Being baptized with the Holy Spirit (aka Holy Spirit baptism) is a remarkably hot topic – often disputed among Christians today. And yet, there is little direct Scriptural reference to the explicit act of being “baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
In fact, there is much the Bible leaves to the imagination regarding the Holy Spirit in general. As a result, there is ample opportunity to go where Scripture does not take us. We may be inclined to take liberties in drawing conclusions. Furthermore, adding to the confusion about Holy Spirit baptism are the other types of baptism in Scripture.
However, there is information in Scripture about Holy Spirit baptism to examine. Let’s leverage the Bible Study Framework to answer this important and often misunderstood question.
In Christian theology, baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Ghost, has been interpreted by different Christian denominations and traditions in a variety of ways due to differences in the doctrines of salvation and ecclesiology.
Baptism with the Holy Spirit, WikipediaHow Scripture answers "What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?"
Being “baptized with the Holy Spirit” only happened twice7 as a proper event in the New Testament. Each occurrence4,5 marked “firsts” – the first conversion of Jews4, and then of Gentiles5. It was the miraculous ushering in of the kingdom of God for “the Jew first and also the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
The first occurrence was ten days later on the day of Pentecost4, the apostles would preach the gospel to the Jews in Jerusalem, saving 3,000 souls. The second time we read of the Holy Spirit baptism is at the conversion of the first Gentiles5. It was a miraculous spectacle just like on the day of Pentecost6,7. In fact, it was a necessary display to convince Peter, his traveling companions6, and the Christian Jews back in Jerusalem7 of God’s acceptance of Gentiles into the kingdom5,6,7.
What it means to be baptized with the Holy Spirit can sometimes get mixed with other aspects of God’s promise of the Holy Spirit for all disciples. For example, John the Baptist1 preached that his cousin Jesus would bring a different baptism than what he taught. While this could have referred at least in part to the special anointing in Acts 24 and Acts 105, John was speaking to and about all disciples. When Jesus spoke about it2,3, it was specifically to the appointed apostles. Furthermore, after the Acts 10 instance6, Peter refers back and connects it to what Jesus had said3 (not John). Both of those instances were also for the benefit or in witness to the others present — proving to them that this was God’s will.
John’s profession1 fits much better with the water baptism of the new covenant5 that Jesus did bring for all mankind. A water baptism that would give the promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to the individual. As a result, other passages8 are sometimes promoted as speaking about this special Holy Spirit baptism but they are forced interpretations often taken out of context.
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What Peter said in Acts 11:15-17 is impressive: “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.” Peter’s reference to the beginning refers to his sermon to Jews on Pentecost recorded in Acts 2. That was ten or eleven years before his sermon to the Gentile household of Cornelius (Acts 10). The Holy Spirit baptism in Acts 2 was on Jews, in Acts 10 on Gentiles with a decade or so between them.. Peter summed it up by saying, “Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'” (Acts 11:16) The inescapable conclusion was that the gospel invitation was to Gentiles as well as Jews. Impressive!
It is inescapable and the ten year gap is a really interesting point. A twice-in-their-lifetime event that occurred a decade apart! No wonder Peter reminding them of “the beginning” was the vivid correlation they needed to know God had welcomed the Gentiles into the kingdom. Of course, they also had the countless prophecies speaking about “the day” the “nations” would come to the house/mountain/city of the Lord.