Fall 2000
The Power of Becoming
Wade E Taylor

“But you will receive power, after that the Holy Spirit
is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto Me
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8.

It has been said that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is power for service. This is true, but this experience has a much greater purpose.

The Baptism OF the Holy Spirit is received at the time of salvation in which we are grafted into the Body of Christ, by the Holy Spirit.

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one
body ...” I Cor 12:13a.

The Baptism in Acts 1:8 is the Baptism of Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Its purpose is to empower us to become a more effective witness of Him. The word “baptize” is an untranslated Greek word which means “to immerse.” Thus, we come up from being immersed with the Holy Spirit in control of our entire being.

“I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance. But
He that cometh after Me is mightier than I, whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you
in the Holy Spirit and in fire.” Matt 3:11 ASV.

The purpose of this Baptism “in” the Holy Spirit is for us to receive the enabling power (dunamis) to become this witness. The words “dynamite” and “dynamo” are derived from this Greek word. Dynamite produces one big bang, and all is over. A dynamo produces a constant, ongoing flow of power. This is the intent of this promise that was given by Jesus, just before He was taken up into Heaven.

“But you shall receive power, after ...” Acts 1:8a.

This Baptism is not intended to be a one-time intense experience (dynamite) that when received, we record the date, relax, and rejoice that “we have it.” Rather, it is intended to be the beginning of the enabling, ongoing power of God flowing into our lives (dynamo).

When Moses went up into the Mount, the children of Israel said, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do" (Exodus 19:8). This was a tremendous statement, but they utterly failed. The Old Testament is a testimony that good intentions cannot fulfill the law of God. Something more is needed.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 reveals a new covenant in which the ability to obey is given by the Lord.

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you ... and cause you to walk in
my statutes ..."

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of this promise - "you shall receive power." It is this power that causes, or enables us to walk in obedience to His statutes. The “power” in Acts 1:8 and the “cause” in Ezekiel 36:27 are one and the same.

The intended purpose of this Baptism in the Holy Spirit is that we ourselves are this witness. Thus, the Baptism is to empower us to “become” this witness; not to “do” witnessing.

Ministry is what I do. The Lord is going much deeper than saying that we will receive power to serve. Rather, He is saying that we ourselves are to become the substance and expression of His presence in the earth, after He is taken up from the earth. This experience of being immersed in the power of the Holy Spirit will enable us to become this witness.

If I am "doing" witnessing, I am telling another something about the Lord. But if I am "being" a witness, I am demonstrating what Jesus would both say and do if He were present in this situation. When Philip said, "show us the Father," Jesus' reply was, “You have been with Me all this time, and you have not seen the Father?” (John 14:8-9). Jesus was saying, "My life is so one with the Father, that I am doing exactly what He would do, if He were here. Therefore, when you see Me, you are seeing the Father.”

We will serve better through the power of the Holy Spirit being imparted within us, but there is more. We are to “witness” (be a sample) of Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Spirit, I should be able to say, “What I am saying and doing is a reflection of Jesus; as you see me, you are seeing Him.”

The King James translation gives the correct rendering of this verse, “You shall receive power AFTER." We have received the Baptism, or the immersion in the Holy Spirit. Now the power is potentially available to us, but there is something that is required of us before we can experience this power. When we rightly respond to this, the power will become ours.

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings
as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31.

This strength, or power, is received after we spend “time“ waiting in His presence. Thus, the word “after” in Acts 1:8 tells us that we receive this power after we wait in His presence.

This is the secret; as we wait upon the Lord in His presence, the power of God flows into us. Only then will we be able to witness, or function in what we have received. Our strength will run down and we will fail, as Israel did. But "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." The word “renew” is to exchange our weakness for His power, or strength.

In Hosea 4:6, the Scripture says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." All too often, we are called to the altar to make a new consecration. Then we are left there, until another speaker comes to lead us in making yet another consecration. The result is that we never go further in our spiritual development.

The time has come when we must go beyond this cycle of repentance and consecration. We are to come into an active on-going relationship with the Lord in order to become His witness in the world. The enabling power that is available to us, as a result of our being baptized in the Holy Spirit, helps to make this possible.

“Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought
me into his chambers” Song of Solomon 1:4a.

There are three steps that will lead us into this active relationship with the Lord.

The first is spiritual hunger - “Draw me.”

This hunger will bring me into the experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, as I cry out for the Lord Himself. It will further result in many “re-fillings” of His dunamis (enabling power) as I hunger in His presence, desiring to receive more from Him.

The second is my consecration - “We will run after Thee.”

This means that I will act upon that which I have received from the Lord. In all that I do, I will remain in a listening attitude so I will be available to respond to His beckoning call.

The third is my responding to His manifest presence - “The King has brought me into His chamber.”

Here, I commune with the Lord in fellowship with His Word. I give expression to the Lord in worship, and I move with Him in a cooperative relationship in the outworking of His purposes.

I will avoid all those things that would lessen my sensitivity to His presence, or The Power of Becoming <F>could hinder my coming into His presence. I will be careful to maintain a right attitude toward others, so the Lord will feel “welcomed and comfortable” when He communes with me, within His chamber.

The ultimate purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is to so move within us in power, that Jesus will be able to reveal Himself through us, in every part and aspect of our being.

Now we are ready to “be” a witness (sample) of Him; revealing and making Him known unto the uttermost parts of the earth.