There are two major evidences of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The initial, outward evidence is speaking with tongues, which means speaking miraculously in languages the speaker does not know.Speaking with other tongues has been connected with Spirit baptism since the beginning of the church age. On the birthday of the New Testament church, the Day of Pentecost after Christs ascension, approximately 120 disciples of Christ were inundated by the Spirit of God and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4). The household of an Italian centurion received the same spiritual experience, which the Jewish Christian onlookers readily identified, for they heard them speak with tongues (Acts 10:44-48). In Acts 19:1-6, a group of John the Baptists disciples heard about the Holy Ghost from the Apostle Paul; they too were filled with the Spirit, and they spake with tongues.We cannot adequately express with our own words the ecstasy experienced in the baptism of the Spirit. Only through unaccustomed words of heavenly coherence can we utter what our souls would express.There are perhaps several other reasons why God chose speaking in tongues as the initial evidence of this spiritual baptism. It is an objective, external evidence that recipients and onlookers can both identify with certainty (Acts 10:46). It is a uniform evidence-all the disciples on Pentecost, all the household of Cornelius, and all the believers in Ephesus spoke in tongues. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit are the words of Jesus in His description of this spiritual new birth (John 3:8). Speaking in tongues also indicates the complete control of the Spirit over our human wills. The tongue is the most unruly member of the body (James 3:8), and its being tamed by God is evidence of His complete control.Further evidence of the Spirits abiding presence in our lives is the fruit of the Spirit, which Paul mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 07:14:17 +0000
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