Part 7- Baptism of the Holy Spirit

P.M. Sermon

Spring Hill, TN

3/4/07 p.m.

Series: “Discovering the Holy Spirit” (Pt. 7)

Text: Matthew 3:11-12; Acts 2; Acts 10-11

Summary: In PART 7, we explore the concept of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (A helpful resource from which I gained considerable insight in this sermon was Gus Nichol’s book Lectures on the Holy Spirit pages 87-120).

“Baptism of the Holy Spirit”

Introduction:

A. Series Review:

1. In the previous lesson in this series we discovered that the Old Testament predicted that there would be a dramatic change in the work of the Holy Spirit at the commencement of the New Covenant age.

2. Additionally we discovered that the gift of the Spirit being “poured out” upon “all mankind” would be accompanied with a visible representation of the Spirit’s presence.

B. Baptism of the Holy Spirit

1. In this lesson we are going to investigate the day when these promised were fulfilled, when the Holy Spirit was “poured out” in different amounts and the different ways this impacted the Christian movement.

2. Specifically we are going to concentrate on the concept of the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

I. BAPTISM OF (IMMERSION IN) THE HOLY SPIRIT

A. John’s Prophecy about Jesus’ Baptism

1. John the Baptizer predicted that Jesus’ baptism would be dramatically different from John’s baptism in water.

2. John stated that he baptized “with water unto repentance” while Jesus’ would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt. 3:11-12).

3. It is important to understand that Jesus never baptized anyone with water Himself (cf. John 4:2), Jesus would practice a baptism of the Holy Spirit.

B. Baptism is an Immersion

1. The English word “baptism” is a transliteration of the Greek word “baptize” which means to “dip, immerse, submerge, overwhelm, or plunge.”

2. The context must determine what medium is being used; that is, into what a person is being submerged.

3. This is why Jesus spoke of his coming suffering as a “baptism” in suffering (Matt. 20:22). Jesus would be totally submerged or overwhelmed with suffering.

4. The baptism of the Great Commission would be a immersion into water (Matt. 28:19; 1 Peter 3:20-21).

5. The baptism that Jesus himself would administer, however, would be an immersion into the Holy Spirit.

C. Only Christ Would Administer Holy Spirit Baptism

1. It is important to take note that only Jesus Christ is said to be the one that would administer the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

2. John the Baptizer had said of Jesus, “this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33).

3. It is true that the Apostles would later administer the Holy Spirit in a certain measure to other men by the laying on of their hands, but the “baptism” (total immersion) of the Holy Spirit is only said only to have been administered by Jesus Himself.

II. HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM AND GREAT COMMISSION BAPTISM

A. Two Separate Baptisms

1. Many within Christendom have confused Holy Spirit baptism with the baptism of the Great Commission; either believing that Christians today receive both at the same moment or receive both as separate events.

2. This is a grievous mistake. Again, only Jesus Himself is ever said to be the one to administer an immersion into the Holy Spirit.

3. Jesus commanded his followers to perform a separate baptism, a baptism into water thus making people disciples (Matt. 28:19; 1 Peter 3:20-21).

4. There are many accounts of conversion recorded in the Bible and in each instance the convert was immersed into water (cf. Acts 8:38), and never is mention made of converts being immersed into the Spirit (the instance of the household of Cornelius is an exception that will be discussed momentarily).

B. Apostles to Receive Holy Spirit Baptism

1. While the “gift” of the Spirit is promised to all believers, there is no passage of Scripture that indicates that Holy Spirit baptism (immersion into the Spirit) would be promised to all believers.

2. There are only two instances in Scripture that indicate that individuals were baptized with the Holy Spirit and both of these instances are major historical events where God directly intervenes.

3. The first instance is that Jesus promised to baptize the Apostles with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4).

4. A close examination of the plural pronouns of Acts 1-2 demonstrate that this Holy Spirit baptism was given only to the Apostles and not to the other disciples gathered together.

5. The apostles receiving a baptism with the Holy Spirit was for several reasons: (1) to empower them to function as apostles and witnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8), (2) make them able ministers of the New Testament (2 Cor. 3:6), (3) to enable them to confirm the word of the gospel with signs and wonders (Heb. 2:3-4), (4) to guide them into the complete message of truth (John 16:13).

6. The Apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit to equip them for their tremendous work in spreading the gospel, beginning the church, and delivering the complete message of God in written form and they would have not successors (1 Cor. 4:9), contrary to the false apostles that have gone forth (cf. 2 Cor. 11:13-14; Rev. 2:2).

C. Only One Baptism Today

1. It must be repeated that Holy Spirit baptism is no where promised to all believers today, nevertheless some in the religious world believe that a “baptism into the Spirit” occurs at conversion.

2. The Bible mentions many different types of baptism (1) baptism of John (2) baptism of Holy Spirit (3) baptism of Great Commission (4) baptism for the dead (1 Cor. 15:29) (5) baptism of Moses (1 Cor. 10:2).

3. When Paul wrote the book of Ephesians about A.D. 64, he wrote that there is but “one baptism” (Eph. 4:4).

4. This one baptism must be the baptism of the Great Commission where one becomes a disciple of Jesus (Matt. 28:19), is united with Christ (Rom. 6:5) one is spiritually reborn (John 3:5) with his sins being washed away (Acts 22:16).

5. This is the “one baptism” of which Paul wrote, meaning that all other baptisms (including baptism of the Holy Spirit) have been done away and are not present today.

III. BAPTISM IN THE SPIRIT AND GIFT OF THE SPIRIT

A. Apostles Receive Holy Spirit Baptism on Pentecost

1. So, it was the apostles that received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (being administered by Jesus, as he sent the Holy Spirit-John 16:7) on the day of Pentecost.

2. Notice that the last word of Acts 1 is the “apostles,” it is “they” (Acts 2:1) that were all gathered in one place when “they” were filled with the Holy Spirit (2:4).

3. This immersion into the Holy Spirit provided the apostles with miraculous abilities, most visibly speaking in foreign languages on this occasion (Acts 2:4).

4. This was the visible representation that would accompany the Spirit being poured out upon all mankind (all believers) as predicted by Joel (Acts 2:17).

B. Baptism of Fire is Judgment not Pentecost

1. Another visual marker of this great event was that the presence of the Holy Spirit appeared visually as the licking flames of fire (Acts 2:3).

2. This must not be confused with the “baptism of fire” that John also said Jesus’ would administer (Matt. 3:11). On this occasion Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit, it only looked like fire.

3. The “baptism of fire” that Jesus will one day administer will be upon the wicked; it will be an immersion into “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12).

C. Obedient Christians Receive “Gift” of the Holy Spirit

1. When the Apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, this immersion was accompanied with miraculous abilities. This seems to be a special miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit. It is a special “gift” from God (cf. Acts 10:45).

2. But the audience in Acts 2 is given the promise of receiving simply the “gift of the Holy Spirit” when they obey the command to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus—a promise given to obedient believers of all successive generations (Acts 2:38-39).

3. Yet, when the 3,000 obeyed, we do not read of any miraculous abilities being exercised. It seems that these Christians received a normal measure of the Holy Spirit promised to all (exactly what this “normal measure” does will be explored in a subsequent lesson).

4. It appears this is what occurred in Acts 19, when twelve disciples were baptized into Christ Jesus (presumably receiving the ordinary measure of the Holy Spirit by that action), but it was only when Paul laid his hands upon them that they received the miraculous measure (Acts 19:6).

IV. PENTECOST AND CORNELIUS’ HOUSEHOLD

A. A Unique Case

1. Besides the occasion of the Apostles being baptized with the Holy Spirit, there is one (and only one) other occasion where people are said to have been baptized with the Spirit—the household of Cornelius (Acts 10-11).

2. Peter reports that it was on this occasion that as he was preaching the message to Cornelius’ house, “the Holy Spirit fell upon them” just as it did upon the Apostles on Pentecost (Acts 11:15-16), and this too is called baptism with the Holy Spirit.

3. In this instance, Cornelius and company received Holy Spirit baptism even before they had received the water baptism of the Great Commission.

B. Purpose of this Event

1. Some religious teachers today point to this account and claim that the Holy Spirit will fall upon the heart of a person and will save them before water baptism.

2. This interpretation is a twisting of the message as the careful reading of the context of these chapters will demonstrate.

3. The purpose of this event was direct intervention on God’s part for the purpose of convincing Peter and the other Jewish-Christians that the gospel message was for the Gentiles also. This is clearly the thrust of this passage and the purpose of the Holy Spirit coming upon Gentiles in the same way it did upon Jews in Acts 2.

4. The event in Cornelius house was a unique event just as the day of Pentecost was unique. These events fulfilled the prophecy of Joel 1:33 that God would pour out his Spirit upon “all flesh”— both Jews and Gentiles.

C. Holy Spirit Baptism Here Did not Save

1. This was the exclusive purpose of the baptism of the Spirit in Cornelius house.

2. This event was not what “saved” Cornelius and his family, neither was this some type of “second blessing” of the Holy Spirit.

3. Even after the Holy Spirit immersed Cornelius and company, there was still a pressing need for them to be baptized with water (Acts 10:47-48).

4. Why? They needed the Great Commission baptism of water because this is the “one baptism” (Eph. 4:5) that saves (1 Peter 3:21).

Conclusion:

A. Jesus himself is the only one that ever administered the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

B. Jesus commanded the Apostles to administer the baptism of the Great Commission (in water) and thereby “make disciples” of the nations.

C. This process of making disciples of Jesus takes place by “baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit” and “teaching them to observe all things.”

D. Jesus promises that the work of the Great Commission was to continue until the end of the world (Matt. 28:20).

E. Therefore it is this baptism that will continue throughout the Christian age, and it is this baptism that is the “one baptism” of which Paul spoke in A.D. 64 in Ephesians 4:5.

F. Thus, baptism of the Holy Spirit was a unique event limited to the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and the events of Cornelius’ house (Acts 10) and is not longer available today.