What I Didn't Say: About the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
What I Said on Sunday (In Review):
It is hard to establish the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second act of grace based on the Book of Acts because the sequence is not Luke’s concern.
• Acts 2:38 – repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (water), and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
• Acts 8 – people respond to the gospel, are baptized, and later receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit when Peter and John lay hands on them.
• Acts 9 – Saul is saved. Ananias lays hands on him, Saul receives his sight and is filled with the Holy Spirit, and then he is baptized (water).
Luke’s concern is to establish that as the gospel spreads from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and into the uttermost part of the earth the same Holy Spirit that saved souls and established the church at Pentecost is at work in Jew and Gentile alike.
What I Didn’t Say on Sunday (In Resolution)
In the sermon I stated only that I don’t believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second act of grace based on later NT passages. Let’s resolve that thought.
• While Acts 19:1-6 isn’t technically “later” in the NT it speaks to an event much later in the Acts 1:8 progression of the gospel. And while the Ephesians had not yet received the Spirit, Paul’s question is telling. Why would you ask, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” if that hadn’t been occurring simultaneously on a more regular basis in other places? My take: While Luke isn't concerned with establishing a universal sequence in Acts, Paul's question suggests that receiving the Spirit was expected in connection with genuine faith in Christ.
• Ephesians 1:13-14 – The context of Acts 19 sheds light on what Paul says later to the Ephesians in his letter to them. If Acts 19 was the initial experience as the gospel moves into Ephesus and the Gentiles there are also confirmed as part of the church through Spirit baptism, then Ephesians 1:13-14 seems to describe what became the normative experience. “In him you also, WHEN you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, WERE sealed with the promised Holy Spirit . . .”
• 1 Corinthians 12:13 – “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body . . .” My argument here would come not just from what the later NT says, but what it doesn’t say. There is no language to suggest that some regenerate people have received Spirit baptism while others should continue to seek it. Ephesians 5:18 case in point. He tells the Ephesian Christians to “be filled with the Spirit” but never does the later NT command believers to be baptized by the Spirit as if this is a continuing concern.
• Other NT passages to consider (Romans 8:9, Galatians 3:27, Titus 3:5-6, 1 Peter 3:21, 1 John 3:24 and 4:13) but they seem to only further confirm the above arguments so I won’t belabor it.
What I Want to Chew With You on Monday (In Response)
On Sunday I said that when it comes to things like this that we should seek to state most simply what the Bible says most plainly. If I didn’t say it quite like that – that’s pretty good – so that’s what I meant to say :). So here it goes:
There is no New Testament version of a Christian who does not have the Holy Spirit.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Romans 8:9
So to the Baptists (of which I am one), Protestants, and the like:
• We have grown content with bestowing a false sense of salvation on the person who professes Christ, who has even prayed for salvation, who yet shows no fruits of repentance or any evidence that they have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.
• We cannot blame spiritual immaturity solely on a lack of discipleship. We can discuss ad nauseum what discipleship is and isn’t, but if the baby does not breathe and does not eat, the baby is not alive. Jesus said it clearly, “You must be born again.” Sometimes the problem isn’t the lack of disciple makers. Sometimes it is simply a lack of spiritual life.
• So we should not ask the spiritually immature who insists on sin if they prayed, if they were baptized, or if they have joined the church. We should ask them if they have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Or ask the same question another way, “Is the Holy Spirit in you?” A local church membership roll is not the guarantee – the Spirit is (2 Cor 1:22, 2 Cor. 5:5, Eph. 1:13-14).
To the charismatics and Pentecostals:
• My sermon was based on Acts 8 which contains not only the Samaritans receiving the baptism of the Spirit but also the warning to Simon. I have many Pentecostal and charismatic friends who I love and who love Jesus. They see the Holy Spirit in everything – and I love that! And if you received the Holy Spirit later – after your salvation – and maybe even after water baptism – I can argue semantics (I would say you were already baptized by the Spirit but not filled) but I cannot argue your experience and I do not want to be a stumbling block to anyone’s faith. Rock on for Jesus my brothers and sisters! The Holy Spirit is sovereign. He can do what He wants to do (which I also said in the sermon).
• But I do see a Simon sort of abuse that takes place amongst people with strong personalities and giftings who insist on a sort of “giving” the Holy Spirit. It’s like they have a power you need to become a complete Christian. And I see in that “doctrine” room for that Simon-type magician manipulation of which Peter sternly rebukes. For those who are in this camp I would concur with Peter, “your heart is not right before God. “Repent, therefore of this wickedness of yours . . . “
I love where Acts begins, waiting on God in prayer and Pentecost. And at Pentecost, in the Spirit, Peter proclaims that we are living in the last days promised in Joel 2 in which God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17a).
When it comes to the Holy Spirit:
- Let’s not dismiss Him.
- Let’s not manipulate Him.
- Let’s surrender to Him.
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