With a passion for Scripture and a determination, Gloria Copeland has been teaching about the life-changing power of God’s Word for more than 40 years. Read More
The Bible simply says, “…be filled with
the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). You know that
the Bible is God speaking to you. The Word of
God is the will of God. It is God’s will for you
to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit!
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall
be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh findeth; and to
him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If a son shall ask bread of any of you
that is a father, will he give him a stone?
or if he ask a fish, will he for fish give
him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an
egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 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? (Luke 11:9-13).
First, we see that you as a son are to ask
the Father for the Holy Spirit. Even though
He has already been given to the Church,
you are asking and inviting the Holy Spirit
to come upon you and endue you with power.
Ask for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
We are told that if we ask, we will
receive. The Word assures you that you will
receive the good gift—the Holy Spirit—and
not a counterfeit. Therefore, you may ask
expectantly and without fear, knowing that
your Father gives only good gifts to His
children. Jesus said ask and you would receive
the Holy Spirit.
“And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
“While Peter yet spake these words, the
Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the
word. And they of the circumcision which
believed were astonished, as many as came
with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also
was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues, and
magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46).
“And when Paul had laid his hands upon
them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied”
(Acts 19:6).
In these accounts of believers receiving
the Holy Spirit, they began to speak with other
tongues. Nowhere in the New Testament
does it say the Holy Spirit does the speaking.
The believer speaks as the Holy Spirit gives
him utterance.

Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the
truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you” (John 16:7). Jesus has personally sent the
Holy Spirit to you. He arrived in the fullness
of His ministry on the Day of Pentecost and
is still here.
Jesus told His disciples to wait in
Jerusalem until they were furnished with
power: “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 24:49). When you made
Jesus Lord, you became His disciple, and you
should not do another thing until you are
endued with the same power that was in and
on Him.
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter told
the people, “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…. 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” (Acts 2:32-33, 39).
This promise of receiving the Holy Spirit is
to all—even as many as the Lord shall call. It is
to you and your children. God has already given
the Body of Christ the Holy Spirit. You, as a
member of the Body, must individually receive
what He has already given. The Holy Spirit has
been sent to you to endue you with power. You
don’t have to be a weak Christian. The provision
of power has been made for you.
If there has ever been a day when believers
need the power of God manifest in their lives,
it is today. Don’t try to get by on your own
strength any longer. Set your faith to receive
this enduement of power without delay.
You may have hands laid on you by a
believer or by someone in the ministry, or you
may receive in your own place of prayer alone
with God.
Study the following scriptures about
receiving the Holy Spirit so that you will
believe and act in line with God’s Word.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for
the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
Who can know what is on the inside of
man except the man’s own spirit, and who can
know what is on the inside of God except the
Spirit of God (verse 11)? The Spirit of God
living within your spirit can reveal to you the
inside of God—the heart of the Father. It is
difficult to grasp that the Holy Spirit, who
knows all the deep things of God, desires to
come and live in you in order to teach you the
profound and unsearchable wisdom of God.
Yet, it is true.
No man knows the things of God because
they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians
2:14). “But God hath revealed them unto us
by His Spirit” (verse 10). These deep things of
God can enter into the heart of man only by
the Spirit of God.
God’s Word must be revealed to you by
His Spirit before you can walk in it. Your
spirit alone cannot comprehend or see into
these deep things, but Jesus said that the
Holy Spirit would teach you all things
( John 14:26). He told the disciples, “I have
yet many things to say unto you, but ye
cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he,
the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of
himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak: and he will show you things
to come” ( John 16:12-13).
Do you remember that Jesus told the
disciples the Holy Spirit was with them, but
would soon be in them? He told them He
had many things to say to them that they
could not bear or grasp at that time, but when
the Spirit of truth came, He would open all
things to their understanding. Without the
Holy Spirit living in their spirits to reveal the
truth to them, even Jesus could not teach the
disciples anything more. They were limited in
their ability to understand spiritual things.
Jesus was telling them that there would
be no limit to spiritual knowledge when the
Holy Spirit came. He said the Holy Spirit
would show them all things that the Father
has—even things to come.
Now can you see the limitless knowledge
and understanding available to Spirit-filled
believers? The Holy Spirit has been given to
teach you how to be a success in this life. In
the light of these truths from the Word of
God, it is unthinkable for anyone to refuse
God’s offer of His Spirit.

Jesus taught the disciples about these works
in John 14, talking to them about the Holy Spirit:
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and
the Father in me? the words that I speak unto
you I speak not of myself: but the Father that
dwelleth in me, he doeth the works…. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do; because I go unto
my Father” (John 14:10, 12).
They were to continue to do the same
works that Jesus Himself had been doing and
it would take the same power and anointing
of the Holy Spirit He had. (See Acts 10:38;
Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:10; Luke 4:18-21;
Acts 5:12-16.)
That power came on the Church on the
Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is still
assigned to the Church today to help us fulfill
our commission. Didn’t Jesus say He would
abide with us forever?
Jesus stated that it was not Him but the
Father in Him who did these works. When
He said, “But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (Acts
1:8), they knew what He meant!
The Greek word dunamis, translated power,
means “ability and might.” When you receive
the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, you receive the
ability of God to do His work in the earth. The
Spirit within is for fruit bearing—for your own
personal life (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus talked
about this in John 4:14. He called it: “…a well
of water springing up into everlasting life.” But
the Spirit upon is for service. Jesus talked about
this in John 7:38-39. He described it as “rivers
of living water.” The well is for your own life
and the rivers flowing out of you are for others.
The dictionary says a witness is “evidence
or confirmation.” This power of the Holy Spirit
living in you can transform your life into
evidence to the world that Jesus has been
raised from the dead and is alive today. Jesus
said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me…” (Acts 1:8).
The traditions and doctrines of men have
robbed many believers of this power to be a
witness. The world is not only supposed to
hear words but see proof that Jesus is alive
today. As new converts, we should be taught
to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit—
the enduement of this power to reveal Jesus
to lost humanity.
Many believe that He is automatically
received at the time of salvation, and that’s all
there is. It is certainly true that if you are born
again, the Holy Spirit has come to live in you
and endeavors to work in your life. I had been
born again and the Holy Spirit was living inside
me, but the power Jesus spoke of was not evident
in my life until after I received the Baptism in
the Holy Spirit. I wanted to do right, to follow
God and be a strong Christian, but outwardly
I didn’t change much until after I received the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues. The combination of the power
of God upon me and the Word of God in my
heart began to change weakness to victory. As
I learned truth from God’s Word and acted on
it, the Spirit of God upon me enabled me to
overcome in my own life and to help others
overcome.

From that moment they were changed.
They were no longer troubled, afraid or sad.
Luke’s account lets us know of the change:
“And it came to pass, while he blessed them,
he was parted from them, and carried up
into heaven. And they worshipped him, and
returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and
were continually in the temple, praising and
blessing God. Amen.” (Luke 24:51-53).
Where there had been sadness, now there
was great joy—a fruit of the spirit. Where
there had been fear and confusion, now there
was continual praise and blessing of God. And
they were obedient. They went to Jerusalem
and waited for the enduement of power from
on high, expecting to receive the promise of
the Father which Jesus spoke of just before
he blessed the disciples and was carried into
heaven: “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 24:49).
The account of this in Acts 1 says:
And, being assembled together with
them, [He] 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….
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 Judaea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part
of the earth (verses 4-5, 8).
He said they were to be baptized with
the Holy Ghost and receive power! They
had already received the Holy Spirit within.
Now Jesus was instructing them what to
do to receive the power of God upon them.
Acts 10:38 says Jesus was anointed with the
Holy Ghost and power. The disciples were to
receive that same power!
He said in our everyday talk, “Don’t leave
town without it!” This enduement of power
was necessary for them to be able to carry out
the work Jesus set before them. (See Mark
16:15-20; Matthew 28:18-20.) Nothing has
changed. The Body of Christ today is still
under the same mandate.