1. How does the Baptism of the Holy Spirit aid us in Walking in the Spirit?
2. What brings about the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and emotional release?
   
   

The Holy Spirit comes to us in three ways: being filled with the Holy Spirit, walking in the Spirit, and being Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is allowing Jesus to be Lord of our lives.⁹ Walking in the Spirit is allowing Jesus to be the source of our lives in every detail and in every respect.¹⁰ The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is allowing Jesus to do a work in our lives that will allow Him to be Salvation, Lord, and Source of life to others through our lives.¹¹

We are indwelt and filled with the Holy Spirit when we receive Jesus Christ as Savior and surrender to Him as Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote in the Epistle of Ephesians 1:13-14,

"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."

The Apostle Peter states in Acts, "And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." (Acts 5:32).

Old Testament believers were not indwelt with the Holy Spirit. They could not be because their spirits were spiritually dead. There was no means for them to be made one with the Holy Spirit through their spirits. This remained true even after their death until Jesus died on the cross for our sins. They were saved because of their believing faith, but they were not yet regenerated in their spirits. They were still dead spiritually. This was also why they were not able to enter heaven until after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus said that in order to enter the kingdom of God we must first be born from above (John 3:5-6). Before the cross when men and woman in Yehovah died, they went to a place called Paradise or what is called Abraham’s bosom which was in hell. It was not a place of torment in hell, but a holding place for Old Testament believers until Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus described this recorded in the Gospel of Luke 16:19-26

"Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. "Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And in all these things, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’

This is a true story, not a parable because Jesus does not say, "Now there was a certain parable. . ." He says, "Now there was a certain rich man. . ." When Jesus died the Bible tells us that he went to the center of the earth, where hell is, and released the Old Testament believers from this holding place. The fact of this is recorded by Matthew in the Gospel of Matthew 27:50-53. Right after Jesus’ death and resurrection Matthew records,

"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many."

The Holy Spirit did not come into Old Testament believers, He came upon them temporarily for a temporary purpose. Examples of this are given in 1 Samuel. After Saul was anointed king by the Prophet Samuel, Samuel tells King Saul that he is going to meet some prophets and that when he does that the following will happen,

"Then the Spirit of Yehovah will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man." (1 Samuel 10:6)

Whenever God had a job that needed to be done in the Old Testament, His Holy Spirit would temporarily come upon someone to get the job done. He never, though, came into them, but only upon, for they were not yet born from above, regenerated in their spirits.

While Jesus was on this earth and before His death and resurrection, for specific purposes the Holy Spirit came upon his disciples. One example of this is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 10:1, "And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." This was not a dwelling within but an anointing upon.

Even though the Apostles did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit at this time, they did have salvation. After this anointing for ministry, when the disciples came back they described to Jesus how they had authority over the unclean spirits. Jesus said to them in reply recorded in Luke 10:20, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." Jesus plainly declares to the Apostles and disciples, while still on earth, that their names are already in the Lambs book of life.¹³

After Jesus’ death and resurrection and before His ascension Jesus gives the disciples the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus said to the disciples recorded by the Apostle John, "‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’" (John 20:21-22). But even though the Apostles were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, just before Jesus’ ascension He gives them another command,

"And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49).

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8).

Jesus made a definite distinction between being indwelt with the Holy Spirit and being Baptized with the Holy Spirit, which, Jesus states, is an anointing upon rather than a dwelling within.

Being saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and walking with Jesus for three and one-half years was not enough for successful ministry outreach and release according to Jesus. Before He would released them in ministry, Jesus said they first needed to be Baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in the book of Acts to the Apostles after breathing on them and giving them the Holy Spirit and just before His ascension, "for John baptized with water, but you shall be Baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:5). This Baptism of the Holy Spirit took place after Jesus had ascended into heaven, meaning He was no longer physically present with the Apostles. Therefore, being Baptized with the Holy Spirit is not being indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Peter said to the crowd just after being Baptized in the Holy Spirit Himself,

"Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself." (Acts 2:38-39).

In the context of what made Peter make this statement was when they were accused of being drunk because they were speaking in other tongues, a physical manifestation of the reality of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when Peter says this gift, he is referring to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and is saying that it is for every believer who is saved.

Even Peter’s comment about water Baptism precedes receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit although this is not a rule as even Peter’s own experience in ministry demonstrated (Acts 10:44-48, 15:7-9). It is rather the normal process: First, Salvation with the indwelling Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). Second, water baptism as an outward witness of past inward salvation and surrender to Jesus’ Lordship (Matt 28:18-20). Third, in the Lord’s time and way, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for power in ministry outreach and release.

The Apostle Paul states in the book of Galatians, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Gal 5:16). As was explained in Section 4, walking in the Spirit is a maturing process of what it means to allow Jesus to be Lord and Source of our lives in every detail and in every respect and to discern what is truly Jesus’ voice to our lives. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a further aid to this process, but from a different angle. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the power of Jesus to submit to His Lordship and personal dictates to our lives in word, action, and deed through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to ourselves and to others through ministry outreach and release.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit does this by getting self out of the way. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit does this by bringing our tongues under Jesus’ control which the Apostle James says then gives us the ability to bring our actions under Jesus’ control.¹⁴ Once Jesus has brought our tongues under His control through the fires of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, He then replaces our speech with a spiritual language. Our spiritual language helps us discern what the real root of a problem is and what the right words are to speak that will truly minister Jesus to the need at hand. Our Spiritual language further aids us by helping us to discern which manifestations of the Spirit are needed to meet the need at hand.¹⁵ In this sense, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit makes walking in the Holy Spirit possible since apart from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit’s fire and power we are not able to bring our speech and actions under Jesus’ control. Once the Baptism of the Holy Spirit brings this about, we fulfill what it means to walk in the Spirit so that we do not carry out the desires of the flesh.¹⁶ Walking in the Spirit is recognizing that Jesus is the answer to our needs where as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is allowing Jesus to meet the needs of others through us.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an emotional experience, although emotions can result. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a Baptism of power for ministry outreach and release and a Baptism of fire for the purpose of bringing our souls and bodies under Jesus’ control so that we can properly handle His power in ministry outreach and release. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is also a purging of acting independently of Jesus’ leading in our lives in any form.¹⁷

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an encounter with a real person, the Holy Spirit, and because it is, emotion may be released, but is not a requirement to know that you are Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Personally I did not experience any emotion immediately following my Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I know many people who did have much release emotionally immediately following their Baptism.

Normally speaking, emotional feelings of love, joy, and peace are compliments of obedience to Jesus’ Lordship over our lives. Jesus said in the Gospel of John, "He who has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him." (John 14:21). The Apostle Paul then says in the book of Romans that the end results of obedience to Jesus’ Lordship through the ministry of the Holy Spirit will be, ". . . righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Rom 14:17).

If you will remember from Chapter 8 of Section 4 under the subtitle "Jesus-Dependence Through Love Motivation According to Galatians," in the part dealing with walking in the Spirit, we talked about how because we are no longer under the law, what we do, Jesus says, must come out of love relationship with Him if it is to be truly of His Spirit and be fruitful and bring about the change in our lives and others He desires. We then asked the question, "If we are no longer under the Law, how do we know when we are being motivated out of love in what we do?" The answer was, by determining whether or not we were experiencing the fruits of the Holy Spirit in what we were doing. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are according to Paul, ". . . love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. . ." (Gal 5:22-23). Again, in this respect, feelings are the by product of obedience to Jesus’ Lordship over our lives, not the basis for our obedience.

Since the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the power of Jesus to be able to walk in obedience in all that we say or do, whether I feel anything or not in receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is irrelevant. If anything, feelings should be a future by-product of the present working of obedience that the fires of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit accomplishes as part of its purpose. As was shared in my own personal testimony in Section 5, I felt anything but emotion in my first year after receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This was because I was going through the fire aspect of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which was bringing my speech and body under Jesus’ control. Going through this aspect of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination.