Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Teaching at Jim's cell retreat 17/11/18)

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Gk.‘baptizo’ = immersion

In all baptisms, 4 parts:

1. The baptizer
2. The baptized
3. The element (en)
4. The purpose (eis = into) e.g. repentance Mt 3:11

1. Jesus is the Baptizer in the Spirit 

Jesus is the one who “baptizes in/with [Greek en] the Holy Spirit”¹ (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33) cf. Ac 1:5, 11:16

2. The purpose of the baptism/fullness of the Spirit

In the OT

• Creative tasks (Ex 28:3, 31:3, 35:31 Bezalel, “the skilful”)
• Leadership (Dt 34:9 “Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom”)
• Teaching/Proclamation (Mic 3:8 “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.”)

In the NT

• Inspired witness ( Lk 1:41 “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”; Ac 4:9 “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders”; Ac 4:31 “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”)
•  Prophecy (Lk 1:57 “Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied”)
•  Purification (Mt 3:11, Lk 3:16 “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”)
•  Ministry  (Lk 4:1 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness”)
•  Preparation for martyrdom (Ac 7:55 “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God)
• Discernment for judgement (Ac 13:8 “But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him”)

Apart from intermittent enablement for the task at hand, filling of the Spirit is also described a settled character:

Lk 1:15. John the Baptist “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

Ac 6:3-5 “pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom”

Ac 11:23. Barnabas “was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith”

Ac 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

The role of the SpiritI

• Purifies
• Unifies
• Reveals
• Empowers

 So fullness of the Spirit manifests in holiness of character and development of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), in a love for and commitment to the Body of Christ, a growing understanding of God's Word and ways, as well as power for life and ministry.

3. The Baptism of the Spirit is a universal experience of all Christians

In 1 Corinthians 12:13, “baptized into one body” speaks about the Spirit’s work of incorporating a repentant sinner into the body of Christ (c.f. Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27 for the equivalent expression “baptized into Christ”). This is the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:5; it is the indispensable, all-important baptism that results in the “one body” of verse 4.Christ baptises believes with the Spirit into His Body, the Church.

In the book of Acts, the Spirit is:

• the gift promised—1:4, 2:33,38-39, , 11:17, 15:8
• the gift received—8:15,17,19; 19:2
• the One coming, or falling, upon—1:8; 8:16; 10:44; 11:15; 19:6; see also Luke 1:35; 3:22 
•  the One poured out—2:17-18, 33; 10:45

Ac 2:17 cf. Joel 2:28-29 tells us that  the gift of the Spirit is distinctive and universal because it is an initial experience.

Water baptism is the outward sign of the inward grace of Spirit baptism and cleansing (Ac 10:46, 22:16). It is the initiatory baptism of the Spirit that shows saving faith, not the outward act of water baptism.

4. The fullness of the Spirit is an ongoing command

The Pauline emphasis is that the Spirit dwells in believers (Rom 8:9,14–16; 1 Cor 6:19; Gal 4:6).

Paul’s command to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) does not refer to a one-time initial fullness of the Spirit; it is an injunction to keep on being filled with the Spirit.³

The Pentecostal view (http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199804/080_filled_with_the_spirit.cfm)

·         In three of the five instances—Samaria, Damascus, Ephesus—persons who had an identifiable experience of the Spirit were already believers. At Caesarea, that experience was almost simultaneous with the saving faith of Cornelius and his household. In Jerusalem, the recipients were already believers in Christ even though it may be difficult—if it is even necessary—to determine with certainty the point in time when they were regenerated in the New Testament sense.

·         In three accounts there was a time-lapse between conversion and Spirit baptism (Samaria, Damascus, Ephesus). The waiting interval for the Jerusalem outpouring was necessary in order for the typological significance of the Day of Pentecost to be fulfilled. In the case of Caesarea, there was no distinguishable time lapse.

·         “ The Pentecostal doctrine of “the initial, physical evidence” of speaking in tongues is an attempt to encapsulate the thought that at the time of Spirit baptism the believer will speak in tongues. It conveys the idea that speaking in tongues is the initial, empirical accompaniment to Spirit baptism. Nowhere does the Scripture indicate that one may be baptized in the Spirit without speaking in tongues. “

·         1 Corinthians 12:30 is sometimes elicited as evidence that tongues are not a necessary component of Spirit baptism since Paul asks, “Not all speak in tongues, do they?”¹³ But both the broad context and the immediate context relate the question to the exercise of the gift in corporate worship, as noted by the question immediately following: “Not all interpret, do they?” According to 1 Corinthians 12:8–10, only some believers are prompted by the Holy Spirit to give an utterance in tongues in a gathering of God's people.

·         Being baptized in the Spirit must be differentiated from Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians
12:13 which, following the Greek word order, reads: “by [en] one Spirit we all into one body were baptized.” The context of that passage demonstrates that “by” is the best translation, indicating that the Holy Spirit is the instrument or means by which the baptizing takes place.² In verses 3 and 9 of the chapter, Paul uses the same preposition twice in each verse to indicate an activity of the Holy Spirit.

Two controversies:

1. Is the 'Baptism of the Spirit" an experience subsequent to conversion, or an experience of all Christians at conversion? Does the Holy Spirit baptize everyone into the Church (1 Cor 12:13), but Jesus baptize only some with the Holy Spirit?
2. Is baptism of the spirit always marked by the gift of tongues?

Filling of the Spirit in Acts

• Pentecost (Ac 2:1-5) , with tongues
• The Samaritans (8:14–20), with visible signs
• Paul’s conversion at Damascus (9:1-17) – regained sight, no tongues mentioned
• Cornelius’ household (Gentiles) at Caesarea (10:44–48), with tongues
• The Ephesian disciples of John ( 19:1–7), with tongues

We see that in some instances the Spirit's coming is associated with the gift of tongues, and yet with others, tongues is not explicitly mentioned. In the instances that describe a time interval between conversion and the Spirit's filling, there seems to be good reasons for this exceptional pattern. We should not therefore use these exceptions as the norm.

Pentecost can be explained by Jesus' specific command for the disciples to wait for the Spirit.

In the case of the Samaritans and the Gentiles there was a progression of the gospel message to groups of people different from the Jewish core of the original disciples. When the apostles and Peter laid their hands on representatives of each of these groups, the visible coming in power of the Spirit in response to their ministry confirmed and authenticated their conversion. In the case of the Ephesian disciples it is doubtful if they were even Christian (!)

My considerations:

1. Narrative passages must be interpreted by didactic passages
2. Is Pentecost normative? There were 120 in the upper room, but.3000 souls who were added.
3. Every instance of an interval between ‘conversion’ and ‘baptism’/filling of the Spirit in Acts can be explained by exceptional circumstances.
4. We cannot infallibly use experience to interpret Scripture – we should use Scripture to interpret experience.
5. I  believe that the first experience of the Spirit’s fullness is interpreted by some as a “baptism”. This is NOT the terminology Scripture uses.
6. We are taught to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), to ask for the Spirit (Lk 11:13), to receive Him by hearing with faith (Gal 3:5). These are principles we apply when asking for the Spirit to fill us. The implications are that God will help us to do His will in being filled with His Spirit, will be glad to give Him in fullness to us, and will use our faith/trust in His Word to do this. Let us hunger and thirst for the Spirit's fullness and ask in faith for Him to reign in our lives!