Dear God, I wrote yesterday morning about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. With Pentecost coming this Sunday, and me substitute preaching at the Presbyterian church, I want to spend some time on this issue with you. What is being baptized in the Holy Spirit all about?
First, I want to look at the passages that reference it.
- John the Baptist – All four Gospels reference John the Baptist saying the Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Here is what Matthew says: “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” [Matthew 3:11]
- Jesus before the Ascension – Just before he ascended to Heaven, Jesus said this to the apostles: “John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 1:5]
- Pentecost – This doesn’t specifically say, “Baptized by the Holy Spirit,” but it’s the follow up to Acts 1:5 and I’ve always taken it to mean that this is what happened to the early church: On the day of Pentecost[a] all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. [Acts 2:1-4]
- Peter promises the Spirit – Now that Peter has just received it in that moment, he understands that it is an important part of the experience and he includes it along with repentance and water baptism: Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 2:38]
- Samaritan believers were missing the Holy Spirit – I would say that this story certainly supports the idea of a two-stage baptism: When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. [Acts 8:14-17]
- Simon the Sorcerer tries to buy the Holy Spirit baptism – Simon is jealous of those who have this baptism, but finds out that being baptized in the Holy Spirit isn’t something you can buy or earn: But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”‘”Pray to the Lord for me, Simon exclaimed, ‘that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!” [Acts 8:20-24]
- Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit before water baptism – The apostles were still figuring out what the New Covenant looked like and then had this experience with Gentiles: Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God.Then Peter asked, “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. [Acts 10:44-48a]
- Peter has to convince the other apostles that Gentiles are welcome – Again, everyone is trying to figure this out. Isn’t it interesting that humans seem to have a tendency to think of themselves as part of a select class of humans? But you were teaching them: Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said. Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds. And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’ “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.’ “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’ This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven. “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us. He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’ “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.” [Acts 11:1-18]
- All are baptized into one body – The ultimate lesson the apostles and early church learned is that all humans are your children through this New Covenant. Jesus bridged the gap and your Holy Spirit is available to us all: The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. [1 Corinthians 12:12-13]
So when I lift all of these references to Holy Spirit baptism out and look at them together, it makes me think back on Jesus’s prayer for us in John during the Last Supper story. When he prayed for future believers he said, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. [John 17:21].” I think the Holy Spirit is our great counselor, teacher, and uniter.
Father, I cannot imagine what a post-Jesus world would look like without Pentecost and the Holy Spirit arriving on the scene to baptize us all. I cannot imagine what my life would look like without the Holy Spirit. And I know that part of my job is to ensure that I continue to provide a heart with fertile soil that will not squelch the Spirit in my life, but provide the seeds he plants to thrive and grow into making my life what you need it to be. Thank you for your glory. Thank you for Jesus. And thank you for the Holy Spirit.
I pray all of this in worship of you through Jesus’s name,
Amen
Emails to God 