The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
In 1901, the Pentecostal movement was born. Just five years later, it gained notoriety with the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles in 1906. The charismatic movement gained momentum in the 1960s and 1970s and today Pentecostalism is the fastest growing denomination in the world such that some have labeled it “the New Face of Global Christianity.” Traditionally, Pentecostals believe that the “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is a second experience after conversion where a person receives a felt power accompanied by the exercise of spiritual gifts, namely for some, the speaking in tongues. More broadly for Pentecostals is this outsized emphasis on the experiential nature of the Holy Spirit. This emphasis on ecstatic experience has satisfied for many this desire for the sensational, hence the movement’s success. But, the moment a movement makes it its aim to amaze and astound, is the moment it places itself on the road to excess. And this is precisely what we have seen. Attendees “slain in the Spirit” and collapsing to the floor, parishioners jumping up and down frantically and crawling on the ground and barking. There is even something called “holy laughter” where attendees laugh hysterically and uncontrollably. And we watch in horror because what we are seeing is unbiblical at best, demonic at worst.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Cessationists see what is happening in some of these churches and they react to it by claiming that the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” at Pentecost and miracle sign gifts were anomalies appropriate to that important point in church history and unavailable to Christians today. They use Scripture to throw the baby out with the bath water. But, when one hears Cessationists preach on the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the mental gymnastics they go through to explain away Pentecost and the book of Acts as transitional, historical narrative and not prescriptive in any way leads one to honestly wonder if they are really reading Scripture objectively, or if they are reading the Bible with an agenda. To be clear, I personally hate what is happening in many Pentecostal and charismatic churches, but I often wonder if perhaps Cessationists have become so fearful of charismatic excess that they read into Scripture what they want it to say and sadly, in so doing, miss out on all that God has for His people. I grew up Presbyterian. I was a card-carrying member of the “Frozen Chosen.” I have been in churches that were Cessationist and the services were arid and listless – the valley of dry bones. Matthew 13:58 declares of Jesus in his own country that He “did not many mighty works because of their unbelief.” Cessationists claim that miracles do not happen today through individual believers. Ironically, it’s their unbelief that makes them exactly right.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did empower people for special service. Joshua with leadership skills and wisdom (Numbers 27:18). The judges were empowered when “the Spirit of the Lord came upon” Othniel, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson. King Saul was empowered by the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 11:6) and so was David (1 Samuel 16:13). But, in general, there was less powerful activity of the Holy Spirit in the lives of most believers. Effective evangelism was almost nonexistent as was the casting out of demons and miraculous healings and signs were not that common. Prophecy was restricted to a few prophets. This is why the prophecy of Joel was so critical. Joel 2:28-29, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” This happened at Pentecost. And so important is the Holy Spirit’s power and presence in the lives of Christians that Douglas Moo writes “the powerful presence of God’s Spirit is the most important general contour” of the New Covenant.
We have to get this right. Charismatic excess is plain wrong. Cessationism denudes the Christian experience of power. But, an objective and reasoned approach to Scripture provides a biblically faithful middle ground.
We will see this by answering three important questions.
Question 1: What does Scripture say about the “Baptism with the Holy Spirit?”
This reference to the baptism of/with/in/by the Holy Spirit occurs only seven times in the New Testament.
1) Matthew 3:11: John the Baptist declares, “I indeed baptize you with 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 with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”
2) Mark 1:8: John the Baptist declares, “I indeed have baptized you with water, but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”
3) Luke 3:16: “John [the Baptist] answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”
4) John 1:33: John the Baptist declares, “He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.”
5) Acts 1:5: Jesus speaking after His resurrection to His disciples, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
6) Acts 11:16: After the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and those who were gathered, Peter remembered what the Lord had said, “John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.”
7) 1 Corinthians 12:13: Paul is urging unity within the body of Christ and so he says to the Corinthians, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
Please notice that four out of the seven references in the Bible (1-4 above) refer to the declaration of John the Baptist. Two out of the seven references (5-6 above) refer to the declaration of Jesus Christ that linked what John the Baptist said to what happened at Pentecost. Therefore, six out of the seven references refer to essentially the same thing, namely, what John the Baptist prophesied would occur as fulfilled by Jesus at Pentecost.
The battleground then as to what this phrase “baptism with the Holy Spirit” ultimately refers to and what it means for the church moving forward hinges on 1 Corinthians 12:13. Paul there is clearly referring to conversion. Generally, everyone agrees with this. When a person becomes a Christian they are convicted by the Holy Spirit, brought to faith in Christ, and united to His body.
For the sake of simplicity then the question really is this: When Paul uses this phrase “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is he using it in the same way to refer to the same thing as when Jesus and John use that phrase in the six other references found in Scripture?
If the answer is yes, then all seven references to this baptism with the Holy Spirit are pointing to the same thing. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, speaks of conversion when he speaks about this baptism of the Holy Spirit and therefore, for the sake of consistency, so do all of the other six references to this baptism. And so what happened at Pentecost was a conversion and not a second experience after conversion as the Holy Spirit was imparted to those who believed. The power at Pentecost, the miracles, can be explained away as anomalous – appropriate only for that transitional era of church history and not applicable for the church today.
If the answer is no, then Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, is not talking about the same thing as Jesus and John in the other six verses. When Jesus and John use the phrase “baptism with the Holy Spirit” they are talking about what occurred at Pentecost which was not about regeneration. Paul, Jesus and John use the same phrases and words to talk about two different things and, just to be clear, not in a contradictory way. What Jesus and John referred to is something that happens at or post-conversion, but separate from it. This is the correct interpretation for two reasons.
First, Paul’s reference is different textually. 1 Corinthians 12:13 is more complex in the Greek language than the other six references mentioned. In Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 1:5 and Acts 11:16 there is some form of the phrase in the Greek baptizo en pneumati hagio (“baptize with the Holy Spirit”) maintained, more or less, as a single unit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 splits the verb “baptize” and the prepositional phrase “by the Spirit” with an intervening phrase in the Greek translated “into one body.” This makes this a less clear reference to “Baptism with the Holy Spirit.”
Second, Paul’s reference in 1 Corinthians 12:13 is different contextually. Again, Paul is speaking about conversion and what happened at Pentecost was clearly not conversion. Acts 1:4-5: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” Jesus linked what John the Baptist said to what happened at Pentecost and He was clearly speaking to Christians. These were His disciples standing before the risen Christ. This was the same group that Jesus breathed on and then said to “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” in John 20:22. These were born again believers who had already been given the Holy Spirit long before Pentecost. And we see other instances in the book of Acts when people believed and were converted and then subsequently received this baptism with the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 8:5, Philip preached the gospel to the Samaritans and verse 12 tells us they believed the gospel and were baptized. The apostles heard of the salvation of the Samaritans and sent Peter and John to them who, in Acts 8:17, laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. In Acts 19, Paul went to Ephesus and found certain disciples there who had submitted to John’s baptism in verse 3. Acts 19:5 tells us that Paul then baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus and, in verse 6, Paul laid his hands upon them and the “Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with tongues and prophesied.”
Therefore, if we remove 1 Corinthians 12:13 from the discussion as talking about something else (regeneration) and focus our attention on the six references of Jesus and John to this “baptism with the Holy Spirit” at Pentecost then this brings us to our next question.
Question 2: Is this Baptism with the Holy Spirit that happened at Pentecost available now to us as Christians today?
Yes.
In Luke 24:49, Jesus declares to His disciples after His resurrection, “And behold I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” What is this promise of the Father? It is power from on high.
In Acts 1:4, Jesus echoes what He said in Luke 24:49, “Wait for the promise of the Father which, saith he, ye have heard of me.” What is this promise of the Father? Acts 1:5, “For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” Please keep in mind that Luke and Acts were both written by Luke and Acts is the sequel to the gospel of Luke. In fact, these two books are so closely tied together thematically that many biblical scholars refer to them as one book: Luke-Acts.
In Acts 2:33, Peter, speaking after Pentecost, after this baptism with the Holy Spirit where they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, declares, “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” In Acts 2:38-39, Peter concludes, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
Contextually, it is clear that this promise of the Father is this baptism with the Holy Spirit – this extraordinary power – and such a promise is granted to “as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Which means this promise is available to every Christian of every age.
R.A. Torrey was a remarkable and fruitful evangelist. So much so that when D.L. Moody first heard of him, he exclaimed, “you make my mouth water for him.” Torrey eventually partnered with D.L. Moody in his evangelistic work in Chicago and he became the second president of the Moody Bible Institute. He also became the first dean of Biola University in 1912. All of this is to underscore how powerfully God used this man and to highlight the fact that R.A. Torrey was not on the fringes of Christianity. Torrey was about as mainstream as you get. And he believed wholeheartedly in and advocated for this baptism with the Holy Spirit. He lectured extensively on the subject and wrote a number of books on the Holy Spirit. In his book The Baptism with the Holy Spirit, he recounted this story, “A minister of the gospel once came to me after a lecture on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and said, ‘The church to which I belong teaches that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was for the apostolic age alone.’ ‘It matters not,’ was replied, ‘what the church to which you belong, or the church to which I belong, teaches. What says the word of God?’ Acts 2:39 was read, ‘To you is the promise, and to your children, and to all afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him.’ ‘Has He called you?’ I asked. ‘Yes He certainly has.’ ‘Is the promise for you?’ ‘Yes it is.’ And it was. And it is for every child of God who reads these pages.”
Three Important Caveats Before We Continue
First, this is a controversial and complex topic and an extensive survey through all of the arguments for and against what I am advocating for here is beyond the scope of this post. What I am endeavoring to do is to give you my own personal convictions on this issue based on Scripture and hope that, like the Bereans, you will search the Scriptures yourselves to determine if I’m right.
Second, I am not a Pentecostal, nor am I a charismatic. My firm conviction is that the church must be built up doctrinally, not experientially. Genuine Christian maturity can only ever be attained through a serious and systematic study through the Bible, verse by verse, from cover to cover with depth and precision. Unwavering commitment must be grounded in the mind and in the will. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Luke 14:28 urges a solemn and sober assessment of the costs of discipleship before any commitments are made. And that cannot happen if we major on ecstatic experiences and emotion. Sentiment has been defined as “feelings without responsibility” and if churches make it their mission to turn Christianity into a series of emotional highs they will invariably relegate their people to perpetual adolescence where truth and commitment are determined by how they feel.
Third, every Christian, and this is not controversial, is given the gift of the person of the Holy Spirit at conversion. Conversion itself is a new birth “of the Spirit” as Jesus declared to Nicodemus in John 3:5 that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” And one cannot be a Christian without the Holy Spirit dwelling in them as Paul declares in Romans 8:9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” But, there are times periodically and throughout a Christian’s life post-conversion or even perhaps at conversion where the Holy Spirit comes upon a person and empowers that person for ministry in a special way and it matters very little what you want to call it – baptism of the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit, being empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Question 3: What exactly is this “baptism with the Holy Spirit”?
In Acts 1:8, Jesus describes what is about to happen at Pentecost (the “baptism of the Holy Spirit”) this way, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Stated simply, the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is power for a purpose. We will discuss both aspects in turn.
First, it is power. Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” And Acts 2:4 tells us that this power was manifested in them being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” This filling of the Holy Spirit is a recurrent theme in the New Testament. In Acts 4:8, Scripture tells us that “Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them…” And Peter preached the gospel to those gathered with boldness and with power. The chief priests and elders then threatened Peter and John and told them to never preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church gathered and prayed because of these threats and it was as they prayed in Acts 4:31 that Scripture tells us that “the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness.” In Acts 13:8, Paul and Barnabas came to Paphos and Elymas the sorcerer withstood them and verse 9 tells us that Paul, “filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.” Paul then rebuked that man and blinded him for a season.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is power – it is a filling with God the Holy Spirit. This, incidentally, is not controversial. If we were to ask any Christian, "Do you believe in the filling and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer?" They would almost assuredly say yes. And yet, if we were to ask the same person, "Do you believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit?" all of a sudden things get quiet and awkward because of Pentecostal and charismatic abuse of this phrase. Perhaps we would do well to just change the terminology.
What makes this controversy even more difficult is that some Pentecostals teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit must be accompanied by tongues. This is not true biblically as there are numerous instances where a person was filled with the Holy Spirit and they did not speak in tongues. Additionally, how His power manifests itself is entirely up to the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:11, speaking of spiritual gifts, Paul declares, “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” And so this power from on high might manifest itself in boldness in our testimony for Christ as in Acts 4. It might manifest itself in words of wisdom or knowledge, encouragement, leadership, our giving and our service, or our evangelistic outreach to friends, neighbors, and family members. The filling of the Holy Spirit may empower us to teach Sunday school or teach our own children and raise them up in the fear and the admonition of the Lord. And certainly the power can manifest itself in tongues, prophecy, or in other miracles or in a variety of other spiritual gifts for the edification of the body of Christ.
This power may be manifested on a single day in a peculiar experience on or after conversion for a specific ministry and mission and thereafter periodically throughout one’s Christian life. Or there may be no single dramatic experience, but rather this power and this filling is experienced over a lifetime of Holy Spirit empowered Christian living and ministry. There is an unfortunate tendency to rigidly classify the miraculous based on a pedantic definition of what that means. Speaking in tongues is a miracle, but the gift of hospitality is not? Healings are miracles, but a husband who sincerely loves his wife as Christ loves the church is not? It is a miracle when a sinner inclined by heart and disposition becomes one who is holy, joyous and grateful. It is a miracle when a former enemy of God becomes one who is devoted and obedient to His commands and His precepts. It is a miracle that such different people can gather together and humbly and selflessly exercise their spiritual gifts in loving service to brothers and sisters in Christ when, by nature, we are not inclined to do these things. God takes that which is broken and behold He makes all things new. That is a miracle.
Additionally, my objection to both Pentecostals and Cessationists resides on a deeper level because one says that the Holy Spirit’s power must manifest itself in tongues and the other claims that the Holy Spirit does not fill and empower the Christian today the way He did at Pentecost and in the book of Acts. Both fall in the same bucket – as those who tell God the Holy Spirit what He can and cannot do when they have no business telling God the Holy Spirit what He can and cannot do. We are in no position to dictate terms to God. He can do whatever He wants to do and He can manifest His power in whatever way He so desires. Boxing God in for the sake of our own personal or denominational comfort is a hazardous thing.
But, let me hasten to add this. According to 1 Corinthians 14:33, “God is not the author of confusion (or disorder), but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” People collapsing to the floor, running through the aisles, barking like a dog, or laughing uncontrollably is not the work of the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 declares, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Much of what happens in Pentecostal and charismatic churches simply does not pass the smell test. But, charismatic excess should not cause the church to remain idle and inert. If we don’t believe the Holy Spirit will move, He won’t. And we desperately need the Holy Spirit to move.
Second, this “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is not just naked power. It is power for a purpose. Again, Jesus declares in Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The power is so that we might be witnesses for Christ to the ends of the earth. John Piper defines the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” as “extraordinary power for Christ-exalting ministry.” As such, this empowering by the Holy Spirit, this filling with the Holy Spirit, this baptism of the Holy Spirit is something we need again and again throughout our Christian experience for the sake of effective Christ-exalting ministry.
R.A. Torrey wrote this, “The baptism with the Holy Spirit is always connected with testimony and service…. The Baptism with the Holy Spirit, is not an experience that God grants us merely to make us happy. It will indeed bring into our lives a joy such as we never knew before. But, that is not its main purpose. The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is not intended to make us happy, but to make us effective. We should not look and long for ecstatic experiences, but for power and efficiency for God.”