What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Steven L. Ware, Ph. D.
Brief Outline
What is the Pentecostal Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience separate from and subsequent to conversion, with the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues.
What is the Biblical Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
“Baptism of/in/with/by the Holy Spirit” is used by writers of the New Testament to describe the experience of persons who encounter the power of the Holy Spirit when they are converted to the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection for them.
How Should We Understand the “Second Experiences” People Have Today?
The activities of confession of sin and submission of one’s life to the control of the Holy Spirit are guaranteed to bring spiritual renewal, regardless of the name we give it.
What About Speaking in Tongues?
Speaking in tongues is a legitimate manifestation the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life, both for corporate worship and private prayer.
A Very Brief Personal Statement
What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? As the pastor of a congregation which was heavily impacted by the charismatic movement beginning in the 1970s, this and associated questions have echoed through our minds and hearts and hallways for at least a generation. Nearly fifty years later, some have noted the apparent demise of the movement, although its influence in the development of countless congregations in recent years—mostly independent and some quite large—is unmistakable. Numerous answers to the question of the exact nature of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit have come from a variety of sources. Yet it is this author’s conviction that a thoughtful and Biblically faithful re-statement is needed, since this subject is central to the thinking and spiritual experience of so many Christians in the twenty-first century.
What follows is a brief consideration of the seminal matters which must be engaged in answering this question.[1] We shall begin with the classical Pentecostal doctrine of Baptism of the Holy Spirit, since it is the most widely known answer to this question and therefore the beginning point of many discussions. Secondly, we will examine the Biblical input on this matter and engage critical questions of theological interpretation. Thirdly, we will consider the effect of this experience on believers, and how it should be understood.
What is the Pentecostal Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Since the beginning of the Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century—and especially in the last half-century—millions of persons worldwide have been introduced to an expression of the Christian faith which had been virtually unknown in the previous centuries of Christianity. Out of the popular revivals of the late nineteenth century were born many new church affiliations, several of which emphasized Wesleyan ideals of holiness, or entire sanctification. For radical holiness adherents, this included both negative and positive sides: On the negative side, it meant complete cleansing from sin, to the extent of believing that an entirely sanctified person was no longer capable of committing willful acts of sin. On the positive side, it meant being filled, or baptized with the Holy Spirit, so that one would think and act according to God’s desires rather than according to human desires.
At about the beginning of the twentieth century, some leaders in the holiness movement (and later some from outside the holiness movement) began confronting the question of how a person was to know when they had reached the state of entire sanctification—or, conversely, when they had reached the state of spiritual fullness. Largely neglecting the negative component, and utilizing the Biblical book of Acts, some noticed that “speaking in other tongues” was a frequent (although not universal) manifestation of those who were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6). So they began to pray for this manifestation, prayed for others to receive it as well, and began to proclaim that speaking in tongues was the Biblically-ordained “initial physical sign” that one had been ushered into this spiritual fullness.[2]
The classical pentecostal teaching concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit therefore includes two major assertions. The first assertion is that there are two distinct stages of spiritual experience: The first stage is conversion—when a person receives Christ as personal Savior and consequently also receives the Holy Spirit as the indwelling presence of Christ. The second stage is baptism of the Holy Spirit—when a person completely yields their will to the control of the Spirit and they are consequently filled with the Spirit in a deeper and more meaningful way. This second stage is evidenced by speaking in tongues, which is usually viewed as a private prayer language between the individual and God himself.
Since almost the beginning of the movement, this teaching has often been viewed as the sine qua non, or “touchstone” of Pentecostal identity, and has been popularized since the mid-twentieth century by a number of well-known evangelists and their television appearances, as well as by movies, a plethora of publications, and worldwide exposure on the internet. At the same time, Pentecostal theology and practice were given wider acceptance with the rise of the charismatic movement[3] within historic Christian church bodies beginning in the 1960s, although certainly not all charismatics adopted the particularities of Pentecostal theology.
What is the Biblical Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
There are seven places in the New Testament where baptism of the Holy Spirit is specifically mentioned. Four of these occurrences are virtually identical to one another: The three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, and Luke 3:16) include the account of John the Baptist predicting that the Messiah will baptize people with the Holy Spirit: “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). Conversely, in John’s Gospel this statement is made directly after Jesus’ baptism (1:33).
The next two occurrences refer directly to the event of the Spirit’s sudden arrival at Pentecost: In the ascension narrative at the beginning of Acts, Jesus tells his disciples (1:5) that “John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Similarly, Acts 11:16 is Peter’s recollection of these words of Jesus as he tells his fellow-apostles in Jerusalem of his experience preaching the Gospel at the house of Cornelius.
What can we conclude about the baptism of the Holy Spirit from these Scriptural statements? First of all, we conclude that Jesus is the one who baptizes in/with the Spirit. Secondly, we conclude that this actually happened on Pentecost when the disciples were gathered at the Upper Room in Jerusalem, as narrated by Luke in Acts 2. Thirdly, we can conclude from the two occurrences in Acts that the disciples felt empowered to proclaim Jesus as the resurrected Messiah. Unfortunately, it is difficult to conclude anything more from these six statements.
It is interesting to note, moreover, that none of these six occurrences gives us anything near the level of specificity that we would expect in order to establish the points of pentecostal theology described above. In other words, nowhere in any of these occurrences of the phrase do we see baptism of the Holy Spirit described specifically as an experience that is 1) distinct from and subsequent to conversion and 2) evidenced by speaking in tongues. But before critiquing the pentecostal teaching any further, however, we should analyze the final occurrence of this phrase in Scripture. We shall then examine the passages in Acts which are used to support the pentecostal teaching.
The final occurrence of this phrase is found in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where Paul states, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (ESV). Considering the larger context of this statement, it is clear that Paul is speaking of the experience of conversion, when persons become members of the body of Christ. Pentecostal authors have been anxious to differentiate this statement from what they define as “baptism of the Holy Spirit”—as a second experience of the Spirit subsequent to conversion. Yet the Greek wording is essentially the same here as in all the previous occurrences mentioned above: εν ενι πνευματι…εβαπτισθημεν (in one Spirit…we were baptized).[4] It is difficult, therefore, to imagine that the original readers of the first century would have viewed this as referring to something essentially different from the first six occurrences of the phrase. In other words, the clear implication from Paul is that baptism in/of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion. Therefore, it appears once more that nowhere in Scripture is baptism of/by/with the Holy Spirit described specifically as an experience that is essentially distinct from or subsequent to conversion.
Where, then, is the pentecostal doctrine of baptism of the Holy Spirit found in Scripture, if at all? The five passages used by pentecostals to support their teaching are found in Acts 2:1-4, 8:4-24, 9:10-18, 10:44-48, and 19:1-7. The first of these is of course the account of the Spirit’s descent upon the disciples in the Upper Room at the feast of Pentecost. This account would seem to be the most directly supportive of the pentecostal teaching: Jesus’ disciples were admittedly believers in Jesus before the event of Pentecost (see, for instance, Peter’s declaration of Jesus’ Messiahship and divinity in Matthew 16:16). In addition, the aforementioned occurrences of “baptism of/with the Holy Spirit” in Acts (1:5, 11:16) show that this was a life-changing experience for the disciples.
To understand the event of Pentecost correctly, however, it is necessary to see the larger picture of the work of the Holy Spirit in divine redemptive history:
[W]e must realize that the day of Pentecost is much more than an individual event in the lives of Jesus’ disciples and those with them. The day of Pentecost was the point of transition between the old covenant work and ministry of the Holy Spirit and the new covenant work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Of course the Holy Spirit was at work throughout the Old Testament…. But during that time the work of the Holy Spirit in individual lives was, in general, a work of lesser power.[5]
It is in the life of Jesus that we begin to see the new covenant power of the Holy Spirit at work. His disciples, however,
…do not receive this full new covenant empowering for ministry until the Day of Pentecost, for Jesus tells them to wait in Jerusalem, and promises, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). This was a transition in the lives of the disciples as well (see John 7:39; 14:17; 16:7; Acts 2:16) as Jesus returned to heaven and then was given authority to pour out the Holy Spirit in new fullness and power (Acts 2:33).
What was the result in the lives of the disciples? These believers, who had an old-covenant less-powerful experience of the Holy Spirit in their lives, received on the Day of Pentecost a more-powerful new-covenant experience of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. They received much greater “power” (Acts 1:8), power for living the Christian life and carrying out Christian ministry.[6]
As Grudem states, “[t]he Day of Pentecost was certainly a remarkable time of transition in the whole history of redemption as recorded in Scripture. It was a remarkable day in the history of the world, because on that day the Holy Spirit began to function among God’s people with new covenant power.” This helps explain the notable change in demeanor of the disciples from fearful followers of Jesus at the time of his arrest and crucifixion to fearless proclaimers in the face of possible imprisonment and execution in Acts. However, although it was certainly a “second experience” of the Spirit for them, “it is not to be taken as a pattern for us, for we are not living at a time of transition in the work of the Holy Spirit.”[7] Theirs was a unique point in redemptive history, whereas we are in the same position as those who became believers as a result of the apostles’ proclamation, such as the Corinthians who became Christians and were “baptized in one Spirit into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
One other passage used in defense of the pentecostal doctrine has possible implications of the “second experience” teaching. Acts 8:4-24 tells of the successful proclamation of the Gospel by Philip (and somewhat later by Peter and John) in Samaria. We are told that the Samaritans readily received the Gospel and that many were baptized, yet it is also noted that the Holy Spirit “had not yet fallen on any of them” (16). While this could indeed imply the validity of a “second experience” theology, Grudem makes a valid point in postulating that this may be a case of a divinely orchestrated delay in the Samaritans’ experience of the Spirit: Since Philip was only a deacon in the Jerusalem church, and since the proclamation of the Gospel in Samaria was the first large-scale extension of that message outside a specifically Jewish context, it is certainly plausible that God delayed the manifestation of the Spirit’s powerful work until the arrival of apostles Peter and John.[8] In this way, no one could say that the conversion of the Samaritans was anything less than a true work of the Holy Spirit, and therefore a fulfillment of Jesus’ own statement that his disciples would be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
That leaves us with the stories of Saul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-19), Peter preaching at the house of Cornelius (10:34-48), and Paul meeting the disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus (19:1-7). In the story of Saul’s conversion, he was “filled with the Holy Spirit” when Ananias prayed for him just three days after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. In the story of Peter preaching at the house of Cornelius, it is apparent that his listeners had no prior familiarity with the message about Jesus. The same is true with the disciples whom Paul later met at Ephesus. Therefore, the most consistent pattern to be observed in the passages in Acts in which persons are filled with the Holy Spirit is that it takes place when a person is converted to the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
What about the place of tongues as the initial physical evidence of Spirit-baptism? This manifestation does indeed appear in three of these stories (Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6), although not specifically in the other two. It should be added here that Paul’s discussion regarding the use of tongues and their interpretation in 1 Corinthians 12-14 implies that there is indeed an ongoing place for speaking in tongues as 1) a vehicle for divine messages in the context of corporate Christian worship, and 2) private prayer between an individual and God. More importantly, however, if Scripture does not support the assertion that baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience distinct from and subsequent to conversion, then there is no need to seek a particular sign that one has attained this level of spiritual experience.
What should we conclude, then, about the use of “baptism of the Holy Spirit” in the New Testament? It is a phrase used by the authors of the New Testament to describe the experience of persons encountering the power of the Holy Spirit when they are converted to the Gospel message about Jesus. But it is not used by these same authors to speak of distinct post-conversion experiences, except to the extent that believers are exhorted on an ongoing basis to “be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
How Should We Understand the “Second Experiences” People Have Today?
Millions of Christians worldwide from a wide variety of church backgrounds—and some with little to no church background—have experienced a “baptism” or “filling” of the Holy Spirit in recent generations. If Scripture indeed does not support the concept of a “second experience,” however, then how are we to understand what appear to be very legitimate experiences which have furthered spiritual growth and inspired great ventures for so many?
One obvious insight is to be gained from the way in which many have been taught to prepare for baptism in the Holy Spirit. Very often a person is told to spend intentional time in prayer—confessing every known sin, committing every aspect of their life to the lordship of Christ, yielding every part of their being to control of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, we can fully expect that this person will undoubtedly experience an increased spiritual awareness and enthusiasm, as this is nothing less than a guaranteed prescription for spiritual renewal that is seen repeatedly in Scripture (e.g., 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 51:10, 103:5; Isaiah 57:15; Hosea 6:2; Acts 3:19; Romans 12:2). In fact, many believers would testify to experiencing multiple waves of spiritual renewal in this manner over the course of their lives, which then begs the question of why any sincere believer would seek for only two such experiences. It is therefore more Scriptural to view baptism in the Holy Spirit as synonymous with the spiritual washing of regeneration which takes place at conversion, which is intended by God to be an ongoing process of spiritual growth.
This brings us to one of the unfortunate and inevitable, if unintended, implications of the classical pentecostal teaching of a two-stage process of spiritual experience: It divides Christians into superior and inferior categories. Many classical pentecostals will of course object to this, and insist that this is not their intention. But it is unavoidably implied every time one believer asks another if they have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The beauty, however, of the Scriptural model of baptism of the Holy Spirit described here is that every believer is in the same category, and all are progressing by degrees toward increasing likeness to our Savior. And since there is no necessary “initial physical evidence” that one has been baptized in the Spirit—except that one is a sincere believer—all are free to manifest any of the wide variety of spiritual gifts as they are moved by the Holy Spirit.
What About Speaking in Tongues?
Much ink has been spilled over the past century or more regarding the validity and use of speaking in tongues. With the afore-going discussion in mind, perhaps only a few clarifying statements are needed. Perhaps most importantly, anyone who considers themselves at all charismatic will by definition affirm the ongoing validity of speaking in tongues for contemporary Christian spiritual expression—in other words, that speaking in tongues and other miraculous spiritual manifestations such as healing did not disappear after the completion of the text of the New Testament in the late first century, as asserted by those known as cessationists.
In addition, charismatics affirm the use of tongues in two ways, both of which are discussed in Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Corinth: First of all, tongues are viewed as a valid expression in an individual’s private prayer life (1 Corinthians 14:18-19). Often called a “prayer language,” many charismatics describe it as a deeper form of communion with God. In addition, the Holy Spirit may speak a message in tongues through a believer in a corporate worship service (1 Corinthians 12:27-31, 14:26-33). In this setting, however, the message in tongues requires an interpretation—whether from the same person or from someone else—so that all present may understand and benefit.
A Very Brief Personal Statement
As the pastor of a Lutheran congregation which has been heavily impacted by the charismatic movement since the 1970s, it comes as no surprise that many have questions about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, its Scriptural basis and application, and even my own past experience with these matters. Some of these questions are of course inevitable and welcome, since many are curious to know whether the spiritual experience of others matches our own or has similar points of reference. These questions are likewise inevitable on a theological level because charismatics have a history that is markedly different than that of pentecostals: Charismatics by and large have remained in the church bodies of their origin—unlike pentecostals of the early twentieth century, who largely left behind the church bodies of their origin. Consequently, charismatics have been united by a common spiritual experience (like pentecostals) but not by a common theology for explaining that experience (unlike pentecostals). For many charismatics, the only theological explanation available has been that of pentecostalism—which has unfortunately put them at odds with others of their church body who wish to interpret the experience of baptism of the Holy Spirit more Biblically.
Both of those concerns—maintaining and celebrating the invigorating presence of the Holy Spirit in my own spiritual life, and being true to Scripture—have been very much a part of my spiritual journey. Following a spiritual awakening in my teens, I was introduced to matters of charismatic experience and theology through a non-denominational youth-oriented Bible study group—a manifestation of the “Jesus Movement” of the early 1970s. Having a deepening interest in theology and desiring to serve God with my life, I was counseled by several people to consider pastoral ministry, although I was unsure whether it was the correct path for me. After one year of study at a liberal arts college, I joined an old friend in attending a Bible institute sponsored by a large pentecostal church not far from my hometown. Following graduation two years later, I followed the insatiable theological thirst through three more years toward an undergraduate degree (Fort Wayne Bible College), then three more years to a Master of Divinity degree (Oral Roberts University), then one more year and a thesis to a Master of Sacred Theology degree (Trinity Lutheran Seminary). All along the way my understanding of baptism of the Holy Spirit was evolving through further Scriptural and theological deliberation, one result being my STM thesis, Lutherans and the Charismatic Movement. Several years later I followed once again the insatiable thirst and completed a PhD (Drew University), although by that time my research interests had evolved in additional directions.
Along the way, I indeed completed requirements for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and served until their increased leftward theological drift motivated resignation of my credentials. Concurrently, I served as Professor of Historical Theology for seventeen years at a liberal arts college and seminary, then became ordained in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in 2017.
While the questions of charismatic theology are no longer front-burner issues, they have been nevertheless topics of frequent discussion with students, faculty members, and fellow-believers. Through the long process of Scriptural and theological study, my own views are those stated above already: All true believers are indeed filled with the Holy Spirit, and need only to yield themselves to his control through prayer, confession of sin, and study of the Scriptures. This understanding removes the need for any distinct “second experience” or stage of grace, and simply encourages the believer to grow in their relationship with God through deliberate spiritual disciplines. Consequently, it also removes the need to identify a necessary physical manifestation of the second stage of grace. More importantly, it frees the believer to manifest the Spirit’s presence in their life in a multitude of ways as guided by Scripture.
[1] Much of this discussion, although not all, is informed by and parallel to Wayne Grudem’s excellent presentation of this subject in chapter 39 of his Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zonderevan, 1994), 763ff. Readers are invited to peruse his text for further discussion. Grudem’s podcast covering much of the same material is found at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baptism-in-and-filling-with-the-holy-spirit/id322844869?i=1000082948630.
[2] The theological roots and development of pentecostalism have been well-documented. See Donald W. Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostalism (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1987); Edith L. Blumhofer, Restoring the Faith: The Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism, and American Culture (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993); Steven L. Ware, Restorationism in the Holiness Movement in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries (Lanham, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2004).
[3] “Charismatic movement” refers properly to a spiritual renewal movement which began in the 1960s and 1970s in many historic church bodies, both Protestant and Catholic. While Pentecostals of the early twentieth century left behind the churches of their upbringing (and many were indeed ostracized), charismatics of the mid- to late twentieth century largely remained within their church bodies and viewed themselves as a force for renewal. A further “third wave” of charismatic renewal arose in the 1980s which established mostly independent congregations. The definitive reference works for both pentecostal and charismatic movements are Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee, eds., Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), and The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).
[4] To be fair, it should be noted that the Greek preposition εν can be translated “in,” “with,” or “of.” To be consistent, however, we should translate it the same in every occurrence since it was the same word in Greek for the original readers.
[5] Grudem, 772.
[6] Ibid., 773.
[7] Ibid., 774-775.
[8] Ibid., 775-776.
Steven L. Ware, Ph. D.
Brief Outline
What is the Pentecostal Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience separate from and subsequent to conversion, with the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues.
What is the Biblical Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
“Baptism of/in/with/by the Holy Spirit” is used by writers of the New Testament to describe the experience of persons who encounter the power of the Holy Spirit when they are converted to the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection for them.
How Should We Understand the “Second Experiences” People Have Today?
The activities of confession of sin and submission of one’s life to the control of the Holy Spirit are guaranteed to bring spiritual renewal, regardless of the name we give it.
What About Speaking in Tongues?
Speaking in tongues is a legitimate manifestation the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life, both for corporate worship and private prayer.
A Very Brief Personal Statement
What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? As the pastor of a congregation which was heavily impacted by the charismatic movement beginning in the 1970s, this and associated questions have echoed through our minds and hearts and hallways for at least a generation. Nearly fifty years later, some have noted the apparent demise of the movement, although its influence in the development of countless congregations in recent years—mostly independent and some quite large—is unmistakable. Numerous answers to the question of the exact nature of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit have come from a variety of sources. Yet it is this author’s conviction that a thoughtful and Biblically faithful re-statement is needed, since this subject is central to the thinking and spiritual experience of so many Christians in the twenty-first century.
What follows is a brief consideration of the seminal matters which must be engaged in answering this question.[1] We shall begin with the classical Pentecostal doctrine of Baptism of the Holy Spirit, since it is the most widely known answer to this question and therefore the beginning point of many discussions. Secondly, we will examine the Biblical input on this matter and engage critical questions of theological interpretation. Thirdly, we will consider the effect of this experience on believers, and how it should be understood.
What is the Pentecostal Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Since the beginning of the Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century—and especially in the last half-century—millions of persons worldwide have been introduced to an expression of the Christian faith which had been virtually unknown in the previous centuries of Christianity. Out of the popular revivals of the late nineteenth century were born many new church affiliations, several of which emphasized Wesleyan ideals of holiness, or entire sanctification. For radical holiness adherents, this included both negative and positive sides: On the negative side, it meant complete cleansing from sin, to the extent of believing that an entirely sanctified person was no longer capable of committing willful acts of sin. On the positive side, it meant being filled, or baptized with the Holy Spirit, so that one would think and act according to God’s desires rather than according to human desires.
At about the beginning of the twentieth century, some leaders in the holiness movement (and later some from outside the holiness movement) began confronting the question of how a person was to know when they had reached the state of entire sanctification—or, conversely, when they had reached the state of spiritual fullness. Largely neglecting the negative component, and utilizing the Biblical book of Acts, some noticed that “speaking in other tongues” was a frequent (although not universal) manifestation of those who were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6). So they began to pray for this manifestation, prayed for others to receive it as well, and began to proclaim that speaking in tongues was the Biblically-ordained “initial physical sign” that one had been ushered into this spiritual fullness.[2]
The classical pentecostal teaching concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit therefore includes two major assertions. The first assertion is that there are two distinct stages of spiritual experience: The first stage is conversion—when a person receives Christ as personal Savior and consequently also receives the Holy Spirit as the indwelling presence of Christ. The second stage is baptism of the Holy Spirit—when a person completely yields their will to the control of the Spirit and they are consequently filled with the Spirit in a deeper and more meaningful way. This second stage is evidenced by speaking in tongues, which is usually viewed as a private prayer language between the individual and God himself.
Since almost the beginning of the movement, this teaching has often been viewed as the sine qua non, or “touchstone” of Pentecostal identity, and has been popularized since the mid-twentieth century by a number of well-known evangelists and their television appearances, as well as by movies, a plethora of publications, and worldwide exposure on the internet. At the same time, Pentecostal theology and practice were given wider acceptance with the rise of the charismatic movement[3] within historic Christian church bodies beginning in the 1960s, although certainly not all charismatics adopted the particularities of Pentecostal theology.
What is the Biblical Teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
There are seven places in the New Testament where baptism of the Holy Spirit is specifically mentioned. Four of these occurrences are virtually identical to one another: The three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, and Luke 3:16) include the account of John the Baptist predicting that the Messiah will baptize people with the Holy Spirit: “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). Conversely, in John’s Gospel this statement is made directly after Jesus’ baptism (1:33).
The next two occurrences refer directly to the event of the Spirit’s sudden arrival at Pentecost: In the ascension narrative at the beginning of Acts, Jesus tells his disciples (1:5) that “John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Similarly, Acts 11:16 is Peter’s recollection of these words of Jesus as he tells his fellow-apostles in Jerusalem of his experience preaching the Gospel at the house of Cornelius.
What can we conclude about the baptism of the Holy Spirit from these Scriptural statements? First of all, we conclude that Jesus is the one who baptizes in/with the Spirit. Secondly, we conclude that this actually happened on Pentecost when the disciples were gathered at the Upper Room in Jerusalem, as narrated by Luke in Acts 2. Thirdly, we can conclude from the two occurrences in Acts that the disciples felt empowered to proclaim Jesus as the resurrected Messiah. Unfortunately, it is difficult to conclude anything more from these six statements.
It is interesting to note, moreover, that none of these six occurrences gives us anything near the level of specificity that we would expect in order to establish the points of pentecostal theology described above. In other words, nowhere in any of these occurrences of the phrase do we see baptism of the Holy Spirit described specifically as an experience that is 1) distinct from and subsequent to conversion and 2) evidenced by speaking in tongues. But before critiquing the pentecostal teaching any further, however, we should analyze the final occurrence of this phrase in Scripture. We shall then examine the passages in Acts which are used to support the pentecostal teaching.
The final occurrence of this phrase is found in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where Paul states, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (ESV). Considering the larger context of this statement, it is clear that Paul is speaking of the experience of conversion, when persons become members of the body of Christ. Pentecostal authors have been anxious to differentiate this statement from what they define as “baptism of the Holy Spirit”—as a second experience of the Spirit subsequent to conversion. Yet the Greek wording is essentially the same here as in all the previous occurrences mentioned above: εν ενι πνευματι…εβαπτισθημεν (in one Spirit…we were baptized).[4] It is difficult, therefore, to imagine that the original readers of the first century would have viewed this as referring to something essentially different from the first six occurrences of the phrase. In other words, the clear implication from Paul is that baptism in/of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion. Therefore, it appears once more that nowhere in Scripture is baptism of/by/with the Holy Spirit described specifically as an experience that is essentially distinct from or subsequent to conversion.
Where, then, is the pentecostal doctrine of baptism of the Holy Spirit found in Scripture, if at all? The five passages used by pentecostals to support their teaching are found in Acts 2:1-4, 8:4-24, 9:10-18, 10:44-48, and 19:1-7. The first of these is of course the account of the Spirit’s descent upon the disciples in the Upper Room at the feast of Pentecost. This account would seem to be the most directly supportive of the pentecostal teaching: Jesus’ disciples were admittedly believers in Jesus before the event of Pentecost (see, for instance, Peter’s declaration of Jesus’ Messiahship and divinity in Matthew 16:16). In addition, the aforementioned occurrences of “baptism of/with the Holy Spirit” in Acts (1:5, 11:16) show that this was a life-changing experience for the disciples.
To understand the event of Pentecost correctly, however, it is necessary to see the larger picture of the work of the Holy Spirit in divine redemptive history:
[W]e must realize that the day of Pentecost is much more than an individual event in the lives of Jesus’ disciples and those with them. The day of Pentecost was the point of transition between the old covenant work and ministry of the Holy Spirit and the new covenant work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Of course the Holy Spirit was at work throughout the Old Testament…. But during that time the work of the Holy Spirit in individual lives was, in general, a work of lesser power.[5]
It is in the life of Jesus that we begin to see the new covenant power of the Holy Spirit at work. His disciples, however,
…do not receive this full new covenant empowering for ministry until the Day of Pentecost, for Jesus tells them to wait in Jerusalem, and promises, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). This was a transition in the lives of the disciples as well (see John 7:39; 14:17; 16:7; Acts 2:16) as Jesus returned to heaven and then was given authority to pour out the Holy Spirit in new fullness and power (Acts 2:33).
What was the result in the lives of the disciples? These believers, who had an old-covenant less-powerful experience of the Holy Spirit in their lives, received on the Day of Pentecost a more-powerful new-covenant experience of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. They received much greater “power” (Acts 1:8), power for living the Christian life and carrying out Christian ministry.[6]
As Grudem states, “[t]he Day of Pentecost was certainly a remarkable time of transition in the whole history of redemption as recorded in Scripture. It was a remarkable day in the history of the world, because on that day the Holy Spirit began to function among God’s people with new covenant power.” This helps explain the notable change in demeanor of the disciples from fearful followers of Jesus at the time of his arrest and crucifixion to fearless proclaimers in the face of possible imprisonment and execution in Acts. However, although it was certainly a “second experience” of the Spirit for them, “it is not to be taken as a pattern for us, for we are not living at a time of transition in the work of the Holy Spirit.”[7] Theirs was a unique point in redemptive history, whereas we are in the same position as those who became believers as a result of the apostles’ proclamation, such as the Corinthians who became Christians and were “baptized in one Spirit into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
One other passage used in defense of the pentecostal doctrine has possible implications of the “second experience” teaching. Acts 8:4-24 tells of the successful proclamation of the Gospel by Philip (and somewhat later by Peter and John) in Samaria. We are told that the Samaritans readily received the Gospel and that many were baptized, yet it is also noted that the Holy Spirit “had not yet fallen on any of them” (16). While this could indeed imply the validity of a “second experience” theology, Grudem makes a valid point in postulating that this may be a case of a divinely orchestrated delay in the Samaritans’ experience of the Spirit: Since Philip was only a deacon in the Jerusalem church, and since the proclamation of the Gospel in Samaria was the first large-scale extension of that message outside a specifically Jewish context, it is certainly plausible that God delayed the manifestation of the Spirit’s powerful work until the arrival of apostles Peter and John.[8] In this way, no one could say that the conversion of the Samaritans was anything less than a true work of the Holy Spirit, and therefore a fulfillment of Jesus’ own statement that his disciples would be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
That leaves us with the stories of Saul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-19), Peter preaching at the house of Cornelius (10:34-48), and Paul meeting the disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus (19:1-7). In the story of Saul’s conversion, he was “filled with the Holy Spirit” when Ananias prayed for him just three days after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. In the story of Peter preaching at the house of Cornelius, it is apparent that his listeners had no prior familiarity with the message about Jesus. The same is true with the disciples whom Paul later met at Ephesus. Therefore, the most consistent pattern to be observed in the passages in Acts in which persons are filled with the Holy Spirit is that it takes place when a person is converted to the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
What about the place of tongues as the initial physical evidence of Spirit-baptism? This manifestation does indeed appear in three of these stories (Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6), although not specifically in the other two. It should be added here that Paul’s discussion regarding the use of tongues and their interpretation in 1 Corinthians 12-14 implies that there is indeed an ongoing place for speaking in tongues as 1) a vehicle for divine messages in the context of corporate Christian worship, and 2) private prayer between an individual and God. More importantly, however, if Scripture does not support the assertion that baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience distinct from and subsequent to conversion, then there is no need to seek a particular sign that one has attained this level of spiritual experience.
What should we conclude, then, about the use of “baptism of the Holy Spirit” in the New Testament? It is a phrase used by the authors of the New Testament to describe the experience of persons encountering the power of the Holy Spirit when they are converted to the Gospel message about Jesus. But it is not used by these same authors to speak of distinct post-conversion experiences, except to the extent that believers are exhorted on an ongoing basis to “be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
How Should We Understand the “Second Experiences” People Have Today?
Millions of Christians worldwide from a wide variety of church backgrounds—and some with little to no church background—have experienced a “baptism” or “filling” of the Holy Spirit in recent generations. If Scripture indeed does not support the concept of a “second experience,” however, then how are we to understand what appear to be very legitimate experiences which have furthered spiritual growth and inspired great ventures for so many?
One obvious insight is to be gained from the way in which many have been taught to prepare for baptism in the Holy Spirit. Very often a person is told to spend intentional time in prayer—confessing every known sin, committing every aspect of their life to the lordship of Christ, yielding every part of their being to control of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, we can fully expect that this person will undoubtedly experience an increased spiritual awareness and enthusiasm, as this is nothing less than a guaranteed prescription for spiritual renewal that is seen repeatedly in Scripture (e.g., 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 51:10, 103:5; Isaiah 57:15; Hosea 6:2; Acts 3:19; Romans 12:2). In fact, many believers would testify to experiencing multiple waves of spiritual renewal in this manner over the course of their lives, which then begs the question of why any sincere believer would seek for only two such experiences. It is therefore more Scriptural to view baptism in the Holy Spirit as synonymous with the spiritual washing of regeneration which takes place at conversion, which is intended by God to be an ongoing process of spiritual growth.
This brings us to one of the unfortunate and inevitable, if unintended, implications of the classical pentecostal teaching of a two-stage process of spiritual experience: It divides Christians into superior and inferior categories. Many classical pentecostals will of course object to this, and insist that this is not their intention. But it is unavoidably implied every time one believer asks another if they have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The beauty, however, of the Scriptural model of baptism of the Holy Spirit described here is that every believer is in the same category, and all are progressing by degrees toward increasing likeness to our Savior. And since there is no necessary “initial physical evidence” that one has been baptized in the Spirit—except that one is a sincere believer—all are free to manifest any of the wide variety of spiritual gifts as they are moved by the Holy Spirit.
What About Speaking in Tongues?
Much ink has been spilled over the past century or more regarding the validity and use of speaking in tongues. With the afore-going discussion in mind, perhaps only a few clarifying statements are needed. Perhaps most importantly, anyone who considers themselves at all charismatic will by definition affirm the ongoing validity of speaking in tongues for contemporary Christian spiritual expression—in other words, that speaking in tongues and other miraculous spiritual manifestations such as healing did not disappear after the completion of the text of the New Testament in the late first century, as asserted by those known as cessationists.
In addition, charismatics affirm the use of tongues in two ways, both of which are discussed in Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Corinth: First of all, tongues are viewed as a valid expression in an individual’s private prayer life (1 Corinthians 14:18-19). Often called a “prayer language,” many charismatics describe it as a deeper form of communion with God. In addition, the Holy Spirit may speak a message in tongues through a believer in a corporate worship service (1 Corinthians 12:27-31, 14:26-33). In this setting, however, the message in tongues requires an interpretation—whether from the same person or from someone else—so that all present may understand and benefit.
A Very Brief Personal Statement
As the pastor of a Lutheran congregation which has been heavily impacted by the charismatic movement since the 1970s, it comes as no surprise that many have questions about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, its Scriptural basis and application, and even my own past experience with these matters. Some of these questions are of course inevitable and welcome, since many are curious to know whether the spiritual experience of others matches our own or has similar points of reference. These questions are likewise inevitable on a theological level because charismatics have a history that is markedly different than that of pentecostals: Charismatics by and large have remained in the church bodies of their origin—unlike pentecostals of the early twentieth century, who largely left behind the church bodies of their origin. Consequently, charismatics have been united by a common spiritual experience (like pentecostals) but not by a common theology for explaining that experience (unlike pentecostals). For many charismatics, the only theological explanation available has been that of pentecostalism—which has unfortunately put them at odds with others of their church body who wish to interpret the experience of baptism of the Holy Spirit more Biblically.
Both of those concerns—maintaining and celebrating the invigorating presence of the Holy Spirit in my own spiritual life, and being true to Scripture—have been very much a part of my spiritual journey. Following a spiritual awakening in my teens, I was introduced to matters of charismatic experience and theology through a non-denominational youth-oriented Bible study group—a manifestation of the “Jesus Movement” of the early 1970s. Having a deepening interest in theology and desiring to serve God with my life, I was counseled by several people to consider pastoral ministry, although I was unsure whether it was the correct path for me. After one year of study at a liberal arts college, I joined an old friend in attending a Bible institute sponsored by a large pentecostal church not far from my hometown. Following graduation two years later, I followed the insatiable theological thirst through three more years toward an undergraduate degree (Fort Wayne Bible College), then three more years to a Master of Divinity degree (Oral Roberts University), then one more year and a thesis to a Master of Sacred Theology degree (Trinity Lutheran Seminary). All along the way my understanding of baptism of the Holy Spirit was evolving through further Scriptural and theological deliberation, one result being my STM thesis, Lutherans and the Charismatic Movement. Several years later I followed once again the insatiable thirst and completed a PhD (Drew University), although by that time my research interests had evolved in additional directions.
Along the way, I indeed completed requirements for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and served until their increased leftward theological drift motivated resignation of my credentials. Concurrently, I served as Professor of Historical Theology for seventeen years at a liberal arts college and seminary, then became ordained in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in 2017.
While the questions of charismatic theology are no longer front-burner issues, they have been nevertheless topics of frequent discussion with students, faculty members, and fellow-believers. Through the long process of Scriptural and theological study, my own views are those stated above already: All true believers are indeed filled with the Holy Spirit, and need only to yield themselves to his control through prayer, confession of sin, and study of the Scriptures. This understanding removes the need for any distinct “second experience” or stage of grace, and simply encourages the believer to grow in their relationship with God through deliberate spiritual disciplines. Consequently, it also removes the need to identify a necessary physical manifestation of the second stage of grace. More importantly, it frees the believer to manifest the Spirit’s presence in their life in a multitude of ways as guided by Scripture.
[1] Much of this discussion, although not all, is informed by and parallel to Wayne Grudem’s excellent presentation of this subject in chapter 39 of his Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zonderevan, 1994), 763ff. Readers are invited to peruse his text for further discussion. Grudem’s podcast covering much of the same material is found at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baptism-in-and-filling-with-the-holy-spirit/id322844869?i=1000082948630.
[2] The theological roots and development of pentecostalism have been well-documented. See Donald W. Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostalism (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1987); Edith L. Blumhofer, Restoring the Faith: The Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism, and American Culture (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993); Steven L. Ware, Restorationism in the Holiness Movement in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries (Lanham, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2004).
[3] “Charismatic movement” refers properly to a spiritual renewal movement which began in the 1960s and 1970s in many historic church bodies, both Protestant and Catholic. While Pentecostals of the early twentieth century left behind the churches of their upbringing (and many were indeed ostracized), charismatics of the mid- to late twentieth century largely remained within their church bodies and viewed themselves as a force for renewal. A further “third wave” of charismatic renewal arose in the 1980s which established mostly independent congregations. The definitive reference works for both pentecostal and charismatic movements are Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee, eds., Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), and The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).
[4] To be fair, it should be noted that the Greek preposition εν can be translated “in,” “with,” or “of.” To be consistent, however, we should translate it the same in every occurrence since it was the same word in Greek for the original readers.
[5] Grudem, 772.
[6] Ibid., 773.
[7] Ibid., 774-775.
[8] Ibid., 775-776.