Dr Greg Bahnsen - Modern Tongues Movement: The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Part 2)

This recording has been released into the public domain by the Bonson Institute, where we aim to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Last week we began a consideration of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I wish to continue that same consideration this morning the baptism of the Holy Spirit and move on to consider in relation to that the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So today's message will be on the baptism and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I'd like to read again as Our Scripture passage 1 Corinthians 12. Corinthians 12. Hear the word of God. Paul says, now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. You know that when ye were Gentiles, ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led. Wherefore I make known unto you that no man speaking in the Spirit of God says Jesus is accursed, and no man can say Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord, and there are diversities of workings, but the same God who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit with all. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit. To another faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healings in the one Spirit, and to another workings of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another discerning of spirits, and to another divers kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these work the one and same Spirit dividing to each one severally, even as you will. For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For in one spirit were you all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free, and were all made to drink of one spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, it is not, therefore not of the body. And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, it is not, therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members, each one of them, in the body, even as it pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now they are many members. But One body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee. Or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No. Much rather, those members of the body which seem to be the more feeble are necessary. And those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable. Upon these we bestow more abundant honor, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness, whereas our comely parts have no need. But God tempered the body together, giving more abundant honour to that part which lacketh. That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care, one for another. And whether one member suffers, all members suffer with it, or one member is honoured, all members are rejoicing with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof. And God has set some in the church. First apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings. Helps governments, kinds of tongues? Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret, but desire earnestly the greater gifts, and moreover a more excellent way. Show I unto you. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become a sounding grass or a clanging cymbal. Thus far, the reading of God's Word I began last week by explaining that it is, in a sense, awkward to have to take up this series and to speak about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues today. It's awkward because the very fact that it has to be addressed is a sign that there is division in the church and disagreement. And that kind of division and disagreement naturally compromises our witness to the world, compromises our witness to ourself, and divides the body of Christ. Obviously, the Spirit of God, the Pentecostal Spirit of God, was not given as a spirit of division, but a spirit of unity. And so it is awkward for a Christian pastor to have to take up the subject and the circumstances in which it is taken up. But on the other hand, I would be less than faithful to my ministerial calling, less than faithful to my Lord, if I didn't sound a warning, if I didn't try to speak the truth, even when it's uncomfortable, if I didn't say that there are serious dangers inherent in what is called the Neopentecostal movement of our day, and I don't want any of Christ's sheep to be wandering in the direction of those pits that I think have really ensnared a number of people who are brothers and sisters in Christ in our own age. And moreover, I think when we are silent about the truth, when we fail to say positively what the Bible says on subjects as controversial as they may be, then false views seem all the more plausible. Because I think you'll find it ever to be the case that when people have extremist and false views of Scripture, they are more than happy to be talking and talking and talking about them. And so by default, the truth of the Gospel, very often in a human sense anyway, loses because those who are holding the truth figure well, we don't have to say anything more about it. We understand this, we can move on. But if there isn't a constant witness, verbal public witness to the truth about this and many other subjects of theology, then not only our people, but our friends and neighbors, those who name the name of Christ, young converts, and even some who have been in the church for many years, perhaps even covenant children who have grown up in the church, are easily drawn aside by these errors. I think when silence prevails about the truth, that we shouldn't be surprised then that false views become plausible to people. Especially false views become plausible about a biblical phrase that has been sadly exploited in our day to make an extremist, what is called full Gospel view of how to satisfy our inward spiritual longings and appear all the more credible to people. When you're a stranger to sound detailed biblical instruction, the charismatic idea of Spirit Baptism may seem very plausible. And yet I say with all humility, all respect for these people on their positive areas of teaching and sanctification. But with all of that, this teaching, the full gospel charismatic Neopentecostal teaching about Spirit baptism is a severe twisting of God's word, not to mention a severe twisting of logic and common sense as well. But I'd like to look at the Word of God and continue our study today on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Last week we noticed that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a phrase used in Scripture to apply not so much to the experience of Christians, but to a once for all historical occasion on the day of Pentecost. Actually, the day of Pentecost, as we will see, is a many tiered or installed package that God has given. But nevertheless, there was a once for all event called Pentecost where God baptized his church in the Spirit. And that baptism of the Holy Spirit is part and parcel of those mighty works of redemption that Jesus Christ underwent in our behalf. He died for us. He was raised for us. He has ascended on high and is enthroned for us. And Peter says from that position he has poured forth this which was seen on the day of Pentecost. And so the day of Pentecost, the baptizing of the Church in the Holy Spirit, is part of the work of redemption that Christ accomplished, not so much part of the work of redemption that is now applied in our lives and in our experience. Spirit baptism, then, is not at all a second or subsequent blessing for some believers to have in their experience. The baptism of the Holy Spirit took place historically, uniquely, once for all. It took place at the founding of the church, when God made the church the body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, by the indwelling of his Spirit, and thus at conversion, when people are incorporated into the body of Christ, when people come to the Savior, are united to him by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. At conversion, all believers are united to Christ's body and thereby enjoy the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At conversion, you see, Christians are already baptized in the Holy Spirit. They don't seek the baptism after that. It is not subsequent to conversion because it's something that took place historically, once for all. And now we are being incorporated into that blessed sphere of salvation that is denoted by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We saw also last week that not all Spirit baptized believers speak in tongues. Even in the day when tongues was a legitimate manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit, not all believers spoke in tongues. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:13, for in 1 Spirit were we all baptized into one body. We have all been baptized in the Holy Spirit. And yet Paul at the end of that same chapter, says in verse 30, have all gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Some of your translations will actually give the rhetorical thrust and the implied negative answer a little more clearly. Well, not all speak in tongues, do they? Not all prophesy, do they. Not all work miracles, do they? That's exactly the force of the Greek. That's exactly accurate. Paul says not everybody speaks in tongues, and yet all are baptized in the Holy Spirit. And so speaking in tongues cannot be taken as the sure denotation, the sure sign, the signal that somebody has been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Now I want to move on to a third point. We've seen also that our Pentecostal brothers and sisters believe that baptism in the Holy Spirit, as they understand it, is a second blessing to salvation and denoted by the speaking in tongues is necessary if one is to lead an effective Christian life in the midst of our Satanic age. Just recently we were calling on a family in our church where visitors from another church were present to believe the kind of doctrine that I'm talking about. And for just short of two hours, we were told repeatedly that if we didn't have this baptism of the Holy Spirit not understood in the biblical sense, now it's the historic work on Pentecost, but understood as this tongues experience subsequent to our conversion, that we just couldn't possibly be equipped to take care of the difficulties of the spiritual life around us. We live in such an evil age, we were told. The mainline denominations have become so liberal and so apostate. Satan is alive and well on planet Earth, you see. And what can you do if you don't speak in tongues? Now, I say that's not only a twisting of the Bible, but I just think that's twisting of common sense too. Because I, for the life of me cannot understand why speaking in some unknown language does anything to help me take care of the problem of Satan alive and well in my neighborhood and the political sphere around me in terms of my own unsanctified life. Speaking in tongues is not going to correct the real abuses in terms of Satan's work in our age. But I want to point out that from a scriptural standpoint, Pentecost was not the primary, certainly not the exclusive transforming and empowering experience of the disciples. Often our Pentecostal brothers, and many times people who aren't Pentecostal but fall into this trap, will say the disciples were such a weak and whimpering band of disillusioned people that until the day of Pentecost, they didn't have anything going for them. They were just like jellyfish. But then God gave them a spine. God gave them some courage. God empowered them. God transformed them when they spoke in tongues. But you see, that just won't fit the historical facts. Let's turn in our bibles to the 24th chapter of Luke's Gospel. We aren't yet to the day of Pentecost. We're just at the end of the life of Christ. Luke 24 and the last verse of Luke 24, the very last verse of the entire Gospel. I'm going to read the verse just preceding it to give you the context. And they worshiped him, that is Jesus Christ, the resurrected Lord, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. Okay, now here are these jellyfish disciples. Broken, weak, whimpering, unable to do anything for themselves till they speak in tongues, verse 53. And were continually in the temple blessing God. Each one of those aspects or words or phrases has to be emphasized. What were they doing? They were praising God. Where did this praise come from? It came from a recognition that Jesus had risen from the dead. And in so doing he had fulfilled the promise of the Old Testament. Indeed, all that the prophets had spoken from Moses through. All of the prophets of the Old Testament had looked forward to the day that the Messiah, having been humiliated on the cross, would now be glorified by the Father, raised from the dead, exalted on high, become the King over all creation, that he would accomplish the redemption for his people. So they were blessing God, praising God. And you notice that they didn't do this in some hidden place, in some corner where nobody would hear them. They were in the temple, which would become the very center of Christian persecution. By the way, the Jews would become the most vicious of opponents of the Christian church, indeed even more vicious than the Romans. Indeed. I will argue in a publication that's forthcoming that the Jews, in fact, very likely put the Romans up to the persecution of the Christians to distinguish the Jews from the Christians. But it was in the very temple that they were blessing God. And notice that Luke says they did it continually. They didn't stop that verse that says pray without ceasing. The one that we all have to have our rationalizations about, because we don't pray without ceasing. But they, without ceasing, were praising God and publicly doing so. And this is before the day of Pentecost. And so away with this idea that Pentecost was primarily a personal, experiential sort of happening, that the primary emphasis in Pentecost is on the boldness that came to the disciples to make them effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. They were effective witnesses for Jesus Christ prior to Pentecost. I don't want to take anything away from Pentecost and its historic significance, but I don't want to make of Pentecost something that it is not. And our Pentecostal brethren, in order to exalt their own private experience of tongues, or whatever it may be described as, unfortunately have twisted the Scripture at this point as well. So tongues is not related to a second blessing after conversion. Tongues is not associated with the speaking in tongues. Excuse me. The Holy Spirit's baptism is not related to a second blessing, and it's not signalized by the speaking in tongues. And it's not crucial to effective Christian living today. Spirit baptism applies to all those who are effectually called to salvation in Christ. Indeed, if we'll just look at the account of Pentecost and Acts, we'll see that first of all as preference to that, though. Acts 1:4 5. On the last day of Jesus life, he's speaking to his disciples. Verse 4 of Acts 1 says, and being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. Which said he, you heard from me, for John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence. Jesus says, you wait in Jerusalem until I send the promise of the Father, until I baptize you in the Holy Spirit. Okay, now let's turn to Acts 2, the day of Pentecost. Peter's sermon in response to the rebuke of the people around the congregation of Christians saying they were drunk so early in the morning, Peter says, no, this is not drunkenness. This is the work of the Spirit. Acts 2:33. Coming down now into his sermon, Peter tells us, being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this which you see and hear. Jesus said, I will send the promise of the Father the baptism of the Spirit. Peter says, that promise of the Spirit has now been poured forth. You see the baptism of the Spirit taking place right here on what we call the Day of Pentecost. With that in mind that the promise is the baptism of the Spirit, we come to verses 38 and 39. And Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, unto the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. How many receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? All those who repent. How many receive the promise of the Father again, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, all those that our God shall call unto him even on the day of Pentecost. Holy Spirit Baptism was not a select experience for elite believers on the Day of Pentecost. It was for anybody who would come to the Savior. Peter says, if you will repent, if God has called you into union with Jesus Christ the Savior, then the gift, the promise of the Father, Holy Spirit baptism is yours. In John 7:39, which we looked at last week, we saw that the outpouring of the Spirit awaited the glorification of Jesus Christ, the accomplishment of redemption. But this spake, he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive, for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified on the day of Pentecost, the glorified Savior now pours forth the Spirit on the Church and who receives it. John 7:39 says, those that believe receive the Spirit. So Holy Spirit baptism applies to all who are effectually called to salvation in Christ. That is, it applies to every convert at the moment of saving faith. If you'll take the time to look up the passages in which Holy Spirit baptism is spoken of in the New Testament and just compare the circumstances in which it takes place, you will see, I think, be convinced, you'll be persuaded that Luke never intended for spirit baptism to be taken as crucial to the individual believer's experience. Luke never made the individual believers experience the focus of Holy Spirit baptism. For you see, in the Book of Acts, Holy Spirit baptism takes place in so many different ways regarding the experience of individuals. At some it took place at conversion. For others it did take place subsequent to conversion, which we'll talk about in a minute. For some it took place before water baptism. For others it took place after water baptism. For some it took place with the laying on of hands. With others without the laying on of hands. Now, if Luke is trying to present us a model for our life today, then we're certainly going to be confused. How are we to be baptized in the Holy Spirit today if that's what he's trying to communicate to us with the laying on our hands, without, before or after water baptism, at conversion, subsequent to conversion? There's no way to say. And the reason there's no way to answer those questions is because Luke is not giving this to us as a model for the continuing experience of individuals in the Church, Luke is giving us a once for all unique historical outpouring of the Spirit. And when we see it in terms of that historic event instead of in terms of our own ongoing experience, we won't be asking the kinds of questions that, as you can see, are impossible to answer given Luke's presentation of the baptism of the Spirit. Now, having said this, the question naturally, if Holy Spirit baptism is a once for all unique historical event, part of that complex of events we call the accomplishment of redemption, the death, resurrection, ascension, and outpouring of the Spirit by our Savior Jesus Christ. If that's the way we're to see the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then how are we to account for the fact that that in addition to Acts Chapter two, there seem to be baptisms of the Spirit after them? You see immediately our Pentecostal friends, to the degree that they base their doctrine on the word of God are going to want to run to these other passages of Scripture and say, well, now, what do you say about this? And they should rightly do that. We need to give an answer to that. The answer, however, is rather simple. The Outpouring the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Even though it's a once for all unique historical event, it does not have to be confined to one place on one day. After all, was the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ unique and as historical as it was confined to just one sermon of one word at one location? No, there's nothing to keep the baptism of the Holy Spirit from being a complex series of events. Or if you will, there's nothing to keep God from bringing in stages the baptism of the Spirit that He intends for the Church. In fact, given the way God has accomplished redemption in history, given the unique place of the Jews and the spreading of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the rest of Judea, to Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth, it's entirely likely that that's precisely what God would do. You'd have the baptism of the Spirit accompany the preaching of the Gospel as it goes in these stages of to earth's remotest ends. If anybody has any doubt about the fact that Pentecost is in fact a once for all but staged event, that is to say, it comes in installments, stages, piers, if you will. Let's turn to John 20:22, which again is at the end of our Gospel account, but before the day of Pentecost, John 20:22, we know that it's evening on the Lord's day. The doors are shut. The disciples for fear of the Jews are in the midst the room. Jesus comes, says, peace be unto you. He shows them his hands in his side. The disciples are glad. Jesus gives them the benediction of the father. Then verse 22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said unto them, receive the Holy Spirit. He breathed on them. An unusual construction. We're not used to thinking that way. But you have to remember that in Greek as well as in Hebrew, the word for breath and breathing is related to the word for Spirit. They are one and the same. The Holy Spirit in one sense is the Holy breath, the breathing out of God. And so Jesus in breathing is communicating to them the Holy Spirit, his own Spirit, his own breath is upon them. And in so doing he says, you've received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been poured out from Jesus even before he ascended. Now what are we to make of that? Peter said that Jesus poured it out from his throne after his ascension. Well, the only way I think you can harmonize the two passages is to admit the very thing that I've introduced to you already. That's to admit that Pentecost comes in stages. First, the closest circle of disciples in Jesus own presence, behind closed doors in an evening, have the baptism of the Spirit. And then on the day of Pentecost, early in the morning, publicly before all in Jerusalem. Jesus pours it forth on the 120 that are gathered there in the first congregation of Christians in Jerusalem. Then we go through Acts and we find that there are three other occasions where this takes place. We've already seen it happen twice. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to his closest disciples. Jesus then pours out the Holy Spirit upon the whole Christian church. And then what's to happen? But if you're going to understand what is taking place, you need to see the structure for the book of Acts as Luke himself presents it. In Acts the first chapter, verse 8, Acts 18, Jesus says, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And ye shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Who will be my witnesses? How many times have we heard this scripture applied to our lives today? How many times has this become the model for evangelistic programming so that we first evangelize our local area, then to the next geographical boundary, and then beyond that? Well, I don't know whether God intended that as a model for all of us, but he certainly was not saying that here. God was not speaking directly that particular message. This is not addressed to all of us. You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem was not addressed to me. And if it was, I'm living in utter disobedience, as I'm not living in Jerusalem. And I didn't move from Jerusalem, then to Judea, then to Samaria, then to the uttermost parts of the earth. Who was he speaking to? Verse 2. Until the day in which he was received up. After that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen. Jesus spoke to his apostles and he said, it is your job to found the church in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. And the Holy Spirit will be upon them that they might witness to him in this way. So the coming of the Holy Spirit, you see, is associated with the coming of the Gospel, and it spread to earth's remotest Ends. Now Luke wants to show us that what Jesus began to do, he accomplished through his apostles, through his disciples, that Jesus was doing a victorious work of ministration through these men. And so as we go through the book of Acts, we come to Acts 8. And there are certain apostles, excuse me, certain people in Samaria who are hearing the gospel. Luke 8, 14, 17. And when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet it was fallen upon none of them. Only they had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Verse 25. They Therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem and preached the Gospel to many villages of. You see, the Gospel is taking another quantum leap now. It's now out of Jerusalem and in Samaria, the Samaritans are hearing the Gospel. And notice that it's the apostles who go. And the apostles say, with the coming of the Gospel comes the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritans as well. And so, as Jesus said, the apostles spread the gospel. And the promise of the Spirit comes with that spreading of the gospel. We Turn now to two chapters later, Acts, the tenth chapter. And the gospel we see goes to the first Gentile, to Cornelius. And let's look at verses 44 to the first verse of chapter 11. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the Word. And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. Well, of course, the day of Pentecost was not supposed to be simply a Jewish experience. And so when the Gentiles are incorporated into the body of Christ, what happens? God historically says, and Pentecost is theirs as well. Not only the Samaritans, but now the Gentiles. Look at verse one of chapter 11. Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. It is always in connection with the apostles and the word of God. Jesus commanded his apostles, you'll be my witnesses when the promise of the Holy Spirit is on you. And this will spread From Jerusalem, the 120th, the day of Pentecost, to Judea. Here we see it now in Caesarea, where a Gentile is even received to Samaria we've seen the Samaritans who received the gift of the Spirit and and to earth's remotest ends turn to Acts, the 19th chapter, the last account of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, Acts 191 6. And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples over in Asia Minor. Now Paul comes to Ephesus and he finds their disciples. And it's crucial to see these disciples. Once were followers of John, found certain disciples. And he said unto them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? We don't know all the background. He had some reason to think that there was something lacking here. And they said unto him, no, we did not hear that the Holy Spirit had yet been given. And he said, into what then were you baptized? And they said into John's baptism. And Paul said, john baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him, that that should come after him, that is on Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them. Well, this is perhaps the most important of all the experiences in Acts, because you see, the Holy Spirit baptism is to be understood at all, must be understood against the baptism of John. Remember, Jesus came to be baptized by John. John resist him. And Jesus said that the difference between the two baptisms was that John was preparing the way for the Lord, but that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit with fire. Now here we find followers of John who have migrated to Ephesus, who haven't even heard that the Holy Spirit's been given yet. And so Paul gets to earth's remotest ends now beyond Judea and Samaria, out to the Gentile regions, and he finds these disciples. And he says, you need to have this experience completed. What John gave you was only anticipating what Jesus has accomplished for our salvation. It's amazing how God works providentially in history. You see, you can't read the Book of Acts as though it's just kind of a sampling of neat things that happened long ago. So often we read this, we go from one story to another and say, wow, this happened then. Wow, that happened. Look at this thrilling event. Look at that thrilling event. Look what God put them through here. Look what he put them through there. And it's just kind of, you know, you put them all up on the shelf and you Say, look at the neat things God does. But that isn't what the Book of Acts is about. The Book of Acts is very structured. It has an argument to it. Luke is presenting a theme, and I've only given you one thread of that theme this morning. But you see what it is. Jesus said to his apostles, you are to found the church, you are to spread the gospel. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth. And how are they going to do this when the promise of the Holy Spirit is there? So Jesus has breathed on them, given them the Holy Spirit. Jesus in Jerusalem to the 120 gives the Holy Spirit. Jesus to the Samaritans gives the Holy Spirit. Jesus to the Judeans gives the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit in Ephesus to those who hadn't known anything but John's baptism. This is all part and parcel of the same event that we call the Day of Pentecost. The only difference is that God has given it in stages, in installments, if you will. We say these things and the question is naturally going to be raised, well, if God was doing these things back in those days, what's he doing for us today? We seem to be left out, right? We weren't there on the Day of Pentecost or in any of the subsequent installments of the Day of Pentecost. We weren't there to receive the historic, unique, once for all baptism of the spiritual. So what's for us? It seems like we've left our experience devoid of any thrills and any excitement and any up. It seems like we're just kind of left here remembering that some people at one time had this experience of the Spirit. But that's not true at all. Because the Bible tells us that the baptism of the Spirit is the one gift of the Spirit God has given to all who are in the church. And that in association with that one gift of the Spirit that He has given. Gifts plural as well. Gifts plural. It's amazing if you study the accounts of the gifts, the charisma, the charismatic gifts, if you will, in the New Testament, we have such an unbiblical understanding of that word. When we speak of charismatic gifts today, we undoubtedly mean the miraculous gifts of prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues. And yet the New Testament does not speak of the charisma in that way. It speaks of it in that way, but not exclusively in that way. The charismatic gifts are all the ways in which the Spirit's power is seen in the service of believers. Let me give you some examples. In Romans 6:23 well known passage Paul tells us, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Greek word for gift, charisma, the free charisma of God. God's given us all charisma because he's given us all salvation. In Romans 5, 15, 16 we see that the charismatic gift is as broad as salvation, but not as the trespass. So also is the charisma, the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many, and not as through the one that sinned, so as the gift for the judgment came of one unto condemnation. But the charisma, the gift, the free gift, came of many trespasses unto justification. All those who have faith in Jesus Christ, all those who are saved, all those who are justified, enjoy the charismatic gift of the Spirit. In 1 Timothy, the fourth chapter, we won't turn to that this morning. Paul speaks of Timothy's overall ministry as the gift that was given him at his ordination, and it's called the charisma. Not Timothy speaking in tongues, not Timothy doing miracles, but Timothy exhorting the congregation, counseling people, guiding the widows, preaching the word of God, Timothy doing all the work of the ministry. That's his charisma. In 2 Corinthians 1:11, Paul speaks of his being delivered from a particular historical peril, and he speaks of that as the gift of the Holy Spirit, the charisma of the Spirit to him. In 1 Corinthians 12, 4, 11, which is which we read this morning, we see also that the charisma are such things as tongues and prophecy, miracles, governments and other things that God has given for the life of the congregation. But perhaps for your persuasion, the most important passage to look at this morning will be 1 Corinthians 7:7. Here's another charisma of the Spirit, 1st Corinthians 7:7. It's not the way we're accustomed to thinking at all. But Paul says, yet I would that all men were even as I myself, howbeit each man has his own.

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