Our key Scripture for this series is found in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.“
“The Holy Spirit in us is one thing, and the Holy Spirit on us is another.“
DL Moody
Luke’s Baptism Account
Luke wrote about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This baptism is something Jesus does rather than the universal imparting of the Holy Spirit that came from Father God (1). Luke’s account (2) is obviously not about the salvation of the Apostles since Jesus had already imparted the Holy Spirit into His disciples (3). What we see is that Jesus was quoting what John the Baptist prophesied at the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry (4).
The baptism Luke wrote about in Acts is Christ’s baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ first Holy Spirit baptism was recorded in Acts, chapter 2. This baptism was what John the Baptist prophesied (6) and what DL Moody was referring to for the baptism “on” believers.
Paul’s Baptism Account
So, we have the universal imparting of the Holy Spirit that Paul wrote about. For all Christians, the Holy Spirit desires our fellowship, leads us into all truth, helps us pray, is the seal of our salvation, and will be with us forever. We can summarize the work that the Holy Spirit does for all believers is this: He guides, comforts, and provides.
The Holy Spirit Brings Power With Him
What if you want more of God? If you feel like your prayers aren’t what they should be, if when you pray with people it seems there’s something lacking, if you know God has a job for you but you don’t know what it is, then ask Jesus for more of the Holy Spirit. Ask Jesus to baptize you as He did the 120 in the upper room (7). Then you can say as Paul said, “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. (8)”
“Though Christian men and women have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, yet He is not dwelling within them in power; in other words, God has a great many sons and daughters without power.”
DL Moody
Conclusion
Living for Jesus is an exciting adventure. Thankfully, He provides all we need to do what He desires us to do! That wobbly stool will be rock-steady when we are fully engaged with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
References:
1) John 14:16: And I [Jesus] will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
2) Acts 1:4–5: And while staying with them he [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
3) John 20:19, 22 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you…” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
4) Luke 3:16: “I [John the Baptist] baptize you with water, but he [Jesus] who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
5) 1 Corinthians 12:12-13: 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[a] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
6) Acts 19:4-5 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in[a] the name of the Lord Jesus.
7) Acts 1:13-15: 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. 15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120)
8) 1 Corinthians 14:15: “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.