Since the turn of the twentieth century, the subject of the baptism in the Holy Spirit has been arousing keen interest and discussion amongst ever widening circles of the Christian church. Today it continues to a theme of study, of discussion, and quite often of controversy, in almost all sections of Christendom. In view of this, we shall seek to approach this study in a way that is careful, thorough, and scriptural.

Seven New Testament References

First we shall enumerate the passages in the New Testament where the word ‘baptise' is used in connection with the Holy Spirit. Appropriately enough - since ‘seven' is distinctively the number of the Holy Spirit - there are seven such passages.

John the Baptist contrasts his own ministry with the ministry of Christ which is to follow, and he uses these words in:

Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier that I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy spirit and fire."

Although the New King James version here uses the English preposition with the verb ‘to baptise,' the actual preposition used in the original Greek is ‘in'. This usage applies equally to baptising in water and to baptising in the Holy Spirit. In each case, the Greek proposition used is ‘in.' In fact, the only prepositions ever used anywhere in the New Testament in conjunction with the verb ‘to baptise' are ‘in' and ‘into.' It is unfortunate that the New King James version, by using a variety of different prepositional forms, has obscured the clear teaching of the original text.

The words of John the Baptist concerning Christ are rendered as follows:

Mark 1:8 "I indeed baptised you with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit."

In each case, the Greek proposition used is ‘in.'

The words of John the Baptist are rendered as follows in:

Luke 3:16: John answered, saying to them all, "I indeed baptise you with water, but One mightier that I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

Here again, the literal translation is in the Holy Spirit.

The testimony of John the Baptists concerning Christ is given as follows:

John 1:33 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptise with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is Her who baptises with the Holy Spirit.'"

Again, in each case the Greek preposition used in ‘in.'

Shortly before His ascension into heaven, Jesus says to his disciples in:

Acts 1:5 "...for John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

More literally, Jesus says: "...you shall be baptised in the Holy Spirit..."

Peter is describing the events which took place in the household of Cornelius, and in this connection he quotes the actual words of Jesus as given in Acts 1:5

Acts 11:16 "then I remembered the word of the Lord, How He said: ‘John indeed baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with (Literally in) the Holy Spirit for now.

Finally, Paul says in:

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves of free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Here the New King James Version used the preposition ‘by' - by one spirit we were all baptised into one body. However, the preposition used in the original Greek text is ‘in' - in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body. Thus, the usage of Paul in this passage is in perfect harmony with the usage of the gospels and the book of Acts.

Unfortunately, the accident that the translators of the King James Versions - both Old and New - have used the phrase by one Spirit in this particular passage has given rise to some strange doctrines. It has been suggested that Paul is here referring to some special experience, different from that referred to in the Gospels or the book of Acts, and that in this special experience the Holy Spirit is Himself the agent who does the baptising. Had the authors of these doctrines paused long enough to consult the original Greek text, they would have found no basis there for any such doctrine. In fact, the whole teaching of the entire New Testament in this connection agrees in this fact, clearly and emphatically stated: Jesus Christ Himself alone - and no other - is the One who baptises in the Holy Spirit.

We must also add that Paul's usage here of the phrase ‘baptised into,' in connection with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, agrees with the usage of the same phrase which we have already noted in connection with John's baptism and with Christian baptism in water. In both these cases we pointed out that the act of baptism was an outward seal and affirmation of an inward spiritual condition into which the person being baptised had already entered by faith. The same applies to Paul's statement here about the relationship between the baptism in the Holy Spirit and membership of the body of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit does not make a person a member of the body of Christ. Rather, it is a supernatural seal, acknowledging that that person has already, by faith, become a member of Christ's body.

Let us now briefly summarise the lessons which we may learn from considering the above seven passages in the New Testament where the phrase to baptise in the Holy Spirit is used.

In six out of these seven passages, the experience of being baptised in the Holy Spirit is both compared, and contrasted, with being baptised in water.

In two out of the seven passages, fire is joined with the HOLY Spirit, and the experience is described as being baptised in the Holy Spirit and fire.

Apart from the verb ‘to baptise,' the only other verb used in these passages in connection with the Holy Spirit is the verb ‘to drink.' Paul says in

1 Corinthians 12:13 ...we have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

In modern English we should say more simply: We have all been given to drink of one Spirit.'

The use of the verb ‘to drink' agrees with what Jesus Himself says concerning the Holy Spirit, in

John 7:37-39 ...Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."

‘He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Here Jesus speaks of an experience in which the believer is to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through a process analogous to that of drinking waters.

This in turn harmonises with the passage in Act 2:4, concerning the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, where it states that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

It agrees also with various passages in the book of Acts which speak about believers receiving the Holy Spirit. For example, concerning the Samaritans converted through the preaching of Philip, we read that the apostles Peter and John were later sent down to them from Jerusalem:

Acts 8:15 & 17: ...who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit...

Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Again, Peter says concerning the people in the house of Cornelius upon whom the Holy Spirit had just fallen:

Acts 10:47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptised who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"

Further on, Paul asks the disciples whom he meets at Ephesus:

Acts 19:2 "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

In all these passages, the use of phrases such as ‘to drink of the Holy Spirit,' ‘to be filled with the Holy Spirit,' ‘to receive the Holy Spirit,' suggests an experience in which the believer receives the fullness of the Holy Spirit inwardly within himself.

Immersion From Above

We have seen that the literal, root meaning of the verb ‘to baptise' is ‘to cause something to be dipped, or immersed.' Thus the phrase ‘to be baptised in the Holy Spirit' suggests an experience in which the believer's whole personality is immersed, surrounded, enveloped in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, coming down over him from above and from without.

We need to bear in mind that, in the natural order, there are two possible ways of being immersed in water. A person may go down beneath the surface of the water and come up from under it. Alternatively, a person may walk under a waterfall and allow himself to be immersed form above. It is this second form of immersion of which the spiritual counterpart is the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

In full accord with this picture of immersion, we find that, without exception, in every place in the book of Acts where the baptism in the Holy Spirit is described, language is used which indicates that the Holy Spirit comes down, over, or is poured out upon, the believer from above.

For example, we read that on the day of Pentecost,

Acts 2:2 ...there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

These word reveal that the Holy Spirit came down over these disciples from above and completely immersed and enveloped them, even to the extent of filling the whole house where they were sitting.

Further on in the same chapter, Peter twice confirms this interpretation of the experience when he declares that this experience is the fulfillment of God's promise in:

Acts 2:17 ‘...in the last days... I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh...'

And he says again concerning Christ in:

Acts 2:33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear."

In each case the picture is one of the Holy Spirit being poured out over the believers from above.

In Acts 8:16, the phrase used for the same experience is that of the Holy Spirit, ‘falling upon' the believers. Here again, the language depicts the Spirit coming down over them from above.

Concerning the people in the house of Cornelius, both phrases are used one after the other in:

Acts 10:44 ... The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word,

:45 ...the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

This shows that the phrases ‘to fall upon' and ‘to be poured out on' are used interchangeably in this connection.

Again, Peter describes the same event in the house of Cornelius, and says in:

Acts 11:15 "...the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning."

Here the phrase, as upon us at the beginning, indicates that the experience of Cornelius and his household is in this respect parallel to the experience of the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

Finally, we read concerning the disciples in Ephesus, after they had been baptised in water, in:

Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them...

Here the phrase ‘to come upon' is obviously similar in meaning to the phase used in previous passages, ‘to fall upon.'

If we now seek to fit together the pictures, or impressions, created by the various phrases which we have found used in the New Testament, we arrive at a conclusion which may be summarised as follows.

The experience of which we are speaking is made up of two distinct, but complementary aspects, one outward, and the other inward.

Outwardly, the invisible, but absolutely real, presence and power of the Holy Spirit comes down from above upon the believer, and completely surrounds, envelopes, and immerses him.

Inwardly, the believer, in the likeness of one drinking, receives the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within himself, until there comes a point at which the Holy Spirit, thus received, in turn wells up within the believer and flows forth like a river from the inmost depths of his being.

No human language can fully exhaust the various phases and aspects of a mighty, supernatural experience such as this, but it may perhaps be illuminating to borrow a picture from the Old Testament.

In the days of Noah we read that the whole world that then existed was submerged beneath the flood. In bringing about this flood, we read that God used two distinct, but complementary processes. We read the following account of how the flood was brought about in:

Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

This account reveals that the waters of the flood came from two sources: from within, the fountains of the great deep were broken up, from above, the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain was poured down.

We must of course observe that the flood of Noah's day was a flood of divine wrath and judgment; the flood which immerses the New Testament believer is one of divine mercy, and glory, and blessing. However, with this qualification, the experience of the New Testament believer, who receives the fullness of the Holy Spirit, exhibits the same two aspects as in the account of Noah's flood: from within, the fountains of the great deep within the believer's own personality are broken up and there gushes out a mighty flood of blessing and power from his inmost being; from above, the windows of God's mercy are opened upon the believer, and from these opened windows there is poured upon him such a deluge of glory and blessing that his whole personality is immersed in its outpourings.

It must be emphasized that we are not here speaking of two separate experiences, but rather of two distinct, yet complimentary aspects which together make up the fullness of one single experience.

Someone may object that it is difficult to understand how the believer can at one and the same time be filled with the Holy spirit from within, and immersed in the Holy Spirit form without. However, such an objection in reality serves only to illustrate the limitations of human speech and understanding. An exactly similar type of objection might be brought against such statements as those made by Christ Himself, that He is in the Father and the Father in Him; or again, that Christ is in the believer, and the believer in Christ.

In the last resort, if men persist in caviling at a supernatural experience of this kind on the basis of human limitations of expression or understanding, the best and shortest answer is found in the words of the Scottish preacher, who said: ‘It is better felt, that telt!'

The outward Evidence

Up to this point we have considered the invisible, inward nature of the baptism in the Holy spirit, as revealed by the words used in the New Testament to describe it. We must now go on to consider what are the outward manifestations which accompany this inward experience.

First of all, we must point out that it is perfectly scriptural to use the word ‘manifestation' in connection with the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge of course that the Holy Spirit Himself is, by His very nature, invisible. In this respect, He is compared by Jesus to the wind. Jesus says concerning the operation of the Holy Spirit in

John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of ilt, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Although the wind itself is invisible, the effects which the wind produces, when it blows, can in many cases be both seen and heard. For example, when the wind blows, the dust rises from the streets; the trees all bend in one direction; the leaves rustle; the waves of the sea roar; the clouds go flying across the sky. These effects produced by the wind can be seen, or heard.

So it is, Jesus says, with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit Himself is invisible. But the effects which the Holy spirit produces, when He begins to work, can often be seen, or heard. This fact is confirmed by the language used by the New Testament in various places.

For example, the apostle Peter refers to the effects produced by the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and he says in:

Acts 2:33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He (Christ) poured out this which you now see and hear."

Here this refers to the effects of the Holy Spirit at work, which Peter says, can be both seen and heard.

Again, Paul describes his own ministry in these words in:

1 Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power...

Paul says in:

1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

Notice the phrases which Paul uses in connection with the Holy spirit - the demonstration of the Spirit and the manifestation of the Spirit. These two words demonstration and manifestation show clearly that the presence and operation of the Holy Spirit can produce effects which can be directly perceived by our physical senses.

With this im mind, let us now turn to the various passages in the New Testament where the baptism in the Holy spirit is described - that is, where we are told what actually happened to the people who received this experience. Let us see what are the outward manifestation which accompany this operation of the Spirit.

There are actually three places in the New Testament where we are told what happened when people were baptised in the Holy Spirit. We shall consider, in order, the actual words used in each of these three passages to describe what took place.

The first record of what happened to the first disciples on the day of Pentecost is in:

Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

And they were all filed with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The second record of what happened when Peter first preached the gospel to Cornelius and his household we find in:

Acts 10:44-46 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.

And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

The third record describes what happened to the first group of converts, to whom Paul preached at Ephesus.

Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

If we now carefully compare these three passages, we shall find that there is one - and only one - outward manifestation which is common to al three occasions where people received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In each case, the Scripture explicitly states that those who received this experience spoke with tongues - or spoke with other tongues.

Other supernatural manifestations are also mentioned, but none is mentioned as having taken place on more that the one of the three occasions.

For example, on the day of Pentecost there was the sound of a rushing wind, and visible tongues of fire were seen. However, these manifestations were not repeated on the other two occasions.

Again, at Ephesus we read that the new converts not only spoke in tongues, but also prophesied. However, this manifestation of prophesying is not mentioned as having taken place either on the day of Pentecost or in the house of Cornelius.

The only manifestation which is common to all three occasions is that all those who received the experience spoke with tongues.

The apostle Peter and the other Jews, who already knew what had taken place on the day of Pentecost, went to the house of Cornelius reluctantly, against their own inclinations, under the explicit direction of God. At that time the Jewish believers did not realize that the gospel was for the Gentiles, or that Gentiles could be saved and become Christians. However, the moment that Peter and the other Jews heard the Gentiles speak with tongues, they immediately understood and acknowledged that these Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit just as truly and as fully as the Jews themselves. They never asked for any additional evidence.

The Scripture says that they were astonished...because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues... For Peter and the other Jews, the sole and sufficient evidence that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit was that they had heard them speak with tongues.

In the next chapter - Acts 11 - we read that Peter was called to account by the other leaders of the church in Jerusalem for his conduct in visiting and preaching to Gentiles. In his own defense, he explained what had taken place in the house of Cornelius. In this connection, he says, in

Acts 11:5 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning."

Thus Peter directly compares the experience which the household of Cornelius received with that which the first disciples received on the day of Pentecost - for he says, as upon us at the beginning. Yet in the house of Cornelius there was no mention of a mighty rushing wind, or tongues of fire. The one sufficient manifestation which set the divine seal upon the experience of Cornelius and his household was that they spoke with tongues.

Form this was the evidence which the apostles themselves received in their own experience.

Second, this was the evidence which the apostles accepted in the experience of others.

Third, the apostles never asked for any other alternative evidence.

Fourth, no other alternative evidence is offered to us anywhere in the New Testament.

In the next chapter we shall examine this conclusion further; and we shall consider various criticisms, or objections, which are commonly raised against it.

Source:

Foundation Series Volume 2 Chapter 5 - Derek Prince