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Jesus was given the Spirit in full measure, no limit (John 3:34).
There are three measures of the Holy Spirit:
1. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit Received at baptism
(Acts 2:38)
2. The baptism with the Holy Spirit
1. Characteristics in Acts 2 and Acts 10
A. Promise (not command), Acts 1:4-5
B. Predicted (prophesied)
C. Came without warning. (People were not specifically
praying for it.)
D. Languages
E. Purpose: to usher in the Kingdom with power
2. Accounts of the baptism with the Holy Spirit
A. To the Jews-in Jerusalem (Acts 2)
B. To the Gentiles-begins with Cornelius (Acts 10)
C. Note: Cornelius and his household were water baptized
in v. 48, saved at baptism.
D.Peter explained actions to the Jews (Acts 11:1-18).
E. "At the beginning," (Acts 11:15)
3. Does the Baptism with the Holy Spirit still exist
today?
A. Ephesians 4:4-6: There is one baptism-which
one? (Written about 60-62 A.D.) There are three options:
(i) John's baptism-passed when new covenant began (Acts
19:1-5).
(ii) The baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2 and 10). No
longer present as it was a prophecy/promise that has been
fulfilled. It was never a general command for all Christians.
(iii) Baptism with water in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of sins to receive the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit.
a) Jesus commanded this baptism (Matthew 28:18-20).
b) This baptism is recorded all the way through the book
of Acts and the epistles. 1 Peter 3:21 (also written around 62
a.d.) makes reference to this water baptism of salvation.
c) It had to be the one baptism of Ephesians 4:4-6 as it
was the only one practiced by 60-62 A.D. when Ephesians was
written.
4. The miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit (next
lesson).
A. Received by the apostles' laying on of hands
B. No longer present today
Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit
(i) Types of Miraculous Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
a) Wisdom
b) Knowledge
c) Faith
d) Healing
e) Miracles
f) Prophecy
g) Distinguishing Spirits
h) Tongues
i) Interpretation
C. (Mark 16:16-18) Some will be able to:
(i) Drink poison and not die
(ii) Be bitten by snakes and not die (Acts 28:5)
D. Types of "Laying on of Hands":
(i). Blessing (Acts 13:3)
(ii). Healing
(iii) Ananias heals Paul's blindness (Acts 9:17-18).
(iv) Paul heals Publius' father on Malta (Acts 28:8).
E. Passing on the Gifts
(i). Apostles would pass on the gifts (Acts 8:18).
(ii). These people could not pass on the gifts they
received.
(iii) Acts 6:1-8: Context is the choosing of "The
Seven". This is the first occasion that the gifts were
passed. Stephen immediately starts to perform miraculous signs
among the people with God's power (v. 8).
(iv) Acts 8:1-25: Context is after Stephen's martyrdom.
Great persecution breaks out. Many leave, but apostles stay in
Jerusalem. Philip, one of the seven who had received the gifts in
Acts 6:1-8, goes to Samaria. He performs many miraculous signs
and healings to get people to believe (v. 12), including Simon
the Sorcerer (v. 13) and they are baptized. (They became
Christians and thus receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift
(indwelling) of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:38.) When apostles come
to Samaria, Simon saw the Spirit's gifts were only given by
apostles' laying on of hands and offers them money for the
ability (Acts 8:18). Note: Simon didn't ask Philip for the gifts
because Philip could not pass them on. Simon is rebuked for
having the wrong motivation.
(v) Acts 19:1-6: Paul finds disciples in Ephesus who
didn't know what the Holy Spirit was because they had only
received John's baptism of repentance. Then they were baptized
into the name of Jesus Christ to receive the forgiveness of their
sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (v.5). Then they
receive the miraculous gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues
by the laying on of Paul's hands (v.6). Paul is an apostle.
5. General Observations
A. Apostles were able to pass on the gifts because they
were apostles. The Apostles possessed the ability to perform
miracles even during the ministry of Christ (Luke 9:1). This
ability to pass and perform the gifts were not given at
Pentecost.
B. 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 are not the directives on how
to receive tongues (the church there had already received them),
but rather the correctives on how to use them because everyone
was speaking at the same time and misusing the tongues. 1
Corinthians 12:28-30 shows that tongues as a gift were not given
to everyone in the church. Thus the concept of a
"Pentecostal church" (every member speaking in tongues)
is against scripture.
C. 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. "Perfection" here
could not mean the coming of Christ because it is in the neuter
gender in Greek, not the masculine gender. When perfection comes
probably refers to the canonization of the Bible sometime after
the first century. At that time, all the miraculous gifts would
be gone because all the apostles and those to whom they passed
the gifts would have died.
D. The purpose of the miraculous gifts from 1 Corinthians
14:20-22
(i) To get non-believers to believe (tongues were only to
be used to bring non-believers to faith.)
(ii) To edify the Christians and strengthen their faith.
(iii) Now the Bible fulfills these needs-thus the church
today does not need apostles or miraculous gifts.
E. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 shows there can be miracles by
Satan today. Satan's purpose is to deceive people about the
truth, so they will not be saved.
F. Speaking in "tongues" is common in many
religions (Mormon, Catholic, Islam, etc.) because religion gets
dried and staid. These are also called "ecstatic
utterances"-non-understandable sounds and fragments of
speech.
G. A person can be filled with the Spirit without speaking
in tongues (Ephesians 5:18-19).
H. Jesus never spoke in tongues and he was accorded the
full-measure of the Spirit (John 3:34-36).