“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:13-14.

Just to be clear, I believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues. When I say this I do not mean the gift of tongues and interpretation as in the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-10) but praying in another language as in Acts 2:4, ” And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Now all of this being said, I’m not here to argue this point…each person can believe as they wish. Besides, it is too late to tell me otherwise, I have been Baptized in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues….I have been baptized with fire and am thankful to God for His keeping power.

“John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He (Jesus) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:” Luke 3:16.

However, we “Pentecostals”, as we are known, have placed our faith in the mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit for victory over sin. When I say sin, I speak of bondage, sickness, acts of sin and the results of sin. In other words, the sin nature that we are all born with because of Adam’s fall is the reason for sin in the world today. When I say sin is the problem, I don’t mean one is sick because they sinned, although in some instances that may be the case, I mean they are sick because of sin in this fallen world. Sin IS the problem. What I want you to understand is that the Holy Spirit was not given to us to overcome sin, Jesus was the One Who defeated death, hell and the grave on Calvary’s Cross…Jesus defeated sin. The Scripture plainly states the Holy Spirit will not speak of Himself, He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify Jesus.

” For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2.

You see, “the law of the Spirit” is the law by which the Holy Spirit works and the Holy Spirit will never speak of Himself but glorify Jesus. The Holy Spirit is only commissioned to work through one’s faith in Jesus’ atoning work on Calvary’s Cross, not through our faith in Him (the Holy Spirit) for victory over sin. Again, the Holy Spirit will always point us to Jesus’ work because our faith in Jesus is the only way the Holy Spirit is commissioned to isolate our sin nature…not through our faith in Him. The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus that makes us free from the law of sin and death is a spiritual law that requires faith in what Jesus has done on the Cross to pay our sin debt to God and give us dominion over our sin nature which allows the Holy Spirit to do what He is commissioned to do in the Believer’s life…free us from the law of sin and death.

I do hope my Pentecostal friends understand that I am in no way saying this to be ugly in any way. However, there is a world out there of Christians who are bound by the powers of darkness. Their faith has been swept to and fro by every doctrine that has come down the pike. Many of these doctrines are Scriptural doctrines, (fasting, communion and in this case, Baptism of the Holy Spirit) but please understand, these doctrines were not given to us for dominion over our sin nature….and again, our sin nature is the problem. Jesus Christ came in the flesh, died on Calvary’s Cross and atoned for every sin and gave us dominion over sin. Knowing this, Who Jesus is and what He has done on Calvary’s Cross, we also know His blessed Ressurrection was NEVER in question. Jesus is alive and sitting at the Right Hand of God. His eyes are running “…to and fro throughout the whold earth to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him…” 2 Chronicles 16:9.

“He (Apostle Paul) said unto them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were you baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” Acts 19:2-6.

I thank my God everyday for the mighty Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit endues us with power to witness and serve. At Salvation, the Holy Spirit dethrones the reigning monarch in our heart, the sin nature, and we are born of the Spirit. We become partakers in the Divine Nature through our faith in Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4) . Our Salvation experience and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit are two separate experiences. At Salvation we are baptized into Jesus, into His Death, our old man is crucified with Him and we are born again. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is Jesus baptizing the Believer in the Holy Spirit. “…He (Jesus) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” Matt. 3:11 and Luke 3:16.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit was not given to overcome sin, Jesus Christ defeated sin. The Holy Spirit will always point to Jesus, Who He is and what He has done on the Cross, He will guide us into all Truths, He will glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and He will give us dominion over our sin when our faith is placed in Jesus…this is a spiritual law, it is the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2.