The Phrase in Scripture

In order to determine whether or not believers should look for a post-conversion “baptism in the Holy Spirit”, we need to look at the phrase itself and how it’s used in Scripture.  The phrase shows up seven times: once in each Gospel, twice in the book of Acts, and once in 1 Corinthians.  In the Gospels (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, and John 1:33), the phrase refers to the ministry of Jesus.  In all four verses, the phrase is spoken by John the Baptist to say that although he (John) baptized with water, Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit.  In Acts (1:5, 11:16) the phrase is used in reference to Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came.  From these six verses, we learn that Jesus is the one who does the baptizing, the Holy Spirit is the element with which this baptism is carried out, and that this baptism happened at Pentecost.  But from these verses, it’s still unclear what being baptized in the Holy Spirit means exactly.

The Importance of 1 Corinthians 12:13

The seventh and final verse with this phrase comes from Paul:

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 (NIV)

In determining whether the doctrine of subsequence is biblical, this verse is crucial.  The million-dollar question with 1 Corinthians 12:13 is “Does this verse refer to the same thing as the other six verses?” because what Paul is describing in this verse is something that’s happened to every Christian.  In 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31, he is talking about how each believer is a member of the one body of Christ.  And in verse 13 he says that we were baptized into this body “by one Spirit.”  If what Paul is describing here is the same thing as the “baptism in the Holy Spirit” mentioned in the other six verses, then the doctrine of subsequence falls because Paul is saying that the Corinthians were baptized in the Holy Spirit when they became part of the body of Christ, which is another way of saying when they were converted and became Christians.  In other words, if Paul’s talking about the same thing, then baptism in the Holy Spirit is something that happens to all Christians at conversion and is therefore not something which we should seek after it.

Pentecostals are quick to note the difference in wording between this verse and the other six references to Spirit-baptism.  Whereas the other six verses all pretty much say “baptize/baptized with the Holy Spirit”, many English translations of this verse says that we were baptized “by the Spirit.”  Their interpretation then is this: the first six verses mentioned above all refer to a baptism made by Jesus with the Spirit.  Just as water is the element in baptisms you see at a church service, the Spirit is the “element” of the baptism Jesus gives.  However, 1 Corinthians 12:13 refers to a baptism by the Spirit, meaning that the Spirit is the one in this case doing the baptism.  Thus it can’t be the same thing.

The problem with the Pentecostal interpretation of this verse is that while it can be somewhat supported from a reading of some English translations, it can’t be supported in the original language.  In the Greek text of the verse the phrase translated “by one Spirit” in the NIV is almost identical to the Greek versions of the other six verses.  The word translated “by” is from the same Greek preposition used in the other six verses which in English got translated “in” or “with” (two acceptable, interchangeable translations).  In the original language, the only difference between “baptized by one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV) and “baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5) is the mention of “one” Spirit rather than the “Holy” Spirit.  So in 1 Corinthians, Paul is essentially saying that we were baptized in the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.

It may seem awkward in English to say that “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”  ”In” and “into” are different words in Greek (“en” and “eis”), just like in English, but in English they sound similar and could even mean the same thing.  For instance, I could go “in the house” or I could go “into the house”.  Here in 1 Corinthians 12:13, the idea is that as a result of being baptized in the Holy Spirit, we therefore have participation (the “into” here) in the Church, the body of Christ.  What’s in view in this verse is 1) what we were baptized with, and 2) what we are now associated with as a result of that baptism.  Maintaining this distinction, and perhaps to smooth out the English is probably the reason behind the translation “by”.  Wayne Grudem says it well:

“…the Holy Spirit was the element in which they were baptized, and the body of Christ, the church, was the location in which they found themselves after that baptism.”

Grudem compares this verse with 1 Corinthians 10:2- “and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”  The elements of baptism were the cloud and the sea.  The location they found themselves in was “into Moses”, meaning participation in the community of God’s people, led by Moses.

So textually speaking, it seems impossible to say that the doctrine of subsequence is found in Scripture.  The baptism in the Holy Spirit referred to in the Gospels and in Acts is the same baptism that Paul says every Christian experiences by becoming a Christian, not by an outpouring of the Spirit later on.  But if this the case, what in the world do we do with all the references to the Holy Spirit being given to people after they had already been believers?  That’s coming next, so stay tuned!

Next: Out With the Old, In With the New

I’ve been wanting to delve into the field of Pentecostal and charismatic theology for a while now, and I figure this would be a good place to start.  Actually I think the history of the movements would be a better place to start, but I’m more interested in talking about subsequence first, so…here ya go.

Okay, subsequence: what the heck is it?  The doctrine of subsequence states that after a person becomes a Christian, he or she may experience a post-conversion “baptism in the Holy Spirit.”  So in the Church there are two kinds of Christians: Spirit-baptized Christians and everyone else.  All believers should seek this Spirit baptism, which typically manifests itself in the gift of tongues.  The traditional Pentecostal view of Spirit-baptism is that once it happens to a believer, he/she begins to speak in tongues.  This is the sign that the believer has been baptized in the Holy Spirit, even if the believer doesn’t continue to speak in tongues later in life (the gift of tongues).  This outpouring of the Spirit “subsequent” to salvation is said to drastically increase the believer’s spiritual power.  Prayer is deeper than it once was, worship is awesome-er, Bible study more productive, etc.  Basically a greater and more powerful Christian experience.  And what Christian wouldn’t want this?

The line of thought that proponents of this doctrine utilize is this:

1.) Jesus’ disciples were already believers before the Spirit was poured out upon them at Pentecost.

2.) Even though they were already believers in and followers of him, Jesus commanded them to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them.  They would then be “baptized with [or 'in'] the Holy Spirit”.  (Acts 1:4-5)  The result of this baptism would be increased power for ministry. (Acts 1:8)

3.) On the day of Pentecost, the apostles were in fact baptized in the Holy Spirit.  They were “all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)  As Jesus predicted, the result of this baptism was a great empowerment for ministry.

4.) Following the pattern seen in the lives of the apostles, we as Christians today who have been born again should seek a baptism in the Holy Spirit whereby we will be greatly empowered to do our Lord’s work in our time on earth.  The sign that this has happened will be when we begin to speak in tongues.

5.) Support for this is seen elsewhere in the book of Acts.  In Acts 8 for example, Samaritans who heard Philip preach the gospel believed and were baptized.  But after the fact, Peter and John visited them and prayed that the Holy Spirit would come to them.  (Acts 8:12-17)  In Acts 19, Paul encounters some disciples in Ephesus.  But these disciples, even though they believed the gospel, still hadn’t received the Holy Spirit.  After laying his hands upon them, Paul remedied the situation and the Holy Spirit came upon these disciples, who in turn “began speaking in tongues and prophesying.” (Acts 9:1-6)  So from the example of the apostles on the day of Pentecost and the numerous other examples of people receiving the Holy Spirit subsequent to their conversion, it is clear from Scripture that all believers should follow this example.

Next: The Phrase ‘Baptism in the Holy Spirit’