Baptism with the Holy Spirit

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According to the New Testament, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience sent by Jesus Christ. As recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus describes it as "the Promise of the Father", through which believers in Jesus Christ receive "power from on high" (Luke 24:49). According to the book of Acts, Jesus further referred to the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an experience through which his disciples would "receive power, after that the Holy Ghost[1] [was] come upon [them]" (Acts 1:8). Among various Charismatic groups, interpretations differ as to what the baptism with the Holy Spirit means to practical Christian experience.

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[edit] Catholic view

According to the official teaching of the Catholic Church, when Catholics are confirmed they receive the "special Outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost" [2]. That is to say, the Holy Spirit is already given to the believer in baptism and confirmation. However, a growing community of "Charismatic Renewal Catholics" (numbering over 44 million in 2000[3]), believe that there is a further experience of Empowerment with the Holy Spirit. As stated by Rev. Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, "baptism in the Spirit is not a sacrament, but it is related to a sacrament...to the sacraments of Christian initiation. The baptism in the Spirit makes real and in a way renews Christian initiation"[4] Emphasis of the event is on the release of existing spiritual gifts already given to the individual through baptism and Confirmation.

[edit] Pentecostal/Charismatic view

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In Christian Pentecostal theology, baptism with 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 with 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. At large, Charismatics and Pentecostals have very similar beliefs. Charismatics, however, focus more on the gifts of 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. Pentecostals 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 clothed with power from on high" (NIV). 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 of 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 bestowing 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 Pentecostal churches would accept that all Christians receive the Holy Spirit at the time of their conversion as in the case of the Apostolic Assemblies of Christ, a Oneness denomination (not Trinitarian). 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 of the Holy Spirit to be requisite for the apostolic and evangelical mission that they believe is the duty of all Christians. Other relevant Bible passages include Acts 8:14-17, and Acts 2:1-13.

[edit] Reformed view

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Reformed theology views the baptism with the Holy Spirit as a "once-only" event that occurred at Pentecost. In contrast to the Pentecostal/Charismatic view, Reformed Theology sees the baptism with the Holy Spirit not as an "empowering" or "gifting" experience received by individual believers, either at the time of salvation or subsequent to salvation, but rather as part of a "once-for-all," completed accomplishment for the church as a whole. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is seen as a "seal" of the Spirit of Christ given to the church as a whole, at one specific point in history. It is not an experience to be individually repeated among believers. At Pentecost, according to the Reformed view, the baptism with the Holy Spirit was received at once for all Christians then and future – a completed fulfillment of the "Promise of the Father" of Acts 1:4, when the Holy Spirit was "poured out on all flesh" (Acts 2:17) for all time.

[edit] Wesleyan view

John Wesley spoke of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and as an expression of this baptism practiced groanings which cannot be uttered. His personal secretary wrote an eyewitness account of this practice which is completely consistent with the modern practice of Tongues. However the bulk of his followers, the Methodists, have historically disagreed about how Wesley defined this baptism. While "mainstream" Methodists (such as The United Methodist Church and its precedent bodies) have tended to agree with most Christians in the belief that the Holy Spirit is conveyed in some manner to all people, and certainly all Christians (see Prevenient Grace), other Wesleyans have argued that Wesley was referring to Entire sanctification despite his own writings to the contrary, the belief that after one's sins are forgiven, a Christian can be actually cleansed of sinful corruption. These Wesleyans founded the Holiness movement and are today found in the Church of the Nazarene, the Salvation Army, and other denominations. See The Supernatural Occurrences of John Wesley for a chapter exploring Wesley's interpretation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

[edit] Development of the term

The term "baptize with the Holy Spirit" is encountered in each of the four gospels in descriptions of John the Baptist's prophecies of the coming Messiah who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33). Jesus is quoted using the phrase "baptized with the Holy Spirit" in Acts 1:5, where he commands his followers to wait in Jerusalem for this experience, which he also referred to as the "Promise of the Father" in Acts 1:4. In Acts 11:16, the Apostle Peter terms the experience of the household of Cornelius (described in Acts 10:44-46) as being "baptized with the Holy Spirit", declaring that the experience was "the same gift that [God] gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ" at Pentecost (see Acts 11:17 and compare Acts 2:1-4). Other terminology in the New Testament may refer as well to the baptism with the Holy Spirit: the language of filling (Acts 1:4 and Acts 9:17); other language of the Holy Spirit being poured out (Acts 2:17-18 (referring to Joel 2:28-29), Acts 2:33 and Acts 10:45); the language of receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15 and 17), the falling of the Holy Spirit on individuals (Acts 8:16 and Acts 10:44), and also descriptions of the Holy Spirit coming upon individuals (Acts 1:8 and Acts 19:6). Members of the Holiness churches have also referred to the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a "second blessing" or "second work of grace." This language and practice eventually evolved into the modern Pentecostal movement, and Pentecostals adapted the Holiness usage of the term as they understood it.

[edit] Baptism with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues

Biblical scholars note the close association of Biblical references to "baptism in the Holy Spirit" with descriptions of "speaking in tongues." In the Acts of the Apostles, there are three specific references to individuals speaking in tongues: Acts 2:4, ;&version=KJV; Acts 10:46 and Acts 19:6. Each of these instances of tongues-speaking is immediately subsequent to or contemporary with an experience of being "baptized in the Holy Spirit." The experience in Acts 2:1-4, which included tongues-speaking (see Acts 2:4), may be connected with the prediction by Jesus in Acts 1:5 that the disciples would be "baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." This experience was referred to later in retrospect by Peter as well, as being "baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 11:16).

The description of Cornelius' household receiving the Gospel from Peter and his companions in Acts 10:46, which included a reference to their "speaking in tongues," is later associated by Peter with the Pentecost experience of the disciples, relating that Cornelius and his friends and family were "baptized with the Holy Spirit" as the disciples had been at Pentecost (Acts 11:16) and Acts 19:6, which includes reference to individuals in Ephesus "speaking in tongues," although not specifically using the term "baptized with the Holy Spirit," states that the "Holy Spirit came upon them" when the Apostle Paul laid his hands upon them. Pentecostal tradition points to these passages to affirm what it believes to be adequate scriptural basis for their view that "speaking in tongues" is an initial evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

[edit] References

  1. ^ For consistency and readability, the name 'Holy Spirit' is normally used throughout this article. Some Pentecostals, in particular but not exclusively, the Oneness denominations, prefer 'Holy Ghost' to be used, especially where the King James / Authorized version of the Holy Bible is used exclusively. For further information see the Holy Spirit article.
  2. ^ Catechism 1302 of the Catholic Church
  3. ^ The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, Stanley M. Burgess, ed.; Eduard M. van der Maas, ass. ed., Zondervan, 2001 p. 465 ISBN 0-310-22481-0
  4. ^ Baptism in the Holy Spirit by Father Raniero Cantalamessa

[edit] Bible references

  • Matthew 3:11: ..".He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit..."
  • Mark 1:8: ."..He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit..."
  • Luke 3:16: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit..."
  • Luke 24:49: ."..stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (see fulfillment in Acts 2).
  • John 1:33: ."..the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit."
  • Acts 1:4-5: ."..the Promise of the Father..."; ."..you will be baptized with the Holy Sprit..."
  • Acts 2:1-4: "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages..."
  • Acts 2:14-18: ."..I will pour out my Spirit..." (quoting Joel 2:28 and 29).
  • Acts 4:31: ."..they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..."
  • Acts 8:14-17: ...prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit..."; ."..as yet the Spirit had not yet come upon any of them..."; ."..they received the Holy Spirit..."; ."..the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands...".
  • Acts 9:17: ."..Jesus...has sent me...that you may...be filled with the Holy Spirit."
  • Acts 10:44-48: "The Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word..."; ."..the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out..."; ."..people who have received the Holy Spirit..."
  • Acts 11:15-16: ."..the Holy Spirit fell upon them..."; ."..you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit..."
  • Acts 19:1-6: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit...?"; ."..the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied..."

[edit] External links

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