EVIDENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM

Theme: “Speaking with other tongues is the evidence that a person has received the baptism with the Holy Spirit.”

In the book of Acts, believers who received the Holy Spirit spoke in other tongues.  “Tongues” simply means “languages”.  Those who received the Holy Spirit began to speak in languages they had never learned.

Acts 2:1-4:
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

In Ephesus, those who were baptized with the Holy Spirit also spoke in other languages:

Acts 19:1-6:
As it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples, he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”  So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”  And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”  So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

In Acts 10, Gentiles (non-Jews) began speaking in other languages, and this was proof to the apostles that they had received the Holy Spirit:

Acts 10:44-47:
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.  And those of the circumcision [the Jews] who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.  For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

Paul the apostle received the Holy Spirit in Acts 9, and there is no record that he spoke in tongues on the spot (though there’s no record he didn’t, either), but he later said, “I thank my God I speak in tongues more than you all” (1 Corinthians 14:18), so we know that Paul did speak in tongues after being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 8, Simon wanted the pay money to the apostles to get the ability to lay hands on people so that they would receive the Holy Spirit (this refers to the baptism with the Holy Spirit).  Acts 8:18 says that he saw that  people received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the apostles’ hands. But you can’t see the Holy Spirit! You would be able to see someone speaking other langauges, though.

So we can see that it is the Bible pattern that people who receive the Holy Spirit speak in tongues (other languages). Now we should discuss when and why you should allow the Holy Spirit to give you utterance in other languages.

There are two main uses for “tongues” in the New Testament.  One is for your personal prayer life, which is the primary place where you would speak in tongues, and the other is in a public meeting where the manifestations of the Holy Spirit are welcome.

There is a distinction, and failure to recognize the two uses of tongues has caused confusion for some believers, who think they must wait until “the Spirit moves them” to speak in other tongues.  That would be true in a public meeting; you don’t just get up and start addressing the assembly in tongues unless the Holy Spirit has moved you to do it. (Lesson 20 will go into this in more detail.)  But you don’t have to wait to feel the urging of the Holy Spirit to pray in other languages on your own; you can just go ahead and do it by choice.  This would include a “prayer” of thanksgiving, praise or worship:

1 Corinthians 14:15-19:
What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.  Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?  For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified [built up]. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

So you can “give thanks well” in tongues, but it would not benefit anyone else for you to do so in such a way that everyone can hear you unless someone is interpreting your message. In services, a message in other languages must be “interpreted” to be in order. This does not mean “translated”.  The person doing the “interpretation” would not know the language either and has to trust the Holy Spirit to deliver the meaning of the message that was just given in another language.  It takes as much faith to step out and do that as to give the original message in another language!  We will return to this in Lesson 20.

Another advantage to praying in other tongues is that it will build you up.  It will charge up your spirit man like you might charge up a battery in the natural.  Jude verse 20 tells you to build yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. (Praying in the Spirit, or in other languages, will not give you faith, since faith comes by hearing God’s Word. But it will build you up!)

Another thing praying in other tongues will do for you is refresh you and give you rest. Isaiah talked about this hundreds of years before it was even available:

Isaiah 28:11-12:
For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,”and, “This is the refreshing”; yet they would not hear.

You may be wondering, “How do you know Isaiah was talking about tongues in the New Testament?”  Because God says so Himself!  This prophecy is quoted in 1 Corinthians 14:21 as applying to tongues in the New Testament!  So we see that another benefit of tongues is rest and refreshing for you.

Perhaps the key advantage to praying in tongues is that you can pray a perfect prayer for a situation when you would have no idea how to pray with your understanding. God knows things you don’t know, and He can move you to pray His perfect will in other tongues, which authorizes Him to move! (This is another subject, but God doesn’t just go around and do whatever He wants on the earth.  If He did, there would be no need to pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, would there?  There would also be no wars, famines, murders, wife-beating and so on. God has given the earth to man (Psalm 115:16) and He allows man to decide some of what He will do here by praying.)  Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.”  You can pray for a situation without being able to utter a word about it in articulate speech because the Holy Spirit will give you the words. That’s a real advantage!
 

Question 13-1: Can’t you be baptized with the Holy Spirit but not speak with other tongues?

On a trivial basis, there will be a certain amount of time, even if it’s a few seconds, between receiving the Holy Spirit baptism and actually speaking in tongues.  But there is no evidence that you are filled with the Holy Spirit if you don’t speak in tongues. A similar matter is the fact that you have to get saved before you can tell anyone else about it, but there is no evidence that you are saved if you have not told anyone that you are now a Christian.  We can see above that the people in Acts who were baptized with the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues, and so should you!
 

Question 13-2: Is speaking in tongues for everyone or just a select few?

Speaking in tongues is not a special experience for a chosen few!  “I wish you all spoke with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:5). Jesus said that certain signs would follow those who believe, and the second one on the list is “they shall speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17). Are you a believer?  Then one sign that should follow you is that you will speak with new tongues. Jesus said so, and He knows what He’s talking about!
 

Question 13-3: Sometimes my “prayer language” seems different that other times.  Is it possible that I pray in more than one language?

Definitely!  That’s why it’s called speaking in tongues, not just speaking in a tongue!
 

Question 13-4: Are tongues real languages spoken somewhere else on earth?

They are real languages spoken either on earth or by angels. 1 Cor 13:1 starts, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels…”.  Your prayer in tongues might actually be a language that angels understand! They would understand what you’re praying and be authorized to go and make it happen.  Of course, prayer in English will do that too if you’re praying what the Bible says, because the angels give heed to the voice of God’s Word (Psalm 103:20). At other times it may be a language spoken on earth, and occasionally someone there might understand it! This happened in Acts 2 – people from all over the place heard the apostles praying in their native languages, which they had never learned.
 

Question 13-5: If I speak in tongues, how do I know that it’s the Spirit and not “just me” or “my flesh” spouting gibberish?

Actually, it IS you, but it isn’t gibberish. The Holy Spirit does not speak in other languages. Believers speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit gives them the words. (See Acts 2:4 above.) So it IS you!  As far as knowing that the words really are another language, this comes down to faith.  Believers in Acts spoke in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the words, and so can you after you are baptized with the Holy Spirit.  As far as being concerned about being the flesh, I would hazard to say that your flesh does NOT want to speak in other languages at any time and will probably fight you in this rather than encourage you to do it!
 

Question 13-6: I’ve seen some tongue-talkers in services who acted REALLY WEIRD and interrupted the pastor while he was preaching. How can you say that’s the Holy Spirit?

It isn’t!  The Holy Spirit won’t interrupt Himself.  Any Spirit-baptized believer CAN speak in tongues at will, but it is not always “decent and in order” to do so.  The middle of your pastor’s message is not the time to do it.  Some people don’t understand this, so in their ignorance they cause trouble. Still others cause trouble because they’re carnal and fail to walk in love and will just disrupt services rather than be a blessing. The pastor is responsible to put a lid on that kind of stuff.
 

Question 13-7: Tongues could really freak out unbelievers who walk in! Shouldn’t we be “seeker-sensitive” and prohibit tongues on Sunday morning so that we don’t drive away the first-time visitors?

The Bible commands, “Do not forbid to speak with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39), so such a rule would grieve the Holy Spirit and violate a direct command of Scripture!  Actually, tongues are a sign for unbelievers, not for believers (1 Corinthians 14:22)! (Believers should not need a “sign” since they are already believers!) You’d be more likely to see the Holy Spirit move on someone to give an utterance in a tongue in a service where there are unbelievers present!  Besides, I expect that the Holy Spirit will convince the sinners who walk in that they need Jesus.  It would be counterproductive to bar the Holy Spirit from moving on people when we want Him to do a lot of moving on people! This whole “seeker-sensitive” thing is about pleasing man rather than pleasing God, and we should not be man-pleasers. I’m not ashamed of the gospel, and we will have manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our services in front of everyone! We’ll lay hands on the sick in front of everyone, have utterances in the Spirit in front of everyone, and watch God get the glory! If anyone leaves and never comes back because we allowed tongues on Sunday morning, I’m not going to disobey 1 Corinthians 14:39 to try to keep such a person. Besides, if anyone would really prefer that there be NO manifestations of the Holy Spirit on Sunday morning, he can probably find several churches that will meet his wishes within a short drive of his house.

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