Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)
In [simple_tooltip content=’John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”‘]Luke 3:16[/simple_tooltip], John the Baptist declared that Jesus would baptize people in the Holy Ghost and fire. Then, after His resurrection and just before He ascended to heaven, Jesus commanded all His followers to stay in Jerusalem and not go anywhere or do anything until He sent “the promise of my Father” upon them. At that time they would be “endued with power from on high.”
On the Day of Pentecost, Jesus baptized the 120 in the Upper Room in the Holy Ghost, and they all spoke in tongues, but this blessing was not only for these few individuals. Peter said in Acts 2:39, “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.” This same power is available to all believers today.
Speaking in tongues is unique to the Church Age. This is because when a person speaks in tongues, their new, born-again spirit is speaking [simple_tooltip content=’For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.’](1 Cor. 14:14)[/simple_tooltip], not their mind. [simple_tooltip content=’Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.’]First Corinthians 13:1[/simple_tooltip] denotes two kinds of speaking in tongues: “the tongues of men and of angels.” The tongues of men are known languages people speak. The tongues of angels, or heavenly languages, are the tongues that all Spirit-filled believers can speak and are what Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians 12-14. He said that when a tongue is given publicly in a service, it must be interpreted (the gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues). But there is also a personal prayer language every believer enjoys, in which they communicate Spirit to spirit.
Being “endued with power from on high” is not just about speaking in tongues. In [simple_tooltip content=’But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’]Acts 1:8[/simple_tooltip] Jesus said this was to empower His disciples to be His witnesses. Today, you can build your faith by praying in the Spirit [simple_tooltip content=’But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,’](Jude 20)[/simple_tooltip] and be the powerful witness God created you to be. That is what praying in tongues and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are all about.
