BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (I)
By Reinhard Bonnke
In one of my African campaign meetings – in November 2000 – over one million people had a tremendous
experience at the same time. They were all baptized in the Holy Spirit.
In Europe, I’m sure 90 per cent of the people have never even heard of such a thing. To them, the Holy Spirit means
no more than mathematics to sheep. The things of the Spirit of God belong to a realm that’s a million light-years
away, metaphorically speaking, from the godless world in which we live today. There’s nothing else like it.
That gulf has always been there. People don’t know what it’s like to meet Jesus Christ until they do. And they don’t
understand people who have already met him, especially people he has baptized in the Spirit.
The sign of Christ
Now, what was the first thing ever said about Jesus? It was this amazing prophecy: that he would baptize people in
the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16). John the Baptist was sent by God to announce that Jesus was
coming and to tell people how they would be able to identify him. There are religions a-plenty, but Christ stands
apart. Before he even began his ministry, people were told that he was to be recognisable as the person who baptizes
in the Holy Spirit.
We have a right to know who we are dealing with. There are many spirits, many religions and many experiences.
What guarantee of authenticity do we have? How can we be sure that we are dealing with the real Christ and not
some impostor? The sign of the true Son of God is that he baptizes in the Holy Spirit. Ask Jesus to give you the
Spirit and you will not get a scorpion – that is his promise.
Interesting to note is that Jesus didn’t baptize in the Spirit while he was here on earth, but only after he had gone
back to heaven. The plan was for us to recognize the signs of his presence after he had gone by his heavenly
role, which is to baptize in the Spirit. Baptism in the Spirit wasn’t a sign given to the disciples when they were
with him. It isn’t just something we read about which took place long ago in history. It was – and still is – the
sign of his present identity; it has never been changed or withdrawn. It was to characterize Jesus for the
whole Christian age.
What is baptism?
The word “baptism” might seem strange to us today, but in fact, it’s quite an ordinary word in Greek, meaning
“dipped” or “immersed”. It was particularly used to refer to dipping cloth in dye. It’s a wonderful image! The cloth
was in the dye and the dye in the cloth. As the cloth soaked in the dye, it took on its colour. Baptism therefore has to
do with taking on the character of the element into which something is dipped. John the Baptist baptized people in
the chilly Jordan River and left them wet and cold. Christ’s baptism in the Spirit, meaning we take on the character
of the Spirit, is like liquid fire.
The Bible tells us that God’s character is that of a consuming fire. Fire in Scripture carries several meanings, not
always negative. Luke 3:17-18 (NIV) reads: “ ‘He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’ And with many
other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them .” Fire means good news, not judgement.
Fire transforms dry bones
In the story of Ezekiel’s prophesying to the valley of dry bones, the bones came together and became an army of
living men of flesh and blood. God breathed life into those lifeless bones. But there’s another way to deal with dry
bones – by fire. Perhaps you have some bone china at home. It’s very fine tableware, and rings like a bell when
you tap a spoon against it. Bone china begins as tons of old bones, ground to powder. That bone dust is mixed
with white clay, which is then moulded, shaped and decorated and passed through a kiln. Out of the fires then
comes lovely pure white china to grace our tables.
There are dry-bone Christians – bone-dry Christians, we would say. But when these spiritual skeletons, lifeless
believers, are baptized in the Holy Spirit and get God’s fires in their very bones, they come out as vessels for
God to take up in his purposes. The process leaves its pure, unmistakable and wonderful mark. Just like a potter
using his kiln, God uses fire to produce his work. “ We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works” (Ephesians 2:10). We are his good work, made to produce good works.
, Forget about the feelings
The baptism in the Spirit brings permanent power but not a permanent feeling of power. We don’t measure
power by feelings, or by what we see. Wires, which are able to carry 110,000 volts, look ex actly the same
whether they are carrying current or not. Similarly, we cannot judge our own muscular power by feelings,
but only by experiment. Strong men don’t feel their strength. They can’t sit down and enjoy strength at the
fireside. However, when asked to lift a heavy weight, they know their strength and just do it.
The power of God is treasure in “jars of clay” as Paul says (2 Corinthians 4:7). When we sit and rest, or if we are
busy in this or that concern, we don’t feel full of power. If anything, we feel completely ordinary; we’re not aware of
his mighty power with us. Nearly all prayers for power are really for a sense of power, to feel the throb or pulsation,
but actually that is to miss the point. Strength is evident when it is used. A man lifts the dumbbells, and his
strength shows. Spiritual power is latent strength in our spirit. But when the circumstances call for it to be
used, that strength is there. The supply is immediate, matching the need as it arises.
Some never do anything for God because they don’t “feel” that they have the power or strength. They go on
praying for power before they take action. Just because they don ’t feel powerful, they keep on praying for
what they probably already have. What a waste of time and effort! If they know God, his power will be there
when it’s needed. Rich men don’t carry millions of dollars around with them. They can draw on their
resources whenever they please without having to have their pockets stuffed full of money. We don ’t need to
be trembling under the weight of divine power from breakfast till suppertime. And anyway, it isn ’t up to us!
What we do is because he has all the power – not us. That’s all that matters.
I’ve just talked about strong men. Does their strength compel them to work with great energy and gusto? Not at all!
They can be strong but lazy. Perhaps they never do anything else with their time than use it to build their muscles.
The kind of power some people ask God for is really for something to enthuse and drive them to witness and work, a
compelling power, overcoming their lethargy, or overwhelming their fear and reluctance. They want God to give
them such a push that they can’t help but go out and about and just find themselves witnessing, propelled into
service. That’s just pie in the sky. It won’t happen. God never compels you to serve him in spite of yourself.
This is often the kind of thinking that lies behind prayers for revival: “Revive me, O Lord, put some go into me,
capture me and send me.” That’s a futile prayer. We’ve many incentives, we can be exhorted and encouraged by all
and sundry, but no unseen force will lever us out of our fireside chair into the street. To get up and go is our part of
the bargain. God is waiting for us to take that step. He asks, “ Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah
6:8). There’s no conscription in the Kingdom of God. Just one thing is sure: once on our feet, confronting the
devil, we can expect the Spirit of God to be with us.
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (II)
An ongoing flow
The early chapters of the Book of Acts tell us that on the Day of Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy
Spirit. The rest of the book shows that they went on being filled, moment-by-moment, without interruption. Jesus
described this filling with the Holy Spirit as a river (see John 7:38).
Let me use a modern illustration: just think of a car battery. You only need to plug it in to a charger if the car
isn’t used. If you drive the car, the battery is charged as it goes. The engine needs curren t to run it but it
makes its own current by working. The engine drives the alternator and the alternator feeds current to the
engine. If we keep going for God and do what God wants, we are never drained dry.
In California in the winter of 2001 they had an electricity crisis. The big power companies got into financial
difficulties. Millions were without electricity. But God’s power doesn’t fail because of any money problem. Whether
we are rich or poor, the promise of God’s power is ours. What’s more, you can’t buy power. Being baptized in the
Holy Spirit isn’t a sign of how much money we have given to a good cause.
Sometimes power stations are unable to meet demand, but God’s power is never in short supply. In fact, with God
there’s no such thing as a power failure. You can never use up Holy Spirit energies, no matter how much you draw
By Reinhard Bonnke
In one of my African campaign meetings – in November 2000 – over one million people had a tremendous
experience at the same time. They were all baptized in the Holy Spirit.
In Europe, I’m sure 90 per cent of the people have never even heard of such a thing. To them, the Holy Spirit means
no more than mathematics to sheep. The things of the Spirit of God belong to a realm that’s a million light-years
away, metaphorically speaking, from the godless world in which we live today. There’s nothing else like it.
That gulf has always been there. People don’t know what it’s like to meet Jesus Christ until they do. And they don’t
understand people who have already met him, especially people he has baptized in the Spirit.
The sign of Christ
Now, what was the first thing ever said about Jesus? It was this amazing prophecy: that he would baptize people in
the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16). John the Baptist was sent by God to announce that Jesus was
coming and to tell people how they would be able to identify him. There are religions a-plenty, but Christ stands
apart. Before he even began his ministry, people were told that he was to be recognisable as the person who baptizes
in the Holy Spirit.
We have a right to know who we are dealing with. There are many spirits, many religions and many experiences.
What guarantee of authenticity do we have? How can we be sure that we are dealing with the real Christ and not
some impostor? The sign of the true Son of God is that he baptizes in the Holy Spirit. Ask Jesus to give you the
Spirit and you will not get a scorpion – that is his promise.
Interesting to note is that Jesus didn’t baptize in the Spirit while he was here on earth, but only after he had gone
back to heaven. The plan was for us to recognize the signs of his presence after he had gone by his heavenly
role, which is to baptize in the Spirit. Baptism in the Spirit wasn’t a sign given to the disciples when they were
with him. It isn’t just something we read about which took place long ago in history. It was – and still is – the
sign of his present identity; it has never been changed or withdrawn. It was to characterize Jesus for the
whole Christian age.
What is baptism?
The word “baptism” might seem strange to us today, but in fact, it’s quite an ordinary word in Greek, meaning
“dipped” or “immersed”. It was particularly used to refer to dipping cloth in dye. It’s a wonderful image! The cloth
was in the dye and the dye in the cloth. As the cloth soaked in the dye, it took on its colour. Baptism therefore has to
do with taking on the character of the element into which something is dipped. John the Baptist baptized people in
the chilly Jordan River and left them wet and cold. Christ’s baptism in the Spirit, meaning we take on the character
of the Spirit, is like liquid fire.
The Bible tells us that God’s character is that of a consuming fire. Fire in Scripture carries several meanings, not
always negative. Luke 3:17-18 (NIV) reads: “ ‘He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’ And with many
other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them .” Fire means good news, not judgement.
Fire transforms dry bones
In the story of Ezekiel’s prophesying to the valley of dry bones, the bones came together and became an army of
living men of flesh and blood. God breathed life into those lifeless bones. But there’s another way to deal with dry
bones – by fire. Perhaps you have some bone china at home. It’s very fine tableware, and rings like a bell when
you tap a spoon against it. Bone china begins as tons of old bones, ground to powder. That bone dust is mixed
with white clay, which is then moulded, shaped and decorated and passed through a kiln. Out of the fires then
comes lovely pure white china to grace our tables.
There are dry-bone Christians – bone-dry Christians, we would say. But when these spiritual skeletons, lifeless
believers, are baptized in the Holy Spirit and get God’s fires in their very bones, they come out as vessels for
God to take up in his purposes. The process leaves its pure, unmistakable and wonderful mark. Just like a potter
using his kiln, God uses fire to produce his work. “ We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works” (Ephesians 2:10). We are his good work, made to produce good works.
, Forget about the feelings
The baptism in the Spirit brings permanent power but not a permanent feeling of power. We don’t measure
power by feelings, or by what we see. Wires, which are able to carry 110,000 volts, look ex actly the same
whether they are carrying current or not. Similarly, we cannot judge our own muscular power by feelings,
but only by experiment. Strong men don’t feel their strength. They can’t sit down and enjoy strength at the
fireside. However, when asked to lift a heavy weight, they know their strength and just do it.
The power of God is treasure in “jars of clay” as Paul says (2 Corinthians 4:7). When we sit and rest, or if we are
busy in this or that concern, we don’t feel full of power. If anything, we feel completely ordinary; we’re not aware of
his mighty power with us. Nearly all prayers for power are really for a sense of power, to feel the throb or pulsation,
but actually that is to miss the point. Strength is evident when it is used. A man lifts the dumbbells, and his
strength shows. Spiritual power is latent strength in our spirit. But when the circumstances call for it to be
used, that strength is there. The supply is immediate, matching the need as it arises.
Some never do anything for God because they don’t “feel” that they have the power or strength. They go on
praying for power before they take action. Just because they don ’t feel powerful, they keep on praying for
what they probably already have. What a waste of time and effort! If they know God, his power will be there
when it’s needed. Rich men don’t carry millions of dollars around with them. They can draw on their
resources whenever they please without having to have their pockets stuffed full of money. We don ’t need to
be trembling under the weight of divine power from breakfast till suppertime. And anyway, it isn ’t up to us!
What we do is because he has all the power – not us. That’s all that matters.
I’ve just talked about strong men. Does their strength compel them to work with great energy and gusto? Not at all!
They can be strong but lazy. Perhaps they never do anything else with their time than use it to build their muscles.
The kind of power some people ask God for is really for something to enthuse and drive them to witness and work, a
compelling power, overcoming their lethargy, or overwhelming their fear and reluctance. They want God to give
them such a push that they can’t help but go out and about and just find themselves witnessing, propelled into
service. That’s just pie in the sky. It won’t happen. God never compels you to serve him in spite of yourself.
This is often the kind of thinking that lies behind prayers for revival: “Revive me, O Lord, put some go into me,
capture me and send me.” That’s a futile prayer. We’ve many incentives, we can be exhorted and encouraged by all
and sundry, but no unseen force will lever us out of our fireside chair into the street. To get up and go is our part of
the bargain. God is waiting for us to take that step. He asks, “ Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah
6:8). There’s no conscription in the Kingdom of God. Just one thing is sure: once on our feet, confronting the
devil, we can expect the Spirit of God to be with us.
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (II)
An ongoing flow
The early chapters of the Book of Acts tell us that on the Day of Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy
Spirit. The rest of the book shows that they went on being filled, moment-by-moment, without interruption. Jesus
described this filling with the Holy Spirit as a river (see John 7:38).
Let me use a modern illustration: just think of a car battery. You only need to plug it in to a charger if the car
isn’t used. If you drive the car, the battery is charged as it goes. The engine needs curren t to run it but it
makes its own current by working. The engine drives the alternator and the alternator feeds current to the
engine. If we keep going for God and do what God wants, we are never drained dry.
In California in the winter of 2001 they had an electricity crisis. The big power companies got into financial
difficulties. Millions were without electricity. But God’s power doesn’t fail because of any money problem. Whether
we are rich or poor, the promise of God’s power is ours. What’s more, you can’t buy power. Being baptized in the
Holy Spirit isn’t a sign of how much money we have given to a good cause.
Sometimes power stations are unable to meet demand, but God’s power is never in short supply. In fact, with God
there’s no such thing as a power failure. You can never use up Holy Spirit energies, no matter how much you draw
