Think on These Things
August 1998
3. Occurrences of Holy Spirit Baptism
4. Ye often hear it said...
You can read every passage that talks about Holy
Spirit baptism in less than 15 minutes! Please study these passages: Mt. 3:11; Mk. 1:8;
Lk. 3:16; Jn. 1:33; Acts 1:5-8, 2 (all), 11:15-18 (in reference to the events recorded in
Acts 10). That’s it! (Please check this out with your concordance and prove this for
yourself.) Further, it is a simple task to go through the New Testament with a concordance
and check all cases in which the words baptism, baptize or baptized are used. With the few
exceptions of where baptism is used figuratively (e.g., Mk. 10:38), a study of the context
reveals that all other cases are referring to water baptism. Review the examples of
conversions in the book of Acts (2:37f, 8:9f; 8:26f; 9:1f; 10:34f; 16:13f; 16:25f; 19:1f).
Not one of these required anyone to be baptized in the Holy
Spirit. In all cases of conversion — and all are consistent in this regard — the
converts were commanded to be baptized in water. As we understand the nature and reason
for Holy Spirit baptism, the reason for this will become quite clear.
Back to the Contents
Predictions. We do not claim to have the gift of prophecy. The bible teaches that supernatural knowledge would cease (1 Cor. 13:9-10), and our direct observation confirms that it has. But common sense tells us that certain things are in the offing:
1. The truth will come out, and it is going to be very ugly. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" Prov. 14:23. God will judge this nation. Not just the President, but those who choose wealth over righteousness, and those in the media who have had nothing but praise for the spinners’ abilities to turn shamelessness into an asset.
2. No one is minding the store. Our President’s inability to govern has emboldened our enemies — in Iraq, Africa, Bosnia, the Middle East, North Korea, etc. — we cannot fight them all. A major catastrophe lies only 16 months away when many critical computer systems will fail. A world-wide recession seems inevitable, as resources will be shifted to fix this disruptive problem. Asian markets are already in chaos. Military actions will escalate with nuclear and biological weapons widely proliferated and our military demoralized with our crucial military secrets traded away. Character does matter. Would an Administration of character have these problems?
3. Those who trust in God NOW have nothing to fear. Prov. 1:22-29: "How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel, and did not want my reproof; I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes ..." Now is the time of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2); it will soon be too late.
Back to the Contents
Occurrences of Holy Spirit Baptism
John the Baptist stated that Jesus would baptize "you" with the Holy Spirit (Mt. 3:11). Notice that the "you" in this verse is not referring to everyone. If so, then all would be baptized with fire as well, which verse 12 tells us is eternal punishment. Further, from Acts 8 and 1 Cor. 12 we learn that all Christians did not receive miraculous spiritual gifts, something that always accompanied the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So, who did receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles into all the truth (Jn. 16:13). The baptism in the Holy Spirit had not taken place as of Jesus ascension, for he instructs the apostles to wait at Jerusalem until it takes place (Acts 1:1-8). But on the day of Pentecost it did take place (Acts 2), as evidenced by three supernatural events, two that could clearly be seen and heard, and a third — the ability of the apostles to speak languages that they had never learned. Peter stated that this was the outpouring of the spirit promised by Joel (Acts 2:16f).
No other baptism in the Holy Spirit is recorded until, perhaps, Acts 10. Some believe that the first gentiles who were converted were also baptized in the Holy Spirit like the apostles (compare Acts 10:44-48 with Acts 11:15-17). However, this experience was never explicitly called a baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the only sign was that of speaking in other languages, a gift that was commonly imparted by the laying on of the apostles hands (see Acts 8:14-18; 1 Cor. 12).
The fact that Peter is able to reference the Holy Sprit baptism on Pentecost as a unique event "at the beginning" (11:15) proves that this was not something that occurred to all Christians. Holy Spirit baptism was never commanded, and when it did occur it was totally unexpected by the recipients of it.
All Christians do receive the Holy Sprit as a gift of God (Acts 5:32), and those who know and speak the truth are filled with the Holy Sprit (Eph. 5:18). However, the bible never calls this Holy Spirit baptism. The Holy Spirit revealed all truth in the first century (2 Pet. 1:3; Jude 3). When we walk by that truth, we walk by the Spirit that delivered it (Rom. 8:9-13).
Back to the Contents
"but in 1 Peter 3:21, Peter stated:
"And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the
removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a
good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,..."
It is difficult to argue with a direct biblical statement. Subject: baptism. Verb: saves. Object: you. The context shows that Peter was talking about water baptism. Verse 20: "... God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water." The reference to washing defines this to be water baptism. This is totally consistent with the examples of conversions described in the book of Acts — all conversions culminated with water baptism. It is this baptism that puts one into Christ (Romans 6:3; see Acts 10:47-48).
Lest we be misunderstood, this verse does not say that we are saved by baptism only. We are not saved by any one thing ONLY. Baptism is necessary to salvation, and it puts us into a saved state. However, after baptism we must be faithful until death (Rev. 2:10), recognizing the great privilege of doing the works that God has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10; Rom. 12:1-2).
Back to the Contents