During His earthly ministry Jesus had promised ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 11:16) Jesus reminded His disciples of this and told them “in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5).
This promise started to be fulfilled when the gathered disciples heard “a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm’ (Acts 2:2) and “what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them” (Acts 2:3).
Peter, who was present, explained the whole phenomenon from a prophecy in Joel:
“In the last days,’ God says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18).
Later Peter went on to inform those present,
“Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God” (Acts 2:38-39).
In those words of Peter we have the assurance that God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is there for all those who trust in Jesus. What this looks like for every believer will differ, but we are assured that when we turn to Jesus in total trust and faith, He will gift us with the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit:
“Now, dear brothers and sisters] regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this……..
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.
The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy.
He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have” (I Cor. 12:1-11).
Having seen people operating in these gifts, all I can say is that they are very much a part of the Christian’s life in this day and age. If you have never asked for the gift of the Holy Spirit, do so today!
"So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13).
Your gifting will become known to you the more you seek God and let Him work through you. If you are unsure, pray and ask God to reveal to you what your gifts are.
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All quotations are from the NLT.
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