Spirit Baptism with speaking in tongues as evidence

For more than ten years I have been taught that speaking in tongues was the evidence that
someone received the Holy Spirit. As a teenager I believed blindly in what I was taught
and I did everything which the pastors told me to do. I was given Pentecostal books about
Spirit baptism, the pastors prayed for me and so did the church. I fasted and prayed for
more than 3 years with intensity and perseverance thinking that I did not have the Spirit. I
was perplexed and questioned God about this unanswered prayer. I have 5 prayer journals
filled up with prayers which God answered but I could not understand why God would
refuse me only this request(later on I understood that this prayer was not answered
because I was asking for something which I already had. I was simply not praying well). I
was frustrated, anguished and feeling like a second class Christian when many people in
the church were supposedly speaking in tongues together. A church member also said
implicitly that the reason I have not yet received Spirit baptism was because i lacked
faith, perseverance or because I was living in sin. I was a sincere seeker of Spirit baptism
and nothing discouraged me to continuously “Knock and seek” as taught in church. Deep
down my heart I knew what Christ did in my life, I experienced his love, grace and divine
joy. I could not deny that the Spirit was at work in me even though I was taught and
believed with confusion that I did not have the Spirit. The more I saw the Spirit working
in my life, the more perplexed I became. I was wondering how could my life be
transformed, be so blessed while studying the scripture and how could the fruit of the
Spirit be produced in my life if the Spirit was not dwelling in me. I even heard a pastor’s
wife saying that the Baptists and Evangelical church members are not baptized by the
Spirit because they do not speak in tongues. In my heart this made me more confused
because I knew many Baptists and church members of non-Pentecostal churches who
were genuine examples of Spirit-led Christian. I was questioning myself if these people
really did not have the Holy Spirit and when I came across Romans 8:9 I finally came to
the conclusion that there could be some flaws in what I have always been taught. Without
any preconceived ideas that this doctrine was true or false, for several days I took my
bible and studied it to evaluate if this doctrine was really valid. I finally came to these
conclusions:

1. If the initial sign of Spirit Baptism is evidenced by speaking in tongues then this
implies that those who do not speak in tongues do not have the Spirit.

2. But if someone does not have the Holy Spirit then he is not a Christian and obviously
does not belong to Christ (see Romans 8:9).

“And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” Romans
8:9

In the following lines, i would like to share what I have learnt these past few years from
my study on Spirit Baptism.

Some Pentecostals claim that we receive ‘a part of the Holy Spirit’ when we were born
gain and received the totality afterward. This is absurd because they fail to realize that the

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Holy Spirit is a person and that we cannot receive part of a person in our life. When
Christ came into our life, He came totally to dwell in us (Colossians 1:27). Now if we
know that Jesus lives in us then why cannot we also be a dwelling place for the Spirit?
Does not the bible say that we are the temple of the Spirit? The Spirit, the Son and the
Father are One so if the Son lives in us then why would not the Spirit also be present?
Did not Jesus say: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)?

Now since the Pentecostal movement claim that those who do not speak in tongues do
not have the Spirit then they are implying that these people do not belong to Christ.

Still in Romans we read that it’s only through the Spirit that someone can say “Abba
Father”. So how can the people in the non-Pentecostal movement say with conviction that
God is their Father if it is not by the Spirit? This assurance of being God’s children can
genuinely be present only if this person has been regenerated and been indwelt by the
Spirit.

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received
the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with
our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs
of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we
may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:15,16

We read the same thing in Galatians 4:6,7:

“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who
calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a
son, God has made you also an heir.”

If someone does not have the Spirit then he is not a child of God. Since this person is not
a child, he’s definitely not an heir and will not inherit God’s Kingdom.

Now what do we read in Ephesians 1:13?

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of
those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.”

As we clearly see, after believing we were marked with a seal. This seal is the promised
Holy Spirit. This seal guarantees our future inheritance in God’s Kingdom. We can easily
deduce that those who do not have the Spirit/seal will not inherit the kingdom.

We also read the same thing in those verses:

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“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his
seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing
what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:22

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a
deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 5:5

This promise of the Holy Spirit was prophesied in Joel 2:28 and we know that when God
promises something that He will surely accomplish it. He did it for Abraham by giving
him a son and for Israel by giving them the land of Canaan. What did Peter say on the
day of Pentecost?
“Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise
is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God
will call."” Acts 2:38

Peter simply said that repentance was the only condition for receiving the promise of the
Holy Spirit. If someone is a Christian then he has the Holy Spirit and does not need to
pray to receive the Holy Spirit.

Some Pentecostal argue that Luke 11:13 teaches that we should ask God for the Spirit.
But Jesus was not talking to us but to the disciples who were not yet saved and did not
receive the Holy Spirit (because Jesus was not yet crucified) yet.

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from
within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to
receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been
glorified.” John 7:38

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the
Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7

The disciples were still sinners(evil) as long as Jesus’ work was not accomplished. The
disciples could not receive the Spirit until Jesus was crucified. The Spirit was working
with the disciples but He could not dwell permanently in them as long as Christ was not
crucified and risen.

This is what Luke 11:13 says:

“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!"”

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The disciples were still sinners(evil) because they were not yet regenerated. But the
Father in heaven would give them the Holy Spirit in due time (after Christ’s death). They
simply had to wait for the promise. But ever since Christ rose from the dead, God
accomplished His promise by generously pouring out His Spirit on all Christians without
distinction.

“he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he
poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been
justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” Titus 3:5-7

Another Pentecostal main argument is this verse:

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not
even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you
receive?" "John's baptism," they replied." Acts 19:3

First, it is easily noticeable that Paul was associating the act of receiving the Spirit and
believing/repenting as joined events. It was not a separate experience.
But why had not these people received the Spirit?

The answer is in the chapter itself: It is simply because they were not yet Christians.
They were disciples of John the Baptist but not yet followers of Christ. As soon as
Paul explained them the need to believe in Christ, what happened next?

“Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe
in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into
the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came
on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in
all.”

These people had not received the Spirit simply because they were not yet believers.
What would Paul baptize them in the name of the Lord Jesus if these disciples were
already born again/christians? It is only after understanding that they should believe in
Jesus that they received the Spirit.
There are millions of Christians in the non-Pentecostal churches who died without
speaking in tongues. So how can the Pentecostal movement claim that these people did
not receive the Spirit? If these people have not really received the Spirit then this will
make God a liar since He failed to fulfill His promise.

There are 3 instances in the book of Acts where speaking in tongue was associated with
the receiving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, 10:44-46, 19:6) and this for obvious reasons.
Speaking in tongues like the gift of prophesy are audible gifts so it’s the reason why these
gifts obviously confirmed that someone had the Spirit (because how could someone
speak in tongues if he did not have the Spirit?). These gifts were audible and it’s why
they particularly attracted the attention of Luke in his records of events.

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Luke did not have the intention to teach that receiving the Spirit SHOULD be
accompanied by tongues. Luke simply wanted to record what happened. It is the
Pentecostal who wanted to make Luke say something say something which he did not
intend. In whole bible there is NOT a single verse which says that receiving the Spirit
SHOULD be accompanied by tongues. Luke could easily deduce that someone had the
Spirit when he heard him speak in tongues but what about those who had non-audible
gifts such as the gift of faith, knowledge or wisdom? Who would dare to say that those
who had other gifts (apart from tongues) still did not have the Spirit?
No spiritual gifts were mentioned in Acts 2:41, Acts 8:5-17, 39, Acts 9:17, Acts 16:31.

It was interesting to see the way the Spirit worked out to convince the Jewish Christians
that God also accepted Gentiles.

Acts 10:44-47 describes this, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter
were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, 'Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They
have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.'” (Acts 10:47).

“So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" When they heard this, they had no
further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles
repentance unto life.” Acts 11:17,18

The Spirit used the gift of tongues to bridge the gap between the Jews and Gentiles.
Being an audible gift, the apostles had now audible evidence that God has indeed open
the door to Gentiles (whom they despised) in His salvific plan. If the Gentiles(like
Cornelius) could speak in tongues just like the apostles/Jews then the apostles could
easily deduce that God accepted them since they received the Spirit just as they did.
Moreover, on the day of Pentecost we see another interesting event. When the apostles
spoke in tongues, it was an amazing testimony to the people who came to Jerusalem.

“When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one
heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all
these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his
own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts
of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism);
Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" “

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Speaking in tongues was helping talking about God’s wonders in the tongues of the
visitors. At this instant, speaking in tongue was a sign for the unbelievers as Paul said in
1 Corinthians 14:22 and we know that it contributed to the salvation of 3000 souls!

As we read in 1 Corinthians 12:29 we were all gifted with different gifts. We are not all
expected to receive the same gifts.

“Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have
gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the
greater gifts.”

The answer is simply ‘no’ because we are different members of the body of Christ and
were gifted differently for the benefits of other members.

The French version(Parole de vie) clearly put it this way:

« Tous ne sont pas apôtres, tous ne sont pas prophètes. Tous n’enseignent pas, tous ne
font pas des actions extraordinaires. Tous n’ont pas le don de guérir, tous ne parlent pas
en langues inconnues, et tous ne traduisent pas »

Now let us define what is Spirit Baptism.

Spirit Baptism happens when a member is included in Christ’s body.

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are
many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit
into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one
Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28, Romans 12:6

“Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a
new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be
united with him in his resurrection” Romans 6:3-5

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave
nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26

Paul uses the same wordings to describe the baptism in Christ’s death and the work of the
Holy Spirit to make us members of His body.

We are all members of the body of Christ and have different functions. But when were
we included in the body of Christ? It is obviously the very day we became Christians.
Whether we are Jews, White, Black or Gentiles we are all members of the body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit bounded us together in one body-Christ. We read something similar in
Ephesians 4:16

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“
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Paul has been talking about the diversity of ministries and gifts since the beginning of 1
Corinthians 12 and the unity that it should bring among different members.
I would like to say that spiritual gifts do not determine if someone is genuinely a
Christian or not. As for me, the fruit of the Spirit inside the Christian’s life are the
undeniable evidences that the Spirit is really present in a Christian’s life because without
Him, it is impossible to live by the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:16-26. Even Jesus
said: “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'” Matthew 7:22.
The Corinthian’s church were carnal even if they spoke in tongues. What good is it to
have many spiritual gifts without the fruit of the Spirit? As Paul said: “If I speak in the
tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a
clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1.
The day I gave my life to Christ, I had no emotional experience but many people wept or
were moved inside. The experience of all Christians are different and this simply because
we have different personalities and respond differently to events.
Human experience cannot be used as a basis to create a doctrine, it is dangerous.
Doctrines should be based on scripture alone. We know what happened about the “Holy
Laughter” movement in Toronto. They called it a revival and many people believed in it.
It was purely an emotional experience. They considered what happened as being the work
of the Spirit as it occurred on the day of Pentecost. They called the ‘Holy laughter’ the
“Joy of the Lord” and considered it an authentic act of the Holy Spirit. But if it was not
the Holy Spirit who led them then who was behind the scene? The Pentecostal movement
also started when several people wanted to imitate the experience of the apostles (in the
19’s by W.Seymour and C.Parham). I am not against the spiritual gifts but I’m for the
right use of it. We should not go beyond what is written in the scripture (2 John 1:9).
There are many fake manifestations nowadays and we should be cautious of not letting us
caught up by all kind weird doctrines. I will even dare to say that there are more fake
manifestations of speaking in tongues than genuine ones. It is not right to read the
scripture with the preconceived idea that it should adhere to what the elders/traditions
have always said. All doctrines were given 2000 years ago and it is not after 20 centuries
that the Pentecostal movement will be able to make us digest that the doctrine of Spirit
Baptism has been misunderstood during all these times. We should be like the Bereans
and take the scripture for what it actually says. I also attached a document on the danger
of traditions in the mail. Sticking to some old bad traditions will not do any good to the
church.

If I had to defend my faith by using the experience of others and church history then I
could have argued that John R. Rice, Billy Graham, Martin Luther, D.L Moody, Dr. A.
Torrey, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Finney, Gipsy Smith, Bob Jones, Billy
Sunday etc were Spirit-led Christians who never spoke in tongues. Historically speaking,
the Pentecostal church is a new movement (beginning of the 20th century) and its doctrine
was never taught for more than 20 centuries. Millions of Christians died without speaking
in tongues. But we cannot derive a doctrine from experience, figures and history.

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Doctrines should solely be based on the scripture and derived from strict hermeneutical
procedures. Jesus’ work on the cross is complete, there is no new experience for us to
seek. When we were born again we were made complete Christians. What the bible
encourages us is to seek for spiritual gifts and to be filled by the Spirit. The word “filled”
has 2 meanings in Greek, “pletho” and “gemizo”. It is the word “pletho” which is used to
describe being filled by the Spirit(used in Acts 2:4, Ephesians 5:18). The word “pletho”
means being “influenced by” or “led by”. On the other hand, the word “gemizo” was used
to describe the word “filled” as used with recipients. For example, in the wedding in
Cana(John 2:27), it was this word “gemizo” which was used. We cannot have a portion of
the Holy Spirit.

It is not because the Pentecostal have some so-called ‘scriptural proof’ that it means that
they are right. Even the Jehovah witness and Mormons twist the scripture to defend their
faith. The problem lies with interpretation because it is so easy to make a verse say
something which it does not. For a long time parents taught their children that the earth
was flat because it was what they heard from their respective parents and saw with their
physical eyes. From generation to generation, the children blindly digested this lie until
Copernicus came and proved the contrary. Let us adopt the Berean’s attitude by being
students of the Word. Let us humbly go back in the light of the scripture and evaluate our
beliefs.

The reason why I am against this doctrine is because I am convinced that it is

unscriptural. For several years I believed in it until I studied the scripture without any
preconceived idea or with a biased attitude. If a Christian is told that he lacks a so-called
‘Spirit Baptism’ then he will feel inferior and anguished. Jesus made us new and
complete creatures and we do not lack anything.

Recently, I had a quick look in the book: Principes de fonctionnement de l’Assemblée de

Dieu de Maurice. The author said this: “Nous devons distinguer entre l’Esprit du Christ
et le Saint-Esprit, sans pourtant espérer pouvoir comprendre, et encore moins expliquer
ce mystère divin » (pg 41).

A
1. First the author made the assertion that the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit
were different. This is such a weird statement with no biblical basis. It is also in
contradiction with verses like 1 John 3:24.
2. Secondly, because several verses in Romans and Galatians contradict his beliefs
and therefore pose some theological problems to him, the author simply solved
this problem by categorizing it as “mysteries which cannot be explained”.
B
By further reading the same chapter of the book, I came across this paragraph
which said: “Le Saint-Esprit était descendu sur Elisée à partir de ce moment-un
prophète etait né! Il va de même pour celui que le Christ baptise du Saint-Esprit-le
Seigneur lui confère un ministère au sein de l’Eglise. Il en fait son associé, son
collaborateur, son témoin. Cette prière d’Elisée, est celle qui plaît le plus à Dieu ! La
recherche du don de l’Esprit est la recherche que Dieu ne manquera pas d’exaucer…”

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It is astounding to see that the author messed up with the meaning of “spirit” and Holy
Spirit. Elisha was asking a double portion of Elijah’s ability and not about the Holy
Spirit. It is to be noted that Elisha did twice (28 miracles) more miracles than Elijah (14
miracles). This chapter is NOT talking about the Holy Spirit and it is unfair to twist a
verse just to make it say something which is does not. Since then, i stopped reading the
book because the Pentecostal teachings about the Holy Spirit were obviously wrong.

What is more shocking in this book is that the 12 leaders of the AoG signed and approved
its content. The teachings written there were even imposed on every believers and pastors
(Pg 7 line 12, Pg 8 line 8). I even ask myself if what was written in this book actually
reflects the reality…

God knows my heart and what I have been expressing till now is not derived from hatred
or pride but from sadness and concern about the lack of knowledge of God’s Word
amidst some leaders and church members. I can only suggest to set up bible study courses
in the churches to help Christians exegete the scripture correctly. If we want to be
realistic, we have to admit that speaking in tongues is just a gift and that it is our
salvation and relationship with the Giver which are more important. Putting lot of
emphasis on petty things are what brought messes in churches and caused Christians to
be confused and backslide. I’m not up here to set some troubles amidst the AoG church. I
took the right path by going directly to the leaders. I talked to D.L about it, then to J.H
and also to you. Having now briefly described the essential part of my concern, i have the
clear conscience that i did my part as a brother by explaining why the doctrine discussed
above is not scriptural.

Devoted for the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus,

C.p.