THE WATER-SPIRIT BAPTISM OF THE CONVERSION EXPERIENCE
CONTRASTED WITH THE SPIRIT-BAPTISM OF PENTECOST
PREPARED 01-28-2006
Easterners with Oriental mental patterns, though mentally they recognize the difference between the reality of something and the symbol of the reality, often speak of the symbol and the reality as one. In the following Scripture passages we see the symbol and the reality brought very close together and in some cases united.
(Mat 26:26 NIV) While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke
it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
(Mark 16:6 NIV) "Don’t be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the
Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where
they laid him.
(Rom 6:3 NIV) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death?
(Acts 22:16 NIV) And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash
your sins away, calling on his name.’
(Gal 3:27 NIV) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ.
(1 Cor 12:13 NIV) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether
Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
(1 Pet 3:21 NIV) and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not
the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward
God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Westerners with an Occidental mind, who both in their thinking and in their speaking tend to separate the reality and its symbol, have often misunderstood Biblical statements made by Easterners. At one end of this spectrum of confusion we see those who have thought that because the Easterners united the symbol and the reality in their thinking and speaking, there must be no real differences between the reality and the symbol. Among those at this end of the spectrum are Roman Catholics who teach transubstantiation and others who teach baptismal regeneration.
At the other end of the spectrum of confusion we have those who so separate the symbol and reality that they become in their theology two entities instead of one. It is this writer’s opinion that those who speak of the baptism of the Spirit at conversion and water baptism virtually as two distinct entities stand at this end of the spectrum of confusion. They have two Christian baptisms, when in reality there is only one: one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).
Moreover, among some of the followers of this latter confusion, there is a tendency to equate the Spirit baptism of the conversion experience with the
Spirit baptism of Pentecost. This further confusion leads to many serious ramifications. Among these is a present-day seeking of the miraculous signs which accompanied the Pentecost experience. This confusion is often aggravated by a prolonged waiting period between one’s conversion and his baptism in water. This is a separation of what the Bible verbally and practically united.
Hence, in order to avoid this confusion, we shall ask our students to think and speak of the experience of a Christian’s baptism at conversion as water-Spirit baptism and the Pentecost experience as the Spirit baptism of Pentecost.
If one carefully studies the following chart and the related Scriptures, he will see that the Spirit baptism of Pentecost and the water-Spirit baptism of conversion are not the same.
WATER-SPIRIT BAPTISM
-associated with the conversion experience
-the one baptism (Eph. 4:15) common to all New Testament believers, the baptism of the Great Commission
-may have been associated with a giving of miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit during the time of the Apostles (Heb. 2:1-4), but not necessarily associated with tongues
-takes place no matter who is present humanly speaking
-theologically, always directly
associated with the conversion
experience
Compare Acts 22:16; Romans 6;
1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:27; Eph. 4:5;
1 Peter 3:18-21;
-commanded by Apostles again and again
-promised to all those who believe
-occurs many times in many areas
-generally described as immersion
( in water)
SPIRIT-BAPTISM OF PENTECOST
-only occurs four times in the New Testament, always in Acts
(1) Acts 2:1-21
(2) Acts 8:5-25
(3) Acts 10:44-48; 11:15; Compare 15:7-9
(4) Acts 19:1-7
-apparently (argument from silence) always associated with the miraculous, including speaking in tongues. Study Acts 8:13, 17-21
-an Apostle, who had experienced Pentecost at Jerusalem, or who had been to Jerusalem (Acts 15) to discuss the phenomenon related to Pentecost, is always present
-theologically, not necessarily associated directly with the conversion experience;
-generally follows the conversion experience
-never conditioned by an Apostle
-never commanded by an Apostle
-never promised by an Apostle
-once it happens to a group of believers in a certain area, in never takes place again in that area (Jerusalem, Samaria, Caesarea, Ephesus)
-described generally in terms relative to water
-often described in terms relative to what took place on the day of Pentectost
WATER-SPIRIT BAPTISM OF THE CONVERSION EXPERIENCE
(Eph 4:5 NIV) one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
(Heb 2:1 NIV) We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have
heard, so that we do not drift away.
(Heb 2:2 NIV) For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every
violation and disobedience received its just punishment,
(Heb 2:3 NIV) how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This
salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those
who heard him.
(Heb 2:4 NIV) God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles,
and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
(Acts 22:16 NIV) And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash
your sins away, calling on his name.’
(Rom 6:1 NIV) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase?
(Rom 6:2 NIV) By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
(Rom 6:3 NIV) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death?
(Rom 6:4 NIV) We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new life.
(Rom 6:5 NIV) If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will
certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
(Rom 6:6 NIV) For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the
body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--
(Rom 6:7 NIV) because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
(Rom 6:8 NIV) Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live
with him.
(Rom 6:9 NIV) For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot
die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
(Rom 6:10 NIV) The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he
lives, he lives to God.
(Rom 6:11 NIV) In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God
in Christ Jesus.
(Rom 6:12 NIV) Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you
obey its evil desires.
(Rom 6:13 NIV) Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of
wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought
from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of
righteousness.
(Rom 6:14 NIV) For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law,
but under grace.
(Rom 6:15 NIV) What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under
grace? By no means!
(Rom 6:16 NIV) Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey
him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves
to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
(Rom 6:17 NIV) But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,
you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
(Rom 6:18 NIV) You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness.
(Rom 6:19 NIV) I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural
selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity
and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness
leading to holiness.
(Rom 6:20 NIV) When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of
righteousness.
(Rom 6:21 NIV) What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are
now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
(Rom 6:22 NIV) But now that you have been set free from sin and have become
slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal
life.
(Rom 6:23 NIV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(1 Cor 12:13 NIV) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether
Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
(Gal 3:27 NIV) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ.
(Eph 4:5 NIV) one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
(1 Pet 3:18 NIV) For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive
by the Spirit,
(1 Pet 3:19 NIV) through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in
prison
(1 Pet 3:20 NIV) who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days
of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all,
were saved through water,
(1 Pet 3:21 NIV) and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not
the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward
God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
SPIRIT BAPTISM OF PENTECOST
(Acts 2:1 NIV) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one
place.
(Acts 2:2 NIV) Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from
heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
(Acts 2:3 NIV) They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and
came to rest on each of them.
(Acts 2:4 NIV) All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
(Acts 2:5 NIV) Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every
nation under heaven.
(Acts 2:6 NIV) When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
(Acts 2:7 NIV) Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are
speaking Galileans?
(Acts 2:8 NIV) Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native
language?
(Acts 2:9 NIV) Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
(Acts 2:10 NIV) Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near
Cyrene; visitors from Rome
(Acts 2:11 NIV) (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear
them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
(Acts 2:12 NIV) Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this
mean?"
(Acts 2:13 NIV) Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too
much wine."
(Acts 2:14 NIV) Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and
addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me
explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
(Acts 2:15 NIV) These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the
morning!
(Acts 2:16 NIV) No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
(Acts 2:17 NIV) "’In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all
people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
(Acts 2:18 NIV) Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my
Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
(Acts 2:19 NIV) I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
(Acts 2:20 NIV) The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before
the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
(Acts 2:21 NIV) And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
(Acts 8:5 NIV) Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ
there.
(Acts 8:6 NIV) When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he
did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
(Acts 8:7 NIV) With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics
and cripples were healed.
(Acts 8:8 NIV) So there was great joy in that city.
(Acts 8:9 NIV) Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the
city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
(Acts 8:10 NIV) and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention
and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power."
(Acts 8:11 NIV) They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time
with his magic.
(Acts 8:12 NIV) But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of
the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men
and women.
(Acts 8:13 NIV) Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip
everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
(Acts 8:14 NIV) When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted
the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
(Acts 8:15 NIV) When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive
the Holy Spirit,
(Acts 8:16 NIV) because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they
had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
(Acts 8:17 NIV) Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they
received the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 8:18 NIV) When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of
the apostles’ hands, he offered them money
(Acts 8:19 NIV) and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I
lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
(Acts 8:20 NIV) Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you
thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
(Acts 8:21 NIV) You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart
is not right before God.
(Acts 8:22 NIV) Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will
forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
(Acts 8:23 NIV) For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
(Acts 8:24 NIV) Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing
you have said may happen to me."
(Acts 8:25 NIV) When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord,
Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan
villages.
(Acts 10:44 NIV) While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
came on all who heard the message.
(Acts 10:45 NIV) The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were
astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the
Gentiles.
(Acts 10:46 NIV) For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then
Peter said,
(Acts 10:47 NIV) "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water?
They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have."
(Acts 10:48 NIV) So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
(Acts 11:15 NIV) "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had
come on us at the beginning.
(Acts 11:16 NIV) Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ’John baptized with
water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
(Acts 11:17 NIV) So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed
in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
(Acts 11:18 NIV) When they heard this, they had no further objections and
praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto
life."
(Acts 11:19 NIV) Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in
connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch,
telling the message only to Jews.
(Acts 8:13 NIV) Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip
everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
(Acts 8:17 NIV) Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they
received the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 8:18 NIV) When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of
the apostles’ hands, he offered them money
(Acts 8:19 NIV) and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I
lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
(Acts 8:20 NIV) Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you
thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
(Acts 8:21 NIV) You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart
is not right before God.
