Derek Prince discusses the significance of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, emphasizing its transformative power in the life of the believer. He outlines three main results: personal empowerment for effective witness, enhanced worship and service within the church, and the preacher's ministry. The baptism is described as a supernatural endowment that provides believers with authority and power, enabling them to impact their communities and deepen their relationship with Christ. Prince highlights that this experience is essential for understanding Scripture and living a life filled with the Holy Spirit's guidance and power.

Foundation series by Derek Prince, study number 14 entitled Pentecostal Power, Effects in the Individual Believer, Part 1. The question which we shall now seek to answer is this. For what purpose is the baptism in the Holy Spirit given? Or, to put it in another way, what results does God desire to produce in the life of the believer through baptising him in the Holy Spirit? We shall divide up our answer to this question into three main sections. First, results produced in the personal life and experience of each individual believer. Second, results produced in the general worship and service of a congregation as a whole. Third, results which particularly apply to the ministry of the preacher of the Gospel. However, we do not mean by this to suggest that any one of these various results can ever be completely isolated or separated from all the rest. Rather, they are all different aspects of one and the same total experience. First, then, we shall consider those results which the baptism in the Holy Spirit is intended to produce in the personal life and experience of each believer. Under this heading, we shall list eight main results. Result number one is stated by Christ himself at the close of his earthly ministry in two different passages where he gives final words of exhortation and direction to his disciples before his ascension into heaven. In Luke, chapter 24, verse 49, Luke, chapter 24, verse 49, he says, 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. Again, in Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, he says, But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. In these passages, Jesus gives his outline plan for the spread of the Gospel in the present age. This basic plan is extremely simple. It contains three successive stages. First, each believer is to be personally filled with the Holy Spirit. Second, each believer so filled with the Spirit is by his personal testimony to win others to Christ. And these others are in their turn to be filled with the Spirit and thus to win yet others. Third, in this way, the testimony of Christ is to be extended outward from Jerusalem in ever-widening circles of power until it has reached the uttermost part of the earth. That is, until it has reached all nations and every creature. This plan is both simple and practical. Wherever it is applied, it will always work. It makes possible the evangelization of the entire world in any generation in which the church is willing to put the plan to work. There is no other alternative plan which can ever accomplish the same result. In these passages relating to the baptism in the Holy Spirit as an experience for every believer, the key word is the word power. The Greek word here translated power is the word dunamis from which we get such English words as dynamo, dynamic, dynamite. The basic idea is that of explosive impact. In this respect, the New Testament observes a very careful logical distinction between the primary result of the new birth and the primary result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But unfortunately, the words used in the King James translation obscure this distinction. In John chapter 1 verse 12, John chapter 1 verse 12, we read, but as many as received him, Christ, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God. This passage describes the new birth, for in the next verse we are told that these people who received Christ were born of God. However, the Greek word here translated power is not the word dunamis, but another quite different word, exousia. This word exousia denotes a being or a nature which is derived from some external source or person. In other words, the person who receives Christ as savior receives in Christ the being or nature of God himself. The receiving of this new life or nature from God produces within the believer the new birth. The English word most commonly used to translate this Greek word exousia is the word authority. This is the distinctive mark of the born again child of God. He is no longer a slave of sin and of Satan. He is a son of God. As such, he possesses a new authority. He no longer succumbs to temptation or opposition. He meets and overcomes these things in virtue of the new life within him. He is an overcomer. He has authority. However, authority is not at all the same as power. The first disciples already had this authority from the time of Christ's resurrection onwards. They were already sons of God. They were able to lead godly overcoming lives. They were no longer the slaves of sin. However, during the period from the resurrection to the day of Pentecost, these first disciples made very little positive impact upon the great majority of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. As a whole, during this period, the city of Jerusalem was very little changed or affected by the fact of Christ's resurrection. However, all this was abruptly and dramatically changed by the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. As soon as the 120 believers in the upper room were baptized in the Holy Ghost, the whole of Jerusalem immediately felt the impact. Within an hour or two, a crowd of many thousands had gathered. And before the day closed, 3,000 Christ-rejecting unbelievers had been gloriously converted, baptized, and added to the church. What produced these dramatic results? The adding of power to authority. Before the day of Pentecost, the disciples already had authority. After Pentecost, they had authority plus power. They had the power that made their authority fully effective. The evidence and outworking of this new supernatural power are found plainly in the ensuing chapters of the book of Acts. In Acts 4, verse 31, we read, And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. In Acts 4, verse 33, we read, And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In Acts 5, verse 28, the high priest complains to the apostles, Behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine. The same city-shaking impact continued to make itself felt thereafter in every place where the early Christians presented the testimony of the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. For instance, we read in Acts 8, verse 8, Acts 8, verse 8, concerning Samaria, And there was great joy in that city. Concerning the city of Antioch in Pisidia, We read in Acts chapter 14, verse 44, Acts chapter 14, verse 44, And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. In Acts chapter 16, verse 20, In Acts chapter 16, verse 20, We read that in the city of Philippi, the opponents of the gospel complained concerning Paul and Silas, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city. In Acts chapter 17, verse 6, In Acts chapter 17, verse 6, We read that in Thessalonica, the opponents of the gospel said of Paul and Silas, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also. In Acts chapter 19, verse 29, Acts chapter 19, verse 29, We read that as a result of the opposition to Paul's preaching in Ephesus, the whole city was filled with confusion. There was one common feature which marked the advent of these early Christian witnesses in every place. There was a mighty spiritual impact upon the whole community. In some places there was a revival. In some there was a riot. Quite often they were both together. But there were two things that could not survive this impact, ignorance and indifference. Today, in many places, the conduct and experience of professing Christians are very different. This applies even to many groups of Christians who have a genuine experience of the new birth. They meet regularly in a church building for worship. They lead decent, respectable lives. They cause no trouble. They provoke no riots. They arouse no opposition. But alas, they make no impact. In the community all around them, ignorance and indifference concerning spiritual things prevail unchanged and unchallenged. The vast majority of their neighbours neither know nor care what these Christians believe or why they attend church. What is lacking? The answer lies in one word, power. The explosive dynamite of the Holy Spirit has been left out of these Christians' lives and nothing else can take its place. The Christian church as a whole needs to face up to the challenge of Paul in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 20. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 20. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. Once again, the Greek word which Paul here uses is dunamis, dynamite, explosive power. It is not merely a question of words which we speak but of the power which makes those words effective. The key to this spiritual power is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. For this there is no substitute. We see then that according to the New Testament the primary result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a supernatural endowment with power from on high to become an effective witness for Christ. The second main result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is indicated by the words of Peter on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter 2, verse 33. Acts chapter 2, verse 33. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost He, Christ, hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. The baptism in the Holy Spirit which Peter and the other disciples had just received constituted for each of them direct personal evidence and assurance that their risen Lord was now both exalted and glorified at the Father's right hand. Ten days earlier a little group of them had stood on the Mount of Olives and watched Jesus taken up from them out of their sight. The Scripture records in Acts chapter 1, verse 9 Acts chapter 1, verse 9 and a cloud received Him out of their sight. That was the last contact that the disciples had with Jesus through their physical senses. For the next ten days they walked by faith not by sight but now on the day of Pentecost the descent of the Holy Spirit gave to each one of the disciples in the upper room a new direct and personal contact with Christ. Each one of them knew now with a fresh assurance that their Saviour whom the world had despised rejected and crucified was henceforth and forever exalted and glorified at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Only from the Father's right hand could Jesus have received this wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit which He in turn imparted to His waiting disciples. Their receiving of the gift therefore gave them an altogether new assurance that Jesus was now in the glory of the Father's presence at the seat of all authority and power over the entire universe. There are many scriptures which emphasize this vital fact of the supreme exaltation of Jesus Christ. For example in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 20 through 23 Ephesians chapter 1 verses 20 through 23 we read that God raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. Again in Philippians chapter 2 verse 9 Philippians chapter 2 verse 9 wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name. In Hebrews chapter 1 verses 3 and 4 Hebrews chapter 1 verses 3 and 4 we read that when He had by Himself purged our sins He sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high being made so much better than the angels as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. In 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 22 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 22 we read concerning Jesus Christ after His resurrection who is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him. Through these and other scriptures every believer understands by faith that Jesus Christ is not merely risen from the dead He is also ascended and glorified at the Father's right hand however the believer who receives the baptism in the Holy Spirit also receives thereby a new kind of direct personal evidence and assurance of Christ's exaltation in power and glory at the Father's throne. Often when a loved one leaves us on a journey to some new destination we urge them be sure and send us a letter to let us know that you have arrived safely then when the letter arrives in the loved one's own handwriting and postmarked with the name of the city of destination we know with a full assurance that our loved one is in the very place of which he told us before leaving. So it is with the baptism in the Holy Spirit for the disciples on the day of Pentecost and for every individual believer thereafter who receives the same experience it is like a personal letter received direct from Christ. The postmark on the letter is glory and the message reads I am here, just as I said at the seat of all authority and power. I am reminded in this connection of a conversation that I once had while serving as a missionary in East Africa with a minister of one of the older denominations. This minister was questioning me about my personal experience of receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He designated my form of experience by the title Pentecostalism and he obviously regarded the whole thing with some suspicion as the product of some new and eccentric religious saint. Now let me see, he said. That started in America, didn't it? It comes from the United States, doesn't it? Oh no, I replied. You're quite wrong about that. This thing started in Jerusalem and it comes from heaven. So it is with every believer who has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit as the first disciples received it on the day of Pentecost. This experience gives the believer a new direct contact in two directions. First, with the glorified Christ at the Father's right hand in heaven. Second, with the New Testament Church as it came into being in the city of Jerusalem and as it is thereafter pictured in the Book of Acts. The baptism in the Holy Spirit gives a new meaning, a new reality, a new assurance both concerning the exaltation of Christ and concerning the life and activity of the New Testament Church. Things that before were mere historical or doctrinal facts accepted by bare faith become for each Spirit-filled believer thrilling, pulsating realities in his own experience. This is in line with the teaching concerning the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. In John chapter 7 verse 39 we read that in the days of Christ's earthly ministry the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified. We see that the Holy Spirit could not be given to the Church before Christ was glorified with the Father in heaven. Only the glorified Christ himself was worthy to exercise the privilege bestowed by the Father of giving this wonderful gift. Therefore, the fact that this gift was bestowed upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost was in itself evidence that Christ was then glorified. Throughout the New Testament we find always the most perfect harmony and cooperation between the three persons of the Triune Godhead. When Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, came to the earth he came as the personal authoritative representative of God the Father. He never sought any kind of honour or glory for himself. Both his words and his works his wisdom and his miracles he invariably ascribed not to himself but to his Father dwelling and working in him. Likewise, when in due course Jesus finished his earthly ministry and returned to the Father in heaven he in turn sent the Holy Spirit as his personal gift and his personal representative to his Church. The Holy Spirit, coming thus as the representative of the second person, the Son of God never seeks his own glory but his whole ministry on earth and in the Church is always directed to uplifting, magnifying and glorifying the one whom he represents that is, Christ. This is clearly stated by Jesus himself in John chapter 16 verses 14 and 15. John chapter 16 verses 14 and 15. Speaking of the Holy Spirit's coming to the disciples, Jesus says He shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you all things that the Father hath are mine. Therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you. Here we see the relationship between the three persons of the Godhead very clearly stated. The Father bestows all his authority, power and glory upon the Son. The Son in turn appoints the Holy Spirit as his representative to reveal and interpret to the Church all that he has received of the Father. It is most important to realize that the Holy Spirit is just as much a person as the Father and the Son and therefore that Christ, during the present dispensation, has one and only one personal and authoritative representative in the Church and on earth. That representative is none other than the Holy Spirit himself. More than one form of religious error can be traced back to seeking to ascribe to a mere human being the honor and the authority which belong to the Holy Spirit as Christ's personal representative here on earth. Furthermore, we may always judge anything that claims to be inspired or authorized by the Holy Spirit by one simple test. Does it glorify Christ? If the answer to this question is not a clear yes, then we may be assured that we are not dealing with a genuine operation or manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Any tendency or teaching which would in any way detract from Christ's glory as head of the Church or which would in any way displace Christ from his headship or replace Christ by another any such tendency or teaching is most emphatically not of the Holy Spirit. For the third main result of this experience we may turn to the words of Hebrews chapter 6 verses 4 and 5 Hebrews chapter 6 verses 4 and 5 These verses speak of believers who have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. These words indicate that those who have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost have as a result of that experience tasted the powers of the world to come or alternatively the powers of the age to come. Thus the baptism in the Holy Spirit gives to the believer a foretaste of an altogether new kind of power a power that belongs in its fullness to the next world or the next age. Through this baptism the believer commences to experience now in a measure the supernatural power reserved for its full manifestation to the next world or the next age. This is in agreement with the words of Paul in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13 and 14 Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13 and 14 Speaking to Christians who had received the Holy Spirit, Paul says In whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. Paul here describes the experience of being sealed with the Holy Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. The word translated earnest means a pledge or an assurance. Paul refers to an ancient custom by which a man who had purchased a field once the agreement was completed carried away with him a portion of the earth of the field. This portion of earth from the purchased field was called the earnest or the pledge. It constituted legal evidence that the field now belonged to that man and that he would return in due course to take full possession of his whole inheritance. This is a beautiful illustration of what the baptism in the Holy Spirit means to each believer. In this experience the believer receives within himself here and now a little foretaste a little portion of his inheritance of power and glory which is awaiting him in the next world. This little portion of heaven's power and glory received in this world is the earnest, the foretaste the assurance that the whole inheritance now legally belongs to the believer and that in due course he will return to take full possession of his whole inheritance. That is why Paul says that the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. The spirit-filled believer already has a little bit of heaven right inside him now and on the basis of this he knows that one day he will enjoy the fullness of that which he has hitherto tasted only in part. This is very aptly illustrated by the story of the healing of Naaman, the Syrian leper recorded in 2 Kings 5. As a result of his miraculous healing, Naaman came to acknowledge that the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel, was the only true God. He knew however that he would shortly have to return to an unclean, heathen land and be associated with the idolatrous ceremonies of a heathen temple. With this in mind we read in 2 Kings 5 verse 17 2 Kings 5 verse 17 that Naaman had one special request to make before leaving the land of Israel and Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? For thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. Why did Naaman desire to carry home this portion of earth from the land of Israel? He had realized the holiness of the Lord and in contrast the uncleanness of his own land and people. He was determined therefore never again to offer worship from unclean earth. The holiness of the Lord demanded that Naaman should stand and worship him only on earth from the Lord's own land. Since Naaman could not remain permanently in the land of Israel, he determined to carry a portion of Israel's earth home with him to his own land and to make there from that earth his own special place of worship. So it is with the spirit-filled believer. This experience gives to him a new understanding of the words of Jesus in John chapter 4 verse 24. John chapter 4 verse 24 God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. Such a believer can no longer be satisfied with the mere forms and ceremonies of man-made worship. He has been in the heavenly land. He has had a glimpse of its glories and of the holiness of God. He has brought back a portion of that sacred soil with him. No matter where circumstances may take him, he worships now not on unclean land but on holy ground. He worships in spirit that is in the Holy Spirit and in truth. What is true in the worship of the spirit- is true in every other aspect of his experience. Through the baptism in the spirit he has entered into a new kind of supernatural life. The supernatural has become natural. If we study the New Testament with an open mind we are compelled to acknowledge that the whole life and experience of the early Christians were permeated in every part by the supernatural. Supernatural experiences were not something incidental or additional. They were an integral part of their whole lives as Christians. Their praying was supernatural. Their preaching was supernatural. They were supernaturally guided, supernaturally empowered, supernaturally transported, supernaturally protected. Remove the supernatural from the book of Acts and you are left with something that has no meaning or coherence. From the descent of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2 and onwards it is scarcely possible to find a single chapter in which the record of the supernatural does not play an essential part. In the record of Paul's ministry in Ephesus in Acts chapter 19 verse 11, Acts chapter 19 verse 11, we find a most arresting and thought-provoking expression. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. Notice that phrase, special miracles. The Greek phrase here used could be translated somewhat freely, miracles of a kind that do not happen every day. Miracles were an everyday occurrence in the early church. Normally they would have caused no special surprise or comment. But the miracles granted here in Ephesus through the ministry of Paul were such that even the early church found them worthy of special record. In how many churches today would we find occasion to use that phrase, miracles of a kind that do not happen every day? In how many churches today do miracles ever happen, let alone happen every day? The truth is that where we do not see and experience the supernatural we have no right to speak of New Testament Christianity. New Testament Christianity can never be separated from the supernatural or experienced in isolation from it. These two things, the supernatural and New Testament Christianity are inseparably interwoven. Without the supernatural we may have New Testament doctrine but it is bare doctrine not experience. Such doctrine divorced from supernatural experience is of the kind described by Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 6. The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life. It is the Holy Spirit and he alone who can give life to the letter of New Testament doctrine and make that doctrine a living, personal, supernatural way of life for each believer. One main purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to do just this. The fourth main purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit concerns the prayer life of the believer. The key text for this is found in Romans chapter 8 verses 26 and 27. Romans chapter 8 verses 26 and 27. Likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Paul here mentions one form of infirmity which is common to all believers in their own natural condition and apart from the Holy Spirit. This is not an infirmity in the sense of a disease or a bodily weakness. It is defined by Paul in the words for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. This infirmity consists in not knowing how to pray aright, in being unable to pray in accordance with God's will. The only one to whom we can turn for help in this infirmity is the Holy Spirit. For Paul says the spirit helpeth our infirmities the spirit itself maketh intercession for us. He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. We see that Paul here speaks of the spirit as a person who indwells the believer and who makes the believer a vessel or a channel through which he, the spirit himself, offers prayer and intercession. We see that this is prayer of a kind which is far above the level of the believer's own natural understanding or ability. In this kind of prayer the believer does not rely on his feelings or his understanding but he yields his body to the Holy Spirit as a temple in which the spirit himself conducts prayer and he yields his members as instruments which the spirit controls for purposes of supernatural intercession. As we study the teaching of the New Testament concerning prayer, we find that it sets a standard to which the believer can never attain in his own natural strength or understanding. In this way God deliberately shuts the believer up in a place where he is obliged either to fall below the divine standard or else to depend upon the supernatural assistance of the indwelling spirit. For example, Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 18 Ephesians chapter 6 verse 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. And again in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 17 and 19 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 17 and 19 pray without ceasing quench not the spirit. Such is the natural infirmity of the human flesh and mind that no person in his own unaided strength or understanding can fulfill these commandments. No person can pray always or pray without ceasing. But that which is impossible in the natural is made possible by the indwelling supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit. For this reason in both these passages Paul is careful to emphasize the believer's dependence upon the Holy Spirit. He says, praying always in the spirit. And again, pray without ceasing quench not the spirit. The Holy Spirit indwelling the believer in the New Testament corresponds to the fire supernaturally kindled upon the altar of the tabernacle in the Old Testament. Concerning this fire we read in Leviticus chapter 6 verse 13 Leviticus chapter 6 verse 13, the fire shall ever be burning upon the altar. It shall never go out. The corresponding New Testament ordinance is given in the words of Paul Pray without ceasing quench not the spirit. Where the spirit-filled believer yields full control to the spirit within and does not by carelessness or carnality quench the spirit's fire there burns within the temple of that believer's body a fire of supernatural prayer and worship which never goes out day or night. Few people have even begun to realize the tremendous potentialities of Holy Ghost prayer within the temple of a believer's yielded body. Some years ago when I conducted regular street meetings in the city of London, England a young woman of Catholic background from Ireland came under the sound of the Gospel and was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. She was working at that time as a maid in a London hotel and she shared a bedroom there with another young woman of her own age and background. One day this other woman came to her and said, Tell me, what is that strange language you speak to yourself every night in bed after you seem to have gone to sleep? I can't tell you that, the first young woman answered, because I never even knew that I was speaking any language. In this way she learned to her surprise that every night after she had gone to sleep, without the conscious exercise of her own faculties she was speaking with other tongues as the Holy Spirit gave her utterance. So it is to be filled with and yielded to the Holy Spirit. When we come to the end of our own natural strength and understanding the Holy Spirit can take over our faculties and conduct his own worship and prayer through us. This is the picture given of the Bride of Christ in the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 2. The Song of Solomon, chapter 5 verse 2, where the Bride says I sleep but my heart waketh. The Bride may sleep the Bride may be physically and mentally exhausted but in the innermost depths of her spirit there dwells one who never slumbers or sleeps the Holy Spirit himself. Even through the hours of darkness there burns upon the altar of our heart a fire that never goes out, a fire of worship and prayer that is the life of the Holy Spirit within. This is the Bible pattern for the prayer life of the church in this present age. But such a life of prayer is possible only through the supernatural indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit himself. The fifth great purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit may become our guide and teacher in relation to the Scriptures. This is plainly stated by Christ himself in two passages in John's Gospel. In John chapter 14 verse 26 John chapter 14 verse 26 Jesus says But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. During the earthly ministry of Jesus there was much that he taught his disciples especially concerning his death and resurrection which the disciples at that time were unable either to understand or to remember. However, Jesus assured them that after the Holy Spirit should come to dwell in them he would become their personal teacher and would enable them both to remember and to understand correctly all that Jesus had taught them during his earthly ministry. Nor would the Holy Spirit confine himself only to interpreting the teaching of Jesus while on earth, but he would lead the disciples into a full and proper understanding of the whole truth of God's revelation to man. This is further emphasized by Jesus in John chapter 16 verse 13 John chapter 16 verse 13 Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth more literally into all the truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak. Here the phrase all the truth may be interpreted by reference to the words of Jesus in John chapter 17 verse 17 John chapter 17 verse 17 Thy word is truth. Thus Jesus is here referring to the revelation of God through his word and he promises his disciples that the Holy Spirit will lead them into a correct understanding of the entire revelation of God to man through the Scriptures. This includes the Old Testament Scriptures the teaching of Jesus during his earthly ministry and also the further revelation of gospel truth given to the church after Pentecost through Paul and others of the apostles. The Holy Spirit is given to the church to become the revelator, interpreter and teacher of the whole compass of divine revelation in the Scriptures. The fulfillment of Christ's promise that the Holy Spirit would interpret the Scriptures for the disciples is very clearly seen in the events of the day of Pentecost. As soon as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples and they began to speak with other tongues the question was raised, what meaneth this? In Acts chapter 2 verses 16 and 17 Acts chapter 2 verses 16 and 17 we read Peter's answer to this question. 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. Peter then goes on without a moment's hesitation to quote and interpret a prophecy concerning the last days given in the second chapter of the prophet Joel. In the sermon which then follows, almost half of what Peter says is direct quotation from the Old Testament Scriptures and the teaching of these Scriptures is applied in a most clear and forceful way to the facts of Christ's death and resurrection and of the Holy Spirit's outpouring. It is difficult to imagine any greater contrast between this exposition of the Old Testament Scriptures here given by Peter and the lack of understanding concerning the same Scriptures displayed by Peter and all the other disciples during the earthly ministry of Jesus and up to the day of Pentecost. It would appear that this total change in the attitude of the disciples to the Scriptures was not a gradual process but was produced instantaneously by the coming of the Holy Spirit. As soon as the Holy Spirit came to indwell them, their understanding of the Scriptures was immediately quickened and illuminated. Their previous doubts and confusion were immediately replaced by clear understanding and forceful application. This same dramatic transformation continues to be a distinctive mark of all the Spirit-filled believers from the day of Pentecost onwards. For example, Saul of Tarsus had been trained in the knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures by Gamaliel, the most famous teacher of his day. Yet in his early years Saul had no light or understanding on the correct application of those Scriptures. It was only after Ananias in Damascus laid hands on Saul and prayed that he might be filled with the Holy Ghost that the scales fell from Saul's eyes and he was able to understand and apply those Scriptures. After this experience we read in Acts chapter 9 verse 20, Acts chapter 9 verse 20, and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God. Notice that word straightway. There was not a slow, gradual struggle for understanding but rather an instant illumination. The moment that the Holy Spirit came in, he cast an altogether new light upon Scriptures which Saul had known for many years but had never known how to apply or to interpret. What the Holy Spirit did for Peter and for Paul and for the New Testament Christians as a whole, he is still willing and able to do for all Christians today. But first, each believer must through the baptism in the Holy Spirit personally receive this wonderful indwelling guide, teacher and expositor. In closing this study, we must add that it is perfectly natural and logical that the Holy Spirit should be the Christian's appointed interpreter and teacher of the Scriptures. The reason for this is that the Holy Spirit is not merely the interpreter, but he is also the author of all Scripture. Thus, in the wise provision of God the author of Scripture becomes in turn the interpreter. In 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16, 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 we are told, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. The word here translated inspiration is directly connected with the word for Spirit. The meaning therefore is that all Scripture is in-breathed of the Spirit of God. More simply, the Spirit of God is the author of all Scripture. Again, in 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21, 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21, we read, no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Peter here teaches, just like Paul, that the Holy Spirit, through consecrated human instruments, is the author of all Scripture. For this reason, the Holy Spirit alone is able also to give the full and correct understanding of all Scripture. No Scripture, Peter says, is of any private interpretation. That is to say, no person in his own unaided understanding, apart from the Holy Spirit, is able to interpret Scripture correctly. But each believer who personally receives the indwelling Spirit, receives in him Christ's own appointed guide and teacher of Scriptural truth. In our next study in this series, we shall continue to consider yet other important purposes for which the Holy Spirit is given to the Christian believer.