Part 93

2. The second question that some will ask is, “_Will there be no manifestation of the baptism with the Spirit which we receive?_ Will everything be just as it was before, and if it will, where is the reality and use of the baptism?” Yes, there will be manifestation, very definite manifestation, but bear in mind _what the character_ of the manifestation will be, _and when_ the manifestation is to be expected. When is the manifestation to be expected? After we believe. After we have received on simple faith in the naked Word of God. And what will be the character of the manifestation? Here many go astray. They have read the wonderful experiences of Charles G. Finney, John Wesley, D. L. Moody and others. These men tell us that when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit they had wonderful sensations. Finney, for example, describes it as like great waves of electricity sweeping over him, so that he was compelled to ask God to withhold His hand, lest he die on the spot. Mr. Moody, on rare occasions, described a similar experience. That these men had such experiences, I do not for a moment question. The word of such men as Charles G. Finney, D. L. Moody and others is to be believed, and there is another reason why I cannot question the reality of these experiences, but while these men doubtless had these experiences, there is not a passage in the Bible that describes such an experience. I am inclined to think the Apostles had them, but if they had, they kept them to themselves and it is well that they did, for if they had put them on record, that is what we would be looking for to-day. But what are the manifestations that actually occurred in the case of the Apostles and the early disciples? New power in the Lord’s work. We read at Pentecost that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and _began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance_ (Acts ii. 4). Similar accounts are given of what occurred in the household of Cornelius and what occurred in Ephesus. All we read in the case of the Apostle Paul is that Ananias came in and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.” Then Ananias baptized him, and the next thing we read is that Paul went straight down to the synagogue and preached Christ so mightily in the power of the Spirit that he “confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ” (Acts ix. 17-22). So right _through the New Testament, the manifestation that we are taught to expect, and the manifestation that actually occurred was new power in Christian work_, and that is the manifestation that we may expect to-day and we need not look too carefully for that. The thing for us to do is to claim God’s promise and let God take care of the mode of manifestation.