Pentecost & You — the Infilling

Editor's note: May 24 is Pentecost Sunday.

What in the world is Pentecost and how does it apply to me? The answer starts with a little ancient history, builds with a little theology, clarifies with some definition, and ends with you and me.

A LITTLE HISTORY
Two Jewish festivals that occur in the spring are Passover and Pentecost. Passover celebrates Israel’s deliverance from death in Egypt through the blood of a sacrificial lamb (Exodus 12:1-48). Pentecost celebrates the wheat harvest (Leviticus 23:15-21) and is traditionally considered when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses — focusing on the motifs of harvest and the voice of God coming to humanity.

These festivals coincided with major events in the ministry of Jesus. At Passover, the crucified Jesus shed His blood to atone for sin. Afterward, He promised He would pour out His Holy Spirit upon believers and they would declare God-inspired words to the lost, bringing in the harvest of the nations.

In this way, Jesus fulfilled the true meaning of both Passover and Pentecost. And just as He is still forgiving sins, He is still pouring out His Holy Spirit upon believers.

A LITTLE THEOLOGY
Some Christians may feel the Holy Spirit and His ministry are vague or mystical, but the reality is exactly the opposite. He helps Christians in many practical, tangible ways. For example, the Holy Spirit is already working in our lives before we are saved (Romans 8:15). The moment we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside and abides within every follower of Christ. Every Christian has God’s Spirit — even when we don’t feel Him or recognize His presence. The apostle Paul succinctly said, “those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all” (Romans 8:9).

With the Spirit’s indwelling, a host of supernatural benefits become available to us. Among the benefits available at salvation, He assures us we belong to God (Romans 8:16), He guides and speaks to us (John 16:12-15), and He transforms our character to be more like Jesus (Galatians 5:22-23).

Even though every Christian has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside, Jesus promised to give us more Holy Spirit power to accomplish His mission. On the night of Christ’s resurrection, He appeared to the disciples and breathed the Holy Spirit to live inside them (John 20:19-22) — and He still breathes the Spirit to live inside each of us the moment we believe. About 40 days later, He promised the same group of people that He would additionally drench (or baptize) them in or with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8). This was fulfilled when Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit upon His followers on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Luke repeats this fulfillment of additional Holy Spirit power at least four more times in Acts (chapters 8, 9, 10, 19). Christian, Jesus has more Holy Spirit empowering for you!

SOME DEFINITION
The name for this gift of power is “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” or “Spirit baptism” for short, based on the Biblical descriptions of receiving this gift as being “baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11: Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5, 11:16). Jesus defined it right before He ascended to heaven, when He told His followers:

“Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4,5,8, NLT). Spirit baptism is a Jesus-given gift of power to believers.

YOU & ME
Since Jesus promised this power from the Holy Spirit for every one of us, there are a few things we need to understand.

JESUS, THE BAPTIZER
Most importantly, Jesus is Spirit Baptizer (Matthew 3:11). In fact, Spirit baptism is an encounter with Jesus not only the Holy Spirit! We are praying to Jesus, for Jesus to pour out His Spirit upon us, to empower us to fulfill Jesus’ mission (Acts 1:5). Jesus is always the center and epicenter.

SALVATION & SPIRITUAL HUNGER
There are only two qualifications needed to receive this gift. The first is that you have already given your life to Jesus (salvation); the second is that you have a desire to know Jesus more and tell others about Him (spiritual hunger). Do you want all that Jesus has promised to you? If so, it is time to express your spiritual hunger to Him in prayer.

THE USUAL PATHWAY TO RECEIVE
The Book of Acts shows a typical way people received Spirit baptism (chapters 2, 10, 19). Here are the common elements that form the pathway to receive.

1. Draw near to Jesus. Everyone who received Spirit baptism in the Scriptures was, in some way, taking extra steps toward Christ. This usually involved praying. I encourage you to set aside a few minutes and begin to pray to Jesus, asking Him for this wonderful gift. Remember, prayer often begins awkwardly and our minds tend to wander, but if you will give yourself to prayer, you will break through.

2. Jesus will pour His Spirit upon you. While the first step is totally up to you, the second is something only Christ can do. Often faster than people expect, they will realize the presence of the Holy Spirit is falling upon them. The moment you sense this, whether gently or dramatically, you are ready to fully receive.

3. Find and cooperate with the new, sudden promptings you sense. When you sense the Holy Spirit upon you, your focus should shift from, “I‘m trying to think of what I should say,” to, “What is the Holy Spirit leading me to say now?” Draw your attention to His presence and you will sense promptings to speak a new, supernatural language. Your brain will not understand the sounds and words, but this prompting came to you when the Holy Spirit fell upon you. That is significant. Cooperate with the prompting by speaking the unfamiliar sounds out loud. You can still think when you speak in the new language, and your mind may be filled with questions, but you will sense God’s presence authentically. You can pray in this language whenever you sensitize yourself to the Holy Spirit’s presence. You will not be out of control.

So what does all this mean? More than just a historical event, Pentecost found its fulfillment in Jesus. Still today, Jesus is pouring out the gift of Pentecost upon His followers, confirmed by the same sign received in Acts, the supernatural language. This confirming sign reminds us of the final outcome of Pentecost, namely harvest. If we can trust God to guide us to speak in the unknown language, how much more can we trust Him to guide us to speak to the lost in our known language!

Tim Enloe

Tim Enloe is the National Evangelist Representative for the Assemblies of God. For over three decades, Tim Enloe has traveled the world with his wife, Rochelle, teaching others about the person and work of the Holy Spirit.