What do you think about speaking in tongues?

1. The Question

What do you think about speaking in tongues? Is it really important, seeing that interpretations differ depending on the church you belong to?

 

2. A Short Answer

Thank you for asking this very important question. With many differing denominational teachings, it is natural for those who truly seek God to ask questions and search the Scriptures for answers. Let us therefore set aside, for a moment, what we have learned from denominations and seek our understanding from Scripture alone. Speaking in tongues is not a denominational doctrine. It is “the apostles’ doctrine” Acts 2:42.

When the crowd heard the apostles speak “with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance,” Peter declared, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…’” Joel 2:28-29.

Peter equated their speaking in tongues with the outpouring of God’s Spirit.

Speaking in tongues is like the sound of a whistle. You know a whistle has been blown because you hear the sound. No sound means no whistle has been blown. In the same way, if there is no speaking in tongues, the Spirit has not been poured out by God. This is a universal reality for all who believe in the Lord Jesus.

Our Lord said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues…” Mark 16:16-17.

He did not say that some believers would speak in tongues and others would not. He said that believers would speak with new tongues. Speaking in tongues is God’s witness that a heart is accepted and purified by Him, as Peter testified: “God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us” Acts 15:8.

Tongues as the Rest Promised

The Lord Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me… and ye shall find rest unto your souls” Matt 11:28-29.

Rest was conditioned on learning, but He did not define what that rest was. Paul alludes to it in Hebrews: “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it” Heb 4:1.

Israel did not enter that rest because of unbelief. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is not received with speaking in tongues where there is unbelief. Yet there remains a promise for believers: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” Heb 4:9.

What is this rest? Isaiah answers:

“Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk… For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people. To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear” Isaiah 28:9-12.

Jesus invites laborers to come and learn so they may find His rest. Isaiah adds that God will speak “with stammering lips and another tongue” to His people.

This explains what Paul meant when he wrote, “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God… no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself… I would that ye all spake with tongues” 1 Cor 14:2-5.

Here Paul is speaking of one of the gifts of the Spirit, “divers kinds of tongues” 1 Cor 12:10, not the initial infilling of the Spirit described in Acts 2:4, 10:44, and 19:1-7. Yet the point remains: whether as the infilling of the Holy Ghost or as a spiritual gift, tongues are God speaking to man, and man speaking God’s mysteries.

A believer who has entered into His rest is the one who has spoken in tongues when filled by the Holy Spirit. In every recorded case in Acts, this is how God bore witness that a heart was accepted and purified by Him Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6.

Tongues as God’s Witness and the Narrow Way

This is the strait gate and narrow way that many do not know and refuse to believe Matt 7:13-14. An unbeliever is anyone who does not believe what Jesus said and did. Jesus said, “These signs shall follow them that believe; in my name… they shall speak with tongues” Mark 16:17.

Do you believe what Jesus said? Your answer defines whether you are a believer or an unbeliever. Deception is what happened to Eve. God warned, “Do not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.” The devil said, “You shall not surely die.”

If you deny that the Lord said, “These signs shall follow them that believe… they shall speak with tongues,” then ask yourself: is it not the same voice that spoke to Eve who is speaking to you now?

That is why Jesus immediately warned after speaking of the strait gate:

“Beware of false prophets… Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven… Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man… And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man” Matt 7:15-24.

Speaking in tongues is God’s recorded testimony: “God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” Acts 15:8-9.

3. What Saith the Scripture: The Full Case

Parameters to Be Held True

In responding to this question, we must hold the following parameters true in order to be true to Scripture:

1. God is eternal; hence He is consistent forever. 1 Timothy 1:17
2. God is immutable and does not change. Malachi 3:6. Any interpretation that makes God inconsistent, a respecter of persons, or contrary to His character is wrong—not Scripture. For salvation, He “commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30
3. God has broken down the middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles. Ephesians 2:14-15; Galatians 3:28
4. God has established an eternal judicial precedent of evidence: “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall a matter be established.” Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 18:16; John 8:17

The Infilling of the Holy Ghost is Salvation

In Scripture, the infilling with the Holy Ghost is salvation. It is the “refreshing” spoken of in Isaiah 28:12 and what Peter refers to as “that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” Acts 3:19. It is what Paul refers to when he writes, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” Titus 3:5.

Take Cornelius. He was devout, had good works, saw an angel, fasted, and his alms and prayers were commended by God Acts 10:2. He was a God-fearing Gentile, but he was not saved until “the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word” Acts 10:44, and they spoke in tongues Acts 10:45-46. Peter later said this was God “granting repentance unto life” Acts 11:18. The words Peter spoke to him were the words whereby he and his house would be saved Acts 11:14.

Take Paul. He believed the voice on the road to Damascus was the Lord Jesus, but he was not saved then. Ananias told him, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” Acts 22:16. What was Paul calling on the Lord for? The infilling of the Holy Ghost. Immediately after, he was filled and spoke in tongues 1 Cor 14:18.

In the great debate of Acts 15, Peter defined what being saved meant for the Gentiles, and ultimately for all men. He said, “God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us” Acts 15:8. How did the disciples receive the Holy Ghost? They spoke in tongues Acts 2:4.

Many, mistake belief alone for salvation. But Peter said God bore witness that they believed _by_ giving them the Holy Ghost. The apostles referred to the Gentiles’ reception of the Holy Ghost as being “granted repentance unto life” Acts 11:18.

Therefore, the infilling with the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues, is the new birth that constitutes salvation.

The Pattern: All Received the Promise the Same Way

The church is the body of Christ—one body made up of Jews and Gentiles who became part of it by receiving the promise of the Father, the Holy Ghost. The question is: how do we know they received it?

1. Acts 2:4

“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

How do we know they were filled? Because they spoke with tongues.

2. The 3,000 on Pentecost

People say, “Only the 120 spoke in tongues. Luke doesn’t say the 3,000 spoke in tongues, so tongues can’t be required for everyone.”

Let’s check the context.

Who is “they” in Acts 2:1?

Acts 1:15 says, “the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty.”

Acts 1:14 says “these all continued… with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus.”

Acts 2:4 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues.”

“All” means all 120—men and women. Luke is not sloppy. If only the 12 apostles spoke, Luke lied under inspiration. But 2 Tim 3:16 says all Scripture is God-breathed. God doesn’t breathe lies.

What about the 3,000? 

Acts 2:38 says, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Acts 2:41 says, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

Luke doesn’t write “and they all spoke with tongues” 3,000 times. Why? Because he already set the pattern in Acts 2:4. Luke 1:3 says he wrote “in order” so Theophilus would know the “certainty” of those things most surely believed among us. When God sets a pattern, He doesn’t restate it every time. Genesis 1:27 says, “God created man.” He didn’t write, “God created Adam, and God created Eve, and God created Cain…” Once is enough. The pattern is male and female.

Acts 2:4 is the pattern: all were filled and spoke in tongues.

If the 3,000 received a different Spirit without tongues, then God changed in one chapter. But Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the LORD, I change not.” Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

Acts 2:39 destroys the “apostles only” argument. 

“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

What promise? Verse 38: “ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

What happened when they first received it? Verse 4: they spoke with tongues.

The promise includes the evidence. You can’t have Pentecost without the Pentecost evidence. The 3,000 got the same birth, or they didn’t get born.

The Literary Law of First Mention 

The first time a doctrine appears, it sets the rule. Acts 2:4 is the first Spirit infilling in the Church. The rule is: they were filled and spoke in tongues. Every later case must match, or you accuse God of inconsistent weights Prov 20:23. God hates that.

Mark 16:17 seals it.

Jesus Himself said, “These signs shall follow them that believe… they shall speak with new tongues.”

Did the 3,000 believe? Acts 2:41 says, “they that gladly received his word.”

Then the sign must follow, or Jesus broke His word. He didn’t. Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie.”

To Which Number Were They Added?

“The same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” Acts 2:41.

The whole chapter is about speaking in tongues. The crowd heard them speak in tongues Acts 2:6-8. Peter preached that it was the outpouring of the Holy Ghost as prophesied by Joel. He said it was Jesus who had poured out “this, which ye now see and hear” Acts 2:33.

What did they hear? Tongues. What did they see? Ecstatic motions, the basis they accused them of being “full of new wine.”

The phrase “added unto them” forces a question: _unto which number?_ Luke gives us four possible groups in his two volumes:

1. The 12 apostles – chosen directly by Jesus Luke 6:13-16.
2. The 70 others appointed by Jesus after the apostles – sent out two by two Luke 10:1.
3. The multitudes of disciples – those who followed Him but were not in the inner circles Luke 6:17; 19:37.
4. The over 500 – those who witnessed His resurrection and ascension 1 Cor 15:6; Acts 1:3-9.

Only one of these groups matches the context of Acts 2. Luke tells us in Acts 1:14-15 that “these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren… the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty.” These 120 were the ones “all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues” Acts 2:4.

So, when Luke writes in Acts 2:41 that the 3,000 were “added unto them,” they were added to the 120 who had already received the Spirit with the evidence of tongues. They also were water baptized like the 120, been filled with the Holy Ghost, and spoken in tongues. The 12, the 70, the multitudes, and the 500 are all referenced elsewhere, but only the 120 are in view in Acts 2:1-4. Luke doesn’t jump subjects without telling you.

Peter then said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” Acts 2:38.

Since the 3,000 believed the word, the only logical conclusion is that they were added to the number of those who had been filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues.

We can verify this because the precedent is set: speaking in tongues is the infilling of the Holy Ghost, what happens when God pours out His Spirit upon believing flesh. Those that speak in tongues are those that believe. No unbeliever, according to the Lord Jesus, speaks in tongues Mark 16:17.

What Happens When There’s Only Water Baptism

Luke deliberately shows what happens when you have “water only” baptism without the Spirit. It’s the exception that proves the pattern.

Acts 8: Samaria

Philip preaches and baptizes in Samaria:

“When they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” Acts 8:12.

But Luke tells you they had not yet received the Spirit:

“For as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost” Acts 8:16-17.

Water baptism without the Spirit is incomplete. The pattern from Acts 2 still holds: the Spirit comes, and it’s evidenced.

Acts 19: Ephesus

Paul finds 12 disciples:

“He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism” Acts 19:2-3.

Paul re-baptizes them in Jesus’ name, lays hands on them, and:

“The Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied” Acts 19:6.

Even John’s baptism didn’t bring the Spirit. When they received the Spirit, the evidence was tongues again. Same pattern as Acts 2 and 10.

Luke’s Use of “Baptized”

This is Luke’s literary key for Theophilus. Luke tells Theophilus: there are 2 baptisms. John’s = water only. Jesus’s = water by believers and Spirit by Jesus. So when Luke just says “they were baptized” without qualification, he means the full baptism Jesus commanded: water administered by believers, and the Spirit administered by Jesus Himself.

Let’s walk through Luke’s pattern with that in mind:

1. Luke sets the rule in Acts 1:5

“For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”

Luke tells Theophilus: John’s baptism is water only. Jesus’s baptism is twofold — water by believers, Spirit by Jesus.

So from here on, when Luke leaves “baptized” unqualified, it’s the complete baptism Jesus gives — water by believers; and Spirit by Jesus. But when it’s water only or Spirit only, Luke qualifies it.

2. Acts 2:41 – 3,000: Unqualified, so complete

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” No qualification. Why? Because Luke already set the pattern in Acts 2:4 — they were filled and spoke in tongues. The “baptized” here is water by believers and Spirit by Jesus.

3. Acts 8:12-17 – Samaria: Qualified, because incomplete

“When they believed Philip… they were baptized, both men and women… For as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”

Luke qualifies it. He says “only they were baptized” and then records they had to receive the Spirit later. This is the exception that proves the rule. If unqualified “baptized” meant water only, Luke wouldn’t need to qualify Acts 8.

4. Acts 10:47 – Cornelius: Spirit first, water after

“Can any man forbid water, that these, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we, should not be baptized?”

Luke tells you they received the Spirit first, then Peter commands water. Again, Luke is precise. When Spirit comes without water, he says so. When water comes without Spirit, he says so. When it’s unqualified, it’s both.

5. Acts 11:17; 15:8 – Peter summarizing Gentile conversion

Peter says God gave them “the like gift as He did unto us” and “bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost.” He doesn’t mention tongues here, but Luke already recorded it in Acts 10:46. Luke expects Theophilus to connect the dots. He doesn’t repeat himself.

6. Acts 16:15, 33; 18:8 – Lydia, Jailer, Crispus: Unqualified

“She was baptized, and her household…”

“He was baptized, he and all his, straightway.”

“Crispus… believed on the Lord with all his house; and many… were baptized.”

No qualification. Luke means both water by believers and Spirit by Jesus, because that’s the standard he set in Acts 1:5 and demonstrated in Acts 2. If it were water only, Luke would tell you, like he did in Acts 8 and 19.

7. Acts 19:2-6 – Ephesus: Qualified

Paul asks, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” They hadn’t. They were re-baptized in Jesus’ name, then Paul lays hands and they receive the Spirit and speak in tongues. Luke qualifies this because it started as water only.

8. Acts 9:18; 22:16 – Paul: Unqualified

“And immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales: and he arose, and was baptized.”

“Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Unqualified. And we know from 1 Cor 14:18 that Paul spoke in tongues. So his baptism was complete.

The Logic Luke Expects You to Use

Luke writes to Theophilus “that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed” Luke 1:4.

He doesn’t want to repeat “they spoke in tongues” every time. He sets the pattern in Acts 2:4. Then he uses a simple rule:

1. Unqualified “baptized” = Baptized with water by believers AND the Holy Ghost by Jesus. That’s the baptism Jesus gives.
2. Qualified “baptized” = Luke tells you what’s missing. “Only they were baptized” Acts 8:16. “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost” Acts 19:2.
3. Spirit only first = Luke tells you, like Cornelius Acts 10:44-48.

If Luke meant “baptized” to mean water only, he would have to qualify it 90% of the time. He doesn’t. Because for Luke, and for the apostles, there was only one baptism that saves: John 3:5 “born of water and of the Spirit.”

Bottom line: 

Luke’s use of “baptized” is intentional. When he leaves it unqualified for the 3,000, Lydia, the jailer, Crispus, Paul, he’s telling Theophilus: this is complete baptism. Water by believers + Spirit by Jesus, evidenced by tongues, just like Acts 2:4.

That’s why you can say the firstfruits and the harvest are identical. No Jew/Gentile distinction, no water-only distinction. The middle wall is broken.

Apollos: “Instructed in the Way of the Lord, Knowing Only the Baptism of John” Acts 18:24-28

Apollos is the clearest example that knowing about Jesus isn’t the same as being in the kingdom.

What Luke records:

1. Apollos was fervent and scripturally sound: “An eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures… instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord” Acts 18:24-25.
2. But his knowledge was incomplete: “knowing only the baptism of John” Acts 18:25.
3. Aquila and Priscilla expounded to him “the way of God more perfectly” Acts 18:26.
4.  After this, he became effective in ministry: “he mightily convinced the Jews… shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ” Acts 18:28, and later became a co-worker with Paul 1 Cor 3:6.

What this shows in light of John’s baptism and the kingdom:

John’s baptism was “for the revelation of Christ” John 1:31. Its purpose was to point out the Lamb of God John 1:29 and prepare Israel to believe on Him which should come after Acts 19:4. John himself said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” John 3:30.

Once Jesus was revealed, died, rose, and poured out the Spirit, John’s baptism had served its purpose. John’s baptism never opened the kingdom at any time, because the kingdom had not yet come. It pointed to the impending kingdom of God and prepared Israel to believe on the One who would bring it. As Jesus said, “He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” Matt 11:11. John was of the law and the prophets Luke 16:16. The kingdom began with Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the outpouring of the Spirit Acts 2:33.

Apollos was “fervent in the spirit” and taught Jesus as Christ, but he only knew John’s baptism. That means he had the revelation of Christ, but not yet the baptism Jesus gives — water in His name and the Spirit by Him.

Aquila and Priscilla “expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” They brought him up to the full gospel: Jesus is the Christ who has come, died, risen, and now baptizes with the Holy Ghost.

Luke doesn’t record Apollos being re-baptized, because he knows he will address what happened to him in Acts 18 by showing what happened to others of his kind in Acts 19. In Acts 19, Luke records the 12 disciples of John who, like Apollos, knew only the baptism of John. Luke is demonstrating to Theophilus that just as the way of the Lord was explained to these twelve, Apollos—who no doubt knew more than they did—also had the way of the Lord explained to him more perfectly in Acts 18.

The logic of the text points to the same conclusion: Apollos would have been, in true fashion with what happened to his fellow believers in Acts 19, baptized in water in Jesus’ name, prayed for to receive the Holy Ghost, and spoken in tongues. This was the reason he rose to such prominence that some believers in the church at Corinth preferred him over Paul—creating a schism which neither of them encouraged.

And the word “more perfectly” makes this clear. “Perfect” in the New Testament sense isn’t about sinless behavior, it’s about completion and fullness. Aquila and Priscilla explaining the way more perfectly means they brought Apollos to the completed pattern: water baptism in Jesus’ name and being filled with the Holy Ghost. That’s what makes a believer complete in the kingdom—not just knowing about Jesus, but receiving what Jesus gives.

Notables:

The kingdom of God suffered violence only from the days of John until the advent of the kingdom. It was another way of saying that entry into the kingdom was not yet possible — it was near, but not yet here. That changed when the kingdom arrived with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.

Though Apollos was a fervent preacher, he was not yet saved. Salvation is entering into the kingdom of God by baptism in the Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Now we “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” Heb 4:16. “He that has entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” Heb 4:10. John’s baptism revealed Christ. Jesus’ baptism brings you into Christ, into that rest.

Luke’s Patterns and Fixed Concepts

The book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. Therefore, its interpretation must draw from Luke. Luke sets fixed patterns early so Theophilus will understand that salvation is the same for Jew and Gentile.

1. Luke primes Theophilus for a common salvation

In Luke 2:30-32, Simeon holds Jesus and says:

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace… mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

From the start, Luke tells Theophilus that God’s salvation is for both Jews and Gentiles. Logically, the method must be the same for both.

2. Luke establishes the promise of Spirit baptism*

John the Baptist told “them all,” “I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh… He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” Luke 3:16.

Luke ends his gospel with Jesus saying:

“These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me… Thus, it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” Luke 24:44-49.

All things prophesied were fulfilled except the outpouring of the Holy Ghost and God speaking to His people “with stammering lips and another tongue” Isaiah 28:11-12.

Luke has already instructed Theophilus that salvation is not a Jewish phenomenon alone. The “promise of the Father” is for all nations. Therefore, the pattern set in Acts 2:4 must apply to everyone, including “all that are afar off” Acts 2:39.

Paul confirms this: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth… not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit” Romans 8:22-23. In farming, the rest of the harvest is gathered the same way as the firstfruits. The difference is only time.

3. Luke connects the “word of God” to the promise of the Spirit

In Luke 8, Jesus gives the parable of the sower and calls the seed “the word of God” Luke 8:11.

In Acts 11:18, Luke records Peter’s account of the Gentiles’ conversion:

“As I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.’ Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?”

Luke shows that the “word of God” in the parable is the same as the “word of the Lord” in Acts 11:16—the promise of the Father to baptize both Jews and Gentiles with the Holy Spirit. The pattern is identical: Jews spoke in tongues when the Spirit came Acts 2:4, and Gentiles did the same Acts 10:46.

Luke writes for Theophilus, whom many hold to be a Gentile, to prove that God “is no respecter of persons” Acts 10:34. He came to save “all people… the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” Luke 2:32.

4. Luke links the Holy Ghost to salvation itself

Luke records Jesus rebuking the disciples who wanted to call fire down on the Samaritans:

“Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” Luke 9:55-56.

Since Jesus alone baptizes with the Holy Spirit Matthew 3:11, Luke connects the Holy Spirit directly to salvation. There is no other way. Paul agrees: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” Romans 8:9.

5. Luke records the promise of the Spirit to those who ask

Luke 11:9-13 records Jesus’ teaching on prayer:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find… If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”

By the time Theophilus finishes Luke, he is anticipating one thing: how the ascended Christ will complete the unfinished work and baptize people with the Holy Ghost.

John confirms it: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” John 3:5.

6. Acts is the continuation

Luke begins Acts with:

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up… and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” Acts 1:1-5.

To Luke, Acts is about the resurrected Christ, unseen yet living through His believers. It is as the Holy Ghost that He comes into believers on Pentecost and to every believer alike, Jew or Gentile. He is “another Comforter” John 14:16, God Himself without His body: “God is a Spirit” John 4:24.

Peter ascribed the outpouring to Jesus:

“This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear… Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” Acts 2:32-36.

The disciples knew His presence was not only in heaven, but He had come down a second time without sin on the day of Pentecost.

Luke writes, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” Acts 2:47. To the early church, there was one concept of being saved: Christ coming into a believer as the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. The confession of His resurrection was also an anticipation of His coming into the believer as the Holy Ghost.

Peter explained the miracle at the Beautiful Gate this way:

“Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus… His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong… yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” Acts 3:12-16.

7. Without the Spirit, the resurrection is meaningless

Paul says,

“But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain… and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins… But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept… For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming” 1 Corinthians 15:13-23.

The resurrection matters because it enabled Christ to baptize with the Holy Ghost. Without the Spirit baptism, the resurrection has no saving effect on us.

8.  Some have falsely prophesied, there is nothing one has to do to be saved Her 6:14, Luke 6:46

1. One said to him “Good master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Matthew 19:16-21.
2. Men and brethren, what shall we do? Acts 2:37.
3. Cornelius must have prayed “Lord what must I do to be saved” for God to say to him, “call for one Simon … he shall tell thee what thou doughtiest to do” Acts 10:1-6, 11:14.
4. The jailer cried “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Acts 16:30

There is only one universal  response to all the above cries and yours  – “confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” Rom 10:-18. But how do you get saved? By saying the Sinner’s prayer? A thousand times no!!! But by “obeying the truth through the Spirit … being born again, not of corruptible seed, but  of the incorruptible, by the  word of God,  which liveth and abideth forever”  1 Peter 1:22-23. How did Jesus our Lord say, a man is born? “except a be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom God” John 3:5.  What did Peter say it it “Repent and be baptized (in water) every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ (who the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost is) for the remission of yours, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto  you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off (gentiles Ephesians 2:13,17). How did the apostles receive the gift of the Holy Ghost? “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance” Acts 2:4. According to Peter “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: … I willpower out of my Spirit. In Acts 11:16, the same Peter, hearing the gentiles speak in tongues referred to this experience as the Word of the Lord, saying “Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how thtat he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.”  How did they know they were baptized with the Holy Ghost? – “for they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” Acts 10:46. Now this personal, to you the reader: “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?” Acts 19:2.

 

One Lord, One Spirit, One Baptism

 

The Holy Spirit baptism with speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance is the apostles’ doctrine Acts 2:42, the ‘foundation of the apostles and prophets’ upon which “the household of God” is built Ephesians 2:19-21. It is the “gospel of Christ that “some that trouble you … would pervert” Gal 1:7.  It is the  narrow way Matt 7:13-14, the way into the body of Christ 1 Corinthians 12:13, and the way into the kingdom of God John 3:5.  It is “a promise being left us of entering into his rest” Mat 11:28,  “yet they would not hear” “not being mixed with faith in them that” hear it; Isa 28:12 Her 4:1-2.  It is a call to many that are called, but many reject; and a few have themselves  chosen” Matthew 22:1-14. It is the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost Titus 3:5 — eternal life begun now.

If you have not yet received the Holy Ghost, the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:39). Ask, and it shall be given you (Luke 11:13). The same Spirit that fell at Pentecost (Acts 2:4) is being poured out today;  and  ” signs … follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils” and  they ” speak with new tongues.” Mark 16:17.

 

Conclusion: One Consistent Pattern

 

The Scriptures reveal one consistent pattern from Pentecost onward. Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Peter opened the door on the Day of Pentecost, declaring, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). The same promise was given to Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles, and to all that are afar off.

The Holy Ghost that fell at Pentecost is the same Holy Ghost being poured out today. If you have not yet received the Holy Ghost, the promise is still unto you. Ask, and it shall be given you (Luke 11:13).

God’s pattern has not changed because God has not changed.

 

Written by Moshe N. Baruch

 

 

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye

have eternal life: and they are they which testify

of me.” — John 5:39 KJV