river (Matthew 3:11):
I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance: but he what cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
This Spirit Baptism had a purpose and that purpose should not be
cast aside to follow the opinions of man. The Scriptures must be our authority here.
Private interpretation should not interfere with this work of God. Spirit
Baptism is as essential to the body and soul as the Tabernacle of God as the Spirit of God
was behind the Holy of Holies in the ancient Tabernacle. There is an affinity here
that demands all Tabernacles of God be Spirit filled or that Tabernacle is an abomination
of desolation. In Old Testament times the Spirit of God fell upon the external of
the human Tabernacle but in the New Testament the fleshly Tabernacles being sanctified by
the blood of our Lord Jesus, are now ready and prepared for the great Mystery of God
hidden in types and shadows, and that is the indwelling of the Spirit of God within us
(Col 1:27).
Consider Brothers and Sisters, Paul said we are all baptized into
one Body by one Spirit (1Cor 12:13). And that one Body is the Church (Eph 1:22).
And that one Church is the Body of Christ (Eph 1:23). So that without the
Spirit Baptism a person is not in the Church and is not in the Body of Christ or the
Kingdom of God. So, in answer to the question: Must I have the Spirit Baptism?
The answer is conclusive, ...YES!
To be filled with the Holy Ghost means that the Divine presence has
come into and resides in our earthly tabernacle (Eph 5:18). What was once an
exclusive indwelling of God within the nation of Israel in the Tabernacle is now revealed
to be in the Israel of God (the Church) and in the Believer's Tabernacle. The Church
replaced old backslid Israel and the believer's body has replaced the temple on Mount
Moriah forever (1Cor 3:16-17; Eph 2:24).
In Exodus 40:35 the Glory (Spirit) of the LORD filled the Tabernacle
after it was dedicated and sanctified by the shedding of blood. Likewise, no person
may receive the Spirit indwelling until they have been sanctified through faith repentance
wherein water baptism by faith in the name of Jesus Christ gives the grace of the
remission of sins by the blood of Jesus. Then that person is an eligible candidate
for the indwelling baptism of the Holy Ghost. All of us must approach the grace of
God through faith repentance and remission of sins by the blood. In the ancient
Tabernacle this began at the door of the Tabernacle by laying hands on the sacrifice to be
slain and confessing one's sins. The altar of sacrifice where the blood was shed
became Calvary and the Cross. Each individual may receive the Spirit Baptism upon
complete and full repentance holding no mental reservation or equivocation. Such are
then commanded to be baptized by faith to complete the finished work of salvation grace
(Acts 10:47-48):
Can any man forbid water, that these should
not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them
to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
Here we find the account of the Gentiles being made into Tabernacles
of the Holy Ghost. How could this be, was not this promised gift only to Jews?
Well let's look at the promise.
In Numbers 14:21 the LORD spoke to Moses a wonderful mystery.
A Mystery that the Jews have in the most part been blinded to until this day.
In this text the LORD told Moses that the same Glory (Spirit Baptism in the holy of
holies) would also fill the earth (Nations) with his Glory (Spirit). Here the
promise is unequivocally made to the Gentiles. This comes upon the authority of a
previous Promise to Abraham that in his seed all nations would be blessed (Gal 3:16-19).
What greater blessing could fall upon Israel and the Gentiles than the indwelling
Divine Presence?
In these accounts of the promise of the indwelling Spirit, the Glory
of the LORD was revealed as a future event to come to all nations. When this future
event was come to its fulness of time it would be necessary for someone to prepare the
Gentiles as to their fleshly tabernacle for the promised indwelling Divine Presence of the
Holy Ghost (The LORD's Spirit). This Brothers and Sisters is the basis of the true
Apostolic Gospel. The hope and promise of eternal life through grace and faith was made
known to Moses through the indwelling Divine Presence. All nations were to
experience this wonderful heaven-sent Glory.
In Exodus 29:23 the Tabernacle would be sanctified by the presence
of the Glory (Spirit) of the LORD. Even thus, a blood sanctified tabernacle in which
the Spirit (Glory ) of God has not taken up the Divine Presence is not yet a true
Tabernacle of the LORD. Spirit Baptism is a privilege often taken as a third work of
Grace and among some not even a part of grace and therefore not essential to the New Birth
experience. We know these are false teachings because John 3:3-5 tells us otherwise. These
interpretations fail to meet the doctrinal test of the ancient type and shadow of the
essentiality of the LORD's indwelling in the Tabernacle or it was not a Tabernacle
(dwelling place of his Divine Presence). This is a picture of our very own earthly
tabernacles needing the presence of the Holy Ghost or the LORD is not dwelling in us (Rom
8:9; 2Cor 6:16; 1John 4:3).
There is only one work of Grace and it is all in the whole of Acts
2:38. It begins with repentance and concludes with the rapture at the post
tribulation coming of the Lord. All of this is the one work of the Spirit of Grace which
is the Holy Ghost (Heb 10:29). A person who has not received the Holy Ghost as in
Acts 2:1-4 has not received the Spirit of Grace at all. A person who has received
the indwelling Spirit Baptism has received the Grace of God and by faith has been
sanctified by the Holy Ghost and deemed to be a holy Temple or Tabernacle until the coming
of our LORD. If they have not been baptized by faith in the name of Jesus Christ
according to Acts 2:38 then they are commaned to do so, no man forbiding them (Acts
10:46-48). Those that place a real value on the Baptism will fulfill this act of
faith not out of works but out of the Grace of God.
Do not treat this privilege lightly or with scorn or blasphemy. All manner of
sins may be forgiven unto men but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost will not be
forgiven in this life or in the life to come (Mat 12:31-32).
The LORD God takes Spirit Baptism as a serious matter even to the
point of eternally damning and reprobating any person who would speak against it as false
or of the devil. Even the Jews who deny the Church has received the Spirit and claim
that God still places a premium on the Old Temple site are damned by that unbelief. Those
Jews who thought this at Pentecost and who mocked are not those who believed and were
added to the Church. No doubt the mockers and scoffers are those whom Peter pointed
at when he said to those who believed, to "save yourselves from this untoward (or
mocking) generation" (Acts 2:40). There is no record afterward that any of
these mockers and scoffers were ever saved.
And in the Old Testament any person who used the name of the LORD in
vain (cursing and mocking) was considered to have spoken against the Spirit and Glory of
the God indwelling in the holy of holies and there was no forgiveness. These were to
be put to death without pardon or forgiveness (the unpardonable sin). So Brothers
and Sisters beware that we do not minimize the indwelling Spirit Baptism and allow others
to curse the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST who is in us as the Holy Ghost (Rom 8:9).
Their blasphemy against this precious indwelling Presence in an unpardonable sin.
We can see in a look into Spirit Baptism in the ancient Tabernacle
the Biblical Truth of what takes place when the LORD transforms the undesirable (badgers
which are mean animals) and takes the hide of such (does not God have humor), and makes
for himself a Tabernacle wherein his Holy Spirit will dwell. How many of us were
badgers that needed a skinning before God could use us for a dwelling place of his
Spirit?
In Exodus 25:22 we find that the Mercy Seat was placed in the holy
of holies and this signifies that our salvation is by grace through faith (Acts 2:38).
But it does not signify mind religion where you do nothing except claim something in
your mind and call that faith and then say this mental activity is rewarded by grace.
Mind faith plus *nothing* or no act of faith, is not found any where in Hebrews
chapter eleven and defies any man or woman to bring this Greek mind logic in and claim
this is Bible faith. Having mental faith in your faith is not Bible Faith.
Faith is the act of the will in EVERY aspect of the Christian life from hearing the
Word, to repentance, to water baptism, to Spirit baptism, to living holy, to believing the
Truth, to waiting upon the second coming of the Lord. The Just shall live by faith
which is a spiritual code of practice (Rom 1:17). And whatsoever is not of this
faith is sin (Rom 14:23).
If mind religion plus nothing was a fact of what constitutes faith,
this philosophy would have been a fact of the Tabernacle but it was not. Grace came
by the shedding of Blood and faith in that blood by full repentance produced the presence
of the LORD in the Tabernacle. The process was: 1.) Repentance; 2.)
Blood; and 3.) Spirit indwelling. In Acts 2:38 the same pattern is followed:
1.) Repentance; 2.) Baptism in water in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins (when the blood is applied); 3.) Holy Spirit indwelling. That is why Acts
2:38 is called the New Testament PLAN OF SALVATION. What is the sum of all of this?
First the convert discovers and confesses the sin nature within the soul through
repentance. Second the convert experiences the cleansing feeling of the heart and
soul by the blood of Jesus through faith baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins. Third the convert is sanctified unto the eternal purpose of God
by the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Then the convert is sealed unto God through
adoption by the Holy Ghost as a Son or Daughter of God. What greater compliment can one
hear from heaven except that still small voice: ...Son, ...Daughter?
To cement this without man corrupting the simplicity of it, Apostle
John said there were three that bare witness on the earth: the Spirit, the water,
and the blood (1John 5:8). Without the witness of Spirit Baptism a person does not
have the witness of God that the blood has washed away their sins through faith repentance
and baptism. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is the witness of the remission of sins
by the blood of Jesus. We came by faith to this salvation. We believed this
salvation by faith. We repented and were baptized according to Acts 2:38 by faith.
And this faith was rewarded by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I DID NOT SAY
our works were rewarded by the Baptism! I said our FAITH WAS REWARDED. Any
alleged work or act lodged against us by those who do not know the true grace of God,
which is perform in Acts 2:38 by either the convert or the Minister is produced by faith
and therefore we can boast it is the gift of God and not we ourselves. We now stand
in that faith and in the liberty wherein we have been made free. It is interesting
how some what to call out salvation of grace through faith *works* to justify their hatred
against Acts 2:38 being the plan of salvation. To destroy the essentiality of Acts
2:38 they must deny our faith and that we have the grace of God. Then they say we
must place our total faith in John 3:16 or Matthew 28:19 in the trinity before we can
qualify to claim salvation by grace through faith. This is false!
The presence of the LORD in the Tabernacle was the proof of the
grace of God through the shed blood of a substitutionary sacrifice and the repentance of
the children of Israel. And if the Tabernacle was ever vacated by the Spirit of God, the
whole of grace was gone and all that remained was the judgments of God. A tabernacle
without God's Spirit is a DEAD tabernacle. Likewise, the body without the spirit of life
is DEAD! A person who claims the Holy Ghost but who is still dead in his or her sins
and trespasses have deceived themselves.
So, we must know that once the Holy Presence of God indwells us in the Baptism of the
Holy Ghost we are in grace, under grace, saved by grace, and have hope unto the end.
But if we offend the Holy Ghost by defiling the Tabernacle, God will cancel his
grace and his judgments are ordained and we would then be appointed to death.
For this cause the temple in the days of Jesus and the Apostles had
to come under damnation and judgment because when God came to that place they THREW HIM
OUT and crucified him! Forever afterward they had a DEAD tabernacle except when some
Spirit-filled man or woman went there during the transition of worship from the Temple to
the Church. When the Messianic believers knew they could no longer reach God via the
Temple through deadness of the Law they slowly did not go there anymore and met in homes
that became Churches. The Spirit of God met these Messianic believers in a mighty
revival of power while the Temple further declined into a worthless empty building.
God destroyed the Temple in 70AD to forever signal the Church had replaced the
Temple. All of this because of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost in the true believers
in Christian Judaism.
Dare we crucify to ourselves the Lord Jesus by rejecting Holy Spirit
Baptism out of our Churches and out of our religious beliefs and bring Christ to an open
shame and count his blood as an unholy thing by sinful conduct and or joining up with
temple antichrist? If we do, we will become equal to that abomination of desolation
on Mount Moriah which Jesus said he left unto them desolate and would be destroyed (Mat
23:37-38; 24:1-2). And any such soul will experience fire and regret this
foolish choice. Consider that Jerusalem and the Temple were burned with fire to show
the wrath and anger of God against that house of sinful horrors, now void of the Spirit of
God forever like former Bethel and Shiloh.
Moses was instructed that God would meet with Israel in the
Tabernacle where he would dwell over the mercy seat. God told Moses he would commune
(talk) out of this holy of holies to signify his indwelling Presence (Exo 25:22)).
This is not an insignificant point. It is the proof that when God dwells in a
Tabernacle he will speak out of it. A person who claims to be a Tabernacle but out
of which God can not speak in the presence of the Holy Ghost, is NOT SPIRIT FILLED.
There is no other sign given here save that of God's Presence and his voice speaking
out of that holy place.
What could constitute and more prove the indwelling Holy Ghost in us
than that the LORD would speak out of his Tabernacles with a tongue or language of his own
choosing. We know not if the language of God in the first Tabernacle remained the same
language he spoke over the centuries. Scholars know that the language and alphabet
of the Jews changed at least three or four times from the days of Abraham to the day of
Jesus. God is not limited to one language and one alphabet he can speak them all.
And this great power of our God is manifested in the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
There it is said in Acts 2:4: They spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave
them the utterance. That Brothers and Sisters is the most profound evidence of God
speaking through his Sons and Daughters as his Tabernacles found anywhere in the
Scriptures.
Think of it, the God of Glory gives us an utterance in our lips and on our tongues that
he himself would speak and give the very words. This is not an argument as to
whether or not tongues is the initial evidence of the Holy Ghost, this is a revelation
that speaking in tongues is God giving each Son and Daughter words in a language he
himself would speak to all nations. And were all nations gathered someone would
understand what was spoken as on the day of Pentecost and these would say they heard us
speaking the wonderful things of God (Acts 2:11).
Is it not because of this that the ancient promise that this Glory
of the LORD would leave the house of sinful horrors and go outside of it and fill the
earth (all nations), that Apostle Peter could preach with confidence that the promise of
the indwelling was unto *you, and to your children, and all that are afar
off (Thayer: time and place), even as many as the Lord our God shall call (to
salvation)?
God chose to speak out of the Tabernacle as the testimony that he
dwelt there in the holy of holies with grace and love. Why would he want to change what
was his testimony for several centuries? Was this not the very revelation Isaiah had
in 28:11-12 when he prophesied of this hope and blessing:
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this
people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherein ye may cause the weary to rest;
and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Stammering lips is not quivering lips but rather that in many cases a person who is
Spirit baptized does not speak fluently or in a clear language they stutter and the words
are drawn out and often repeated in the same fashion a person who stutters would talk.
Some will protest this is not the genuine Holy Ghost. Well, the Prophet predicted
this response in Isaiah 28:13. Verse 14 shows that in judging this harshly some
religious leaders would be among the scornful. Such a person harshly judging may
later find themselves *falling backward, broken, snared, and taken* in their sins and
never come to real salvation. Notice to all unbelievers: BEWARE that when you mock
the work of God he REJECTS you (Gal 6:7)!
When I first received the Holy Ghost I was a stammer and only after some months did I
notice speaking in tongues fluently. Stammers usually are noted in that they speak no more
than perhaps a dozen words, some even far less, and repeat these over and over as the
Spirit moves upon them. Yes, I had Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ, Jehovah's
Witnesses, Presbyterians, and others tell me it was of the devil but they came to late to
deceive me. I had found and received the REAL THING!
A brother in Sweden who felt a need for God began to pray in his
bedroom to have his heart cleansed. He knew nothing of Acts 2:38 and the Promise.
After many days of sincere prayer and confession of sins he felt his heart purified
one day as he was weeping before the Lord. Suddenly he was overcome by the Holy
Ghost but he did not know what it was. He came to America soon afterward and visited
several Churches. He entered into an Apostolic holiness Church one night and there
he found that same Spirit he had encountered in his home country. When the worship
began he was overcome and began to leap and shout and rejoice. He now knew he had
received the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is what he said: "I did not
know what to call it, but I know when I received it." Sons and Daughters of
God should we not rather than argue over what the initial sign of the Holy Ghost is, pray
them through to the Holy Ghost and let God manifest his own sign? I appeal to your
sensibility here. Why are some trying so hard to tell sinners they do not need to
speak in tongues? What if that is the very experience God wants them to have and we
place a stumbling block before their faith teaching them they may receive the gift in some
other suggested *easier* way as if the original way of Pentecost is somehow to hard or to
demanding?
What could be plainer than the Word of God here? What could be
more accurate? The evidence in the Isaiah text of the indwelling was not to be a completed
New Testament, not to be prophecy; Not to be the gifts or fruits of the Spirit; Not
to be some verbal confession of faith; Not to be a miracle of healing; Not to be a
feeling of emotional repentance; Not to be water baptism; Not to be a word of
prophecy someone speaks and says name it claim it; Not to be Church membership; And
not to be a sacred tourist trip to the abominable temple mount, wear a Synagogue Pharisee
hat, or be rebaptized in the Jordan river in the trinity!
One Church of Christ Minister, angry at my insistence that the
Baptism was still valid picked up a small Gideon New Testament and shook it in my face and
said he COULD BUY ALL THE HOLY GHOST THERE WAS FOR FIFTY CENTS (poor Simon he should have
waited 50 years and he would not have been damned for trying to buy it). The Church of
Christ Minister said all of THE HOLY GHOST AND THE EVIDENCE OF IT WAS NOW THE COMPLETED
NEW TESTAMENT CANNON! Such outbursts and scorn did not shake my faith although I was
21 at the time. I trusted in the Word of God above the religious creeds of men and
the dogmas of religious organizations.
In the Isaiah prophecy the attending phenomenon of stammering lips
and speaking in other tongues would be the sign God had come into the Tabernacles of
Jewish sons and daughters and he would there Sabbath with them. And those that have
entered into that Sabbath have no need to keep a weekly Sabbath of abolished Law.
For they have found the Rest for their souls wherein the weary may rest for all
eternity, ceasing from their fleshly labors seeking spiritual salvation having found it in
Jesus through the grace of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.
The manifestation of this Divine Presence is such that the Gift of
the Holy Ghost is more than a conviction, more than a mental experience (believe you have
it by faith with no evidence). It is the very gift of eternal life within us with
evidence. How much more of eternal life could we possess in our souls than the very
Spirit of God through the Baptism of the Holy Ghost?
Thus the Holy Ghost is:
A supernatural Impartation of God's own Spirit within us. We
are his dwelling place, his Tabernacle (2Cor 6:16).
A supernatural Illumination wherein the Spirit of Truth opens our eyes to Jewish
and Gentile error and false doctrine so that we may walk in the true Light uncondemned
(Titus 1:14; 1John 1:7).
A supernatural Inspiration where there is a burning passion to worship and
fellowship with God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23).
A supernatural Invigoration as the Power of God in us becomes a witness to a lost
world and we preach, teach, write tracts and books, and yes have published web sites (Mark
13:10; Acts 1:7-8).
A supernatural Ignition that makes us the catalyst of revival and outburst of fire
in the Holy Ghost in the Church by the anointing (Acts 2:3, 4:33, 26:18).
A supernatural Intoxication as the new wine produces joy, shouting, and great
Church services and tremendous camp meetings (Luke 5:38; Acts 2:13).
A supernatural Indwelling that produces the other gifts of the Spirit, true
freedom, grace, and faith (1Cor 12:4).
This Gift and all of its attributes cannot be purchased. It cannot be obtained by
human works. It cannot be given to you by any person living upon the earth. A
person who does not have it CANNOT pray it upon someone else or pray it OUT OF SOMEONE.
John said Jesus was the baptizer of this baptism. All who therefore have
received this Baptism have had a personal experience with Jesus of grace through faith.
This is the true relationship of Saviour and Disciple and by it we can all then say
that JESUS IS LORD (1Cor 12:3).
Consider beloved, that Philip had gone down to Samaria to hold a
revival being filled with the Holy Ghost. He had all of the mentioned supernatural
life in Christ. In that revival many that were possessed of unclean spirits were
delivered. Many taken with palsies, that were lame, were healed (Acts 8:7).
And there in the midst of the revival observing all of this was Simon a Jewish
sorcerer (a Babylonian gnostic Kabbalist). But these had not received the Holy
Ghost. Then came Peter and John who prayed for them and they were filled with the
Holy Ghost. Some might say they already had Spirit Baptism because they already
believed? Why would Peter and John pray they receive it and lay hands on them if this is
true? Some might say they already had the Spirit Baptism because some had received
miracles and had faith. But all of these sayings of men and women are wrong!
The text says they HAD NOT received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:15-16).
Simon observed Philip and then Peter and John when they arrived.
I believe he saw God speaking through these in other tongues. If not, what did
Simon see that so impressed him that he was willing to part with a large sum of his money?
Neither the miracles nor the healings had moved him to make such an offer before.
And if there was not some outward manifestation of Spirit Baptism and it was all
inward without observation, what could it have been that Simon SAW THAT HE WANTED TO BUY?
The only possible answer is that he saw what happened when a person received the
Holy Ghost and they spoke in other tongues as had happened on the day of Pentecost.
Was it not this very same phenomenon that astonished Simon as it did first the Jews
on the day of Pentecost? Now Sons and Daughters of God is this not some evidence
that the issue is not just any proof as the baptism but speaking in tongues as the Spirit
gives the utterance?
Some would have us to believe that God used several methods to
signify the indwelling Baptism. But is this true? The Acts 2 Church is the microcosm
of the entire body of Christ. Were we to go to that foundation and ask Apostle
Peter: Brother Peter in the first Church did all who receive the Holy Ghost speak in
other tongues as the sign or evidence of Holy Spirit Baptism on the day of Pentecost?
Brother Peter would have to respond: Brothers and Sisters all of those present spoke
in tongues as the Spirit Baptism came upon them and filled the whole house.
If this is the Church in infancy, if this is the FIRST Church
of all subsequent copies, if this is where the New Covenant was ratified by the coming of
the Holy Ghost into the Tabernacles of men and women, if this is the Church to be the
pattern of all Churches, then how could we teach anything other than that the Holy Ghost
baptism is evidenced by God speaking through us in a language of his own choosing, giving
us the utterance as his Glory indwells us?
Some convolute this Baptism and teach that God had given the
Apostles these miraculous tongues as a means to overcome the language barriers of the day.
Come now, all those present in Jerusalem were at least bilingual that day.
They could speak in Aramaic and the language wherein they were born. God had
no need to speak to them in their own tongues wherein they were born if the language
barrier could be crossed by simply having all to speak in Aramaic. Peter had just
been able to preach to them in the Hebrew tongue without need of an interpreter. The
argument is more anti-Holy Ghost Baptism than it is anti-speaking in tongues.
Consider that in Acts 10 Peter preached to those present without
need of an interpreter why would God speak through the congregation to speak in tongues if
the need was for Peter to speak in tongues to cross a language barrier to preach to them
the Gospel?
Consider also Acts 19 where Paul spoke to 12 Jewish Brothers about
the Holy Ghost. Why would these need to speak in tongues to cross a language barrier with
Paul when they had exchanged conversation already without need of this? And why
would God then use 12 men to preach in tongues to cross a language barrier to speak back
to the Apostle Paul?
Obviously the false claim of the purpose of speaking in tongues as a
means to cross the language barrier is a fantastic fraud. Many may be deceived by it
but thank God many are not, their faith in the WORD wins out over man's word.
Those who teach the error that speaking in tongues is of the devil
do not have this great baptism because they may have blasphemed the Holy Ghost. Acts
5:32 says the Lord will give the Holy Ghost to those who obey him. The fact that
these do not have this Baptism as received on the day of Pentecost is positive proof they
have not and are not obeying God. Many of these are scoffers, mockers, and
blasphemers. How can these then profess to be saved? The scoffers and mockers
can be saved if they will repent but the blasphemers have no hope!
Some are saying that tongues must be mentioned at each pouring out
of the Holy Ghost or there is no conclusive proof the miracle was a consistent event of
salvation. This is not true. If the Early Church understood speaking in tongues as
the Spirit gave the utterance to be a natural miracle, they would not have seen a need to
make it a focus of attention each and every time a pouring out occurred. Even today
we report that so many received the Holy Ghost and infer by that the evidence accompanying
the Baptism was with the miracle of speaking in other tongues, and we seldom even mention
the tongues. The point is made. And remember, there were no unbelieving
Baptist, Church of Christ, Methodist, Presbyterians, or Jehovah's Witnesses there claiming
speaking in tongues was gibberish and of the devil. So there was no need to focus
upon a prophetic fulfillment and keep rehashing that speaking in tongues was an integral
aspect of Spirit Baptism. Point made again.
A Florida Minister friend on a trip together to Alaska a few years
back informed me that he believed that the fruits of the Spirit were the evidence of Holy
Ghost Baptism and not speaking in other tongues as recorded in Acts 2. His idea
was that anyone can fake tongues but they cannot fake the fruits of the Spirit which are
manifest twenty four hours a day. I probed into this new change in doctrine by going
through the famous accounts of Spirit Baptism in Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, and Acts 19
asking him to show me that the Apostles understood the fruits of the Spirit to be the sign
to them of the Baptism. He could not and did not. A few months later one his
daughters called my daughter to tell us that her younger brother had received the Holy
Ghost. When I was given the news my first response was to ask the little sister what
fruit of the Spirit was manifested to give this evidence. She said: O, Brother
Reckart he spoke in other tongues for a long time in the joy of the Lord. I said
nothing more. Later I talked with the Minister and inquired of his son's
baptism and he said: O, Brother Reckart he really got the Holy Ghost. At this
point I did not want an argument with a friend and left it, as I knew then he held a
doctrine that he did not believe or else he would not identify the Holy Ghost baptism
within his own son as evidenced by other tongues. To this day I have not seen
a single Minister who espouses this doctrine get up and say Brother or Sister so-and-so
received the Holy Ghost tonight I just witnessed from them a fruit of the Spirit.
Some are saying that having the gift of prophecy can satisfy as the
initial witness. This is false. The same text of Joel they cite contains two other
items that would occur *after* the initial pouring out of the Spirit. These are that
young men shall see visions and old men shall dream dreams. Sons and Daughters of
God have you ever heard any Preacher get up and say a young man reported to him he had a
vision about a beautiful girl or a new car, or some other thing (spiritual or carnal) and
say this qualified as a witness he was born of the Spirit? Can a preacher get up and
say the an old man reported he had been having dreams of what ever spiritual or carnal
nature be a witness he was born of the Spirit? The point here is that prophecy is
not the only thing mentioned in the Joel text. So if someone wants to use that as an
evidence then why not visions and dreams?
Was this the intent of the Joel Passage? Was it meant that
Spirit Baptism, Prophecy, Visions, and Dreams would all happen all on the day of Pentecost
and all would be equal witness of the Baptism of the Spirit? Intelligence demands
reason here. The first part of the Joel passage ends with a colon ( : ) and
the dot over the dot is simple and means stop here. It could also mean to think
twice about what you just read before you continue. It also serves to separate what
was just said FROM what follows although they may be in the same sentance or paragraph.
Those who understand know that this verse is to span the entire new Church age that began
at Pentecost and concludes at the coming of the Lord. So, first there will be an
outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh: then in the course of the Church we will
see sons and daughters of all flesh prophesy, young men of all flesh will have visions,
and old men of alll flesh shall have dreams. This covers the whole of the Church
age. If we say Spirit Baptism, Prophecy, Visions, and Dreams were to be all
an equal witness or evidence of the day of Pentecost miracle, then we must prove that
it happened that day. Someone in the 120 sleeping and dreaming while someone else spoke in
tongues while someone else was in a vision trance, while some other women and men took
turns prophesying is not in the text. And there is not one word of witness to
this theory. But we know they all came to pass afterward over a period of time and
are still in practice today throughout the world. So saying prophecy, visions, or
dreams are also witnesses of the infilling of the gift of the Holy Ghost equal to or a
replacement of stuttering lips and speaking in tongues, is FALSE.
When Apostle Paul was instructing the Corinthians about the Holy
Ghost and speaking in tongues did any of you notice that he did not once mention the gifts
of the Spirit as the evidence. He did not at all mention prophecy, visions, or
dreams as the evidence. He did not mention miracles as the evidence. He quoted
Isaiah 28:11-12 when he wrote about speaking in tongues and the proper use to edify
oneself and the use of the *unknown* tongue to edify the Church by interpretation.
Has anyone noticed that in Acts 19 that these 12 on whom Paul laid
his hands spoke in tongues first as the evidence of the indwelling and then afterward
began to prophesy? In the New Covenant a person may prophesy but if they do not first have
the gift of the Holy Ghost with the day of Pentecost proof, then I do not trust their
prophecies, preaching, or compends. Especially since the trinitarians who now do not have
the Baptism of the Holy Ghost claim in their dictionaries and commentaries that prophecy
is preaching, both a foretelling and now a forthtelling!
If the promise is the Holy Ghost and if the initial Holy Ghost
baptism is manifest as prophecy, visions, or dreams and if prophecy is preaching,
then how come we don't pray people through to preaching? If having a vision is an
initial evidence of Spirit Baptism how come we do not pray them throught to a vision.
If an old man is to dream as the initial evidence then why do we not tell all old
men to report when they have a godly dream and we will certify them as having the Spirit
Baptism? Or maybe we should allow them to sleep in Church to have this new wacky
Holy Ghost experience and call it initial Spirit Baptism?
Come Sons and Daughters of God, could a person claim all this
nonsense and also that preaching is the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost with no
need whatsoever of ever manifesting the day of Pentecost experience? When the
Pentecost 120 were filled with the Holy Ghost did they begin to Preach as the evidence or
did they begin to speak in other tongues that they had not learned and could not speak
without this dynamic miracle? Did they manifest the fruits of the Spirit as the
evidence of the Baptism? Did they exercise the gifts of the Spirit as the evidence
of the Baptism? What about in Acts 8, 10, 19 etc.?
Prophecy was already in operation prior to the day of Pentecost.
There were several who prophesied included beautiful Anna. Why a special day to make
it the evidence of Holy Spirit Baptism? And if prophecy is preaching and prophecy in
other tongues was the phenomenon, then I want to hear all who claim this preach in other
tongues as the evidence of the Holy Spirit Baptism or quit making this claim.
Make no mistake about it, each and every time a convert receives the
Holy Ghost Baptism with the miracle of speaking in tongues as the proof of their
salvation, that is greater than all healing miracles or gifts of the Spirit (also fruits
of the Spirit) that can or ever will be performed or manifested in a Believer's life?
Please do not confuse the gift of tongues with this miracle of salvation. They
are two different things. The gift of the Holy Ghost is not tongues, it is the
indwelling Presence itself. Speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the
utterance as the testimony of the indwelling is not the operation of the gift of tongues
as found in Paul's teachings on the gifts.
Because an Apostolic Minister has received this fire baptism and has
separated his life from the world to preach this Truth, he is a CALLED PREACHER. He
has a mission and he does not select his doctrine or fabricate his own from personal
theory or some other man's philosophy. He must preach what the Lord Jesus ordained his
Apostles to preach to all the world. And if a man will take this to his heart and
his burden, he is ORDAINED. If he should alter any of that Gospel and fashion to
himself another Gospel but use some of the original to hide his apostasy, he surrenders
his ORDINATION and he is no longer a CALLED PREACHER.
Apostolic Preachers are Gospel Preachers of the True faith of Jesus.
Apostolic Preachers are studious Preachers always ready to discard traditions of men to
walk in the revelation of Truth. They will forsake all false teachings and not use the
famous cop-out to agree to disagree as an excuse not to take a stand for truth.
Apostolic Preachers are plain and humble Preachers. They come from all walks of life
and from all nations. Many are in poor countries and live on dirt floors. Some have
graduated from the most prestigious universities and colleges. With a broad-based
fellowship these have become the most dedicated group of men anywhere in the world.
And a most beautiful spirit dwells among them as they watch the times and prepare
the Church for the troublesome time ahead. There is no greater love anywhere than
that within the heart of an Apostolic Preacher.
Apostolic Preachers are bold preachers. They will confront the Catholic Church,
Judaism, Islam, and any other apostate system with the same fervor as Jesus and the
Apostles would if they were here. These men of courage and burden will never succumb
to Charismaticism and the free-wheeling liberalism now sweeping some Pentecostal movements
from their foundations.
Apostolic Preachers are powerful Preachers. They carry a Divine unction so great
that even our novices are greater than all the false prophets and false teachers of other
groups and denominations.
Apostolic Preachers are successful Preachers. They are crafted men of so many
professions being God-taught and God-led, that were any Church to pay for all the
different jobs they perform they would each receive a salary of over a quarter of a
million dollars a year. But they do it for far less and sometimes live all of their
lives on the very verge of bankruptcy because they love Truth and will sacrifice their
lives, their talents, and their possible fortunes for the Kingdom of God.
Apostolic Preachers are victorious Preachers. Temptations come against these, their
wives, their children, and their Church members, but they lead them to victory after
victory by careful preaching of the Word and the power of their prayers with God.
Apostolic Preachers should be given double honor not only by those whom they Pastor but by
those peers who stand back to back with them on the front lines of the spiritual battles
in doctrine, faith, and practice. Unity should not be centered around world
evangelism, not around promoting collection of offerings for projects; not around
political machines where many lord over God's Servants with threat and intimidation
(salvation cards, budget fees, and district politics). No, among Apostolic Preachers our
unity is in the one faith once delivered to the saints and we will fellowship one another
in and out of pedigreed organizations. And when any man stands to this message we
will stand with him in unity of Spirit and mission and shout, ...AMEN, PREACH IT BROTHER!
Apostolic Preachers are missionary minded Preachers. They know that the commission
is to all the world although they have their own little corner of the vineyard to harvest.
These Men of God share a burden for Truth and will bankrupt themselves in giving
before they see the work of God come to a halt.
The Apostolic Church is a praying Church.
The Apostolic Church consist of individual congregations united at the grass roots in
doctrine although we are separated by sectarianism (salvation cards) and political lords.
Our Church members are the Israel of God and the greatest people alive upon the
earth today.
The Apostolic Church is a working Church. Prayer meetings, great worship services,
musicians who dedicate their talents through practice and praise, pulpit helps, altar
prayer champions, sunday school and Christian school workers, those who hold home Bible
Studies; together this worketh the selfsame thing as a continuous working of the Holy
Ghost from the least to the greatest.
The Apostolic Church is a Blood-Bought Church, an expectant Church, a victorious Church
with plenty of grace and forgiveness for all, knowing that our hope is not in
judgmentalism but in each one's mercy not judging anything before the time (1Cor 4:5).
The Apostolic Church is a rejoicing Church. Though unbelieving Jews and Gentiles
hate us for his name's sake and we be a little flock, yet Zion, the Israel of God, the
blessed Mount where the chief Cornerstone was laid at the upper room dwelling on the day
of Pentecost, is the apple of God's eye. We have no glory in Mount Moriah nor yet in
the rebuilding of a new abomination of desolation controlled by antichrist and to be
destroyed when the two Prophets prophesy against it and an earthquake destroys it (Rev
11:13). Mount Moriah and Mount Zion ARE NOT THE SAME PLACE! Our joy is the Church of
the Living God the pillar and ground of the truth, the Jerusalem which is above and the
mother of us all (1Tim 3:15; Gal 4:26).
All these blessings are ours because of the Holy Ghost Baptism in
our midst that began on the day of Pentecost in the First Apostolic Church of Jerusalem.
Hold to Acts 2:38 and bring converts into the Church by grace
through faith. And as the Lord fills them with the Holy Ghost Baptism, we can say:
"it was not of ourselves it is the GIFT OF GOD (Eph 2:8)!
Forbid not to speak in tongues. And if any speak in the
unknown tongue let it be by two or three and that by course let one interpret. Let
us hold these things dear as the LORD GOD of ancient days purposed them for our salvation
and for our joy.
Some final notes on why speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the
utterance is of such great joy among Apostolics. In any Church service, meeting, or
crowd:
Tongues identifies those who have fully repented from those who have
not.
Tongues identifies those who believe from those who do not.
Tongues identifies those who have faith in the Word from those who do not.
Tongues identifies those who worship in Spirit and in Truth.
Tongues identifies those with imputed righteousness from those with none.
Tongues identifies those with the gift from those who do not have it.
Tongues identifies those who are a temple of God from those who are not.
Tongues identifies those who have the grace of God from those who have not.
Tongues identifies those saved by grace through faith from those who are not.
Tongues identifies who is rapture-ready (Post-Trib) from those who are not.
Tongues identifies those who have been born again from those who have not.
Perhaps there is someone who has had a heart-cleansing repentance
experience but not the full new birth of Spirit Baptism with the miracle of speaking in
other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. Let me urge you to open your heart
to this miracle of Pentecost.
Do not stop at this wonderful personal relationship with Christ.
Turn to Acts 2:38 and fulfill it completely by faith. If you desire to attend
a Church where someone can assist you in this gift of eternal life, drop me a note by
clicking the e-mail link at the beginning of this article.
A man was given a ticket with all expenses paid from Europe to America. While aboard
ship he ate little and stayed in his berth. He starved for fourteen days at sea
hungering for the missing essentials of life. One day as he was nearing port someone
pointed out to him that his ticket included first class meals in the dining room. He
could have enjoyed the food but he did not know it came with his ticket. And so it
is, many have an inner hungering for something greater in their unfulfilled spiritual
life. They do not know that the fulness of the joy of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost comes
with that greater Spiritual salvation miracle of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives
the utterance. How exciting to be given the news it is part of the salvation ticket.
What joy to know you are a part of Prophecy being fulfilled as God gives you a personal
relationship with him through the Baptism of the Spirit. How many there are who do not
know this miracle is part of the salvation ticket?
This is the Truth about the Holy Ghost Baptism.
In the Name of Jesus Messiah,
Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor
Aug 24, 1998
