Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Part Three

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” 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 baptised 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. There were about twelve men in all.

Acts 19:1-7

In Acts 19:2 the apostle Paul asked the Ephesian disciples, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” He was speaking about baptism in the Holy Spirit when he asked that question. In this study we want to examine the atmosphere, the environment, the context in which one experiences the baptism in the Holy Spirit. First, though, I would like to review some of the points from our previous studies.

What Baptism in the Spirit Is

In our previous studies we have proven from the book of Acts that baptism in the Holy Spirit is not regeneration and pointed out that those who equate baptism in the Holy Spirit with regeneration are basing their interpretation not on Scripture but on modernistic rationalism. We also said that such an interpretation is really an attempt to quench the Spirit, which the Bible warns us against doing.

What is baptism in the Holy Spirit? It is an anointing by the Holy Spirit for special service or ministry. We noted that Jesus himself was anointed by the Holy Spirit without measure before he entered into his messianic ministry. In the same way, all true believers in Jesus Christ are to be anointed, with measure, so that they can serve God by witnessing about the Lord Jesus Christ to the world. Every Christian is a minister, in other words, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit is an anointing for service for every Christian.

This anointing by the Holy Spirit was promised in the Old Testament, especially in Joel 2:28-32. There we read it will happen “in the last days” meaning it is eschatological–something that happens in the last days. Not only that, it is universal. God said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people,” meaning all who are believers in Jesus Christ. It is prophetic, for God promises, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” The purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that we engage in the task of making known the gospel of God’s grace. And, finally, baptism in the Holy Spirit is experimental, meaning it is something that we experience rather than something that we just take by mental assent and faith. It is something that we are aware of, something that we can feel, and something that others can see. Baptism in the Holy Spirit makes a visible change in our lives.

What Baptism in the Holy Spirit Is Not

There are also several things baptism in the Holy Spirit is not, even though some theologians would disagree. First, it is not dispensational, meaning occurring only during a certain period in church history but not for today. That is simply not true. Second, it is not an abnormal Christian experience, something not intended for most Christians. Moses said in Numbers 11:29, “I wish that all the Lord’s people would prophesy.” He was expressing the heart of God that all God’s people would experience this wonderful baptism in the Holy Spirit, and as we already said, in the book of Joel, God spoke of the Holy Spirit being poured on all his people. And, third, some say baptism in the Holy Spirit is only of secondary importance and not really necessary for the church today. Those who say that have no understanding of the needs of the church today, especially the need to stand up against evil and witness boldly in the world.

These interpretations are based on certain theological biases within the evangelical world. But we must all be very careful when we read the Bible that we do not limit our interpretation to our own dry, minimal experiences of God. Any interpreter comes to the Scripture with certain biases, and none of us are infallible. B. B. Warfield, for instance, was a great theologian, but he was not infallible. I had several great professors at my seminary: they were not infallible, and they would be the first to acknowledge that. In fact, John Murray, the great systematic theologian, would often tell us, “We all have our own myopia” and he was right.

That is why we must study diligently to what the Scriptures are saying without trying to force the Scriptures through the tunnel of our theological biases. Perhaps we should put a warning on the first page of every systematic theology book: “Reader, beware. Everything in this book is not necessarily true and it can be dangerous to your health.” We have a tendency to think that if something is written down, it must be true. But I would say that is true only for one book–the Holy Scriptures.

Is Baptism in the Holy Spirit Necessary Today?

Is baptism in the Holy Spirit necessary today? Yes! If Jesus needed it, we need it all the more. Satan is alive and well and actively working much evil in the world. We need baptism in the Holy Spirit to counteract Satan and all the evil in the world.

We also need baptism in the Holy Spirit to stand up against the hatred of the world. Does the world love the church and the word of God? No. We recently heard of a high school student who was killed for her faith in Christ. Jesus himself said if the world hates him, it will hate us as well, and that is true. We need baptism in the Holy Spirit to stand fast in the face of such hatred.

Additionally, we need the baptism in the Spirit to give us power to proclaim the gospel in the world. Remember the command Jesus gave his disciples to preach the gospel throughout the world? But he also said, “Stay in Jerusalem until you receive power from on high,” meaning the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

What about the church’s need for encouragement and edification? These things come to us through the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The early church had this need, and I think we do also.

What about the church’s need for revival? The church has experienced revival throughout its history, and I would say it certainly needs revival today. What is revival? It is a new Pentecost, a time of God pouring out his Holy Spirit upon the church.

Is baptism in the Holy Spirit for today? Yes! If anyone tells you it is not, do not believe him. You should ask, “Theologian, pastor, head of the denomination, tell me, where in the Scripture is it written that this experience is not for today?” I do not think he will be able to give you an answer.

The Doctrine of Luke

As we study baptism in the Holy Spirit, we also need to counteract the twentieth-century theological notion that Luke is not a theologian but just a historian. Do you know Luke wrote twenty-six percent of the New Testament? That is more than any other author, including Paul. But some people say Luke was just a historian, not a theologian and, therefore, we must interpret the book of Acts from the point of view of the epistles of Paul the theologian.

That is just not true. If we want to understand the epistles, which speak about the life of the church, then we must understand the origins of the church as recorded in the book of Acts. In other words, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, the epistles rest upon the experiences recorded in the book of Acts.

Not only that, we subscribe to the biblical affirmation that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, including the historical book of Acts. The first five books of the Old Testament–the Torah or Pentateuch–include a lot of history, do they not? But they also teach us doctrine. The historical books in the canon of Scripture are inspired by God, as are the psalms, prophets and epistles. All are profitable for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

The Purpose of Baptism in the Spirit

When we examine the experiences recorded in the Scriptures, we notice especially two experiences which result from baptism in the Holy Spirit. The epistles are written to ordinary Christians, ordinary believers, and so we must measure the description of these things against our own experience and see if we are enjoying these things.

1. Inexpressible and glorious joy in the midst of trials. In 1 Peter 1:6-9 we read, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. They have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. . . .”In the midst of trials and troubles and problems, Peter says these early Christians were rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Is that your experience? I think the majority of us must admit that it is not. We need baptism in the Holy Spirit to give us a faith that results in love that produces such inexpressible joy in the context of intense persecution and triumphs.
2. Great assurance of salvation. Not only that, baptism in the Holy Spirit is also the highest form of assurance of salvation. It is not just deduction. It is not asking “Do you believe in this doctrine?” and when the answer comes, “Yes, I do,” you conclude you are a Christian. That is one way of arriving at some kind of assurance. But here is the highest form of assurance–being sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, God himself authenticating you as a child of God. When you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, you can face death with great assurance, with great confidence. You know that you know that you know that you are a Christian.

For God’s Children

We also made the point that baptism in the Holy Spirit is for God’s children, not for unbelievers. In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” God wants to give his children this wonderful experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Quench Not the Spirit

Throughout the New Testament we read these warnings: “Quench not the Spirit. . . . Do not put out the fire of the Spirit. . . . Despise not prophesying.” Why do you think the New Testament writers said these things? Because God understood that the church will try to quench the Spirit. And, indeed, we have already mentioned that there is a twentieth century understanding that regeneration is baptism in the Holy Spirit, that it is non-experimental, and that comes automatically to all who believe in Christ. This type of theology represents the influence of rationalism in the church. It is based on the church’s anti-experience bias and desire for order. In effect, it is an attempt to quench the Holy Spirit of God.

The church is always interested in control. Everything must be done neatly, coolly, and in an orderly manner according to the regulative principle of worship. But a church that operates in this way is displaying a heavy influence of modern rationalism in its anti-Holy Spirit, anti-experimental bias.

Now, some might say they prefer such a church to one in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are exercised. They would say they want to avoid the problems of the Corinthian church, the church from which we have most of our teaching about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But think about this: Wherever there is life, there will be problems. That is the nature of things. If you go to a cemetery, there will be no problems.

We have a dog, and the other day I noticed that it had chewed part of the table leg. Now, if you kill the dog, everything will be all right and there will be no more problems. But there will be no life. Suppose you have a nicely painted wall, but one day you notice that someone took a crayon and wrote all kinds of things on it. Who did it? Your child. Does that mean you get rid of the child so you will have no more problems? No. I would rather have some life than no life. That is why we are studying the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Context for Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Having considered these things, let us then discuss the atmosphere, the environment, the context in which the Holy Spirit is poured out. Now, what I am saying is not anything new. I had a discussion on this in 1969 with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones when he came to my seminary. He and I agreed completely on the things I have believed and was proclaiming. Although many people will disagree with him on this subject, they still must respect him, for he was a genius, a giant–one of the greatest preachers who lived in the twentieth century.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones wrote two books about the Holy Spirit when he was around sixty-five years of age: Joy Unspeakable and The Sovereign Spirit (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable: Power and Renewal in the Holy Spirit, edited by Christopher Catherwood [Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1984] and The Sovereign Spirit: Discerning His Gifts, edited by Christopher Catherwood, [Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw, Publishers, 1985]) Additionally, another man, Roger Stronstad, wrote a book, The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1984). In these books both Lloyd-Jones and Stronstad are saying the same things that I have believed and declared since I was a teenager.

The Possibility of Baptism in the Holy Spirit

In Joy Unspeakable Dr. Lloyd-Jones says the first thing we must do when we are seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit is to acknowledge the possibility of it. It is possible to be baptized in the Holy Spirit today as a separate, post-regenerational experience. We must not accept the doctrine that says if one believes in Jesus Christ, one is automatically baptized in the Holy Spirit, and therefore should not seek anything further. Many modern theologians may hold this doctrine, but Dr. Lloyd-Jones would disagree with them.

The Scriptures speak in terms of the possibility of baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the great professor Charles Simeon of Cambridge said, “God is willing to bestow this blessing on all who seek it” (Joy Unspeakable, p. 208). Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit, as were Peter, Paul and the rest of the apostles. (PGM) My own parents were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and any time I looked at my mother, I could see evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Her face would shine, and she would testify boldly, confidently, fearlessly to the gospel of God’s grace to all who would listen. She would pray and intercede with God with great passion and power

Blaise Pascal, the great French mathematician, was baptized in the Holy Spirit in the middle of the night. How did he describe his experience? “Fire! Fire! Fire!” Pascal wrote. After this experience, Pascal abandoned mathematics and concentrated the rest of his life on God.

Thomas Aquinas was baptized in the Holy Spirit when he was writing his Summa Theologica. This experience caused him to stop writing and he never finished his work. When his friends asked him to continue writing, he said it all looked like straw after this experience. He had been trying to prove through his theological works that one cannot experience God directly, and then God came down and adjusted his theology. (Joy Unspeakable, pp. 112-113) That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have theology–we must–but as I said before, when you read theological works, keep this in mind: Reader, beware!

We read about the possibility of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the epistles. When we read 1 Peter 1:6-8, we can’t but be struck by the picture of believing and loving and rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory in the midst of severe trials. And yet, as we said before, is this true of our own experience? And in Romans 5:2-3 we read, “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings. . . .” Is that true of us? If we are honest, we must admit that it is not. And in Romans 5:5 we read, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” That word “poured out” means to be poured out in great abundance–not a little trickle, not a little drop, but a mighty effusion.

We must ask ourselves: Do we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, based on a mighty effusion of the Spirit of God who, in turn, pours into our hearts such love without limit? No. If we are honest, we must admit that we don’t rejoice or love God or love one another in the manner described in the Scriptures.

When we seek baptism in the Holy Spirit, the first thing we must do is believe that there is something different from today’s arid, dry, minimal Christianity which is based on an intellectual assent to a set of propositions but which demands no change in our lives. We must realize the possibility of the baptism in the Holy Spirit today.

Proper Motivation

The second thing we must do is ensure we have the proper motivation for seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit. There are many motivations for seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit, but not all of them are proper.

For example, we must not seek baptism in the Holy Spirit simply as some fresh, new experience we have to have. Many people are always interested in fresh experiences. They go here and there for experiences, even flying around the world to get a new, different experience. They seek experience for experience’s sake, so they can come and talk about their experience. To them, baptism in the Holy Spirit is just one more experience to seek, but this should not be our motive.

We must also be careful not to seek baptism in the Holy Spirit out of desire for power. We may read about Peter, who was timid and afraid and denied Christ three times, but when the Holy Ghost came upon him, he became bold, powerful, and unafraid. We want to get this power, but do not realize that wrong motivation can lead to counterfeit experiences and simulations.

In Acts 8 we read about Simon Magus, a false person who desired to be baptized in the Holy Spirit simply for the sake of power. What happened to him? Peter rebuked him, saying he had no part or share in the ministry of God.

There are many modern-day disciples of Simon in this country who are making money based on counterfeit and simulation. We must be careful, when we see such people that we do not go to the other extreme, as some theologians have, and say that baptism in the Spirit is not for today. But we must not seek baptism in the Holy Spirit in order to have some kind of power or influence over people.

We also must be careful that when we are seeking baptism in the Spirit, we are not just seeking gifts and not the Giver. We must not be looking always to the hand of God to see what he can give us, and not to his face, as many children do who are only interested in gifts but don’t care about their parents. Watch out for that type of motivation.

What, then, is the proper motivation to seek baptism in the Holy Spirit? We want to know Christ. So Dr. Lloyd-Jones tells us to seek Jesus Christ that we might know him and trust him, rather than trying to use God to get something else.

The apostle Paul experienced God in a great measure, and yet he always longed for more. In Philippians 3:8-11 he wrote, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

To know Christ! Here the great apostle, even at the end of his life, was fascinated with only thing: knowing and loving Jesus Christ. Just as a boy who falls in love with a girl is interested in her, so Paul was interested–captivated–with Jesus Christ.

May God help us to so love him! To do so will be a good preparation for our own death, our own exit from this world. If we don’t love Christ now, death will be a terror for us.

We must watch out for our motivation in seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit. May it only be to know God, love God and proclaim his gospel to the world! Over and over again in John 14 we see Jesus telling his disciples, “If you love me. . . .If you love me. . . .If you love me. . . .” Our motivation for seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit must be love for God.

Obedience to God

The third thing we must consider about the context in which we receive baptism in the Holy Spirit is obedience. Baptism in the Holy Spirit requires obedience to God. In Acts 5:32 Peter said, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” And in John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth.”

If you love God, then you will seek to please him, and the way to please God is by obeying him. This is also true if we love our children, is it not? We eagerly do what the children tell us, don’t we, as long as it is the right thing? How much more should we seek to please God by obeying him!

The opposite of pleasing God is grieving him. In Ephesians 4:30 we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” We heard, we believed, and we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, and now, Paul is saying, grieve not the Holy Spirit.

A Christian is one who is led by the Spirit and who obeys the Spirit of the living God. Dr. Lloyd-Jones speaks about this in terms of what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit:

The moment a man is born again, the Spirit begins to work in him. He works in him to produce his sanctification. And he will stimulate him and cause him to feel certain impulses; he may direct you to read the Scriptures, but you say, ‘No, no, not now, I want to finish that novel or I want to talk to somebody or read a newspaper.’ That is grieving the Spirit. You must obey him, and if you deliberately ignore his promptings, you are grieving him.

We all know about this. You know the things that make you feel uncomfortable and ill at ease. You know the sense of condemnation that is within you; but you try to rationalize it, to explain it away, or say, ‘I am going to. . . .’ Now all that is grieving the Spirit, and as long as we do that we shall not be baptized with the Spirit. We must do everything we can in the way of obedience. Negatively, you must neither grieve nor quench the Spirit. (Joy Unspeakable, p. 206)

In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Paul wrote, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire,” or, “Quench not the Spirit” (KJV). That has a special reference to a worship service which is over-regulated, in which the Holy Spirit wants to do something, but it is quenched.

First Corinthians 14:26 tells us that when the church comes together, one should have a psalm, another a revelation, another a tongue, and another an interpretation. All these are manifestations of the Spirit of God, but the controlled church says, “No, no, no, no, no. Let’s be cool. Let’s be very calm. Let’s be very collected and have only one person do everything. That is the way we like it. What you are suggesting is from another dispensation. It is abnormal and secondary.” That is quenching the Spirit.

We must not grieve the Spirit, quench the Spirit, or resist the Spirit. This is the negative aspect. And, positively, we must obey God. All we are and all our affairs are to be placed at God’s disposal. We are to say, “I am not my own; I am bought by Christ’s precious blood. I am his, at his disposal, to do all his will–exactly, immediately, and with inexpressible joy and gratitude for his saving me.”

In Psalm 19:14 the psalmist prays, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” He is asking that the very wellsprings of his heart–his meditations–and all his words and everything else be pleasing to God. Is that our prayer as well?

In Romans 12:1 Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” And in Acts 20:24 he said, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Paul understood that he was called, equipped, baptized for a task, for a service, for a vocation, which required total obedience to the Lord. Is that true of our lives?

Conclusion

These are but three things we must do when we are seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit. In our next study we will consider the context of prayer, but for now, may we examine ourselves and confess that we do not hunger and thirst after God as we ought. We do not seek to know God as we ought, and when we do seek him, our motivation is faulty and our obedience sporadic. When trials come, we get impatient and begin to murmur, complain and demand rather than rejoicing with inexpressible and glorious joy.

May God have mercy on us! May we, as the hart pants after the water brook, pant after God, the true and living God. May God help us to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and may he revive us, pouring out his Holy Spirit upon us. May God help us to live in an environment in which he will pour out the Holy Spirit. May we rejoice, knowing that God’s promises are true and that he has promised to give the Holy Spirit to his children who ask him. Amen.