A Secondary Work of Grace

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Here's an article from wikipedia about something called “Baptism in the Holy Spirit”; one of those “being all things to all people” sort of thing. For what I believe, this is part of the “Acts as Normal Christianity” belief. I still have to ask: “Where do we really see those things happening today?” I answer myself in the negetive: “Nowhere, that's where”, because I have yet to, as they did in the days of Acts, actually see these things. If Acts is Normal, it should be Normal to see it. Well anyhow, read and decide for yourself. I can't find this as happening today. If nothing else, follow the links. They go to other associated wikipedia articles. YMMV.

In Christian Pentecostal theology, Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a distinctive Christian experience, the Biblical basis for which is found in the description of Pentecost in Jerusalem in Acts 2:1-4. Pentecostals emphasize that to be 'baptized in the Holy Spirit' is to be immersed in the Holy Spirit, and the experience presupposes conversion. That is to say, it is both distinct from and subsequent to salvation, which is itself a definite Work of the Holy Spirit. Support for this can be found in the Book of Acts, most notably the disciples of John the Baptist who were possibly converts to Christianity but had not yet heard of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7). Another compelling argument is the encounter with Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:12-24).

Charismatics are not as dogmatic, generally, as Pentecostals in the claim that the Holy Spirit Baptism is distinctly separate from the experience of salvation. Some Charismatics believe that the Gift of the Holy Spirit is 'given to all Christians', occurring with the experience of salvation. Such Charismatics claim that the gifts of the Holy Spirit -- that is, exercising spiritual power such as speaking in tongues or prophesying, are evidences of a release of the Holy Spirit's Power rather than the Baptism itself with the Holy Spirit.

Charismatics and Pentecostals both point to Ephesians 5:18, where the Apostle Paul urges his audience to "be filled with the Spirit" using an imperative mood verb. Pentecostalists see this Gift (Baptism in the Holy Spirit) as an experience following salvation. Whereas other churches have seen being filled with the Holy Spirit to require piety and grace, some Pentecostals and Charismatics have seen it as a requirement that all who are saved must have a Pentecostal experience. This belief has its roots in Luke 24:49, in which Jesus commands His followers to wait in Jerusalem until they "are endued with Power from on high." After His followers have received this experience, they are to be His witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

In contemporary theology, there is a divergence between the two main strains of Pentecostal believers, with some organized as Pentecostal and others as Charismatic or Second Wave churches. Both believe that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is spoken of by Jesus in Luke 11:13 and also Acts 1:5 and that it was the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit prophesied in the Old Testament books of Ezekiel 36:27 and Joel 2:28-29. Both of these strains of Protestantism diverge from other churches in the essential nature of Grace and what Grace is granted without an individualized experience of the Holy Spirit.

Charismatics and Pentecostals differ from one another in the evidence they require for proof of Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Charismatics will look for the "Fruit of the Spirit" spoken of in Galatians 5:22-25, and the Pentecostals will look for glossolalia (speaking in tongues), prophecy, and other "Gifts of the Spirit" described in 1 Corinthians 12.

This was, according to Pentecostals, the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the endowment of Power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31).

Not all evangelical Pentecostal churches would accept that all Christians receive the Holy Spirit at the time of their conversion or baptism, for instance the Apostolic Assemblies of Christ, but in the more traditional Evangelical point of view, and in non-Evangelical churches, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is equated with this reception. Others, even outside the Pentecostal church, consider the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a separate experience. Even among those who accept this, opinion is divided as to whether all those who receive the Holy Spirit Baptism also receive the gift of tongues.

Both Pentecostal and Charismatic churches regard the Baptism in the Holy Spirit to be requisite for the apostolic and evangelical mission that they believe is the duty of all Christians.