What was promised by God? When was the promise fulfilled? How did the baptism of spirit affect those who received it?
Some of the instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before he ascended to heaven were very interesting. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for what was promised by God.
Acts 1:4-5… And while he was meeting with them, he gave them the orders: “Do not withdraw from Jerusalem, but keep waiting for what the Father has promised, about which YOU heard from me; because John, indeed, baptized with water, but YOU will be baptized in holy spirit not many days after this.
The instructions that Jesus gave were just days away from the time known as Pentecost, the celebration of the wave offering before God. It was Sivan 6th 33 CE that the following prophecy came true. This is just one of many references that God spoke of sending forth his spirit as a blessing upon his people.
Joel 2:28-29… And after that it must occur that I shall pour out my spirit on every sort of flesh, and YOUR sons and YOUR daughters will certainly prophesy. As for YOUR old men, dreams they will dream. As for YOUR young men, visions they will see. And even on the menservants and on the maidservants in those days I shall pour out my spirit.
Here are three more passages of Scriptures that God reveals his promise of sending forth his Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 32:15…until upon us the spirit is poured out from on high, and the wilderness will have become an orchard, and the orchard itself is accounted as a real forest.
Isaiah 44:3… For I shall pour out water upon the thirsty one, and trickling streams upon the dry place. I shall pour out my spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your descendants.
Ezekiel 39:29… And I shall no longer conceal my face from them, because I will pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
The nation of Israel had been under captivity by the Army of Heavens because of the sin that they had committed in the wilderness against God. Acts 7:41-42, and 2 Kings 17:16-23
The time had come for God to reestablish his promise relationship with the house of Israel and to give them his blessing.
John the Baptist even testified to such a thing at John 1:29-34.
The effect that the Holy Spirit had upon Jesus was profound, it allowed him to perform powerful works in the name of God. As the True Prophet and the messenger of the covenant. Deuteronomy 18:17-19, Malachi 3:1-3
The apostle Peter even gave such a powerful speech to motivate those to come underneath and be submissive to the power of God by means of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 3:19-23… Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get YOUR sins blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the person of Jehovah and that he may send forth the Christ appointed for YOU, Jesus, whom heaven, indeed, must hold within itself until the times of restoration of all things of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old time. In fact, Moses said, Jehovah God will raise up for YOU from among YOUR brothers a prophet like me. YOU must listen to him according to all the things he speaks to YOU. Indeed, any soul that does not listen to that Prophet will be completely destroyed from among the people.
The Holy Spirit is more than just God’s active force, it is an entity in itself, it is a sharer in the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus even identified it as the helper that would be sent forth as the spirit of truth.
The Spirit of Truth
The following passages of Scriptures are exactly what Jesus told his disciples as regards to the identity of the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16-17… I will request the Father and he will give YOU another helper to be with YOU forever, the spirit of the truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither beholds it nor knows it. YOU know it because it remains with YOU and is in YOU.
John 14:26… But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, that one will teach YOU all things and bring back to YOUR minds all the things I told YOU.
John 15:26… When the helper arrives that I will send YOU from the Father, the spirit of the truth, which proceeds from the Father, that one will bear witness about me.
John 16:8… And when that one arrives, he will give the world convincing evidence concerning sin, concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.
John 16:13… However, when that one arrives, the spirit of the truth, he will guide YOU into all the truth, for he will not speak of his own impulse, but what things he hears he will speak, and he will declare to YOU the things coming. That one will glorify me, because he will receive from what is mine and will declare it to YOU. All the things that the Father has are mine. That is why I said he receives from what is mine and declares [it] to YOU.
Who will argue with the words of Jesus? Who will deny what he says? Will it not be the antichrist spirit and the rebellion against God by the man of lawlessness.
The Holy Spirit is an entity that speaks for Christ Jesus. It teaches us what is true as it bears witness and gives evidence as respects sin, God’s righteousness and the judgment that is coming. The Lord Jesus said it would reside with us and in us so that we may become a holy people before God. Hallelujah
The baptism of Holy Spirit is truly a blessing for the one receiving it. If you’ve not received the Holy Spirit, it might be time to get down on your knees and read the following Scripture and consider becoming baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:9-11… For this very reason also, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every [other] name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Come Lord Jesus, because you are the blessed one who comes in the name of God!
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