Baptism in the Holy Spirit Derek Prince

7/29/2019 Baptism in the Holy Spirit Derek Prince

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BAPTISM

IN THE

HOLY SPIRIT


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BAPTISMIN THE

HOLY SPIRIT

DEREK PRINCE


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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from theKing James

Version (KJV) of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked (NAS) are from theNew American Standard

Bible, 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman

Foundation. Used by permission.

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

Derek Prince Ministries - International

P.O. Box 19501

Charlotte, NC 28219

ISBN: 0-88368-377-6

Printed in the United States of America

Copyright 1995 by Derek Prince

Whitaker House

30 Hunt Valley Circle

New Kensington, PA 15068

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, withoutpermission in writing from the publisher.

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Contents

A Study of Prepositions..............................................................................7

The Nature of the Experience...............................................................23

Warnings...............................................................................................................41

The Purposes of the Experience........................................................54

About the Author...........................................................................................84


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A Study of

Prepositions


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A Study of Prepositions

For by one Spirit are we all baptizedinto one body, whether we be Jews or

Gentiles, whether we be bond or free,

and have been all made to drink into

one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13

he baptism in the Holy Spirit isa topic which everyone istalking about. In the last few

years, I have traveled and preachedT

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8 Baptism in the Holy Spirit

quite widely in three differentcontinents. Everywhere I go, I findthat the baptism is the topic ofinterest, discussion, and also,perhaps, controversy amongChristians around the world.

Sometimes, Christians have theimpression that speaking aboutspiritual things is largely a matter ofemotion. Therefore, they believe thatthey will not have much need for their

intelligence. This is a completemistake. Instead, we need to give verycareful attention to the teaching ofGod's Word. Unless it is regarded withunderstanding, the information that

you read here will be of little help toyou. The verse cited above needs acertain amount of clarification, sincetrouble has been created for manypeople due to the whims of translators. One prominent feature of


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A Study of Prepositions 9

the verse is repeated three times. Thisis the short but important word, one.

This verse cannot be properlyappreciated unless it is realized that theapostle Paul's main emphasis was noton a doctrine but on the unity of the

body of Christ. Apart from anyindividual and personal blessings thatthose of us who have had the blessingof being baptized in the Spirit may havereceived through the experience, weneed continually to keep in the forefront

of our minds that God's supremepurpose for bestowing it is the unity ofthe body of Christ. I do feel that manytimes we have not been centered inGod's line of teaching and revelationbecause we have strayed from thisfoundational principle concerning thebaptism in the Holy Spirit.

It so happens that I used to be ateacher of Greek at CambridgeUniversity, and I've studied it since I


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was ten years old. So, in this respect, Idare to say that I know what I'm talkingabout. I do not doubt that some readersare also familiar with Greek and canturn to any literal translation or anycommentary to check on the truth of

the translation modification that I amabout to make. However, I am notasking you to accept the minormodification because of my educationalbackground. Rather, I am asking that

you check into it for yourself.

I would say that 1 Corinthians 12:13could be more accurately translatedthis way: "For in one Spirit were we allbaptized into one body ... and we wereall given to drink of one Spirit" (author'stranslation). First, the preposition in

the original Greek means "in" and not"by." That so many interpretations ofthis verse have been based on the word"by" is a minor tragedy.

With regard to the Greek verb


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baptizo, which means "to baptize;" thereare only two prepositions that everfollow it in the Greek New Testament.One is en, which means "in," and theother is eis, which means "into." Noother prepositions ever follow it

anywhere in the New Testament."In one Spirit," the verse says, "were

we all baptized."This verb is in the pasttense, not the perfect tense, anddenotes a single event that took place ata certain moment in our past

experience. It is not "we have beenbaptized,"but "we were baptized."

Now, I do believe that, in order forus to appreciate the meaning of thisverse fully, we need to consider certainparallel passages in the New Testament,particularly with regard to the use ofthe words "baptized into," which israther a strange phrase. You haveprobably met people who say, on thestrength of this verse, that unless you


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have been baptized in the Holy Ghost,you are not a member of the body ofChrist. I think this is a terrible thing tosay. I respect the sincerity of those whosay it, but I think it is a tremendousand basic error.

Therefore, before I go further, I wantto try to clarify by reference to fourother places in the New Testamentwhere the phrase "baptize into" is used.After you look at the passages, I believe

you will agree with me that in every

case "baptize into" is used, the personbaptized was already "in" what he was"baptized into."

The first place where it is used is

in Matthew 3:11, "I indeed baptize you

with water unto repentance."This isliterally "into repentance. " Does thatmean the people whom John baptizedhad not previously repented or were notin a condition of repentance? Obviouslynot. This is clear if you look at the


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preceding verses:7 But when he saw many of thePharisees and Sadducees come tohis baptism, he said unto them, Ogeneration of vipers, who hath

warned you to flee from the wrath tocome?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet forrepentance. (Matthew 3:7-8)

In other words, John the Baptistwas saying, "Demonstrate by your livesthat you have repented, and then I'llconsider baptizing you."

Therefore, it is perfectly clear thatJohn baptized people whom he believed

to have already repented. His baptismwas outward evidence of hisacknowledgment that they hadrepented, and if he had reason tobelieve that they had not repented, hewould not have baptized them.


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These are the words of Peter afterthe outpouring of the Holy Spirit on theDay of Pentecost in answer to thequestion of the convicted multitude:

37 Now when they heard this, they

were pricked in their heart, and saidunto Peter and to the rest of theapostles, Men and brethren, whatshall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them,

Repent, and be baptized every oneofyou in the name ofJesus Christ

for the remission of sins, and yeshall receive the gift of the HolyGhost. (Acts 2:37-38)

Now, "be baptized ... for theremission of sins" in the Greek isliterally "be baptized... into theremission of sins."Does that mean theirsins were not remitted before they werebaptized? No, that would be contrary to


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the whole tenor of New Testamentdoctrine.

Their sins were remitted when theyrepented and put their faith in JesusChrist. They were then baptized as anoutward testimony that the apostles

had met the conditions. Once again,they were already in the condition intowhich they were baptized.

Look at the following in Galatians:

24 Wherefore the law was our

schoolmaster to bring us untoChrist, that we might be justifiedby faith.

25But after that faith is come, we

are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children ofGod by faith in Christ Jesus.


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27

For as many of you as havebeen baptized into Christ haveput on Christ. (Galatians3:24-27)

Notice again, the order is clear anddecisive. In verse 26, we see that thereis only one condition required to make aperson a child of God-saving faith in

Jesus Christ. Anything that teachesotherwise is a false doctrine.

In John 6:47, Jesus said, "Verily,

verily, I say unto you, He that believethon me hath everlasting life." This ismore accurately translated as: "Hethat believeth into me hath everlastinglife."

That is the doctrine for which

Luther stood justification by faithalone. Nothing but an active faith in

Jesus Christ is required for a personto become a child of God. Then Paulgoes on to say, "as many, of you ashave been baptized into Christ have put


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on Christ."Notice, they were already inChrist; then they were baptized intoChrist as the acknowledgment thatthey were inChrist.

We read the following in the sixthchapter of Romans:

2 God forbid. How shall we, thatare dead to sin, live any longertherein?

3 Know ye not, that so many of

us as were baptized into JesusChrist were baptized into hisdeath?

4 Therefore we are buried with

him by baptism into death: thatlike as Christ was raised up fromthe dead by the glory of theFather, even so we also shouldwalk in newness of life.

(Romans 6:2-4)


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In this passage, we find the phrase"baptized into" used in reference to

being "baptized into"the death of JesusChrist. In this sense, Paul also spoke of

baptism as a burial when he said, "we

are buried with him by baptism into

death."

Now, it is perfectly clear that we donot bury a person in order to makehim dead. That would be a horriblethought! In fact, our burying a personconstitutes our acknowledgment thatthat person is already dead. Thus,

baptism into the death of Christ doesnot in itself produce the condition ofbeing dead to sin in the person

baptized; rather, it is the openacknowledgment that the conditionhas already been produced in thatperson through faith in the death andresurrection of Christ.


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Thus, we have seen the same lessonfour times. In each of the cases that wehave considered, we have found that tobaptized a person intoan condition is toacknowledge. publicly that the personis already in that all four cases, the

context makes this absolutely plain.Reading again from Paul's first

letter to the church at Corinth, we find,

18 For by one Spirit are we allbaptized into one body, whether

we be Jews or Gentiles, whetherwe be bond or free; and havebeen all made to drink into oneSpirit.

(1 Corinthians 12:13)

We can now see the meaning of thispassage in its true light. We werealready in the body." The baptism inthe Holy Spirit acknowledges andmakes public and effectual ourmembership in the body, of which we


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already have been a part. With the HolySpirit baptism, we are all "baptized into"the oneness of the body. That is thepurpose of the baptism in the Spirit. Wewere already in the body just as thepeople whom John baptized were

already in repentance, just as thepeople baptized on the day of Pentecostwere already in remission of sins, justas the people referred to in Galatianswere already in Christ, and just as thepeople referred to in Romans were

already dead to sin before they wereburied by baptism into Christ's death.

Thus, we are already in the bodyHowever, the baptism in the Holy Spiritis a supernatural seal that is given toeach individual member by which Jesus

Christ acknowledges the member as apart of His body.

Christ alone can confer thissupernatural seal. Many different menbaptized in water, but John said, "This


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is the one who baptizes in the HolySpirit" (John 1:33 NASB). There is noone else in all Scripture to whom thatprivilege is given but to Jesus Christ,who thus acknowledges themembership of His body and sets the

apostolic seal upon the believers whoreceive it.

Remember always that the ultimatepurpose of the Holy Spirit.baptism isthe unity of Christ's body. Itaccomplishes this by making individual

members of the body effective agents inbringing about unity, not division, inthe body.


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The Nature of the

Experience


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The Nature of theExperience

ow, let us consider the nature ofthis experience as described inthe Scriptures and not as

people sometimes speak about it intheir testimonies.

NWhen I was speaking in

Copenhagen, a young man came up tome and said, "I have spoken with othertongues. It happened to me when I was

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alone. Do you think I have beenbaptized in the Holy Spirit?"

I said, "Yes, I do. I don't believe anyother evidence is required if you havespoken in other tongues as the HolySpirit gave you utterance."

"Well," he said, "whenever I hearother people speaking about thisexperience, they always talk about thewonderful emotions they had, the great

joy and peace. I didn't feel any specialemotion."

I replied, "You can't allow yourself tobe led astray by people's testimonies.When the Bible speaks about thebaptism in the Holy Spirit, in no case isthere any direct reference to any kind of

emotion whatever."But, of course, it is a natural

instinct in human beings, when wespeak about an experience, toarticulate the way it affected us. If ithappened that our emotions were


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The Nature of the Experience 25

greatly stirred, that is the thing whichwe will highlight. However, it is notwhat the Bible emphasizes. You maycheck for yourself that there is nospecific reference to emotion in thevarious places where the baptism in

the Holy Spirit is written of anddescribed.

Don't jump to a wrong conclusion,however. I am not arguing againstemotion because emotion is part of thetotal human make-up. If a person's

emotions are not converted, that personis not fully converted. I certainly believethat our emotions should be converted.

They should form part of our totalChristian experience. But, this is not anabsolute with reference to the baptism

in the Holy Spirit.

What does the Bible say aboutthis? I believe the Bible uses two wordpictures or figures. First of all, weread of baptism. In the New


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Testament, this word is used inconnection with the Holy Ghost seventimes, which is quite a large number.

The other word that is also used byPaul is drinking. I believe that if weput these two together, we will form a

comprehensive picture from theScriptures of this experience.

Baptism

Baptism in an immersion, but this

immersion comes from above. I do notwant to be controversial, but while Iwas at Cambridge recently, I spent aday in various libraries researching the

history of the word baptize. I traced itfrom the fifth century before Christ

down to the second century of theChristian era. Its definition has neverchanged. It has always meant "toimmerse."

We are talking about a baptism not


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of water but of the Holy Ghost, acoming down of God's Spirit fromabove over the believer, envelopinghim in heaven's atmosphere. This isone aspect of the experience. We readin Acts,

2And suddenly there came a

sound from heaven as of a rushingmighty wind, and it filled all thehouse where they were sitting.

(Acts 2:2)

The whole atmosphere around thesebelievers was filled. They wereimmersed from above in thesupernatural power and presence ofGod.

Now, I suppose there might besomebody reading this who would sayto me, "Well, Mr. Prince, the book ofActs is merely historical. You have noright to preach doctrine from it."


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On the other hand, however, theapostle Paul did not agree with thatbecause he said,

16 All scripture is given byinspiration of God, and is profitable

for doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection, for instruction inrighteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Note what the order is in this verse.First, it says, "Scripture... is profitable

for doctrine." Then it mentions that theScriptures are profitable for reproof,correction, and instruction inrighteousness. Therefore, since thebook of Acts is part of Scripture, it isprofitable for doctrine.

The Bible presents doctrines in twoways: as statements or commands, andas descriptions of experiences or events.When we combine the two, event andstatement meet. We then have a clearpicture of what the Bible speaks about


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because we have all of the information.This is analogous to a jigsaw puzzle

that you have put together, but onepiece is missing. You can say, "Well, itshould be green at the top and blue atthe bottom, and it must stick out at

this corner and go in at that corner."When you find the piece, it fitsperfectly, and you click it in place. So itis with the baptism in the Holy Spirit:doctrine, experience, and the eventsdescribed in the book of Acts all unite,

and when it agrees from every angle,you know you've got it.

Let's look at the following in Acts:

14When the apostles which were atJerusalem heard that Samaria had

received the word of God, they sentunto them Peter and John:


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15

Who, when they were come down,prayed for them, that they mightreceive the Holy Ghost.

16 (For as yet he was fallen uponnone of them: only they were

baptized in the name of the LordJesus.)

17 Then laid they their hands onthem, and they received the HolyGhost. (Acts 8:14-17)

You notice the phrase, "He wasfallen upon none of them."The receivingof the Holy Ghost coincided with theHoly Ghost falling upon them fromabove. Then, in the tenth chapter of

Acts (I am assuming that people arefamiliar with the background of theseevents), we read:


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44

While Peter yet spake thesewords, the Holy Ghost fell on allthem which heard the word.

45 And they of the circumcisionwhich believed were astonished,

as many as came with Peter,because that on the Gentiles alsowas poured out the gift of theHoly Ghost.

46 For they heard them speak withtongues, and magnify God.

(Acts 10:44-46)

Notice that the Holy Spirit "fell onthem" and "was poured out" on them.

These phrases describe an immersion

coming down from above. TheScripture is very consistent in thedescriptive terms used.

Peter spoke about this to hiscolleagues in Jerusalem who had called


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him to account for his unorthodoxbehavior in going and preaching to theGentiles. In modern language, he toldthem, "Well, what could I do? While Iwas speaking, the Holy Ghost fell onthem as on us at the beginning. Who

was I to resist God? He gave them thesame gift that he poured out on us."

So, the whole thing is tied together:the baptism, the falling, the receiving,and the gift. They are simply differentways of describing one and the same

experience.A similar passage is located in

Acts.

5 When they heard this, they [thedisciples at Ephesus] were

baptized in the name of the LordJesus.

6 And when Paul had laid hishands upon them, the Holy Ghost


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came on them; and they spakewith tongues, and prophesied.(Acts 19:5-6)

Notice the phrase "came on them"used in this Scripture. You can findthe same picture described elsewhere,for I have not exhausted thereferences. However, I have sought to

justify this as one primary aspect ofthe experience. The baptism is asupernatural coming down of the HolyGhost over the believer, immersinghim not in water but in the shekinahglory of God's presence. Whether it isvisible or invisible is not the importantquestion.

DrinkingThe baptism is not merely

something that comes down over us. Itis also something that we receive intous. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:13


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that we, "have been all made to drinkinto one Spirit."This ties in exactly withthe words of Jesus in John's gospel:

37In the last day, that great day ofthe feast, Jesus stood and cried,

saying, If any man thirst, let himcome unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as thescripture hath said, out of his bellyshall flow rivers of living water.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit,which they that believe on himshould receive. for the HolyGhost was not yet given;because that Jesus was not yetglorified.)

(John 7:37-39)

This Scripture makes it plain. Jesusis referring to the gift of the Holy Ghost


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for the one who believes, and Hecompares the receiving of it to the act ofdrinking. He says, "If any man thirst,"which means, "if any man has a longingin his heart." He then says, "let himcome unto me, and drink," which is

saying, "let him receive into him."At that point, a marvelous miracle

takes place as the thirsty personbecomes rivers of living water. Insteadof not having enough for himself, hebecomes a channel of supply to many.

Relating to others is one of thepurposes of the baptism in the HolySpirit. Maybe you have enough to get

you to heaven, but you do not haveenough for a needy world. You need therivers that will flow out of your life.

When I served as a missionary inEast Africa, I met many different kindsof people: Africans who had noeducation and no background,educated Africans, Hindu Asians,


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Asians who were Moslems, and thewhite people who in many casesregarded themselves as slightly superiorto the others. When interacting with allof these people, I said as Paul did in 2Corinthians 2:16, "Who is sufficient for

these things?" Who can deal with thealmost naked tribesman or theEuropean in his palatial home? Howcan we truly meet with people? Godreminded me of John 7:38, "out of hisbelly shall flow [not a river of living

water, but] rivers of living water." Theserivers are enough for everybody. That'sfaith and experience.

The baptism is also perfectly logical.I actually wrote my fellowshipdissertation on logic, and since I was

converted, I have always rejoiced in theBible because I find it the most logicalbook in the world. Its logic is flawless.As far as I am concerned, I have neverfound an error or a fault in it.


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Matthew 12:34 says, "...out of theabundance of the heart the mouthspeaketh." When the heart is so fullthat it can no longer hold its contents,where does it overflow? Through themouth.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is asupernatural infilling, and it is asupernatural overflow. How do youknow when the vessel is full? It beginsto overflow. I cannot see inside yourheart or your spirit, and you cannot

see inside mine. But, when I hear theoverflow, I know it has been filled, andit is clear, logical, scriptural, andpractical. If it is not practical, it is notscriptural!

Today, literally thousands of peopleare being baptized in the Holy Ghost

just as I have described, and there arefar more outside of the Pentecostalmovement than inside it. For instance,I lived in Seattle, Washington, on the


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northwest coast of the United Statesfor nine months. There are about fortyPentecostal churches in Seattle andone Episcopal mission church.

Do you know what an Episcopalianis? He is an Anglican that has strayed

across the border of Canada into theUnited States. I had to discover that asI did not know what I was dealing with.I have been in that Episcopal missionchurch two or three times as a speaker,and actually, if I had not been told it

was Episcopalian, I certainly would nothave guessed because the atmospherewas, to say the least, distinctly lively.

The rector began by playing someNegro spirituals on his guitar. When thepeople praised the Lord, they all hadtheir hands up in the air. There werevery few inhibitions. When I talked toone of the ladies who worked in thatmission, she conservatively estimatedthat two thousand people had been


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baptized in the Holy Spirit in thischurch during the previous three years.

I question whether two thousandpeople have been baptized in the HolySpirit in all forty of the Pentecostalchurches in that same time. This is not

said to criticize anybody, but toemphasize my point that you can'talways know people from theirdenominational labels.


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Warnings


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Warnings

ow, in view of all we havediscussed, I want to throw alittle cold water on you at this

stage. I do not recommend that youseek the baptism in the Holy Spirit orany other spiritual experience unless

you are deadly earnest with God.Otherwise, you should stay out of itbecause your condemnation will be allthe greater, and your problems willalso be all the greater. Holy Spiritbaptism is not an exciting picnic

N

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organized by the Sunday schooldepartment. We put ourselves inextreme danger if we do not approachit in the right way and if we do notrightly relate it to other things in ourspiritual experience.

With humility, I want to let youknow that I have experienced thebaptism and lived in it for well overforty years. In that time, I have seen thewreckage that comes about from thefailure to relate this thing rightly to the

rest of the Christian life, experience,and testimony. Let me briefly give you afew words of warning.

Baptism Is Not Forced

First of all, the Holy Spirit is not adictator. He is our Comforter and our

Teacher. He does not make you dothings. The person who disturbs ameeting and then says, "I couldn'thelp it; the Holy Ghost made me do


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Warnings 43

it," has a false picture of the HolySpirit because He is not a dictator. If

a spirit comes into your life andmakes you do things, you have thewrong spirit.

You will not get any more from the

Holy Ghost than you are willing to yieldto Him. When some people receive thebaptism in the Holy Spirit, they get verylittle noticeable benefit from it becausethey are not thereafter willing to beguided, counseled, directed, and

controlled by the Holy Spirit. He doesnot force anyone against his will. The

baptism demands a life of continualsubmission and waiting upon God.Somebody has said, "It is much easierto get filled with the Spirit than it is

to stay filled with the Spirit." There isa lot of truth in that.

Baptism Is Not a Substitute


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Secondly, the baptism in the HolySpirit is not a substitute for any otherprovision of God. God has not givenus any one experience that will doeverything.

For instance, we read about the

Christian armor in the sixth chapter ofEphesians. If you put all six pieces ofarmor on, you are covered from thecrown of your head to the soles of yourfeet. If, however, you omit one of them,

you are no longer fully protected.

Suppose you forget the helmet, but youhave the shield, the boots, the sword,the girdle, and the breastplate. Most of

your body is covered, but your head isopen to the enemy's attack. Thethought-life of many Christians is not

covered for this reason. They sufferhead wounds and lose the power tomanipulate the sword and the shield.

They have only five pieces when theyshould have had six.


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Warnings 45

Here is another example. Somepeople say, "Well, brother, I've got love. Idon't need the gifts." Experience hastaught me to question how much lovethe people who speak like that reallyhave. I would say love is shown mainly

in action and not by assertion. Even so,the reasoning is unscriptural becausethe Bible says that we should haveboth. Love is not a substitute for thegifts of the Spirit, and the gifts of theSpirit are not a substitute for love.

First Corinthians 12:31 says, "Butcovet earnestly the best gifts: and yetshow I unto you a more excellent way."In a sense, the coveting of the best giftsis a condition of being shown the moreexcellent way, especially if you read the

verse as it should be translated. "Covetearnestly the best gifts, and I will showunto you a yet more excellent way," is amore accurate translation. FirstCorinthians 14:1 says, "Follow after


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charity,and

desire spiritual gifts." Thisdoes not say "or desire spiritual gifts."You are not invited to take your choice.You are commanded to pursue both,and if you do not, you are not obeyingthe Word of God.

An Unfamiliar Realm

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is aspiritual experience, a supernaturalexperience. In many cases, it is the first

supernatural experience that manyChristians have ever had. As such, itushers them into a new realm, andoften, they are not at home in thatrealm.

Among other things, it is a realm of

spiritual conflict that most of themnever knew before they were baptized inthe Holy Spirit. Let me give you a littleexample from the ministry of Jesus.Look at the following:


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Warnings 47

9

And it came to pass in thosedays, that Jesus came fromNazareth of Galilee, and wasbaptized of John in Jordan.

10And straightway coming up out

of the water, he saw the heavensopened, and the Spirit like adove descending upon him:

11 And there came a voice from

heaven, saying, Thou art mybeloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased.

12 And immediately the Spiritdriveth him into the wilderness.

13 And he was there in thewilderness forty days, temptedof Satan; and was with the wildbeasts; and the angels


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ministered unto him.(Mark 1:9-13)

This is the incident in which Jesuswas anointed for His ministry. The HolySpirit came down on him and thereafterabode upon Him.

Notice the next thing thathappened as a direct consequence of

this experience: "And immediately the

Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

And he was there in the wilderness forty

days, tempted of Satan." That is notwhat humans would expect, but that isspiritual reality. The same kind of thingcan happen in your life when you arebaptized in the Holy Spirit. You enterinto a new spiritual realm in which

Satan and the demonic become muchmore real. Many new avenues into yourmind and into your spirit are openedwhich were not open before. This is nota picnic; it is a reality.


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Warnings 49

I want you to observe one fact:Jesus overcame Satan, and He did sowith one weapon, the written Word ofGod.

4But he answered and said, It is

written, Man shall not live bybread alone, but by every wordthat proceedeth out of the mouthof God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up

into the holy city, and settethhim on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou bethe Son of God, cast thyselfdown: for it is written, He shallgive his angels charge concerning thee: and in theirhands they shall bear thee up,lest at any time thou dash thy

foot against a stone.


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7

Jesus said unto him, It is writtenagain, Thou shalt not tempt the

Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him upinto an exceeding high mountain,

and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and theglory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these

things will I give thee, if thou wiltfall down and worship me.

10Then saith Jesus unto him, Getthee hence, Satan: for it iswritten, Thou shalt worship the

Lord thy God, and him only shaltthou serve.

(Matthew 4:4-10)

Three times Jesus said, "It is


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Warnings 51

written." No one needs to know thewritten Word of God more than aperson who has just been baptized inthe Holy Spirit. You are in desperateneed to study your Bible and to know it.Remember that even Satan can quote

Scripture, and you have to be able toovercome him not only by being able toquote it better than he does but, moreimportantly, to be able to choose andwield the right Scripture because youknow and understand the Word of God.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit mustbe united with the Word of God.Otherwise, it is very dangerous.Ephesians 6:17 says, "Take ... thesword of the Spirit, which is the word ofGod."Notice that the sword of the Holy

Spirit is the Word of God, and it is yourresponsibility to take it. If you take it,the Spirit will wield it through you, butif you do not take it, the Spirit hasnothing to use. Oh, the problems that


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can arise when you are in thatdefenseless situation!

Finally, let me add this: beingbaptized in the Holy Spirit is no

substitute for obeying the Word ofGod.


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The Purposes of

the Experience


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The Purposes of theExperience

have been negative in order to bepositive, if I may put it that way.

There are a number of importantpurposes that the baptism in the HolySpirit is intended by God to accomplishin the life of the believer. How much itwill accomplish depends on thebeliever, however.

I

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The Purposes of the Experience 55

Gateway to the SupernaturalThe following passage contains a great

promise if you read it with discernment:

4For it is impossible for those whowere once enlightened, and havetasted of the heavenly gift, andwere made partakers of the HolyGhost,

5and have tasted the good word of

God, and the powers of the age tocome. (Hebrews 6:4-5)

The "partakers of the Holy Ghost"have tasted the powers of the world tocome. They have been brought into

contact with a power that belongs to thenext age, but it is available to them inthis age. In this way, the baptism in theHoly Spirit is intended to be thegateway into the supernatural. It is nota goal; it is a gateway. It is intended by


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God that thereafter the Spirit-baptizedbeliever should walk in thesupernatural. In fact, if I may put it thisway, the supernatural should becomenatural.

If you take the book of Acts as a

picture of the Christian church, you willsee a supernatural description as youread it. If you are intellectually honest, Ioffer this as a challenge to you: find onechapter out of the twenty-eight in Actswhich would be left untouched if all

references to the supernatural wereremoved. My answer is that not one ofthem, not one, would be left intact.

We cannot refer to New TestamentChristianity without including thesupernatural. At the very least, we cantalk about it, but we cannot trulyexperience it.

I love Acts 19:11 in particular,which says, "And God wrought specialmiracles by the hands of Paul." Do you


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know what I like? I like the wordspecial. In the original Greek, it meansthe kind of miracles that do not happenevery day. In other words, miracles werean everyday occurrence in the earlychurch, but these were something

extraordinary. Even the early churchturned around to pay attention tothese.

Again, let me say that we cantheorize all we want to about the New

Testament church, but we cannot

experience it without the supernatural.Be honest.

For Witnessing

8

But ye shall receive power, afterthat the Holy Ghost is come upon

you: and ye shall be witnesses unto

me... (Acts 1:8)

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is


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intended to clothe us withsupernatural power from on high sothat we can be witnesses. Notice thatwitnesses are unto Jesus Christ. Theyare not unto a doctrine and notprimarily unto an experience but unto

Jesus Himself. Many of us in thePentecostal movement have goneastray through becoming witnesses toa denomination, a church, or anexperience. However, the true purposeis to witness to Jesus Christ. You will

find the people who use it that way aretremendously successful.

For Prayer

This experience also produces a

revolution in a Christian's prayer life.Let's look at Romans for a moment:

26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth

our infirmities: for we know not

what we should pray for as we


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ought: but the Spirit itself makethintercession for us with groanings

which cannot be uttered.

27And he that searcheth the hearts

knoweth what is the mind of the

Spirit, because he maketh

intercession for the saints according

to the will of God.

(Romans 8:26-27)

Notice that we all have an infirmity.It is not a sickness, but it is a naturalweakness of the flesh. We do not knowhow to pray as we ought to pray. Notone person exists who does.

I can say (and I trust I will not be

misunderstood) that I have often hearddear brothers in student prayermeetings. I have listened to thosesincere, educated young men whostudiously pour over their words asthey tell almighty God what He ought to


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be doing.That is not really prayer. God does

not need to be told what to do. Gropingwith the intellect to find exactly theright thing to tell God to do next is notNew Testament prayer; rather, in New

Testament prayer, the believer becomesa temple in which a Person comes inand conducts a prayer meeting. ThatPerson is the Holy Ghost. We simplybecome an instrument.

Tibetan priests have what they call a

prayer wheel. While they are sayingtheir prayers, they are turning theprayer wheel, and the wheel issupposedly doing the praying. When

you are baptized in the Holy Ghost, youbecome a kind of prayer wheel. TheHoly Spirit turns you around and praysthrough you. It is marvelous.

A lady who is known to many wasborn and raised in the Roman Catholicreligion in Ireland. She came to London,


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where she was saved and baptized inthe Holy Spirit. At the time, she workedas a maid in a hotel in London, and sheshared a room with another IrishCatholic girl.

One day, the other girl said to her, "I

want to ask you something. I hope youdon't mind, but every night after youhave gone to bed and you seem to beasleep, I hear you talking some foreignlanguage. What is that language?" That

young lady got to know for the first time

that every night after her body wasasleep, the Holy Ghost was prayingthrough her.

Read what the Scripture saysabout the bride of Christ: "I sleep, butmy heart waketh..." (Song of Songs5:2). That's a spiritual reality.Concerning the fire on the altar of thetabernacle in the Old Testament, italso says, "The fire shall ever beburning upon the altar; it shall never go


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out" (Leviticus 6:13). That is a pictureof the Holy Ghost on the altar of thebeliever's heart, a fire burning nightand day.

Let me show you two otherScriptures. Ephesians 6:18 says,

"Praying always with all prayer andsupplication in the Spirit."Notice that issays praying always in the Spirit. Youcannot always pray in yourunderstanding. You cannot always prayin your physical body. But, when the

Holy Spirit is there, He doesn't quit.The same thought is also found in 1

Thessalonians, chapter five, where itsays, "Pray without ceasing" (v. 17), and"Quench not the Spirit"(v. 19). These twoare related. You can quench the Spirit.You can put the fire out, but it is notGod's will. The baptism in the HolySpirit kindles a fire. Remember whatPaul said to Timothy: "Fan it up again;make it blaze; don't neglect the gift that


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is in you."(See 1 Timothy 4:14.)With that same word, I challenge

anybody that does not have thissupernatural experience, because it isan impossibility for him to live up to theNew Testament standard of prayer.

That is what I mean when I say NewTestament Christianity is supernatural;it cannot be otherwise.

For Teaching

13Howbeit when he, the Spirit oftruth, is come, he will guide youinto all truth: for he shall notspeak of himself but whatsoeverhe shall hear, that shall he

speak: and he will show youthings to come. (John 16:13)

26But the Comforter, which is theHoly Ghost, whom the Fatherwill send in my name, he shall


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teach you all things, and bringall things to your remembrance,whatsoever I have said unto you.

(John 14:26)

The Holy Spirit is the great Teacherof the Scriptures. Jesus Christpromised that when the Spirit of truthcame, He would lead us into all truth,teach us, and bring to us aremembrance of all Jesus has said.

The Holy Spirit is also the great

Revealer of Jesus Christ. The apostleJohn said, "He shall glorify me" (John16:14). These two functions go togetherbecause Jesus is the living Word andthe Bible is the written Word. The HolySpirit is the author of the written Word,

and He is the one who comes in to bethe Interpreter of the Word.

In 1941, while serving as a soldier inthe British Army, I was invited byanother soldier to attend a Pentecostalservice. I had no idea that it was a


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Pentecostal service, and I did not knowthen that Pentecostal people existed. Ihad never heard of them. Had I knownanything about them, I might havehesitated to go.

At that time, I had just spent seven

years at Cambridge studyingphilosophy, and I held a fellowship atKing's College, Cambridge. If anybodyever went to a religious service with acritical attitude, I was that person. Isaid to myself, "I'll see whether this

preacher really knows what he'stalking about." The preacher did notknow this, but that was my viewpoint.After I had listened to him for a while,I formed two clear and definiteconclusions. The first conclusion was

that the preacher did know what hewas talking about, and the second wasthat I did not.

One thing impressed me. As hetalked about David, talked about Saul,


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talked about Samuel, and talked abouta whole host of other biblicalcharacters, his relationship to themwas such that I thought he had metthem that morning. I thought to myself,"Where did he ever get to know these

people like that?"Years ago, while I was in school, I

had a fairly accurate memory and wasgood at the Bible. I always scored overninety percent in that rathermonotonous morning session that was

imposed upon us. However, that hadbeen about fourteen years before thisincident. When I was baptized in theHoly Ghost (which happened in anarmy barracks room shortly after I firstheard that Pentecostal preacher), every

one of those Bible stories that I hadstudied as a child became as clear andvivid to me as if I had read them theprevious day. Who did that? The HolyGhost. He is the Teacher.


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We need human teachers, too, sodon't be a fanatic. The Holy Spirit canteach you through another believer. Iadd that because I have met people whothink that they do not need to be taughtwhen they have the Holy Ghost.

However, He is the Teacher andRevealer of Jesus Christ. He shows youwhere Jesus is more clearly thananything else.

Do you know where Christ is? He isseated at the right hand of almighty

God, and "all power is given [Him] inheaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18).When the Holy Spirit fell on the Day ofPentecost, it was like a personal letterfrom the Lord for those disciplescloistered away in that Upper Room.

To them the letter read, "I havearrived; I'm here. You saw me go; now

you know where I am."

Shortly after that, Peter stood upand told those unbelieving, Christ-


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rejecting Jews,33 Therefore being by the righthand of God exalted, and havingreceived of the Father the

promise of the Holy Ghost, he

hath shed forth this, which yenow see and hear. (Acts 2:33)

Peter knew where Jesus was in anew way. Who made that so clear toHim? The Holy Spirit did.

To Exalt Christ

My first wife, Lydia, was a staunchLutheran in the Danish state church.Many years prior to her death, she wasbaptized in the Holy Ghost one night inher room. Nobody had pressured her,influenced her, or taught her about it. Itwas a gift directly from heaven. Thechange in her life was so dramatic thatshe did not know what to do, so she


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went to an elderly, respected pastor inthe Lutheran church in Copenhagen.She had heard he was more spiritualthan many of the other pastors.

Lydia said, "I wonder whether youcan help me. I have a problem."

The pastor was concerned aboutthis young lady who came with aproblem. "What is it?" he asked.

"Well," she said, "something hashappened to me, but I'm not surewhat." .Can you describe it?" he asked."Now, when I pray," she replied, "I feelI'm facing Jesus."

That Lutheran pastor more thanthirty years ago replied, "Sister, youmust have been baptized in the Holy

Ghost."That's what the baptism in the Holy

Spirit is forto exalt Jesus.

For Guidance


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Another aspect of the Spirit'sministry is that of guidance andwarning.

13Howbeit when he, the Spirit oftruth, is come, he will guide you

into all truth: for he shall notspeak of himself but whatsoeverhe shall hear, that shall hespeak: and he will show youthings to come. (John 16:13)

We need that. We need supernaturalwarning and direction to survive in theworld we live in today. If we live merelyin the natural, we will go wrong manytimes.

Let me remind you what Jesus said

in Luke 17:26: "And as it was in thedays of Noe, so shall it be also in the

days of the Son of man." We thinkabout the sin and the iniquity thatabounded in the days of Noah, and we


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say it is like that today. But remember,there was something else in Noah's day.By faith, he was warned by God ofthings that were not yet seen, and hemoved with fear as he prepared the ark.Noah had a supernatural revelation of

what was coming on the earth. He knewthe steps to take, and he knew the wayto safety. In the same way, you and Iwho are living in these atomic daysneed to have contact with heaven in avery real and personal way.

Jesus said, "He shall not speak ofhimself but whatsoever he shall hear,

that shall he speak" (John 16:13). Weare ushered into the councils of heavenwhen we are baptized in the Holy

Ghost and listen to the still, smallvoice of the Spirit. I can testifypersonally about this, having traveledmany thousands of miles and havingbeen in many lonely and dangerousplaces. I want to acknowledge the


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supernatural direction and revelationof the Holy Spirit that has revealed tome many times what was to come next.His guidance has enabled me to takethe right action. We definitely need thistoday.

For Health

Now, let me show you a passagefrom 2 Corinthians:

10

Always bearing about in thebody the dying of the Lord Jesus,that the life also of Jesus mightbe made manifest in our body.

11 For we which live are alway

delivered unto death for Jesus'sake, that the life also of Jesusmight be made manifest in ourmortal flesh. (2 Corinthians4:10-11)


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Notice that the life of Jesus is to bemade manifest in our mortal flesh. Notmerely are we to have this invisible,unseen life, but it is to be visiblymanifested in our bodies. What is thelife of Jesus? It is resurrection life,

victorious life, powerful life. It is God'swill that it should be manifest in ourmortal flesh.

What room does that leave for theworks of the devil in our bodies? Noticethe word "manifest" is used twice in

those two verses. In truth, this isdivine healing, yet it is more. It isdivine health and eternal resurrectionlife that is now penetrating, operating,and manifesting itself in our mortalbodies.

Who is the administrator of thislife? Turn for a moment to Romans8:10: "And if Christ be in you, the bodyis dead because of sin; but the Spirit islife because of righteousness."Isn't that


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wonderful?The night I got saved, I didn't know

anything about the doctrine ofsalvation. After all, I had been educatedat Eton and King's, so what would Iknow about salvation? I say that

jokingly, but it is a sad thing. However,it is a fact that up to the age of twenty-five, I had never heard the Gospelpreached. I had never met a person whocould testify to a personal experience ofbeing born again.

People talk about darkest Africa, butI have never met an African that was ingrosser spiritual darkness than I wasafter seven years at Cambridge. At thattime, I was a habitual, inveterateblasphemer, and I was also anextremely heavy drinker. I did not knowwhat salvation was, but a momentcame when I knew that I had metpeople who had something I did nothave. I reasoned that God could not be


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unfair, so if He gave it to them, He mustgive it to me.

I asked Him for it and got itsomewhere after midnight in an armybarracks room. The next day, I nolonger blasphemed. When I went to the

pub to buy a drink, my legs would notwalk inside. It was astonishing howthey would not go through that door! Iwas under new management. I did noteven want a drink, and it was onlyhabit that took me to that place.

What broke the power of blasphemy and drink like that? Christhad come in, and the old body wasdead. A dead body does not lust fordrink. A dead body does notblaspheme. A new life had come in.What life? "The Spirit is life because ofrighteousness" (Romans 8:10). Being

justified by faith in Jesus Christ, wehave access to a new life. The Spiritcomes in and gives us "life because of


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righteousness."Continuing to read in Romans, we

find,

11 But if the Spirit of him thatraised up Jesus from the dead

dwell in you, he that raised upChrist from the dead shall alsoquicken your mortal bodies byhis Spirit that dwelleth in you.

(Romans 8:11)

That is the Holy Spirit, theAdministrator of the resurrection life ofJesus, imparting it to our mortalbodies.

Not coincidentally, almosteverywhere that people are baptized in

the Holy Ghost, they begin to pray forthe sick. I can scarcely think of anexception. I know there are some whoare not baptized in the Holy Ghost, yetthey have seen prayer for healing in theScriptures and faithfully practice it.


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God honors their prayers. God did it forthe disciples, too, even before the Dayof Pentecost. We read that the discipleswent out during the earthly ministry of

Jesus and anointed many of the sickwith oil. They also cast out demons. So,

God will honor those who pray for thesick even if they have not received thebaptism.

Nevertheless, it is a fact thatwherever the Holy Spirit has come in asthe Administrator of divine life from

Jesus Christ, almost instantly, Heilluminates the eyes of God's people tosee that this life is not merely for theinward man but for the outward man aswell. Almost inevitably, you will findthat this happens.

For Unity

Finally, I return to my initial text.


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13

For by one Spirit are we allbaptized into one body, whether webe Jews or Gentiles, whether we bebond or free; and have been allmade to drink into one Spirit.

(1 Corinthians 12:13)

Remember this: the ultimatepurpose of God in baptizing believers inthe Holy Spirit is to unite them and notto separate them.

Somebody complained about a

certain church in the United Stateswhere the minister had been baptizedin the Holy Spirit. Some of thecongregation had gone along with himwhile others had not. The person said,"The trouble with this experience is that

it is dividing the church." To thisdubious statement, another minister,whom I know personally, respondedwith this excellent answer: "That'sremarkable, because in the earlychurch it had exactly the opposite


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effect. When the Jews heard theGentiles speak with other tongues, itwas the only thing that united Jewsand Gentiles in one church and onebody. Nothing else would have done it."

Likewise, the only thing that will

bring Baptists, Plymouth Brethren,Assemblies of God members, Anglicans,Lutherans, Presbyterians, and manyother denominations together in largenumbers embracing one another,throwing their arms up in the air,

spending hours praising Godis thebaptism in the Holy Ghost.

Let me tell you of an incident thatmade a deep impression on me. I wasspeaking at a convention of the FullGospel Businessmen in Spokane,Washington. It was held in a big hotelwhere several hundred people werepresent. I was teaching the afternoonBible study, especially warning those inattendance about the dangers of fooling


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around with Pentecost. When I hadcome to the end of my message, I didnot know what to do since they had nospecified program.

(Can you say "Praise God"? ManyPentecostal people have programmed

the Holy Ghost out of most Pentecostalchurches. Did you know that? They donot allow room for the Holy Spirit tomove, and they would be shocked if Hedid. They would have to stop doingsomething, which would upset them.)

Having no set program is what I likeabout the Full Gospel Businessmen.

They may begin at Z and end at A. Younever know what will happen. I havebeen the main speaker at some of theirbreakfasts and have not even begun tospeak until half-past eleven in themorning.

Not knowing what else to do, I juststood there and was silent. Soon a ladybegan to sing in an unknown tongue. I


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would describe it as a kind of Gregorianchant. It so happened that the brotherwho was with me on the platform was achoir leader and quite an expert inmusic. When she had finished singing,he said, "That was a very complicated

melody." We waited a little while, and ayoung man began to sing in English. Hegave the interpretation of that songwhich was in an unknown tongue,singing in exactly the same melody. Thewords that he sang also fit the melody.

The man beside me said, "He kept themelody perfectly." In the course of theday, this happened twice.

The interesting part of this wholestory is that I did something that we donot often do at these conventions.

We rarely ask others what theirdenomination affiliations are, since weare not concerned about particularlabels. However, because it seemed totie in so perfectly with the subject at


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hand, I made some inquiries about thedenominational alliances of these twopeople. I discovered that the lady was aLutheran and the young man was anEpiscopalian. However, we were all onein Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy

Ghost.Today, the church of Jesus Christ

faces two alternatives. On the onehand, we have union, and on theother, we have unity. I will not go asfar as to say that these two are

mutually exclusive. However, I closewith the thought that man can makeunion, but only the Holy Ghost canmake unity.


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About the Author


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About the Author

erek Prince was born in Indiaof British parents. He waseducated as a scholar of

Greek and Latin at two of Britain'smost famous educational institutions:Eton College and Cambridge

University. From 1940 to 1949, heheld a Fellowship (equivalent to aresident professorship) in Ancient andModern Philosophy at King's College,Cambridge. He also studied Hebrewand Aramaic, both at Cambridge

D

84


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About the Author 85

University and at the HebrewUniversity in Jerusalem. In addition,he speaks a number of other modernlanguages.

In the early years of World War II,while serving as a hospital attendant

with the British Army, Derek Princeexperienced a life-changing encounterwith Jesus Christ, concerning which hewrites:

Out of this encounter, I formed

two conclusions which I havenever since had reason tochange: first, that Jesus Christ isalive; second, that the Bible is atrue, relevant, up-to-date book.These two conclusions radically

and permanently altered thewhole course of my life.

At the end of World War II, heremained where the British Army hadplaced him-in Jerusalem. Through his


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marriage to his first wife, Lydia, hebecame the adoptive father to the eightadopted girls in Lydia's children's homethere. Together, the family saw therebirth of the State of Israel in 1948.While serving as educator in Kenya,

Derek and Lydia Prince adopted theirninth child, an African baby girl.

After Lydia died in 1975, DerekPrince remarried in October 1978. Hemet his second wife, Ruth, like his first,while she was serving the Lord in

Jerusalem. Ruth's three children bringDerek Prince's family to a total oftwelve, with many grandchildren andgreat-grandchildren.

Derek Prince's non-denominational, non-sectarianapproach has opened doors for histeaching to people from many differentracial and religious backgrounds, andhe is internationally recognized as oneof the leading Bible expositors of our


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About the Author 87

time. His daily radio broadcast, Todaywith Derek Prince, reaches more thanhalf the globe, including translationsinto Arabic, five Chinese languages(Mandarin, Amoy, Cantonese,Shanghaiese, Swatow), Mongolian,

Spanish, Russian, and Tongan. Hehas published more than 30 bookswhich have been translated into morethan 50 foreign languages.

Through the Global OutreachLeaders Program of Derek Prince

Ministries, his books and audiocassettes are sent free of charge tohundreds of national Christian leadersin the Third World, Eastern Europe,and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Now past the age of 75, Derek Princestill travels the world, imparting God'srevealed truth, praying for the sick andafflicted, and sharing his propheticinsight into world events in the light of


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Scripture.The international base of Derek

Prince Ministries is located in Charlotte,North Carolina, with branch offices inAustralia, Canada, Germany, theNetherlands, New Zealand, South

Africa, and the United Kingdom.


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Documents

Baptism in the Holy Spirit Derek Prince