The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

i'm writing this in response to a brief conversation with a group of friends. i will attempt to put forward my understanding on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. my belief is based on what i have read in books, heard from people and most importantly studied from the Bible. it is not the final word and i am not a scholar of the Bible, so feel free to comment and leave your thoughts and counterarguments. (i also apologise for the messy thoughts and long introduction, i have tried my best to sort out as best as i can, but my talent is clearly in engineering and not writing)

i believe that salvation, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit are three separate events although they most certainly can come at the same time. salvation happens when a person is convicted by God to confess the truth that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that He died and rose again so that we may have eternal life as new creations in Christ. the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an event further to this, as we are promised by Jesus that the Holy Spirit will be given to us as power from on high. and the filling of the Holy Spirit is post-baptism of the Holy Spirit, when we are given renewed power to carry out our ministry.

as a preface i'd like to note that there are different expressions of the same baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Acts 10:44-48 help us understand that the phrases 'the Holy Spirit came/fell on all', 'Holy Spirit poured out on', and 'baptism of the Holy Spirit' are synonymous.

Acts 10:44-48 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all (KJV: fell on all) who heard the message. 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. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

so now, done with definitions and all, on to the topic proper.

one of the reasons why this is such an arguable topic is that in many instances, the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes immediately after the person is saved. but there are several instances in the Bible that have the baptism of the Holy Spirit happening at separate times from salvation.

most obviously, pentecost. the disciples were regenerated christians, as they waited for the day when Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. it is unquestionable that if any of the disciples had died in those days, they would surely have gone to heaven (John 13:10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.") obviously this is so as they were believers and they believed that Jesus had redeemed them.

it can be argued that this was a one time event, and subsequently the Holy Spirit was given immediately to all who believe. one big argument is that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and salvation is a package deal; you cannot receive one without the other since the Godhead is a trinity. yet clearly in this instance we see that it can be separated, and while it is a package deal, they do not arrive in the same parcel.

how can someone can be baptised in the Holy Spirit without knowing it? if the disciples were told to wait until power came from on high, how can this 'power' be of an indefinite experience? if Paul can ask in Acts 19:2 the question "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?", it shows that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a clear and distinctive event separate from believing.

continuing on from Acts 19:1-6, They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"/ "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. (NIV)

the group of believers were baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus. AND when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them. (the 'and' appears in KJV) distinctly separate from salvation.

in Acts 8, Peter and John were sent to some of Philip's converts (converted in verse 12), and they arrived some time later, and verse 15-17 reads "When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. "

these verses make it clear to me that salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are separate events. some confusion arises when we read verses like 1 Cor 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body..." and we think, so if we are not baptized in the Holy Spirit are we not saved? perhaps the explanation is that in biblical times, all believers were prayed for to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit as quickly as possible after salvation. (in Acts 8, after Philip converted the people, Peter and John were sent to lay hands on them.) and it is obvious why it was so important to receive these 2 together.

because the purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is power. the empowerment to witness and conduct effective ministry. Acts 1:8 reads "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." every mention of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is followed by witnessing in power. 3000 people were saved on the very first outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

if the baptism of the Holy Spirit is this powerful, it is certainly most necessary for our christian journey. whether or not the baptism of the Holy Spirit is coupled with salvation becomes somewhat irrelevant; the question is are we baptized in the Holy Spirit? if the disciples were told to wait for power to come (despite having 3 years of hardcore training from Jesus himself), do we dare to do powerless ministry? is God dishonoured by powerless ministry?

i cannot wait for the day when we will finally understand the Word. but until then i pray that we keep seeking to know Him more, to live His truth and to be a testimony to the world. a powerful testimony as we seek His filling everyday. may we walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, be taught by the Spirit, and as we start this week let us seek to experience the enriching of our life in Christ Jesus and wealthy in the things of God. may God give us abundantly from His infinite love, grace, wisdom and mercy. and let us be receptive to receive these gifts and grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. let's finally make time for God, the time we promised Him when we made our new year's resolutions.