The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

by R. A. Torrey

But this is not all even yet. We read in Acts vii. [pg 201] 14-16, “Now when the Apostles which 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 Ghost (for as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus).” There was a great company of happy converts in Samaria, but when Peter and John came down to inspect the work, they evidently felt that there was something so essential that these young disciples had not received that before they did anything else, they must see to it that they received it. In a similar way we read in Acts xix. 1, 2, R. V., “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: and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed?” When he found that they had not received the Holy Spirit, the first thing that he saw to was that they should receive the Holy Spirit. He did not go on with the work with the outsiders until that little group of twelve disciples had been equipped for service. So we see that when the Apostles found believers in Christ, the first thing that they always did was to demand whether they had received the Holy Spirit as a definite experience and if not, they saw to it at once that the steps were taken whereby they should receive the Holy Spirit. It is evident then that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary in every Christian for the service that Christ demands and expects of him. There are certainly few greater mistakes [pg 202] that we are making to-day in our various Christian enterprises than that of setting men to teach Sunday-school classes and do personal work and even to preach the Gospel, because they have been converted and received a certain amount of education, including it may be a college and seminary course, but have not as yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit. We think that if a man is hopefully pious and has had a college and seminary education and comes out of it reasonably orthodox, he is now ready that we should lay our hands upon him and ordain him to preach the Gospel. But Jesus Christ says, “No.” There is another preparation so all essential that a man must not undertake this work until he has received it. “Tarry ye (literally ‘sit ye down’) until ye be endued with power from on high.” A distinguished theological professor has said that the question ought to be put to every candidate for the ministry, “Have you met God?” Yes, but we ought to go farther than this and be even more definite; to every candidate for the ministry we should put the question, “Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?” and if not, we should say to him as Jesus said to the first preachers of the Gospel, “Sit down until you are endued with power from on high.”

But not only is this true of ordained ministers, it is true of every Christian, for all Christians are called to ministry of some kind. Any man who is in Christian work, who has not received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, ought to stop his work right where he is and not go on with it until he has been “clothed with power from on high.” But what will our work do while we [pg 203] are waiting? The question can be answered by asking another, “What did the world do during these ten days while the early disciples were waiting?” They knew the saving truth, they alone knew it; yet in obedience to the Lord's command they were silent. The world was no loser. Beyond a doubt, when the power came, they accomplished more in one day than they would have accomplished in years if they had gone on in self-confident defiance and disobedience to Christ's command. We too after that we have received the baptism with the Spirit will accomplish more of real work for our Lord in one day than we ever would in years without this power. Even if it were necessary to spend days in waiting, they would be well spent, but we shall see later that there is no need that we spend days in waiting, that the baptism with the Holy Spirit may be received to-day. Some one may say that the Apostles had gone on missionary tours during Christ's lifetime, even before they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is true, but that was before the Holy Spirit was given, and before the command was given, “Tarry ye until ye be clothed with power from on high.” After that it would have been disobedience and folly and presumption to have gone forth without this enduement, and we are living to-day after the Holy Spirit has been given and after the charge has been given to tarry until clothed.

Who can be baptized with the Holy Spirit?

We come now to the question of first importance, namely, Who can be baptized with the Holy Spirit? At a convention some years ago, a very intelligent Christian [pg 204] woman, a well-known worker in educational as well as Sunday-school work, sent me this question, “You have told us of the necessity of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, but who can have this baptism? The church to which I belong teaches that the baptism with the Holy Spirit was confined to the apostolic age. Will you not tell us who can have the baptism with the Holy Spirit?” Fortunately this question is answered in the most explicit terms in the Bible. We read in Acts ii. 38, 39, R. V., “And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 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.” What is the promise to which Peter refers in the thirty-ninth verse? There are two interpretations of the passage; one is that the promise of this verse is the promise of salvation; the other is that the promise of this verse is the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit (or the baptism with the Holy Spirit; a comparison of Scripture passages will show that the two expressions are synonymous). Which is the correct interpretation? There are two laws of interpretation universally recognized among Bible scholars. These two laws are the law of usage (or “usus loquendi” as it is called) and the law of context. Many a verse in the Bible standing alone might admit of two or three or even more interpretations, but when these two laws of interpretation are applied, it is settled to a certainty that only one of the various possible interpretations is [pg 205] the true interpretation. The law of usage is this, that when you find a word or phrase in any passage of Scripture and you wish to know what it means, do not go to a dictionary but go to the Bible itself, look up the various passages in which the word is used and especially how the particular writer being studied uses it, and especially how it is used in that particular book in which the passage is found. Thus you can determine what the precise meaning of the word or phrase is in the passage in question. The law of context is this; that when you study a passage, you should not take it out of its connection but should look at what goes before it and what comes after it; for while it might mean various things if it stood alone, it can only mean one thing in the connection in which it is found. Now let us apply these two laws to the passage in question. First of all, let us apply the law of usage. We are trying to discover what the expression “the promise” means in Acts ii. 39. Turning back to Acts i. 4, 5, R. V., we read, “He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said He, ye heard from Me: for John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” It is evident then, that here the promise of the Father means the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Turn now to the second chapter and the thirty-third verse, R. V., “Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.” In this passage we are told in so many words that the [pg 206] promise is the promise of the Holy Spirit. If this peculiar expression means the baptism with the Holy Spirit in Acts i. 4, 5, and the same thing in Acts ii. 33, by what same law of interpretation can it possibly mean something entirely different six verses farther down in Acts ii. 39? So the law of usage establishes it that the promise of Acts ii. 39 is the promise of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Now let us apply the law of context, and we shall find that, if possible, this is even more decisive. Turn back to the thirty-eighth verse, “And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you, etc.” So it is evident here that the promise is the promise of the gift or baptism with the Holy Spirit. It is settled then by both laws that the promise of Acts ii. 39 is that of the gift of the Holy Spirit, or baptism with the Holy Spirit. Let us then read the verse in that way, substituting this synonymous expression for the expression “the promise,” “For the baptism with the Spirit is unto you, and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” “It is unto you,” says Peter, that is to the crowd assembled before him. There is nothing in that for us. We were not there, and that crowd were all Jews and we are not Jews; but Peter did not stop there, he goes further and says, “And to your children,” that is to the next generation of Jews, or all future generations of Jews. Still there is nothing in it for us, for we are not Jews; but Peter did not stop even there, he went further [pg 207] and said, “And to all them that are afar off.” That does take us in. We are the Gentiles who were once “afar off,” but now “made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. ii. 13, 17). But lest there be any mistake about it whatever, Peter adds “even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him.” So on the very day of Pentecost, Peter declares that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is for every child of God in every coming age of the church's history. Some years ago at a ministerial conference in Chicago, a minister of the Gospel from the Southwest came to me after a lecture on the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and said, “The church to which I belong teaches that the baptism with the Holy Spirit was for the apostolic age alone.” “I do not care,” I replied, “what the church to which you belong teaches, or what the church to which I belong teaches. The only question with me is, What does the Word of God teach?” “That is right,” he said. I then handed him my Bible and asked him to read Acts ii. 39, and he read, “For the promise is unto you, and unto your children and to all them that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him” (R. V.). “Has He called you?” I asked. “Yes, He certainly has.” “Is the promise for you then?” “Yes, it is.” He took it and the result was a transformed ministry. Some years ago at a students' conference, the gatherings were presided over by a prominent Episcopalian minister, a man greatly honoured and loved. I spoke at this conference on the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and dwelt upon the significance of Acts ii. 39. That night as we sat [pg 208] together after the meetings were over, this servant of God said to me, “Brother Torrey, I was greatly interested in what you had to say to-day on the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. If your interpretation of Acts ii. 39 is correct, you have your case, but I doubt your interpretation of Acts ii. 39. Let us talk it over.” We did talk it over. Several years later, in July, 1894, I was at the students' conference at Northfield. As I entered the back door of Stone Hall that day, this Episcopalian minister entered the front door. Seeing me he hurried across the hall and held out his hand and said, “You were right about Acts ii. 39 at Knoxville, and I believe I have a right to tell you something better yet, that I have been baptized with the Holy Spirit.” I am glad that I was right about Acts ii. 39, not that it is of any importance that I should be right, but the truth thus established is of immeasurable importance. Is it not glorious to be able to go literally around the world and face audiences of believers all over the United States, in the Sandwich Islands, in Australia and Tasmania and New Zealand, in China and Japan and India, in England and Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France and Switzerland and to be able to tell them, and to know that you have God's sure Word under your feet when you do tell them, “You may all be baptized with the Holy Spirit”? But that unspeakably joyous and glorious thought has its solemn side. If we may be baptized with the Holy Spirit then we must be. If we are baptized with the Holy Spirit then souls will be saved through our instrumentality who will not be saved if we are not thus [pg 209] baptized. If then we are not willing to pay the price of this baptism and therefore are not thus baptized we shall be responsible before God for every soul that might have been saved who was not saved because we did not pay the price and therefore did not obtain the blessing. I often tremble for myself and for my brethren in the ministry, and not only for my brethren in the ministry but for my brethren in all forms of Christian work, even the most humble and obscure. Why? Because we are preaching error? No, alas, there are many in these dark days who are doing that, and I do tremble for them; but that is not what I mean now. Do I mean that I tremble because we are not preaching the truth? for it is quite possible not to preach error and yet not preach the truth; many a man has never preached a word of error in his life, but still is not preaching the truth, and I do tremble for them; but that is not what I mean now. I mean that I tremble for those of us who are preaching the truth, the very truth as it is in Jesus, the truth as it is recorded in the written Word of God, the truth in its simplicity, its purity and its fullness, but who are preaching it in “persuasive words of man's wisdom” and not “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor. ii. 4, R. V.). Preaching it in the energy of the flesh and not in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing more death dealing than the Gospel without the Spirit's power. “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” It is awfully solemn business preaching the Gospel either from the pulpit or in more quiet ways. It means death or life to those that hear, and [pg 210] whether it means death or life depends very largely on whether we preach it with or without the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

We must be baptised with the Holy Spirit.

Even after one has been baptized with the Holy Spirit, no matter how definite that baptism may be, he needs to be filled again and again with the Spirit. This is the clear teaching of the New Testament. We read in Acts ii. 4, “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Now one of those who was present on this occasion and who therefore was filled at this time with the Holy Spirit was Peter. Indeed, he stands forth most prominently in the chapter as a man baptized with the Holy Spirit. But we read in Acts iv. 8, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, etc.” Here we read again that Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost. Further down in the chapter we read, in the thirty-first verse, that being assembled together and praying, they were “all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.” We are expressly told in the context that two of those present were John and Peter. Here then was a third instance in which Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. It is not enough that one be filled with the Holy Spirit once. We, need a new filling for each new emergency of Christian service. The failure to realize this need of constant refillings with the Holy Spirit has led to many a man who at one time was greatly used of God, being utterly laid aside. There are many to-day who once knew what it was to work [pg 211] in the power of the Holy Spirit who have lost their unction and their power. I do not say that the Holy Spirit has left them—I do not believe He has—but the manifestation of His presence and power has gone. One of the saddest sights among us to-day is that of the men and women who once toiled for the Master in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit who are now practically of no use, or even a hindrance to the work, because they are trying to go in the power of the blessing received a year or five years or twenty years ago. For each new service that is to be conducted, for each new soul that is to be dealt with, for each new work for Christ that is to be performed, for each new day and each new emergency of Christian life and service, we should seek and obtain a new filling with the Holy Spirit. We must not “neglect” the gift that is in us (1 Tim. iv. 14), but on the contrary “kindle anew” or “stir into flame” this gift (1 Tim. i. 6, R. V., margin). Repeated fillings with the Holy Spirit are necessary to continuance and increase of power.

The question may arise, “Shall we call these new fillings with the Holy Spirit ‘fresh baptisms’ with the Holy Spirit?” To this we would answer, the expression “baptism” is never used in the Scriptures of a second experience and there is something of an initiatory character in the very thought of baptism, so if one wishes to be precisely Biblical, it would seem to be better not to use the term “baptism” of a second experience but to limit it to the first experience. On the other hand “filled with the Holy Spirit” is used in Acts ii. 4, to describe the experience promised in Acts i. 5, [pg 212] where the words used are “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.” And it is evident from this and from other passages that the two expressions are to a large extent practically synonymous. However, if we confine the expression “baptism with the Holy Spirit” to our first experience, we shall be more exactly Biblical and it would be well to speak of one baptism but many fillings. But I would a great deal rather that one should speak about new or fresh baptisms with the Holy Spirit, standing for the all-important truth that we need repeated fillings with the Holy Spirit, than that he should so insist on exact phraseology that he would lose sight of the truth that repeated fillings are needed, i. e., I would rather have the right experience by a wrong name, than the wrong experience by the right name. This much is as clear as day, that we need to be filled again and again and again with the Holy Spirit. I am sometimes asked, “Have you received the second blessing?” Yes, and the third and the fourth and the fifth and hundreds beside, and I am looking for a new blessing to-day.

We come now to the question of first practical importance, namely, What must one do in order to obtain the baptism with the Holy Spirit? This question is answered in the plainest and most positive way in the Bible. A plain path is laid down in the Bible consisting of a few simple steps that any one can take, and it is absolutely certain that any one who takes these steps will enter into the blessing. This is, of course, a very positive statement, and we would not dare be so positive if the Bible were not equally positive. But what [pg 213] right have we to be uncertain when the Word of God is positive? There are seven steps in this path:

1. The first step is that we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord. We read in Acts ii. 38, R. V., “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Is not this statement as positive as that which we made above? Peter says that if we do certain things, the result will be, “Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” All seven steps are in this passage, but we shall refer later to other passages as throwing light upon this. The first two steps are in the word “repent.” “Repent ye,” said Peter. What does it mean to repent? The Greek word for repentance means “an afterthought” or “change of mind.” To repent then means to change your mind. But change your mind about what? About three things; about God, about Jesus Christ, about sin. What the change of mind is about in any given instance must be determined by the context. As determined by the context in the present case, the change of mind is primarily about Jesus Christ. Peter had just said in the thirty-sixth verse, R. V., “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified. When they heard this, they were pricked in their heart,” as well they might be, “and said unto Peter and the rest of the Apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?” Then it was that Peter said, “Repent ye,” “Change your mind about Jesus, change your mind from that attitude of mind that rejected Him and crucified [pg 214] Him to that attitude of mind that accepts Him as Lord and King and Saviour.” This then is the first step towards receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit; receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord; first of all receive Him as your Saviour. Have you done that?

What does it mean to receive Jesus as Saviour? It means to accept Him as the One who bore our sins in our place on the cross (Gal. iii. 13; 2 Cor. v. 21) and to trust God to forgive us because Jesus Christ died in our place. It means to rest all our hope of acceptance before God upon the finished work of Christ upon the cross of Calvary. There are many who profess to be Christians who have not done this. When you go to many who call themselves Christians and ask them if they are saved, they reply, “Yes.” Then if you put to them the question “Upon what are you resting as the ground of your salvation?” they will reply something like this, “I go to church; I say my prayers, I read my Bible, I have been baptized, I have united with the church, I partake of the Lord's supper, I attend prayer-meeting, and I am trying to live as near right as I know how.” If these things are what you are resting upon as the ground of your acceptance before God, then you are not saved, for all these things are your own works (all proper in their places but still your own works) and we are distinctly told in Rom. iii. 20, R. V., that “By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight.” But if you go to others and ask them if they are saved, they will reply “Yes.” And then if you ask them upon what they are resting as the ground of their acceptance before God, they will reply [pg 215] something to this effect, “I am not resting upon anything I ever did, or upon anything I am ever going to do; I am resting upon what Jesus Christ did for me when He bore my sins in His own body on the cross. I am resting in His finished work of atonement.” If this is what you are really resting upon, then you are saved, you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and you have taken the first step towards the baptism with the Holy Spirit.