What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit meant to accomplish in us?

Essentially, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a doorway leading from a natural realm into a supernatural realm of life and experience. The average Christian, although truly professing Christ, operates largely on his own power, making his own decisions, living by his own strength, and controlling his own life. 

But through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Christian steps out of this natural realm into a realm where he can begin to experience the supernatural gifts and powers of God’s Holy Spirit.

The initial evidence of entering this supernatural realm is the ability to speak in other tongues. (See Part II for a discussion of tongues.) But that is just the beginning. If all that happened to the 120 people at Pentecost had been that they began to speak in tongues, their experience would soon have been forgotten. 

The same is true today. If all that happens to one receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that he speaks in tongues, then he is not forging ahead in faith into this powerful new realm in which God has ushered him. Many other benefits and blessings are awaiting him. The list that follows draws on the testimonies of many Spirit-filled Christians. While it is a typical list, it is by no means exhaustive.

1. Baptism in the Holy Spirit often brings a stronger assurance of salvation.

Jesus said, “Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Many Christians, when they accept Jesus Christ as Savior, experience a deep conversion and the assurance that they belong to Christ. But for countless others, the assurance of their born-again experience does not occur until they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. As Paul said, “When we cry ‘Abba, Father!’ it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:15–16).

Today, many members of the mainline Christian denominations, on hearing of the possibility of a more powerful, personal relationship with Jesus, have sought and found it through the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

The following testimony of one who recently received the baptism in the Holy Spirit is typical of many:

For years I had been a faithful church member. I came to worship; I listened to sermons; I worked on committees; I served in every way I knew how; yet I was not satisfied. When I heard about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I knew this was something I really needed. And when I received it, Jesus became much more real to me. 

Everything changed! I began to love people. The church services suddenly came to life. All the hymns and prayers became almost unbearably sweet. The sermons sounded as if we had a new minister, only he had been saying the same things all along. I was the one who was changed.

Yet, trying to explain this experience to those who have not experienced it themselves can be as difficult as trying to describe hot weather to Eskimos. In churches where worship and service are based on an intellectual assent to the gospel, where fellowship is determined by social and economic ties rather than on the common experience of personal redemption, the testimony of a Spirit-filled Christian—whose heart has been melted in the flame of a profoundly moving encounter with the risen Lord as Baptizer and King—may be completely misunderstood or rejected. The lukewarm church member cannot really understand it until it happens to him.

2. Baptism in the Holy Spirit brings a further crucifixion of the “old self.”

The baptism in the Holy Spirit brings with it a new spiritual sensitivity—a sensitivity that works in more ways than one. Just as we become more aware of God’s presence within us, so do we also become more aware of the presence of sin. This increased sensitivity to sin is matched by a desire for personal holiness—but while the spirit is willing, the flesh is often weak.

Potentially, we die to the old nature when we become Christians.

We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.(Romans 6:6)

The realisation of this crucifixion of the “old self” in our actual experience is another matter. While one may experience immediate deliverance from a particular illness, addiction, or personal weakness as a result of being baptised in the Holy Spirit, and while new and unmistakable joy and power enter into one’s life, still the battle against the “old self” continues to be waged in other areas of our lives. There is no such thing as instant holiness.

A friend, Enid Newman, once shared an experience that illustrates this point. One day, while she was earnestly praying for God to make her more tolerant and loving, the Holy Spirit prompted her to claim a particular passage of Scripture as a personal promise, Ezekiel 36:26: “A new heart I will give you…I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” 

As she claimed the Scripture, she felt a new and precious love stealing into her heart and became quite excited over what she thought was to be an instantaneous spiritual transformation. But then, in a vision, she saw a picture of her heart. It was like a wagon load of junk metal—dirty, rusted, and useless. As she gazed at it in dismay, she saw one small piece of metal begin to shimmer until it became like purest gold. The Holy Spirit witnessed to her that this was the transformation she had just experienced, and that, as she continued to surrender to Him, little by little, He would continue to make her heart new and pure.

The crucifixion of the old self, which begins with rebirth and is intensified by the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is a long and painful process. They may be right who claim that this purging is the “fire” John the Baptist spoke of when he said Jesus would baptise “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). We would be less than honest to claim that such an inflow of spiritual power has no crucifying element within it. It has! But the joy of being in the Vine enables us to endure the pruning of the Vinedresser.

3. Baptism in the Holy Spirit brings the Scriptures to life.

The average adult church member seems to find Bible study about as pleasant as poison ivy. As a child, he may have been forced to study Scripture in Sunday school, but usually only until he was old enough to wear down his parents’ resistance and drop out. Choose any church you like, and chances are you’ll find only a handful of the adult members who are engaged in any real study of the Scripture. 

It’s not that Mr. or Mrs Average Christian has anything against the Bible. Ask them if they believe the Bible, and they’ll probably say yes. But they are indifferent toward it; it has no real claim on them. Obviously, what is lacking is divine motivation, and that motivation is supplied through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Christians receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit find the Bible rising to towering heights as the Spirit creates a new hunger for the Word of God.

I received the baptism in the Spirit while studying for the ministry, and I already had more than a casual acquaintance with the Scriptures. But suddenly, the Bible’s message came alive as I began to find its characters were Spirit-filled or Spirit-led and were involved with a living God. The whole Bible emerged as a living record of God’s supernatural dealings with His children. 

The Holy Spirit—with blazing authority and power—revealed to me a major thesis in Scripture that the church today seems consistently to ignore: What man cannot do for himself God’s loving, supernatural power will do for him, if he asks, believes, and obeys. “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you” (Isaiah 30:18). 

With the Scriptures confronting me in this powerful new way, all desire to criticise, rationalise, or quarrel with their authority began to melt away, and the Bible became the living Word of God to me.

Under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the biblical message becomes personal and intimate in a most remarkable fashion. At times, guidance and insight come leaping from its pages in an almost supernatural way, answering particular questions and providing needed wisdom. Understandably, this kind of guidance is of such a personal, subjective nature that the full impact of its relevance is seldom communicable or applicable to a larger group. But the reliability of such guidance was established for me years ago, and I have come to trust this method of the Holy Spirit’s working in my life implicitly.

4. Baptism in the Holy Spirit makes God’s guidance possible in new and powerful ways.

Sometimes, overriding what we call common sense, the Holy Spirit will lead us into unexpected actions and decisions where we may feel frustrated and helpless until the results reveal a will and wisdom far beyond our own at work.

Once, while I was pastoring in Sharon, Pennsylvania, a Spirit-filled friend, Dr Victor Dawe, drove to Pittsburgh with me to see Reverend Harald Bredesen, a close, personal friend and prominent figure in the charismatic revival who was holding an informal seminar at Duquesne University with some faculty and students who were involved in the charismatic movement.

Both Victor Dawe and I had other matters to discuss with Harald and planned to arrive well before the meeting began. But entering Pittsburgh, we found ourselves ensnarled in maddening traffic and threading our way through a bewildering maze of road construction and unfinished expressways, none of which seemed to point in the direction of the university. 

Growing tired and irritable, we were tempted, several times, to give up the whole venture and return home. The time for the meeting arrived and we were nowhere near our destination. Then, to make matters worse, we found ourselves on an expressway leading us past the university but with no exit to the campus, making it necessary to drive several miles before we could turn around and make our way back. 

By this time, I was exasperated enough to regret I’d ever heard of the Christian faith in general and the charismatic movement in particular.

Finally, we found ourselves on the campus, where a helpful student gave us directions to the building where the seminar was being held. It was now almost an hour past the scheduled time of meeting. 

As we pulled alongside the curb, we were relieved to find two parking spaces adjacent to front of the entrance—the only two spaces in an otherwise unbroken line of parked cars. As I pulled into one space, a small sedan followed me into the second space. We climbed from the car and were astounded to see Harald Bredesen emerging from the other car. Through circumstances unknown to us, he, too, had been delayed. 

While those responsible for the seminar scattered over the campus to gather the students and faculty, Victor, Harald, and I sat on the front steps and had a leisurely half-hour to discuss those things that were most important to us, and to marvel at how—in the midst of confusion and complaint—the Holy Spirit had worked to bring us together.

Other times, the Holy Spirit will move with urgency to get us into the will of God for a particular purpose. Several years ago, while serving at a church in Toronto, Canada, I experienced such an incident. I was mowing the parsonage lawn one Saturday afternoon when, under an unusual prompting of the Holy Spirit, I was moved to go attend a service at a healing revival being conducted in the west end of that city. On the way to the service, the Holy Spirit directed me to a hospital where one of my deacons lay recovering from surgery. 

As I approached the hospital, the Spirit revealed that I would find the deacon near death and was to take his name to the healing service, request prayer for his healing, and stand in as his proxy for the laying on of hands. True to the Spirit’s leading, I found the deacon near death, continued on to the healing service, and stood in proxy for prayer and the laying on of hands on his behalf. God stayed the hand of death, and the deacon recovered.

At times, this kind of prompting of the Holy Spirit seems so in conflict with our own natural desires, and at other times our plans seem so in conflict with His desires that we are reluctant to yield in obedience. Often, the Holy Spirit must thwart our plans to make us receptive to His. This was true in the early church.

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. (Acts 16:6–8, emphasis added)

The Holy Spirit also gently teaches us that we alone are not responsible for the whole world. There are certain conditions and persons not in our personal “bundle” who—for reasons known only to God—are not in our province to help. 

A close study of the ministry of Jesus indicates He was subject to the discriminating guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. While He loved all men and never refused to help or heal anyone who came seeking Him, still, He did not force His ministry on people who were neither interested in Him nor ready to believe His message. For example, when He visited the Bethesda pool where there lay a whole crowd of sick people, He was led by the Holy Spirit to minister only to one man. (See John 5:1–9.)

5. Baptism in the Holy Spirit gives more power in prayer.

The church as a whole seems still asleep to the fact that earnest, believing prayer is the channel through which the miracle-working power of God flows. Many church members—and ministers, as well—freely admit that intercessory prayer has no place in their lives. 

I remember the shock and dismay I felt when I heard the admission of a seminary professor—a former navy chaplain and an ordained minister in my own denomination—frankly confess that he’d never in all his life seen anything happen, either to him or to anyone else, that would give him any assurance that God heard and answered prayer. 

Early in our spiritual journey, my wife and I began to experience definite and sometimes dramatic answers to prayer. It is still a matter of deep concern with us how few Christians avail themselves of this powerful weapon. After twenty years of trusting Him, we couldn’t begin to count the times God has lovingly and graciously answered our petitions.

Just yesterday, we experienced His love and bounty in this way. For several days we had been holding before Him a pressing financial obligation that totalled $94.28. We simply had no money with which to pay this obligation and knew of no source where such a sum would be forthcoming within the immediate future. Nevertheless, we prayed, trusting God, reminding Him of His promise to us that as long as we faithfully sought to minister in accordance with His will, He would provide for our needs. 

Then, in yesterday’s mail came two checks from completely unexpected sources that totalled $95.00, and we rejoiced, not only in God meeting our need, but in doing so with so exact an amount that there could be no question that He was a loving Father answering a specific request made by His children.

Thus, we see that Jesus’ statements about prayer’s power are not simply “flashes of brilliant hyperbole,” as one biblical critic rationalised, but instead, are firm declarations of what God can and will do in response to believing, trusting prayer.

And the baptism in the Holy Spirit clearly adds a deeper dimension to prayer. The ability to pray in tongues brings with it a new spiritual freedom and creates a precious intimacy with Jesus not previously known. When uncertain how to pray in a given situation, the Spirit-filled Christian may slip over into praying in tongues with the confidence that such Spirit-directed prayer is more effective than his own intellectually-guided efforts. As Paul reminds us:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
(Romans 8:26–27)

6. Baptism in the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the reality of Satan and his power.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit opens the Christian’s eyes, not only to the supernatural realities of God, but to the dominion of demons, as well. The battle lines between good and evil, between God and Satan, are much more clearly drawn. Satan is no figment of an overactive imagination to be explained away by religious sophisticates. He is, as Jesus knew him to be, a personal adversary, real and cunning.

In Matthew 4:1–11, we have the account of Jesus’ own temptation by the devil at the beginning of His ministry. The temptations were subtle and powerful, offered in terms of Jesus’ special powers, tempting Him to achieve a quick and easy victory. 

Jesus met and overcame the tempter by a reliance on the Word of God. While the encounter was obviously a deeply personal and private experience, nevertheless, it found its way into our New Testament because Jesus shared it with His disciples, and so with us, that we might know and be warned of Satan’s disruptive ministry.

The Scriptures clearly reveal that our sin, illness, poverty, and fear are all the result of Satan’s oppression. Jesus never once told anybody that sickness was from God; He recognised it and treated it for what it is: an affliction from the devil, to be cast out and destroyed by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Paul tells us,

For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

One of the amazing ministries Spirit-filled Christians are finding themselves engaged in is that of casting out demons. We have discovered that many forms of illness, both physical and mental, are the direct result of demonic oppression, and that, in such cases, deliverance lies not in the prayer of faith but in taking authority over the demons in Jesus’ name and commanding them to come out. The results are often quite remarkable.

In many cases, the demons manifest themselves in the person just as they did in New Testament times, by taking over and speaking through the individual. They may argue or cajole or plead or insist on their right to be in the person. In the beginning, they may refuse to come out and may curse or threaten the one taking authority over them. On command, they must name themselves, and the name usually reveals their sphere of activity. 

While engaged in this ministry, I have personally confronted demons who gave such names as Pride, Hatred, Lies, Murder, Anger, Misery, Resentment, Loneliness, Laziness, Silliness, Gluttony, Self-destruction, Meanness, Madness, Lust, Infirmity, Blindness, Dumbness, Self-Pity, Thievery, Wantonness, Blasphemy, Shyness, Profanity, Vanity, and many others.

Often, many demons may reside in a single personality, as in the case of Mary Magdalene in the New Testament, out of whom Jesus cast seven demons. (See Mark 16:9.) In such cases, the demons may be expelled quickly, or the deliverance may take several hours or several prayer sessions until all of the demons are identified and cast out. Jesus Himself said that in some of these cases prayer and fasting is essential to being used in the deliverance ministry. (See Matthew 17:21.)

We should also stress that it is one thing to cast the demons out and another to keep them out. To remain free, a person must stay vigilant in prayer and faithfully build up his spiritual resources. He must resist with real determination every effort of Satan to regain entry into his life.

This is not a casual ministry and should be undertaken only under the leading of the Holy Spirit, and then only with much prayer and continual pleading of the blood of Christ for protection. Neither is it a ministry to be attempted alone, since it can be quite physically exhausting. At times, physical help is needed in restraining the possessed person since the demons within may seek to cause bodily harm by throwing the person on the floor or banging his head against the wall. Therefore, the ministry should be undertaken only in teams of two or more.

Once the Spirit-filled Christian enters this spiritual arena and begins to battle Satan on his own ground, he must remain doubly on guard against the harassment and attacks of Satan against his own person, or against other members of his family. Yet, when one is led into this ministry, he or she can approach it with determination and faith, knowing that Satan is a defeated foe and that he and his demonic underlings must give way before the authority and power of Jesus Christ.

7. Baptism in the Holy Spirit brings a concern for the salvation of others.

With the baptism in the Holy Spirit comes a new revelation of the ache in God’s heart for the saving of His children. The Spirit-filled Christian begins to feel 

some of the compassion Christ felt when He wept over Jerusalem.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not.(Matthew 23:37)

This deep, compassionate yearning that the Holy Spirit shares with us is, of course, the basic motivation for Christian evangelism. The Bible plainly teaches that man is lost without Christ: “For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The term “lost” is God’s term, not ours. He considers us His lost children until we are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. 

The word lost is one of the most moving words in the English language. It signifies separation from all that is loved and familiar. Someone loved and cherished is missing. The word implies a fallen estate, separation from blessed security and privilege. If something is lost, it means it once was owned, or it belonged to someone. If a child is lost, it means he’s strayed beyond the protection of his parents. He faces danger and suffering that were never intended, and this means heartbreak and anguish for the parents who love him and who would move heaven and earth to get him back.

The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 reveals more clearly than any other Scripture the longing of God for the return of His lost children. The key verse is Luke 15:20. The prodigal has squandered his inheritance and decides to return home. 

“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (emphasis added). There was only one reason why the Father had seen his son returning while he was still far away from the house; he had never stopped watching for his son’s return. 

And when at last he identifies the gaunt, penitent figure of his son wearying into view, he rushes to meet him. “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (verse 24). This, the Holy Spirit reveals, is the Father’s heart of God, longing for the saving of His lost children. And a measure of that great longing, by the Holy Spirit’s quickening presence, becomes ours as well.

8. Baptism in the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ.

For many church members the lordship of Christ is a puzzling and often fuzzy subject, and His place in their religion is not clearly defined. They are unsure and confused about Him. There is a direct relationship between the baptism in the Holy Spirit and accepting the lordship of Christ fully. Indeed, it takes the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the full wonder and glory of Jesus, for as Jesus Himself said, “He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). 

Without the inward witness that comes with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, many people in the church consider Jesus as teacher, friend, guide, elder brother, example, leader, or any one of a whole list of additional titles, which, while showing respect, leave Him less than God. 

But under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit-baptised Christian is swept into a dazzling awareness of Jesus’ lordship. Like the early Christians, we become satisfied that He is God Incarnate. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We accept, at face value, His own claim, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). We say, “Amen!” to Paul’s statement, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

Certainly, I loved Jesus before receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I had accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour before. Yet, He was my Lord with reservations because I loved Him with reservations. But after being baptised in the Holy Spirit, I came to understand why He had been the all-consuming passion in the lives of the early Christians, because something akin to that passion began to burn within me. 

I know now what Paul meant in his wildly glorious statement of abandonment of self for the sake of Jesus Christ: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7–8).

9. Baptism in the Holy Spirit reveals the depth of God’s love.

Miraculous though it seems, with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, there begins to dawn on us the realisation that our heavenly Father loves each of us—unworthy as we are—with the same boundless love He bestowed upon His only begotten Son. Jesus was not only sustained by this love but prayed that it be revealed to us, as well.

I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one….I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou has sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. (John 17:20, 23)

We are well aware of how deep love between husband and wife or parents and children creates an environment conducive to a happy, satisfying life. And God’s love for us, infinitely greater than our love for one another, revealed and experienced through the Holy Spirit, has far greater potential for transforming life. As we pray in the Spirit, there comes a sense of wonder at being tenderly surrounded and upheld by His love. Sometimes, this spiritual union, in high moments of worship, becomes blissful almost beyond description. It is like a foretaste of heaven.

Some years ago, several of us were gathered for Spirit-filled prayer in the home of Mrs Toler Tucker of Raleigh, North Carolina, where we were overwhelmed by the presence of Jesus in the manner described above. During those rapturous moments, the Lord spoke in prophecy through a dear friend, Sister Mittie Watters. 

She stated that the holy love we were experiencing was but a foretaste of what all Christians would experience when Jesus returns to reign in glory. In those moments, we seemed to occupy a special, secret place in the bosom of God. We knew the “security of the beloved.”

Yet, this is not something selfish to be appropriated by the very few. Rather, it is God’s promise to everyone who will believe. Enveloped in this love, we know what it is to be safe, or “saved.” We know what it is to be at peace with God. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives” (John 14:27).

Nothing this world offers can match that love. Remember the old hymn, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine”? This is it, the assurance that we are the beloved of God, eternally safe and secure. There are no adequate words here. Those who have begun to experience it know what I mean; those who have not, I pray, will soon discover it for themselves.