Baptism of the Spirit

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Apr 15, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 15.

Baptism of the Spirit

Must the baptism of the Spirit be by the laying on of hands? So some teach, and confuse, by their teachings, honest souls. But God has shown us, in His Word, that He works in various ways contrary to all human conceptions. We have no record that hands were laid upon Jesus when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. God sent His Spirit from the open heavens. Jesus did breathe upon His disciples, and say, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit,” but it was not manifest that they received it in any great measure till weeks afterward, on the Day of Pentecost. The believers in Samaria received the Spirit by the laying on of hands, and so the believers at Ephesus (Acts 8:17; 19:6); but it is recorded that while Peter was speaking, upon the believers in the house of Cornelius the Spirit fell (Acts 10:44, 45). It is difficult for men to harness the Holy Spirit; and when they mark out the way in which God shall give it, they are very likely to be disappointed.