Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Introduction: Charismatics come from a wide-spectrum of theological beliefs (eg. Romanist, Anglicans, Evangelicals, cults). The one doctrine that is common to them all is their doctrine of the second baptism of the Holy Spirit.
According to this doctrine, a Christian receives the Holy Spirit in a "limited" way at the time of his conversion. Such a Christian is weak, unjoyful and unproductive. To lead a victorious Christian life, he must earnestly seek for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The evidence that he has obtained this baptism is the ability to speak in "tongues." Charismatics believe that a Christian who has obtained this baptism has received the "full gospel."
They believe that this baptism of the Holy Spirit must be (a) sought by Christians, (b) subsequent to their salvation and (c) evidences itself in the ability to speak in "tongues." Since this doctrine was unknown to almost all Christians before the Pentecostals discovered it a hundred years ago, it implies that God hid this vital "truth" from His people for almost two thousand years!
Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not a force or an influence. He is called "Comforter" not "comfort" (JOH 14:26). He is called "another" Comforter (JOH 14:16), ie, He is another person like Christ. As a person, the Spirit has a mind (ROM 8:27), intellect (I CO 2: 10-11), emotions (EPH 4:30), a will (I CO 12: 11, ACT 15:6-11), and the ability to intercede (ROM 8:26). As a person, He can be lied to (ACT 5:3), resisted (ACT 7:5 1), grieved (EPH 4:30), blasphemed (MAT 12:3 1) and insulted (ITEB 10:29). The Holy Spirit is God Himself. He possesses all the attributes of deity. He is all-knowing (I CO 2:1112), all-present (PSA 139:7) and all-powerful (PSA 104:30,JOB 33:4). He was involved in the creation of the world (GEN 1:2), in the incarnation of Christ (LUK 1:35) and in the inspiration of Scriptures (2PE 1:21, 2TI 3:16).
Although the Holy Spirit is the same in substance, and equal in power with the other Persons of the Trinity, He is subordinate to them in role and function. There is a functional hierarchy within the Trinity. The Son is under the Father, and the Spirit is under both the Father and the Son (JOH 14:28, ICO 11:3). God the Father sent God the Son into the world (JOH 3:17, 17:8,18), and God the Spirit is sent by both the Father and the Son (JOH 15:26). The Son glorifies the Father (JOH 14:13) and the Spirit glorifies the Son (JOH
16:13-14).
What does the Holy Spirit do? He convicts man of sin (JOH 16:8) and points them to Christ as the only way to true forgiveness and salvation. He also does the work of baptism by indwelling those who believe in Christ (I CO 12:13). He does the work of filling when the believer submits himself for sanctification (EPH 5:18). He dispenses the spiritual gifts to believers for the edification of the church (EPH 4:11,12).
What is the difference between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Spirit? The baptism of the Spirit is a one-time experience for the Christian at the time of conversion (I CO 12:13, EPH 1: 13). The Spirit indwells the believer and makes him part of the God's family (ROM 8:9,14). The filling of the Spirit is a repeatable work of the Spirit in the life of the Christian after his conversion (EPH 5:18). It enables him to live a victorious and obedient Christian life (ROM 8:4).
How do the Charismatics substantiate their doctrine of the second baptism of the Holy Spirit? They try to substantiate this baptism from three passages of Scripture found in ACT 2,8 & 10. The fact that all three "proof-texts" are found in the Acts of the Apostles is significant.
The book of Acts is a historical record of the founding of the New Testament church. It records the transition from the Old Testament form of worship to the New Testament form of worship. Therefore there are many unique events during this special period. In other words, Acts is an historical book that records events that took place at a special time in church history. While there are lessons to be teamed from this historical book, its primary purpose is to inform us of events that took place rather than instruct us to follow them. It serves a different basic purpose from the epistles (Romans to Jude) which are basically instructional books that tell us what to do.
Many events that are recorded in Acts cannot be taught as normative for Christians today. For example (a) Christians sold their possessions and shared their goods, ACT 2:45; (b) Christians met daily for fellowship and breaking of bread, ACT 2:46; (c) Christians worshipped in the Temple, ACT 2:46, 3: 1, 5-12 5-42 (d) Jesus' disciples preached in synagogues ACT 9:20, 13:5; (e) dishonesty led to instant death, ACT 5: 1 - 11.
Another reason why we must be careful not to try to imitate all that is recorded in this book is because it records the acts of the Apostles. The miraculous deeds recorded in this book v -re done by the Apostles and a few of their appointed deputies. Since we are not Apostles nor their appointed deputies we should not expect to repeat their deeds.
Do their three proof-texts support their teaching of the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Charismatics teach that the baptism must be sought by Christians. In all three passages there is no mention that the believers sought a second baptism. In ACT 2:2, they were sitting when the baptism occurred. In ACT 8:15-17, the Apostles prayed for the baptism and laid hands on them. In ACT 10:44, they were listening to a sermon when it occurred. Charismatics teach that the baptism is subsequent to conversion. In Acts 10 conversion and baptism occurred concurrently. Charismatics teach that the baptism results in speaking in tongues. In Acts 8 there is no mention of tongues-speaking (though they probably did speak in tongues). The events in these three proof-texts do not set a pattern to follow. Who should desire this baptism? Believers or unbelievers? Should we sit, pray, lay hands, or listen to sermons? If God wanted us to learn the method of obtaining the baptism from the Scriptures, He would have shown us the way and not confused us with three different patterns.
What are the reasons for the unusual happenings recorded in Acts 2,8 and 10? The baptising work of the Spirit in these passages must be read in the light of Matthew 16:19 where Jesus gave to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Peter was entrusted to open the gospel-door. The Lord in Acts 1: 8 told the disciples that the gospel-door would be open progressively in this order: "Jersualem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." By the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter opened the "gospel-door" to the Jews at Pentecost (ACT 2). Next he opened the door to the Samaritans (ACT 8) and then He opened the door to the Gentiles (ACT 10).
a) Acts 2:1-13 The disciples who were gathered at Jerusalem were saved but had not received the Holy Spirit (JOH 7:39, 16:7). They were asked to wait at Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit (ACT 1:4,5). God sent the Holy Spirit upon them on the day of Pentecost, with spectacular signs, thus inaugurating the birth of His church. This day of Pentecost was the birthday of the New Testament church. It was no ordinary day! Birthdays are special occasions, and we cannot expect everyday to be like a birthday. For example at the birthday of mankind, Adam was created a full-born adult and Eve was created from Adam's rib. Surely this is not the normal way a child is born today!
On the day of Pentecost there was a great sound that filled the house and the appearance of cloven tongues like as of fire sat on the believers. Pentecostals claim that they are experiencing "Pentecost" again -but where are these signs?
b) Acts 8:14-17 The Samaritans were half-breed Jews. They were despised by the Jews and they in turn hated the Jews who despised them. Though the Jewish Christians despised them, yet they had to receive the Samaritans as brethren because it was obvious that they too had received the same Holy Spirit (ACT 8:17). Though the Samaritans hated the Jews, yet they had to acknowledge the authority of the Jewish Apostles because they received the gift of the Holy Spirit through them. If this event had not taken place, the infant Christian church would have split into two parts from the beginning because Jewish Christians would not have accepted the Samaritans as equals and the Samaritans would not have accepted the Jewish Apostles as God's messengers. See JOH 4:20. Accepting the authority of the Apostles was vital because there was yet no New Testament to guide believers.
c) Acts 10: 1-48 The Jews considered the Gentiles as unclean and unfit to be God's children. God gave the gift of tongues to the Gentiles in the presence of Peter and John to show them that He had received them into His family. God had earlier revealed to Peter in a dream that He had "cleansed" the Gentiles, otherwise he would have refused to go to visit a Gentile (ACT 10: 15). When Peter returned from his visit to the Gentiles, he was rebuked by the other Apostles (ACT 11: 1,2). Peter convinced them that Gentile Christians were now equals because "God gave them the like gift as he did unto us" (ACT 11: 17). If this event had not taken place, the Jews would never have considered Gentile Christians as equals.
Summary The events in ACT 2,8 and 10 were unique events to commemorate the birth of the New Testament Church, to keep it united and to keep it under Apostolic authority while it was in its infancy (ACT 2:42). These signs were not a demonstration of God's power nor an evidence of a fuller Christian life, as the Charismatics teach!
Should Christians be "slain in the Spirit"? Some Charismatics have the ability to slay (le, make men fall backwards) large numbers of Christians by the sweep of the arms. In the Bible the act of falling backwards is usually an act of judgment rather than one of blessing. Eli the High Priest fell backwards and broke his neck because he failed to restrain his wicked sons (I SA 4:18). The murderous mob looking for Jesus fell backwards (JOH 18:6). The Holy Spirit raises men up from their sins and weaknesses but the Evil One makes men fall backwards into sin.
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