PRAY FOR THE
POWER OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT

© Rev. Delbert Rossin

It has been over twenty years since that evening I prayed for Jesus to "baptize me with the Holy Spirit." The prompting for that prayer was not because I was at the end of my rope in pastoral ministry nor was I grasping for some un-Lutheran emotional high. I simply wanted to be a better pastor to the glory of Christ and realized that the flow of the power of the Holy Spirit through a pastor’s ministry had a lot to do with it. I had been taught and believed (and still do) that Scripture is the final authority for faith and life. Thus it was a study of Sacred Scripture that prompted my prayer that evening; permit me to share some of that study with you now.

"How much of me does the Holy Spirit have?"

 Space limitations prohibit mentioning all the occasions in the Scriptures where God’s people prophesied, led with wisdom, performed miracles, etc., under the power of the Holy Spirit. A good summary passage describing all of God’s work on planet earth from creation all the way to Christ’s glorious second coming is "Not by might, nor my power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts." (Zech. 4:6).

 Jesus spoke much about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the disciples’ lives. As he prepared them for his departure, he assured them that "another Counselor" would come and live "in them" (Jn. 14:16-17) and guide them in a very personal and profound way (Jn. 16:13-15) as they carried out Jesus’ ministry on the earth. No one would deny that on Pentecost they were "clothed with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49) and that many came to Christ because of what they "saw and heard" through these former cowards.

One of my favorite portions of the Bible is John 20:19+ when Jesus appears to his disciples on Easter night. They needed to hear the words "peace be with you" as he suddenly appears in the room and shows them in his hands and side the marks of his crucifixion; and they were "glad when they saw the Lord." Then he says to them, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." His intent is that they would go forth as he did with the precious Gospel of the Kingdom as Peter describes Jesus’ ministry in Acts 10:38: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him." Then John writes, "he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit...’" (Jn. 20:22). Did they receive the Holy Spirit? Of course they did because Jesus said so! But were they "clothed with power from on high" as Jesus promised? No, that happened on Pentecost!

The preceding paragraph is in harmony with the fact that every Christian has the Holy Spirit resident in his or her heart, for "no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3). The question is not do I "have" the Holy Spirit, but how much of me does the Holy Spirit have? I have been a Christian since my baptism several days after my birth. From little on I was taught and believed that I am justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The assurance of my salvation has always been fixed on the cross of Jesus and his daily forgiveness that baptism signifies. The answer to my prayer to be "baptized in the Holy Spirit" belongs on the "sanctification" side of the coin as the Holy Spirit continues to "call, gather, and enlighten" the Church. Another way to put it: "The Holy Spirit is RESIDENT in every Christian, but he wants to be PRESIDENT." But let’s go on with or Biblical journey...

"The Holy Spirit is RESIDENT in every Christian, but he wants to be PRESIDENT."

Remember, the disciples had the Holy Spirit when Jesus told them on ascension’s mount, "Not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father...for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT" (Acts 1:4-5). That is when the famous Acts 1:8 passage was fulfilled: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses...." For me this term "baptized with the Holy Spirit" was quite troubling, because the only use of the word "baptize" in my Lutheran experience was the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. It is true as the creed says that there is only "one baptism for the forgiveness of sins," but Scripture also uses the term to describe one of the blessed ministries of our exalted Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus also uses the term "baptism" to describe the experience of suffering (Luke 12:50).

It is the "greatest man born of woman" (John the Baptist) that helps us understand this ministry of Jesus. In John chapter one we see how he pointed out Jesus as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Then John describes what he witnessed at Jesus’ baptism: "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. ...He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who BAPTIZES WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God" (Jn. 1:32-34). Certainly for me this ministry ascribed to Jesus was very foreign to my ears and "non-Lutheran." I honestly cannot remember dealing with it in seminary, even though it occurs in all four Gospels and the Book of Acts.

Perhaps Jesus’ ministry as "BAPTIZER IN THE HOLY SPIRIT" was limited to the original 120 on Pentecost? But in Acts believers (who "had" the Holy Spirit) continue to receive this empowering in Samaria (8:14-17), Saul in Damascus (9:17), in Caesarea (10:44-47), and in Ephesus (19:1-17). (The Caesarea example has the unusual occurrence of the Holy Spirit "falling" on Cornelius and his household prior to sacramental baptism.) Later when Peter reports to the church in Jerusalem about this event at Cornelius’ house he says, "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you shall be BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT’" (Acts 11:16).

So this empowering experience of being "BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT" is Lutheran because it is a ministry of the risen Christ, and it was not limited to Pentecost. But how are we to understand and appropriate it without falling into the errors of "second blessing" theology and giving the impression that Christians are inferior or incomplete without it?

For me, Jesus’ words in John 7:37-39 are a tremendous help: "If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Jesus illustrates "salvation" as taking a drink of living water (e.g., Samaritan woman in John 4). Thus every Christian has within him or her the Holy Spirit. But Jesus says a time would come when believers, who are thirsty, would experience the Holy Spirit flowing out from them like a river. This river would be manifest in the lives of those who received power for witnessing and service to others as Christ’s Kingdom spread through them to the whole earth. It is interesting to note that on Pentecost Peter describes that day’s events with "river" words: "...Jesus...has POURED OUT this which you see and hear" (Acts 2:33).

As a sacramental Christian I understand being "baptized with the Holy Spirit" to be a "release" of the Holy Spirit who is already resident in every believer. Twenty-plus years ago I did not receive Someone I did not already have, but He (the Holy Spirit) got control of more of me. I still have a long way to go in this life of sanctification, and I need to be filled daily with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18) for I am a weak, leaky vessel. I don’t think God is as hung up with terms as we sometimes are, for his Word also uses besides "baptized with the Holy Spirit," terms like "filled," "anointed," etc. So call this ministry of Jesus whatever you want; the main thing is to realize that we desperately need the power of the Holy Sprit if this rapidly decaying civilization is to be reached with its only hope...the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Yet we need to be on guard against all spiritual pride that points to self as well as any comparisons of sanctification over and against others in Christ’s Body that lead to boasting, self-satisfaction, spiritual elitism, or to despair. Nor is it necessary to adopt all kinds of Pentecostal baggage when desiring to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact it is very "Lutheran" to pray for this equipping power, for ancient collects even encourage it with such words as: "Grant we beseech the, thy Holy Spirit and come...." In Luke 11:13 Jesus encourages such prayer: "How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him." It is the will of Jesus the "baptizer in the Holy Spirit" that believers pray in like manner in a simple and expectant way. Jesus promises to answer with a Spirit-empowering "yes!" Why? Because "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). HAVE YOU ASKED? ARE YOU STILL ASKING?

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