Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Seven New Testament passages speak of baptism of/in/with/by the Holy Spirit. The varying prepositions reflect the fact that the Spirit is both the agent and sphere of this baptism. Six of these passages refer to John the Baptist's teaching, contrasting his baptism in water with Jesus' future baptism in the Holy Spirit. The seventh is  1 Corinthians 12:13 , which refers to the initiation of all the Corinthian Christians into the church.

In  Matthew 3:11 and   Luke 3:16 , John predicts that the Messiah who will come after him will baptize with the Spirit and fire. This expression is best taken as referring to the one purifying action of the Spirit that blesses believers and condemns unbelievers, and which embraces the entire work of the Spirit from Pentecost on, culminating in final judgment.  Mark 1:8 and   John 1:33 reflect this identical utterance of John, but mention only the baptism of the Spirit. It is unlikely that anybody in John's original audience knew exactly what he meant by these predictions.

In  Acts 1:5 , however, as Jesus prepares to ascend into heaven, he refers back to John's words and predicts their fulfillment within "a few days." In just a little over a week, the disciples celebrate Pentecost and receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the prophecy of  Joel 2:28-32 (  Acts 2:1-41 , esp. vv. 17-21 ). A number of years later, when Peter is ministering to Cornelius, the Spirit again manifests itself in dramatically similar ways (leading to the common labeling of this event as the "Gentile Pentecost"). These similarities lead Peter to reflect on Jesus' parting words again and to quote them to the Jewish-Christian leaders in Jerusalem in defense of his "scandalous" association with Gentiles ( Acts 11:16 ).

It is clear that all six of these references to the baptism of the Holy Spirit have Pentecost-like experiences primarily in view. In  1 Corinthians 12:13 , however, it is not stated that all the Corinthians had experienced some dramatic, visible manifestation of the Spirit when they were baptized. The common phenomenon seems rather to be that of initiation. Just as baptism in water was the initiation rite symbolizing repentance and faith in Christ, entrance into the community of believers, and incorporation into Christ's body, so "baptism in the Spirit" referred to that moment in which the Spirit first began to operate in believers' lives. No particular style of the Spirit's arrival is paradigmatic; he may come quietly and almost imperceptibly or dramatically and tangibly.

The experience of the disciples at Pentecost is further complicated by the fact that they lived through the transitional period from the old covenant age to the time of the new covenant, which the complex of events beginning with the crucifixion and resurrection and culminating with Christ's exaltation and sending of the Spirit at Pentecost inaugurated. It is important to note that Pentecost was not the disciples' first experience of the Holy Spirit ( John 14:17;  20:22 ), but that does not necessarily justify the generalization that the "baptism of the Spirit" will ever again be a "second blessing"—a deeper experience of the Spirit subsequent to conversion. Pentecost was a second blessing for the disciples because they were followers of Jesus both before and after his death. But there is no indication that Cornelius and his friends underwent any second experience of the Spirit. Their Spirit-baptism was simultaneous with their conversion to Christ. So too nothing is said about the Corinthians having any two-stage experience. If the entire church had been baptized in the Spirit, including the large number of "carnal" Christians Paul elsewhere rebukes ( 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 ), then clearly Spirit-baptism cannot guarantee a certain level of Christian maturity or holiness. And if no one spiritual gift was held by all Corinthian believers ( 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 ), then neither may Spirit-baptism be uniformly equated with the reception of any particular gift of the Spirit.

None of this is to deny that Christians often receive a renewed sense of the Spirit's presence or power one or more times after conversion. Luke employs the expression, "the filling of the Holy Spirit, " to refer to these occasions, particularly when bold proclamation of the gospel quickly follows (e.g.,  Acts 2:4;  4:8,31;  13:9 ). When one of these events seems particularly constitutive for a new stage of Christian experience, it may be appropriate, as Green suggests, to speak of a "release in the Spirit." But if one wishes to be faithful to biblical usage, one will reserve the expression "baptism in the Spirit" for the indwelling of God through his Holy Spirit at the moment of a believer's salvation. As Green, himself a charismatic, lucidly concludes (p. 134), all seven scriptural references "point not to a second experience, but to an unrepeatable, if complex, plunging into Christ, with repentance and faith, justification and forgiveness, sonship and public witness, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the seal of belonging, all being part of initiation into Christ, " even if "some parts of the whole [may be] seen sooner than others."

It is sometimes argued that certain passages that refer to baptism, without any further qualification, also teach about Spirit-baptism (e.g.,  Romans 6:4;  Galatians 3:27;  Colossians 2:12;  1 Peter 3:21 ). This interpretation is usually designed to protect these texts against a view that takes them to teach baptismal regeneration. But, in fact, the early church consistently used "baptism" without any qualifiers to refer to water-baptism. None of these passages, even when taken to refer to immersion in water, implies baptismal regeneration, but they do demonstrate how closely linked water-baptism and conversion were (and hence Spirit-baptism as well) in New Testament times.

Craig L. Blomberg

See also Baptism Of Fire; Baptism Baptize; Holy Spirit; Gifts Of Holy Spirit

Bibliography . G. R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism in the New Testament  ; J. D. G. Dunn, Baptism in the Holy Spirit; EDT, pp. 121-22; H. M. Ervin, Conversion-Initiation and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit  ; M. Green, Baptism .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Joel 2:28-32 Mark 1:8 John 1:33 John 7:37-39 Acts 1:5 Matthew 3:11 Luke 3:16 Acts 2:3-4 2:16-21 Acts 10:44  Acts 11:16

Being baptized in the Holy Spirit means being immersed (baptized) in the presence and being of God. One immersed in the presence of God is made aware of his or her sinfulness and desires cleansing and purification ( John 16:8; see Baptism Of Fire ). The result of this cleansing is life in the true sense of the word (see Eternal Life; Life ).

One baptized with the Holy Spirit is also empowered to do works of ministry ( Luke 24:49;  Acts 1:8 ). The ministry for which empowerment comes included witnessing ( Acts 1:8; see  John 15:26-27 ) and working miracles ( John 14:12;  Acts 3:4-10;  Acts 5:12 ). As part of the empowerment for ministry, believers are given the necessary spiritual gifts ( Romans 12:4-8;  1 Corinthians 12:1-14:40;  Ephesians 4:1-16;  1 Timothy 4:16;  1 Peter 4:10-11 ) and knowledge and guidance ( John 14:26;  John 16:13 ).

Phil Logan

Morrish Bible Dictionary

This is distinct from baptism with water. John's baptism is contrasted with it,  Acts 11:16;  Matthew 3:11 . Christian baptism, though distinct, was in view of the reception of the Holy Ghost ( Acts 2:38 ), but does not confer it.  Acts 19:5,6 . Baptism of the Holy Spirit took place at Pentecost: the Lord said to His disciples, "Ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost not many days hence,"  Acts 1:5; so that at Pentecost the saints were all baptised by the one Spirit into one body.  1 Corinthians 12:13 . This agrees with the church having been begun at Pentecost, and tells us that no one can be a part of the body of Christ until he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, being initiated into the one body formed, characterised, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit once for all.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

1. The Biblical Material

The expression "baptism of the Holy Spirit" is based on a number of predictions found in our four Gospels and in connection with these the record of their fulfillment in the Book of Acts. The passages in the Gospels are as follows:  Matthew 3:11 : "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." The last clause is αυτός ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν πνεὺματι ἁγιῳ καὶ πυρί , autós humā́s baptı́sei en pneúmati hagı́ō kaı́ purı́ . In  Mark 1:8 and   Luke 3:16 we have the declaration in a slightly modified form; and in   John 1:33 John the Baptist declares that the descent of the Spirit upon Jesus at the baptism of the latter marked out Jesus as "he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit." Again in   John 7:37 ,  John 7:38 we read: "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water." Then the evangelist adds in   John 7:39 : "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified." These are the specific references in the four Gospels to the baptisms of the Holy Spirit. In Acts we find direct reference by Luke to the promised baptism in the Holy Spirit. In   Acts 1:5 Jesus, just before the ascension, contrasts John's baptism in water with the baptism in the Holy Spirit which the disciples are to receive "not many days hence," and in   Acts 1:8 power in witnessing for Jesus is predicted as the result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. On the evening of the resurrection day Jesus appeared to the disciples and "he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (  John 20:22 ). This was probably not a wholly symbolic act but an actual communication to the disciples, in some measure, of the gift of the Spirit, preliminary to the later complete bestowal.

We observe next the fulfillment of these predictions as recorded in Acts. The gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the miraculous manifestations which followed are clearly the chief historical fulfillment of the prediction of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Among the manifestations of the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost were first those which were physical, such as "a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting" ( Acts 2:2 ), and the appearance of "tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them" ( Acts 2:3 ). Secondly, there were spiritual results: "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" ( Acts 2:4 ). In  Acts 2:16 Peter declares that this bestowment of the Holy Spirit is in fulfillment of the prediction made by the prophet Joel and he cites the words in   Acts 2:28 of Joel's prophecy.

There is one other important passage in Acts in which reference is made to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. While Peter was speaking to Cornelius ( Acts 10:44 ) the Holy Spirit fell on all that heard the word and they of the circumcision who were with Peter "were amazed" "because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit." When giving the brethren at Jerusalem an account of his visit to Cornelius, Peter dec]ares that this event which he had witnessed was a baptism of the Holy Spirit ( Acts 11:16 ): "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit."

2. Significance of Baptism of the Holy Spirit

We consider next the significance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit from various points of view.

(1) From the Point of View of Old Testament Teaching as to the Gift of The Spirit

The prophecy of Joel quoted by Peter indicates something extraordinary in the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit now comes in new forms of manifestation and with new power. The various classes mentioned as receiving the Spirit indicate the wide diffusion of the new power. In the Old Testament usually the Spirit was bestowed upon individuals; here the gift is to the group of disciples, the church. Here the gift is permanently bestowed, while in the Old Testament it was usually transient and for a special purpose. Here again the Spirit comes in fullness as contrasted with the partial bestowment in Old Testament times.

(2) From the Point of View of the Ascended Christ

In  Luke 24:49 Jesus commands the disciples to tarry in the city "until ye be clothed with power from on high," and in   John 15:26 He speaks of the Comforter "whom I will send unto you from the Father," "he shall bear witness of me"; and in   John 16:13 Jesus declares that the Spirit when He comes shall guide the disciples into all truth, and He shall show them things to come. In this verse the Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. It was fitting that the Spirit who was to interpret truth and guide into all truth should come in fullness after, rather than before, the completion of the life-task of the Messiah. The historical manifestation of Divine truth as Thus completed made necessary the gift of the Spirit in fullness. Christ Himself was the giver of the Spirit. The Spirit now takes the place of the ascended Christ, or rather takes the things of Christ and shows them to the disciples. The baptism of the Spirit at Pentecost Thus becomes the great historic event signalizing the beginning of a new era in the kingdom of God in which the whole movement is lifted to the spiritual plane, and the task of evangelizing the world is formally begun.

(3) The Significance of the Baptism of the Spirit from the Point of View of the Disciples

It can scarcely be said with truth that Pentecost was the birthday of the church. Jesus had spoken of His church during His earthly ministry. The spiritual relation to Christ which constitutes the basis of the church existed prior to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But that baptism established the church in several ways. First in unity. The external bond of unity now gives place to an inner spiritual bond of profound significance. Secondly, the church now becomes conscious of a spiritual mission, and theocratic ideals of the kingdom disappear. Thirdly, the church is now endued with power for its work. Among the gifts bestowed were the gift of prophecy in the large sense of speaking for God, and the gift of tongues which enabled disciples to speak in foreign tongues. The account in the second chapter of Acts admits of no other construction. There was also bestowed power in witnessing for Christ. This was indeed one of the most prominent blessings named in connection with the promise of the baptism of the Spirit. The power of working miracles was also bestowed ( Acts 3:4;  Acts 5:12 ). Later in the epistles of Paul much emphasis is given to the Spirit as the sanctifying agency in the hearts of believers. In Acts the word of the Spirit is chiefly Messianic, that is, the Spirit's activity is all seen in relation to the extension of the Messianic kingdom. The occasion for the outpouring of the Spirit is Pentecost when men from all nations are assembled in Jerusalem. The symbolic representation of tongues of fire is suggestive of preaching, and the glossolalia, or speaking with tongues which followed, so that men of various nations heard the gospel in their own languages, indicates that the baptism of the Spirit had a very special relation to the task of world-wide evangelization for the bringing in of the kingdom of God.

3. Finality of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The question is often raised whether or not the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred once for all or is repeated in subsequent baptisms. The evidence seems to point to the former view to the extent at least of being limited to outpourings which took place in connection with events recorded in the early chapters of the Book of Acts. The following considerations favor this view:

(1) In the first chapter of Acts Jesus predicts, according to Luke's account, that the baptism of the Holy Spirit would take place, "not many days hence" ( Acts 1:5 ). This would seem to point to a definite and specific event rather than to a continuous process.

(2) Again, Peter's citation in  Acts 2:17-21 of Joel's prophecy shows that in Peter's mind the event which his hearers were then witnessing was the definite fulfillment of the words of Joel.

(3) Notice in the third place that only one other event in the New Testament is described as the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and for special reasons this may be regarded as the completion of the Pentecostal baptism. The passage is that contained in Acts 10:1 through 11:18 in which the record is given of the following events: ( a ) miraculous vision given to Peter on the housetop ( Acts 10:11-16 ) indicating that the things about to occur are of unique importance; ( b ) The speaking with tongues ( Acts 10:45 ,  Acts 10:46 ); ( c ) Peter declares to the brethren at Jerusalem that the Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles in this instance of Cornelius and his household "as on us at the beginning" ( Acts 11:15 ); ( d ) Peter also declares that this was a fulfillment of the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit ( Acts 11:16 ,  Acts 11:17 ); ( e ) The Jewish Christians who heard Peter's account of the matter acknowledged this as proof that God had also extended the privileges of the gospel to the Gentiles ( Acts 11:18 ). The baptism of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Cornelius and his household is Thus directly linked with the first outpouring at Pentecost, and as the event which signalized the opening of the door of the gospel formally to Gentiles it is in complete harmony with the missionary significance of the first great Pentecostal outpouring. It was a turning point or crisis in the Messianic kingdom and seems designed to complete the Pentecostal gift by showing that Gentiles as well as Jews are to be embraced in all the privileges of the new dispensation.

(4) We observe again that nowhere in the epistles do we find a repetition of the baptism of the Spirit. This would be remarkable if it had been understood by the writers of the epistles that the baptism of the Spirit was frequently to be repeated. There is no evidence outside the Book of Acts that the baptism of the Spirit ever occurred in the later New Testament times. In  1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says, "For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body,... and were all made to drink of one Spirit." But here the reference is not to the baptism of the Spirit, but rather to a baptism into the church which is the body of Christ. We conclude, therefore, that the Pentecostal baptism taken in conjunction with the baptism of the Spirit in the case of Cornelius completes the baptism of the Holy Spirit according to the New Testament teaching. The baptism of the Spirit as Thus bestowed was, however, the definite gift of the Spirit in His fullness for every form of spiritual blessing necessary in the progress of the kingdom and as the permanent and abiding gift of God to His people. In all subsequent New Testament writings there is the assumption of this presence of the Spirit and of His availability for all believers. The various commands and exhortations of the epistles are based on the assumption that the baptism of the Spirit has already taken place, and that, according to the prediction of Jesus to the disciples, the Spirit was to abide with them forever (  John 14:16 ). We should not therefore confound other forms of expression found in the New Testament with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When Christians are enjoined to "walk by the Spirit" ( Galatians 5:16 ) and "be filled with the Spirit" ( Ephesians 5:18 ), or when the Spirit is described as an anointing (χρίσμα , chrı́sma ) as in  1 John 2:20-27 , and as the "earnest of our inheritance" (ἀρραβών , arrabō̇n ). as in  Ephesians 1:14 , and when various other similar expressions are employed in the epistles of the New Testament, we are not to understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These expressions indicate aspects of the Spirit's work in believers or of the believer's appropriation of the gifts and blessings of the Spirit rather than the historical baptism of the Spirit.

4. Relation of Baptism of the Spirit to Other Baptisms

Three final points require brief attention, namely, the relation of the baptism of the Spirit to the baptism in water, and to the baptism in fire, and to the laying on of hands.

(1) We note that the baptism in fire is coupled with the baptism in the Spirit in  Matthew 3:11 and in   Luke 3:16 . These passages give the word of John the Baptist. John speaks of the coming One who "shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire" ( Luke 3:16 ). This baptism in fire is often taken as being parallel and synonymous with the baptism in the Spirit. The context however in both Matthew and Luke seems to favor another meaning. Jesus' Messianic work will be both cleansing and destructive. The "you" addressed by John included the people generally and might naturally embrace both classes, those whose attitude to Jesus would be believing and those who would refuse to believe. His action as Messiah would affect all men. Some He would regenerate and purify through the Holy Ghost. Others He would destroy through the fire of punishment. This view is favored by the context in both gospels. In both the destructive energy of Christ is coupled with His saving power in other terms which admit of no doubt. The wheat He gathers into the garner and the chaff He burns with unquenchable fire.

(2) The baptism of the Holy Spirit was not meant to supersede water baptism. This is clear from the whole of the history in the Book of Acts, where water baptism is uniformly administered to converts after the Pentecostal baptism of the Spirit, as well as from the numerous references to water baptisms in the epistles. The evidence here is so abundant that it is unnecessary to develop it in detail. See  Romans 6:3;  1 Corinthians 1:14-17;  1 Corinthians 10:2;  1 Corinthians 12:13;  1 Corinthians 15:29;  Galatians 3:27;  Ephesians 4:5;  Colossians 2:12;  1 Peter 3:21 .

(3) In  Acts 8:17 and   Acts 19:6 the Holy Spirit is bestowed in connection with the laying on of the hands of apostles, but these are not to be regarded as instances of the baptism of the Spirit in the strict sense, but rather as instances of the reception by believers of the Spirit which had already been bestowed in fullness at Pentecost.

Literature

Arts. on Holy Spirit in Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes) and Hastings, Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels  ; article on "Spiritual Gifts" in Encyclopedia Biblica  ; Moule, Veni Creator  ; Smeaton, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit  ; Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit . See also Holy Spirit .