Holy Spirit Baptism
There is a difference in 1) Receiving the Holy Spirit at salvation, 2) Being baptized in the Holy Spirit, and 3) Speaking in tongues [i.e., languages] as a gift of the Holy Spirit.
1) In order for a person to “get saved”, i.e., receive Christ, the Holy Spirit in involved in that. The Holy Spirit [by the way, Holy Spirit is a He, not an It] causes a person to know they are lost in their sins and need salvation through believing in Jesus. The Holy Spirit does NOT speak of Himself, He speaks of Christ. At this point, the person accepts Christ because of the work of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit does not indwell the person. This person has some more work to do in his/her life to prepare for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This work is called sanctification and repentance. Sanctification can be an ongoing process taking a lifetime. The Holy Spirit can’t live in a person that is not fully submitted to God.
2) When a person is “ready” [this is determined by the desire of the person and by the Holy Spirit Himself], then that person can be “baptized in the Holy Spirit”. At that time, the Holy Spirit indwells the person. This “coming upon” the person is evidenced by the person speaking in a new or different tongue [i.e., language]. This speaking is directed by the Holy Spirit and not by the person. It is not something they can be taught. It is totally the work of God and happens to the person who is yielded to Jesus. In most passages in the Bible describing this event, it says something like this: “And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with tongues.” So, we take it that receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Holy gives the words.
3) After a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit, he can receive the “Gifts of the Spirit”. One of these gifts is “Speaking in tongues”. It is different from the initial evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. This gift must be exercised in an orderly fashion. The words that are spoken must be interpreted in order for the hearers of the “message in tongues” to understand what the Spirit is saying to the church members present. Paul gives instructions for this in 1 Corinthians 14.
After having said all of that, I know that there are people who still believe that it is not necessary for a person to speak in tongues in order to evidence the Holy Spirit in their life. The Bible also teaches that there are “fruits of the Holy Spirit”, i.e., love, joy, peace, etc. If a person has truly being filled with the Spirit, then his/her life will show it by the increasing growth of these “fruits”. If Jesus is truly in charge of your life, it will be demonstrated in the way that you live your life. I think that the “INITIAL” evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues, but the real evidence is the demonstration of the power of God in the person through their “fruit”. I don’t know about you, but whatever Jesus has for me, I surely want it!
