Acts 19:6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

I essentially have these seven verses memorized, they were used so often in the early days of the Charismatic Movement. They have been used, not unreasonably, to show that people can be counted as “disciples” (verse 1) without having been baptized in the Holy Spirit. What is overlooked is that they hadn’t even been baptized in the name of Jesus! And this particular verse is often used as a proof text to claim that spiritual gifts will always accompany the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Whereas that is most often the case, I know multiple cases where it didn’t happen that way. One dear lady, who is currently rejoicing in glory, thought that she had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit because she had never expressed overtly “Charismatic” gifts, but she was as magnificent a channel of the love of God as I have ever encountered. Such love would not have been possible without the Holy Spirit! The point is not in specific manifestations, but in openness to God, allowing Him to fill and flow through us however He pleases.

My own experience has certainly cemented my convictions in this area. When I first heard of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, in 1973, I immediately recognized it as Biblical and sought it for myself. However, nothing seemed to happen. The thing was, all the books I had read – They Speak with Other Tongues, The Holy Spirit and You, Nine O’clock in the Morning – all stressed tongues as the evidence, and I essentially was seeking the gift of tongues rather than the Holy Spirit Himself. In 1974 I brought my wife and children to Japan for the first time, and we stayed in my parents’ house in Fukuoka. After my parents left for a furlough in the US, but before my father had the heart surgery from which he woke up in heaven, I invited a young missionary couple to come over on a Saturday night, because I knew they were Charismatic and I wanted help. Alan Hyatt said to me, “How do you receive anything from God? By grace through faith, right? Well, has God promised you His Holy Spirit?” I immediately quoted Luke 11:13 back to him: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” He then said, “Well then, stop putting conditions on God. Ask Him to baptize you in His Spirit, believe that He is true to His Word, and then thank Him for doing so.” Later that night, sitting on my bed just before going to sleep, I did exactly that, and felt nothing. However, on Monday morning I was sitting on a train in Hakata Station, ready to go to my job teaching English at a college in Sasebo, and it suddenly hit me that I was talking to the man sitting next to me, a total stranger, about Jesus. At that moment Acts 1:8 came to mind, and I realized that God had indeed been true to His Word and had made me a witness by His Spirit. It was a few months later that I received the gift of tongues, and since then I have experienced all of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 at least once. In consequence, as a pastor I teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are very real and are for today, but they aren’t “proof.” For that matter, I have known people who “operated in the gifts” but whose lives were far from God. The essential thing is the submitted, intimate relationship with our Lord.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I never tire of telling of Your grace! I pray that all of Your children would operate in the fullness of Your Spirit, in joyful obedience and fellowship with You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!