9 Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Here’s a question: Can a person be an authentic follower of Jesus without ever being baptized in the Spirit? Can he or she still receive forgiveness, still be in ministry with Christ, still grow into a fruitful believer, and even go to heaven without being filled with the Holy Spirit?

Yes. Unequivocally, yes!

There are large pockets of believers in Christ all over the world who maintain that the the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not relevant in this day and age. Some even preach against it. They may say the Spirit no longer needs to be made manifest in that capacity because we have the Bible. They may say we are all filled with the Spirit and don’t need a second (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) experience in the Spirit, or they may even say that the whole pentecostal experience is of the devil.

Perhaps the clearest examples of not needing the baptism in the Holy Spirit and still being a bionafied follower of Christ comes from the New Testament itself. The twelve disciples, for example, were “hands on” with the ministry of Christ. They partook in the ministry of Christ, performed miracles, and even went on mission trips where they cast out demons and healed the sick. They were powerful witnesses of Jesus Christ. And they all that - and probably many other things as well - before the Spirit fell at Pentecost.

Were they Christians before they had experienced Pentecost? Sure. Were they disciples? Yup. Did they have the Holy Spirit with them? You bet. If they had died before receiving the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost would they still go to heaven? Of course.

Similar situations happened throughout the book of Acts. Paul would come across “disciples” of Jesus – real, authentic, believers in the Lord – but, all the same, disciples who had were operating the outside the fullness of the Spirit. When they heard God had more for them, they received the Spirit and experienced the same manifestations of the Spirit the original disciples received at the Feast of Pentecost, there in the upper room, which would have included the gift of tongues.

Having said all that it would be terrible thing just to say all that without completing the picture. While the experience of the Spirit was not a prerequisite for salvation, or even essential to be a disciple of Christ, it had - and still has - an essential role in the life of the church.

Jesus attested to the importance of Pentecost when he emphatically told his disciples to cease doing ministry until they had been empowered with the Spirit of God. Apparently he thought it was pretty important. In addition, all the disciples experienced and ministered in their newfound empowerment. So, while not essential, they readily received the Spirit as the fulfillment of the Promise. The Holy Spirit is a most important aspect of the Life for many, many reasons. He is a Gift that Jesus died to give us.

In fact, the resurrected Christ is the one who baptizes people in the Holy Spirit. I don’t know about you. But, if he’s doing it, I want to be a part of it!

Just what is the baptism in the Holy Spirit? The baptism of the Spirit is an added experience (in addition to Salvation) wherein the full love of the Father is poured into our hearts. It is not meant to be a once in a lifetime experience but the beginning of limitless infilling within each follower of Jesus Christ. It is meant for the empowering and anointing of the followers of Jesus in order to fulfill the mission of Christ.

Some Christians look at the baptism of the Spirit as an anointing, or calling, into ministry that comes down from above, like how it happened to Jesus when he was baptized by his cousin John. Others see the infilling of the Spirit more akin to a "releasing" of the power residing within the heart of the convert. Among those who subscribe to this phenomenon, most everybody leans into the experience as a God-given provision to walk the walk and talk the talk, victoriously in Christ. It’s interesting to note that people coming in from cults and/or the occult tend to find themselves in “Spirit-filled,” or “Pentecostal,” or “charismatic” churches. I believe this is because they’re used to dealing with spiritual powers and need the fullness of the Spirit as grace-given counterbalance to maintain a life of spiritual victory before a holy God.

In Scripture, the Greek behind the word, “baptism” has to do with a full immersion, or total saturation, into the same substance that resides within. Here’s an example of that: My brother once gave me a picture he took of an old wooden canoe carved by Native Americans. In the photo, the canoe is filled with water and, in turn, the canoe is sunk under, or within, the water as well. That is a good picture of what it means to be baptized in the Spirit. We are baptized into the same Spirit that dwells within our hearts.

When a person comes to Christ he receives the Holy Spirit. It is a deposit placed within the heart which serves as a seal of adoption into the family of God, a guarantee of the future life in heaven, and an avenue wherein the love of the Father is poured out. That all happens when a person repents of the old life, turns to Christ, and he comes to dwell in the heart of the new believer.

But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is very different than that.

When I was first baptized in the Spirit I had been a Christian for a couple of years. I was hitchhiking around, sharing Christ with about everyone I met. All in all, it was pretty awesome. Previous to my conversion, I had been involved with activities that were quite dark and powerful and, although content in my walk with Christ, I often experienced the devil's reside in my life. As a Christian, I had not yet experienced the supernatural power I needed to walk victoriously in Christ.

One evening a friend of mine invited me to a gathering of Christians. When I arrived it happened to be in a large conference room where a band was leading everyone in worship - which was a new experience for me. As the worship intensified I received a vision of a cracked-open door that had intensely-white light beaming in from the around the sides and top. It was glorious.

It was then when I heard the Lord say, “Now, Bill, you know I love you right?” I nodded. “And you know I will never love you any more, or any less than I love you now – you know that, right” Again, I nodded. Then he said, “But I have more for you... Do you want more of me?” “Oh, yes Lord... you know I want everything you have for me.”

And, with that, that the door flew open and I was immediately saturated with the all-consuming realized presence of God. It was an overwhelming moment wherein I experienced the holiness of God up and against my sinful wretchedness - which seemed to be particularly highlighted during that time. Then, as I watched, His holiness completely swallowed up my sin and shame. A couple of things happened at that time. I was washed cleaner then ever before. It was then when he also exchanged my callused heart of stone for a heart heart of flesh.

I cried for a long time that night – tears of gratefulness, to be sure. I rose from that seat knowing - and experiencing the power and fullness of God. It was then when the verse, "Greater is he (Jesus) that is in you than he (satan) who is in the world” really became something I could believe in, something that had been firmly anchored and set as a seal over my heart.

Additionally, it was after that experience when I began to minister in the revelatory gifts of the Spirit. Everything about witnessing, worship, Bible study, personal holiness – all things Spiritual, including my heart for those outside the Faith – changed for me that evening.

So, in summary, we’ve learned that a person does not need to be baptized in the Spirit – overwhelmed and saturated in the holiness of God – in order to be a Christian, or even in order to have a ministry. Yet, Scripture recognizes the additional experience of a personal Pentecost which cannot be overlooked.

Jesus himself is the one who baptizes people with the power/fire of his love. When this happens, a person’s orientation on life (her call, gifts, passion, and heart for the things of God) dramatically come to focus and that person’s life is, by the grace of God, forever changed.