Being "baptized in the Spirit" acc. to
Scripture
Importance for each person and for the whole Church.
Ralph Martin - 2009
The New Testament takes the issue of being baptized in the Holy Spirit very
seriously. In Mat- thew 3, John the Baptist is preaching and he’s a little
ticked off at the Pharisees and Sadducees who come to be baptized because he
doesn’t believe they are sincere. He says don’t presume to say “we have
Abraham as our Father, for I tell you God can raise up children to Abraham
from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore
every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into
the fire (Mt 3:9-11). This is tough language! It says your repentance had
better be sincere. If you claim to be turning away from sin and turning
towards God but it’s not sincere, you are going to be cut off and thrown
into the fire!
We know that John the Baptist was kind of rough around the edges and that he
lived in the desert and this was his language. But Jesus adopts the same
language. In John 15 Jesus says that those who are bearing fruit will be
pruned so they can bear more fruit. Those who aren’t bearing the true fruits
of repentance, those whose faith really isn’t being expressed in good works
and charity are going to be cut off and thrown into the fire!
The Word of God is a serious word—it is about life and death, heaven and
hell, salvation and condemnation, and it makes a difference how we respond
to this Word and how we live in accordance with it. John goes on to say, “I
am baptizing you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after
me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will
clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff
he will burn with unquench- able fire” (Matt 3:11–12).There is an
apocalyptic, eschatological dimension to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The
pouring out of the Holy Spirit is intended to cleanse the human race. Those
who receive its purification will bear fruit and be gathered like wheat into
the Lord’s barn. But those who resist the Spirit and its cleansing run the
risk of being thrown into the unquenchable fire because they’ve dried up and
don’t bear fruit.
Jesus himself uses several terminologies to talk about what’s going to
happen. At times he talks about the promise of the Father, or about being
baptized in the Holy Spirit, or being clothed with power from on high. “Then
he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them thus
it was written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the
third day and that repentance for the forgiveness of sin would be preached
in his name for all the nations who came from Jerusalem. You are witnesses
of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you,
but stay in the city until you are clothed in power from on high” (Luke
24:46–49).
Although the disciples have three years of the best possible teaching,
personal attention, personal spiritual direction, and personal formation
from Jesus, and despite further instruction from the Risen Lord, Jesus tells
them, “You are not ready yet.” There is something else that must happen to
make it all come together. They need to receive the promise of the Father in
order to fully understand and carry out the mission Jesus entrusts to them.
When Jesus meets with them he enjoins them not to depart from Jerusalem but
“to wait for the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak.
John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). This is the language of Jesus. When they gather
together, they ask him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the
kingdom of Israel?” So despite the explanation of the Risen Lord, they still
don’t get it.
Jesus tells them not to get into end time speculation, but to focus on their
task. “It’s not for you to know the times or the seasons that the Father has
established by his own authority but you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout
Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8).
He tells them what they need to know, but they also need to receive the
power of the Holy Spirit, be baptized in the Spirit and get on with the
mission. So they wait and they pray. And then it happens—the day of
Pentecost.
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and
filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:1-4).
Part II
So what does the experience of Pentecost and being baptized in the Holy
Spirit mean?
“A crowd gathered and they were all astounded and bewildered and they said
to one another, ‘what does this mean?’”(Acts 2:12)
Peter stands up and explains it all. He tells the crowd that this is what
Moses prophesized, what the Psalms spoke about, what the prophets talked
about, what Joel and David prophesized. This is it! This is the fulfillment
of the Father’s plan— the outpouring of the Holy Spirit because his Son
Jesus is truly the Messiah, sitting at the right hand of God. Peter quotes
all the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is doing what Jesus said he would do—he
is reminding people of what this is all about by recalling the words of
Jesus.
People want to know how to respond; “What are we to do, my brothers?” And
Peter says to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you, too, will receive
this gift of the Holy Spirit. For this promise is made to you and your
children and to all who are far off whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts
2:38–39). Immediately Peter tells them that it’s not just for them or for
their children, it’s for EVERYONE whom the Lord is calling to himself. It’s
important to note that this isn’t just a unique experience to get the Church
off the ground. This isn’t just for the special leadership group that the
Lord gathers together. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter makes
a very strong proclamation that being baptized in the Holy Spirit is for
everybody.
As we continue on in the book of Acts, we see that this is an important
pastoral strategy of the apostles They are serious about seeing that
everybody they minister to is baptized in the Holy Spirit. They are
concerned that every new group of converts comes into the same experience
that they had on the day of Pentecost, of being baptized in the Holy Spirit,
clothed with power from on high, receiving the promise of the Father.
What were the conditions that allow the disciples in the Upper Room to be
baptized in the Holy Spirit? First of all, they are taught about it. They
know the truth about it even though they do not fully understand it. They
believe the Word of God, they obey the Word of God to stay in the city, and
they pray for the fulfillment of the Word of God. These are the same
conditions that are available today. How can people get baptized in the Holy
Spirit? They need to be taught about it. They need to believe it. They need
to do what the Lord asks them to do—repent and believe. They need to pray
for the fulfillment of it. The baptism in the Spirit is not an esoteric
mystery for only some people, it is for everybody.
“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of
God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for
them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had
not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:14–15). Because they are baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus these Samaritans receive something of the Holy Spirit, but not
enough. The apostles can tell that something is missing. Haven’t you had
that experience? You’re talking to s o m e o n e and they’re a Christian,
but something is missing? Recently I was teaching about the importance of
being baptized in the Spirit and a Conservative Catholic (of whom I am one
myself!) said, “Are you trying to tell me that I’m missing something in my
Christian life?” And an Irish priest interjected with boldness beyond what I
was anticipating; “You’re right that I’m trying to tell you that.” It’s
true, there’s more and we shouldn’t be shy or embarrassed about saying so!
The apostles, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit want people to know what’s
available to them and they want us to tell them.
“Then they laid hands on them and received the Holy Spirit. When Simon the
magician saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’
hands, he offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this power so that
everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’” (Acts
2:18–19). Unfortunately, there are not a lot of magicians following bishops
around these days saying, “How much would it cost for me to be able to do
that myself!” The Lord wants to do more. It’s not just about being baptized
and confirmed in a rote way or getting a little bit of the Holy Spirit. To
be baptized in the Holy Spirit is what it means to be a Christian.
Acts 10 is the story of Cornelius, a God-fearing Roman and his household.
Peter is praying and the Lord tells him to go to the Gentiles. Peter says,
“That’s against my religion, Lord.” The Lord essentially tells Peter that he
is going to expand his notion of religion; that he wants more people to be
included in salvation, so “go do what I tell you.” So Peter obeys. “While
Peter was speaking to Cornelius and his household telling them about Jesus,
the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The
circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift
of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles…” ( H o w d o
they know t h e H o l y Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles?) …for they
heard them speaking in tongues and praising God (Acts 10:44-46). There is an
indication that something has been released in them that allows them to
praise and worship God and manifest some charismatic gifts of the Spirit.
“Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with
water? They have received the Holy Spirit even as we have.’”
There is a temptation to build a little shrine around Pentecost and talk
about it as a special moment when the Church first began. But Peter is able
to tell us NO, don’t do that! This is a permanent reality that the Lord
wants to give each new group of Christians. This is something that Jesus
wants to do for everyone. In Acts 11 Peter gets into trouble for baptizing
Cornelius’ household. People think the cart went before the horse—that you
are supposed to get baptized first then receive the Holy Spirit. Peter
defends himself saying, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them
as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had
said: ‘John bap- tized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in
the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they
heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, ‘So
then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life too’” (Acts
11:15–18).
Acts 15 chronicles the debate about if the Gentiles must follow Mosaic Law.
Peter gets up and says to the Apostles, “Brothers, you know that some time
ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart bore wit-
ness by granting them the Holy Spirit, just as he did us” (Acts 15:7–9).
There’s a definite identification of this subsequent experience of the
Spirit as being the same as what happened to the apostles. Luke is purposely
showing us that it’s really important that each new group of Christian
converts be brought into this experience of the Holy Spirit.
When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit we say, “This is it—this is what it
is all about!” The Holy Spirit is poured out, the love of God is poured out
in our hearts, and we want to tell people about Jesus. Being baptized in the
Holy Spirit is so important because we can’t become witnesses unless we
really experience his love. I’m convinced that being baptized in the Holy
Spirit is absolutely essential and important for the world and the Church.
The Lord wants us to not be embarrassed or ashamed about it, but we should
tell anybody we possibly can about it.
All of us are invited to renew our baptism and confirmation and ask God for
more of the Holy Spirit.
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