Confusion around the Baptism of the Holy Spirit includes a definition, questions about when it happens, who is the agent who accomplishes it, how is it different from water baptism, is it an experience which can be felt, is it manifested by tongues, and how does it relate to relatively new Christian movements? Does the church age begin on a definitive date? If not, how does that relate to occurrences in Acts which seem different from doctrines in the Church age today? These questions and more are answered concerning the essential and important doctrine of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is responsible for the expansion of the church, but His covert/indirect guidance is more common than His overt/direct guidance in Acts. Others, such as the angel in Acts 8:26 also give rare divine guidance. In this episode we learn of the spread of the gospel to Ethiopia through this one Ethiopian eunuch. Who was he? Where did he come from? What is the possible spiritual heritage of the Ethiopian and how is it that Philip hears him reading from Isaiah? From this episode we learn valuable insights on the spiritual life plus we learn something fascinating about Jews and Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian eunuch has a lot to tell us about personal evangelism. But be careful; our age is not one of transition and the object of our message may be sorely lacking in information unlike the Ethiopian eunuch. What did he already know that is absent or distorted in our culture? What is the advantage that comes from the experience of failure in our efforts? Can we relax in our efforts to evangelize because we know who is ultimately responsible for bringing in the crop? Where are we responsible to be vigilant when we evangelize? Our challenge is, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to illuminate the truth surrounding “My Servant” as central in God’s message to the unbelieving world and to focus on Isaiah’s description in its uniqueness to Christ.

Learn the ways people have tried to read this as a non-messianic passage and how that is, at best, a stretch beyond evidence and reason. The perspective is a future believing Jewish remnant looking back with an element of confession on the One they failed to recognize and the nation’s rejection that followed. Compare the imagery in The Arm of the Lord, Tender Shoot and Man of Sorrows. See how historical relevance of these terms points to the Messianic view. Contrast the Jewish expectations from Messiah and the Servant who actually came. Rejection ultimately shifts to glory revealing the substitutionary atonement and affirmation of what the Servant has accomplished.

The conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch through Isaiah 53 is an evangelistic ministry of Philip. The Holy Spirit is in charge, but evangelism is not apart from human responsibility. The Ethiopian is as ready as one can be to believe. Compare that to Paul, the prime persecutor of the Christian faith. Who would think his hostility could be turned around? Is there someone in your periphery you have written off because of their strong defenses? Relax, persevere, befriend, pray and trust, but be ready to deliver the Truth that you know. This lesson focuses on substitution, a foreign concept in our culture, but the major theme found consistently throughout the Old Testament, occurring prior to Israel and developed throughout Israel’s history and worship. See how the person of Christ and God’s judgment of us through His substitutionary death is undeniably stated in this passage so that we can know that Israel’s Servant can be none other than Jesus Christ.