Acts 9:10-18 “Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." (11) So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. (12) And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight." … (17) And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." (18) Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized."
This is the third account in scripture of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the account of the apostle Paul being filled. The context of this account is that the Lord Jesus had appeared to Paul while he was on the road to Damascus, and it was during that encounter that Paul was born again. Because of the blinding light that shone around Paul during this encounter, Paul came away from that experience being blind and having to be led by the hand into the city. When Paul arrived in the city he prayed and fasted for three days, neither eating nor drinking anything. It was during this time that the Lord gave Paul a vision, in which he saw Ananias laying hands on him. The above account shows us that Jesus sent Ananias to lay hands on Paul for two reasons, i.e. to have his sight restored and also to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And so in this account, we see the apostle Paul being filled with the Holy Spirit through the laying on of Ananias’ hands. It is important to note that on this occasion, an ordinary disciple who was himself filled with the Holy Spirit, laid hands on another disciple to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The only manifestation of the Spirit that we know of that occurred on this occasion, is that Paul spoke in tongues. We know that Paul spoke with other tongues when he was filled, because he thanked God that he spoke with tongues more than any other believer at the time (1 Corinthians 14:18). We also know that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit after he had already been saved, for he was saved when our Lord Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, and he was only filled with the Holy Spirit three days later. This account also shows us that Ananias baptized Paul in water directly after he had laid hands on him. And so, to summarise the phenomena in this occurrence, Paul received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit after he had already been saved. And Paul spoke with other tongues, as evidence that he had been filled.
Acts 10:44-48 “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. (45) And those of the circumcision 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. (46) For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, (47) "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" (48) And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”
In this fourth account of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we see Peter preaching the gospel to the Gentiles for the very first time. Until this time (which was approximately two years after the Lord's resurrection), the disciples had proclaimed the gospel to the Jews only, thinking that salvation was only for the Jews. When we read the context of the passage, we see that the Lord dealt with Peter on this issue to correct his thinking, by sending him to preach the gospel to Cornelius and his household. And so, it was during Peter's sermon that the Gentiles were born-again and filled with the Holy Spirit; for God in His sovereignty, baptized the Gentiles with the Holy Spirit in front of the Jews that were with Peter. God had to do that, to convince the Jews that salvation was also for the Gentiles; otherwise, they would never have believed that the Gentiles were born-again, and they would not have allowed them to be baptized in water. We must see in scripture, the sequence of events as they unfolded in this incident; because that then reinforces what we have seen in the other accounts of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If you read Peter's sermon, you will see that he had proclaimed to them all that they needed to hear to be saved, and so while Peter was still preaching, the Gentiles believed in the Lord Jesus as their Saviour and they were born-again. It was at that instant that God acknowledged them, because He knew that their hearts had been changed and it was only then that God filled them with the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:8). An important aspect of this account is the fact that the Jewish disciples recognized that the gentile believers had also been filled with the Holy Spirit even as the Jews, because they heard them speak with other tongues. Speaking in tongues was the evidence that convinced the Jews that the Gentiles had also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And so, clearly, the manifestation that was evident to all was that they began to speak with other tongues. In this instance, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit directly from heaven, as when the saints were filled on the day of Pentecost. Nevertheless, we see that the main points remain the same, i.e. every disciple was filled with the Holy Spirit after they had already been saved. Every disciple present was filled with the Holy Spirit. And every disciple filled spoke with other tongues.
Acts 19:1-7 “And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples (2) 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." (3) And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So, they said, "Into John's baptism." (4) 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." (5) When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (6) And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. (7) Now the men were about twelve in all.”
In this final account, we see the apostle Paul laying hands on new converts to whom he has just witnessed. For although he initially thought that they were saved, he found out that they were only John's disciples, and had not yet been saved. Notice the very important question that Paul asks them when he initially speaks to them, thinking that they are already saved, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" Paul asks this question because he clearly understands that being filled with the Holy Spirit is an event that takes place after salvation. Paul then leads them to salvation in Christ, and afterward, he lays hands on them so that they can receive the Holy Spirit. In this instance, when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, they not only speak in tongues, but they also prophesy. The phenomenon of the disciples prophesying when filled with the Holy Spirit is unique to this occurrence. Nevertheless, it does reinforce the fact that when the saints are filled with the Holy Spirit, in some instances, the Spirit imparts gifts other than just tongues, but notice that the gift of tongues is still manifested first. And so, we see in this account that every one of the believers that Paul laid hands on received the Holy Spirit. Every disciple was filled with the Holy Spirit after they were saved. And every disciple filled spoke with other tongues. So let us summarise what we have seen in all the accounts above. We have seen that the Holy Spirit comes upon believers, either by falling on them Himself or through the laying on of hands. However, most of the accounts of the saints being filled occurred through the laying on of hands, which indicates that this is the easiest way for the saints to be filled. We have also seen that in every instance the believers were only filled with the Holy Spirit after they had been born-again, and so clearly salvation and being filled with the Holy Spirit is not the same experience. We have also seen that every believer in the early church, without exception, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We have seen that certain unique phenomena can occur when people are filled with the Holy Spirit, but that these phenomena are not common to all occurrences, i.e. being "drunk" in the Spirit, the sound of wind, the fire of the Holy Spirit being manifested, and then finally the gifts of the Holy Spirit being manifested. Nevertheless, the common phenomenon that occurred in each case is that every believer filled with the Holy Spirit spoke with other tongues.
Michael E.B. Maher
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