Title: What the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not
SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:1-4
INTRODUCTION
Because of ignorance of the work of the Holy Spirit, many fail to realize that the Holy Spirit is a distinct and separate member of the Holy Trinity. He works in complete harmony with the Father and the Son, but He must not be confused with either of His divine associates. It is clearly stated in 1 John 5:7, "For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit."
We are exhorted, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). When the true distinction between the three personalities who compose the Holy Trinity is understood properly, it eliminates error. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for believers today.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not Conversion
A general held belief is that conversion, or the experience of
salvation, is identical with being baptized in the Holy Spirit. In this connection, R.A. Torrey, evangelist of the 19th century, Congregationalist minister and graduate of Yale University and Yale Divinity School, writes in What the Bible Teaches:
"Not every believer has the baptism with the Holy Spirit,
though every believer may have. A man may be regenerated by
the Holy Spirit and still not be baptized with the Holy Spirit. In regeneration there is an impartation of life and the one who
receives it is saved; in the baptism with the Holy Spirit there is an impartation of power and the one who receives it is fitted for service."
The two experiences are entirely distinct from the standpoint of source, time, and nature. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is an operation of the Holy Spirit which takes place subsequent to conversion and which imparts special power to do service for God.
The Biblical Pattern. A brief study of the biblical pattern is sufficient to establish the fact that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not identical with conversion. No doubt the disciples of Christ were converted. They forsook families, occupations, lands, and material benefits to follow Jesus, to hear His teachings, and to assist in His ministry. Jesus told them on one occasion to "rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).
The disciples did not experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit, however, until the Day of Pentecost—a time subsequent to the Lord’s returning to heaven.
Their names had already been written in heaven when the
Master instructed them just before His ascension: "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). "And being assembled together with them. He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ’which,’ He said, ’you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’" (Acts 1:4, 5).
Note that the promise of the Father was to be fulfilled and the people to whom the Lord was speaking were to be baptized in
the Holy Spirit at a future time. Therefore, it is clear that the original followers and disciples of Christ did not receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit at the same time they were converted.
Paul. Scripture demonstrates explicitly that those who were
not among the original followers of Christ but became believers
at a later date received the baptism in the Holy Spirit at a time distinct and subsequent to conversion. The apostle Paul is a prime example. He was miraculously converted as he journeyed
to Damascus, but it was three days later that he was filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 9:1-17).
Twelve Men at Ephesus. The experience of 12 men at
Ephesus also confirms the fact that the baptism in the Holy
Spirit is an entirely different spiritual blessing than being converted. "Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, ’Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said to him, ’We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy
Spirit.’ . . . And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy
Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and
prophesied" (Acts 19:1, 6).
These men at Ephesus were converted men. They were
believers and were called disciples. Yet Paul asked them, "Did
you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" Although active
believers, they were not baptized in the Holy Spirit until Paul
laid his hands upon them.
The Samaritans. When Philip went to Samaria to preach the
gospel, "the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did"
(Acts 8:6). The people accepted the gospel and were converted.
However, they were not baptized in the Holy Spirit until Peter
and John came to them at a later time. "Now when the apostles
who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the
word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they
had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the
Holy Spirit" (w. 14, 15).
It is amply clear from the Word of God that the experience of salvation is entirely different from being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Conversion comes prior to receiving the Holy Spirit. Conversion is the experience whereby the believer is born into the great family of Christians. The baptism in the Holy Spirit endues the Christian "with power from on high" to witness and work for the Lord in the most effective manner.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not Water Baptism
The Bible stands as an eternal witness against those superficial scholars of the Word who insist that water baptism and the Holy Spirit baptism are identical. I am not discrediting water baptism. Jesus himself was baptized in water, and He is our example (see Matthew 3:16). He commanded His followers to baptize all believers "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (28:19). Water baptism consists of being dipped, or immersed, in water in obedience to the Lord’s teaching; the Holy Spirit baptism is a supernatural experience in which the Holy Spirit fills a person (Ephesians 5:18). One may be baptized in water either before or after receiving the Holy Spirit baptism. We have examples of both in the Bible.
Cornelius and his family and friends were baptized with the
Holy Spirit first. At a later time, they were baptized in water. Acts 10:44 states, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word." After the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on these people and they had spoken with tongues, Peter asked, "’Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized" (w. 47, 48). These people had first received the Holy Spirit baptism and then were baptized in water at Peter’s command.
The Samaritans, however, were baptized in water first, after
they believed, and were later baptized in the Holy Spirit. "When they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. . . . Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit" (8:12, 14-17).
The Samaritans were baptized in water under the ministry of
Philip and at a subsequent time were baptized in the Holy Spirit under the ministry of Peter and John. The 12 men at Ephesus also were baptized in the Holy Spirit after they had been baptized in water. These men were actually baptized in water twice-once according to the doctrine of John the Baptist, and a second time by Paul in the name of Jesus. Afterward, "when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied" (19:6). Water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit are separate and unrelated experiences.
THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT SANCTIF1CATION
Sanctification is the preparing or setting apart of a person or thing to a holy use (see Exodus 13:2). Thus when a person is
sanctified, the soul is hallowed by the Spirit of God and given
victory over the desires of sin. At the same time this experience enables the believer to live a holy life and to manifest faith, love, and humility toward God and others (see 1 Thessalonians 4:1-10). Sanctification, like salvation, was purchased for humanity by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 13:12). This does not mean, however, that one who is sanctified cannot sin. We are free moral agents and have the power to consciously reject the wooing of God’s Spirit and override our better judgment if we choose. Therefore, there is a progressive aspect to sanctification too. There is a "pressing toward the goal," as Paul expressed it, toward greater perfection (see Philippians 3:14).
Contrasting the experience of being sanctified with that of
being baptized in the Holy Spirit, note that Sanctification has as its primary purpose the edifying and perfecting of the believer himself, while the Holy Spirit baptism empowers the believer to work toward the edifying and perfecting of others. There is also a sign that accompanies the baptism in the Holy Spirit which clearly distinguishes this experience from other experiences and blessings of God—the spiritual manifestation of speaking in other tongues. It is the same sign or method which the apostles recognized as being the sole and undisputed evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:4; 10:46).
CONCLUSION
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience with God that
is different from conversion, water baptism, and sanctification. It is an experience of power, joy, and fulfillment for every believer. Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?
