Part 1: Basic Data | Part 2: Clearing Up Some Longstanding Confusion

If you’re a believer in Christ, he has baptized you in the Spirit, placing you into the body of Christ, the church. What does that mean for your life, today?

Lots of things.

First, as I noted in the previous post, you have a close association with the Spirit of God, and he is doing multiple things in you—most importantly, I suppose, he has taken up residence in your body (1Co 3.16) and is there guiding your thinking—including convicting you of sin—and teaching you as he illuminates your mind to understand his word (1Co 2.12-14), and sanctifying you—making you more like Christ—every day (2Co 3.18). He is now your animating spirit, your breath of spiritual life. This one fact is more than we can fathom.

But there are other implications. Since you have been placed into the body of Christ, you are now associated corporately with all other believers; you are kin to every other Christian in the world. Every believer you meet is gifted to influence and benefit your walk with God, and you are gifted to benefit theirs. I hope you have had, or someday will have, an opportunity to make an instant connection with a believer in a far country, in the midst of an unfamiliar culture. It’s magical. No, it’s a lot better than magical.

Most days, though, your experience of that closeness with other believers will take place in the context of your local church, with people you know—and get to know better over time—and with whom you can interact in significant ways, whether with physical help or charity, or with regular fellowship in the word and prayer, or by walking with them through a crisis—either theirs or yours. This support network is absolutely necessary for spiritual growth and for prospering in a broken world. We must not neglect it.

A third implication is that you are now one with Christ: he is the head, and you are part of his body (Ep 1.21-22). We have a corporate relationship with him as well. And the consequences of that association are vast and profound:

• The Father sees the Son when he looks at you; he looks at you through Christ-colored glasses. In you he is well pleased (Mt 3.17).
  • His anger at your sin is appeased. He is delighted to see you, because Christ’s righteous life has been imputed to you (2Co 5.21). 
• Union with Christ (the phrase “in Christ” occurs 30+ times in the New Testament) means that you share in Christ’s work— 
  • You have been crucified, buried, and risen with Him (Ro 6.6, 4; Ep 2.5). 
  • You are now seated with him in heavenly places (Ep 2.6). 
  • You share in his sufferings, and he shares in yours. “We suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him” (Ro 8.17). 
  • You will reign with him (2Ti 2.12). 
• It means that you share in Christ’s person. 
  • You have the mind of Christ (1Co 2.16). 
  • You are one spirit with him (1Co 6.17). 
  • You are his ambassador (2Co 5.18-21). 

This is serious business. The words you say, the choices you make, the things you do all reflect on Christ himself.  It astonishes me that he has chosen to entrust his reputation to people that he knows are unreliable. 

So how shall we then live?

• Live in the joy of union with Christ, with whom the Father is perfectly well pleased. 
• Live in coordinated union with other believers, sharing your gift(s) with them and welcoming their sharing of their gift(s) with you. Don’t ride alone. There are always ways to work together and edify one another. 
• Every day, recognize confidently that the Spirit of God, who lives in you and calls you his home, is activating and energizing all of this for the glory of God and for the certain and perfect fulfillment of his will. 

This is a cause far greater than ourselves. 

Photo by Paul Bulai on Unsplash

Part 1: Basic Data

In the previous post I noted two consequential facts we get from the biblical data on Spirit baptism:

• The fact that Jesus is the one baptizing (Mt 3.11), but the event doesn’t happen until after he returns to heaven (Ac 1.5)
• The fact that the baptism places the person into the body of Christ (1Co 12.13)

The first fact tells us that Spirit baptism is a spiritual rather than a physical experience; Jesus, ascended to heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father, immerses us (there’s my Baptist bias showing) into the Spirit. Figuring out what exactly that means is difficult, because this is happening in the spiritual realm, but I read it as associating us closely with the Spirit as an initiation of his (the Spirit’s) work in us—most especially indwelling (Jn 14.17; 1Co 3.16; 6.19) and the related works of convicting, teaching, and sanctifying (2Co 3.18). Perhaps it’s associated with sealing (2Co 1.21-22; Ep 1.13-14; 4.30) as well.

The second fact is a key truth, one that settles the disagreement between Charismatics and Evangelicals. Spirit baptism is the mechanism, if I can put it that way, by which believers are placed into the body of Christ. Now, “the body of Christ” includes all Christians—

• Our verse says that: “by one Spirit are we all baptized …” (1Co 12.13).
• Paul tells the Roman church that “we … are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Ro 12.5).
• He tells the Ephesian church that the Father “gave [Christ] to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ep 1.22-23).
• He tells them further that “Gentiles … [are] of the same body, and partakers of [God’s] promise in Christ by the gospel” (Ep 3.6).
• He tells the Colossian believers that “[Christ’s] body … is the church” (Co 1.24).

And in the close context of our passage, Paul says that

• “Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1Co 12.27), and
• “The … Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (1Co 12.11 NASB).

These passages demonstrate that every Christian is a member of the body of Christ, by definition. That means that the believer must be placed into the body at the moment of his conversion; if the placement occurred later, there would be some Christians who aren’t yet in the body of Christ.

And how are we placed into the body of Christ, the church? By Spirit baptism.

So when and how often does Spirit baptism occur? Once, to every believer, at conversion.

There are several works of the Spirit that occur after conversion, some of which I’ve mentioned above. One I haven’t mentioned is filling, which appears to impart special strength to a believer temporarily, perhaps for a particular work (Ac 4.8; 7.55; 9.17; 13.9; Ep 5.18). The Charismatic position would be closer to the truth if it replaced its consideration of Spirit baptism with filling.

As it is, if a Charismatic believer asks me if I’ve received the baptism of the Spirit, I say, “Of course—when I got saved.” That can start a conversation.

So. If you are a believer, Christ has baptized you in, or with, the Holy Spirit. In doing that, he’s placed you into the body of Christ.

There are a good many implications of that fact. We’ll look at some of them in the next post.

Photo by Paul Bulai on Unsplash

One of the manifold gifts that God lavishes on his people is Spirit baptism. I’ve written a post on the topic before, but I’d like to return to it, for a few reasons:

• As evidenced by the disagreement between Charismatics and Evangelicals on the topic, there’s a lot of confusion about what it is exactly.
• I’m convinced that a great many Christians don’t understand its meaning and place in their lives.
• I’d like to extend my earlier post by addressing some of the implications of the event.

I suppose I should begin with a terminology question. Some people call the event “baptism in the Spirit,” while others call it “baptism by the Spirit,” and others yet call it “baptism with the Spirit.” I’m calling it “Spirit baptism.” What’s up with that?

The variation goes back to the Greek language in which the New Testament was written. In the New Testament, as in English, the variable word in this expression is a preposition, ἐν (en). And in Greek, as in English, prepositions can mean a lot of things. In the earlier post I gave the following example:

• I eat ice cream with a spoon.
• I eat ice cream with hot fudge sauce.
• I eat ice cream with my wife.
• I eat ice cream with great joy.

The preposition with is correct in all those sentences, but it means different things in each use.

Similarly, “baptism en the Spirit” can legitimately be translated in any of the three ways noted above.

So how do you figure out which way is right?

You go to the context, which often clarifies the correct translation. In the case of Spirit baptism, one of its contexts does that. In Matthew 3.11, John the Baptist says that the one coming after him (Jesus, of course) “will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Now, if Jesus is the one doing the baptizing, then the translation “baptism by the Spirit” is clearly wrong. Of the remaining two, “baptism in the Spirit” makes more sense if you’re Baptist (and thus baptize by immersion), and “baptism with the Spirit” makes more sense if you’re not Baptist, and you baptize by pouring or sprinkling. Since I teach at a nondenominational school, I avoid the mode controversy by using the term “Spirit baptism.”

But I am Baptist, so I personally prefer “baptism in the Spirit.”

Whew.

One important takeaway is that there’s no biblical distinction among all these phrasings; they’re all referring to the same thing. I’ve heard people suggest that there are two different Spirit baptisms based on the difference in English preposition. They’re wrong.

Another question we should address as we begin is the data source. There’s actually very little information in the Scripture on Spirit baptism—something you wouldn’t expect, to hear some people talk about the concept. It’s mentioned essentially in just three places:

• John the Baptist’s prediction that Jesus will baptize en the Spirit. That’s recorded in all four Gospels (Mt 3.11; Mk 1.8; Lk 3.16; Jn 1.33).
• Jesus’ prediction, just before his Ascension, that his disciples would be baptized en the Spirit in a few days. That’s recorded in Acts 1.5 and recalled by Peter in Acts 11.16. Of course, “a few days” later Pentecost happened (Ac 2.1), and though that account doesn’t mention Spirit baptism, pretty much everybody agrees that Pentecost was what Jesus was referring to back in Acts 1.5. Interestingly, the Pentecost account does refer to water baptism (Ac 2.41) and to the “pouring out” of the Spirit (Ac 2.17-18, 33 [same Greek word in all three verses]).
• Paul’s observation that Spirit baptism is connected with entrance into the body of Christ (1Co 12.13), which is the church (1Co 12.12).

That’s relatively little information to build on, but there are a couple of consequential data points:

• The fact that Jesus is the one baptizing, but the event doesn’t happen until after he returns to heaven
• The fact that the baptism places one into the body of Christ

Next time we’ll draw some conclusions from these facts.

Photo by Paul Bulai on Unsplash

Introduction
Our relationship to sin:  Conviction / Repentance / Regeneration / Forgiveness / Redemption / Justification
Our relationship to God:
Before conversion: Election / Drawing / Faith
At conversion: Reconciliation / Positional sanctification / Adoption / Union with Christ / Spirit Baptism / Sealing / Indwelling / Assurance
After conversion: Progressive sanctification / Filling / Glorification
Conclusion

The second gift that specifically defines our relationship with the Spirit is sealing. This idea comes up just three times in Scripture, in two of Paul’s epistles.

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge (2Co 1.21-22).

In [Christ], you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ep 1.13-14).

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ep 4.30).

To understand this concept, we need to know a little bit about the culture of New Testament times. Sealing involved rolling up a document, tying it with string, and pressing a lump of clay into the string so that the document couldn’t be opened without breaking the seal. For important documents, the sender would use a “signet ring” to press his mark into the clay, making forgery more difficult.

The practice has continued over the years. The (fictional) Scarlet Pimpernel used the technique during the French Revolution, and some people continue the practice today, using wax instead of clay.

With this information, we can see several implications of the seal.

• It speaks of authenticity. With the ring’s impression, we’re certain that it really came from the named sender. It’s the real thing.
• It speaks of authority. If it’s really from the king, then you’d better open it, read it, and do what it says. When I turned 18, my friends and I all knew that if we received an envelope from the Selective Service Administration, we’d better not toss it in the trash without reading it.
• It speaks of security. The document has not been opened; the secret is safe; the plan can proceed.

Something about the wording in the verses listed above I find intriguing.

In both of Paul’s epistles, he describes the seal as a “pledge” (NASB; KJV “earnest,” NIV “deposit”). This carries the idea of a down payment, a partial delivery that indicates that the “pledger” is serious and will be forthcoming with even more.

We still use the term earnest today when we buy a house. The buyer puts down “earnest money” to demonstrate that he’s made a serious offer. If he doesn’t show up for the closing, he loses his deposit. The amount is enough to discourage frivolous offers and no-shows at closings.

For God to use this language is surprising, for a couple of reasons.

First, God is faithful and trustworthy (Dt 7.9; 1Co 1.9); he is by nature Yes and Amen (2Co 1.20), and he doesn’t need to give us any guarantee that he will do what he says. To call for a down payment from him is an insult, on the order of—no, infinitely worse than—hiring a chaperone for my wife when I’m at work. Yet he reassures our faithless hearts by demonstrating that he will do what he has promised (cf Heb 6.16-18).

Second, the whole idea that the Spirit of God is a “down payment” is jarring. The Spirit is a member of the Godhead, infinite, eternal, boundless. If we have the Spirit, how can that situation be enlarged, or improved, or augmented? What “more” can there be yet to come? Isn’t that language insulting too?

I sometimes evaluate student sermons. If I were to hear a student use this kind of language about the Spirit, and if these verses weren’t in the Bible, I’d take him aside afterwards and say, “Now son, it’s really not appropriate to use that kind of language about a person of the Godhead. He’s not a ‘partial payment’ of any kind, for anything.”

And I would be wrong.

This language is used of the Spirit, and it is the Spirit himself, the agent of inspiration (2P 1.21), who uses that language to describe himself.

What condescension. What astonishing revelation—humility expressed by the God of the ages.

We’re sealed by the Spirit as a promise of even more to come.

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash