As we look at the 20^th century it is hard to deny the influence of the movement that began in large part at the Azuza Street Revival and quickly blossomed into the charismatic and Pentecostal movement. With that movement has come discussion on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, both in popular and academic works, along with the claims of Pentecostal theology that the sign-gifts of healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues are for today. The focus of this article and this issue of Theology for Life is not on the question of whether the sign-gifts are for today or not. The question before us in this article is, “What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?”

The idea behind the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the claim by Pentecostal and charismatic theologians that believers receive a second work of the Spirit after conversion. Now, the true Christian—at the moment of conversion—is sealed by the Spirit and given gifts to use for the glory of God. The “baptism” of the Spirit, according to what the Pentecostal denominations teach, is that one can be a believer without having the Spirit, or at least without having Him in all of His fullness. And thus, according to their teachings, the believer must pray to receive the Holy Spirit and/or His “second blessing” of spiritual gifts.

Now, the belief in the “second work of the Spirit” comes mostly from anecdotal (or personal) experience and some from the Book of Acts. As some people read Acts, they see that God promised to send the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles who were already Christians (Acts 1:1-11). So, they read of the Spirit’s outpouring of the gift of tongues that occurred on that first Pentecost (post Christ’s ascension, in Acts 2:1-3) and conclude that this sequence of events demonstrates that the “second baptism” of the Spirit is normative for Christians throughout the Church (and all of Church history).

Additionally, the book of Acts records some believers as receiving the Holy Spirit after having been disciples for some time (Acts 19:1-7). This is also is taken by Pentecostals as evidence for a post-conversion “baptism of the Spirit”, in which the laying on of hands and prayer for the Holy Spirit to fill a believer is a requirement. The central issue that causes concern is whether this experience or teaching is biblically faithful and theologically accurate.

What we can state at the outset is that all of our teachings and doctrines must be first and foremost grounded in and shaped by the Word, not primarily feelings or emotions. Human beings often deceive themselves (Jeremiah 17:9), so we need to be Bereans (Acts 17:11) and test all things by the Word (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Earlier, I mentioned how Pentecostals perceive the baptism of the Holy Spirit from certain texts in the book of Acts. To those in this denomination, these texts seem to indicate that some disciples did not receive the indwelling and empowering of the Holy Spirit until sometime much later after conversion. Acts 2 is one text where we see the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples after they had been following Jesus. In Acts 19:1-7, we read of people in Ephesus who had been disciples for a while without having received the Holy Spirit. According to the text, they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit. It’s possible that they, being a distance from Jerusalem, had not yet heard of Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, and were merely disciples of Christ’s rabbinical teachings, therefore they needed to hear the rest of the good news and believe.

However, when taking the narrative in Acts and seeking to make it normative for every Christian, can lead to error. The history recorded within the Book of Acts details a time in Church history that was foundational to the start of the global Church body, with many events never recurring again (Ephesians 2:19-22). Jesus’ own words in Acts 1:8 explain that the disciples (Christians) will receive power from the Holy Spirit to take the gospel to the end of the earth. So, if we follow how people are saved and indwelt by the Spirit in Acts, we see that they follow the geographical sequence described in Acts 1:8. Baptisms occur in Jerusalem/Judea (Acts 2; 10), Samaria (Acts 8:14-17), and Ephesus (the ends of the earth; Acts 19:1-7). This confirms that the gospel would go to the areas Jesus describes in Acts 1:8. Spirit baptisms were evidence to the Early Church that the gospel would go forward, and not meant to be example of the normative Christian experience.

Please allow me to add some clarity to my first point about Spirit baptism. When the Apostles addressed Spirit baptism in the Epistles, it is describing as a universal experience and not one that only certain believers enjoy (or would receive a “second blessing” or second outpouring of), as if they are “super Christians”. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 12:13 that every Christian is baptized into one Spirit and into one Body (i.e., the Body of Christ). So, Paul knows of no group of Christians who have not been filled with the Holy Spirit.

One of the main arguments against the idea of a second blessing of the Holy Spirit is the idea of a “Christian caste system”, by which one divides local churches into those who “have the Spirit” versus “those who do not”. This idea, however, separates what the Lord has united, leading to a lot of issues including disunity in the body and a superiority mindset in some Christians, which is contrary to how Christians are to regard themselves (Philippians 2:5-11). Since all Christians are united to the Lord Jesus Christ, they are His, and He is theirs. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit, which means no Christian needs a special experience as touted by the concept of the “second blessing of the Spirit”.

For the Christian, the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion (1 Corinthians 6:19; 12:13). The baptism of the Spirit is not necessarily accompanied by the gift of tongues, and it would be fair to say that most Christians don’t speak in tongues when they receive Christ. The word baptism means “to dip in or immerse”. When Christians receive Christ, they are immersed (baptized) fully by the Holy Spirit into Christ and into the family of God (Romans 6:1-10).

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is received by faith in Christ alone. Baptism follows automatically salvation, placing Christians in Christ and sealing them permanently into the family of God, which is Paul’s point in Colossians 2:12. The new Christian is now in Christ. The baptism in the Spirit is permanent and is bestowed at conversion, never to be repeated (Acts 2:38). There is no biblical text that suggests that Christians are to seek a “second blessing” of the Holy Spirit, because they already have the full/complete blessing of the Holy Spirit, received at the time of their conversion.

What we know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit of God places the Christian in Christ and into union with other believers at the moment of salvation. John the Baptist predicted the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8). In fact, Jesus Himself predicted the baptism of the Holy Spirit before He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:5). The promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), and for the first time in redemptive history, people were permanently indwelt by the Spirit when the Church began.

One text that is central in this discussion on the baptism of the Holy Spirit is 1 Corinthians 12:12-13:

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

Notice how Paul says “we were all baptized” by the Spirit—all believers have received the baptism, synonymous with salvation, so it is not a special experience for only a few.  While Romans 6:1-4 does not mention the Holy Spirit, it is describing the Christians position before God. So, we can say that 1 Corinthians 12:13 states that every Christian has been baptized, just as they have been given the indwelling of the Spirit. What this means is that nowhere in Scripture are Christians told to be baptized with, in, or by the Spirit, or to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Also, Ephesians 4:5 refers to Spirit baptism, which is the reality for every Christian, just as “one faith” and “one Father” are likewise.

Scripture does, however, teach Christians to seek to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18 which says, “Do not get drunk on wine … Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” The idea behind “be filled” is one of “keep on being filled” with the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is not permanent like our baptism into the Spirit at conversion, but it (the filling of the Spirit) is to be repeated, again and again. The true Christian is to live a life submitted to the Lordship of Christ, and as such be saturated by and living under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

In summary, we can know two things about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The first is that the Spirit joins the Christian to the body of Christ and brings us to new life in the Lord. Being in the Lord means we are risen with Christ to newness of life (Romans 6:4). Every Christian should exercise their spiritual gifts to keep the body functioning properly (1 Corinthians 12:13). Experiencing the one Spirit baptism serves as the basis for keeping unity in the Church (Ephesians 4:5). Secondly, being associated with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection through Spirit baptism establishes the basis for the Christian’s separation from the power of indwelling sin and his/her walking in newness of life (Romans 6:1-10; Colossians 2:12).