In our first installment of this three-part series on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we saw that Charismatics believe that Holy Spirit baptism should be experienced by all who claim to be Christians. They further suggest that one cannot be what God wants him or her to be without receiving the baptism of the Spirit because it helps one to live a sanctified life. That view, however, contradicts the Bible. The teaching of the New Testament is that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was promised only to the apostles (Acts 1:1-8), and that they were the ones who received the fulfillment of the promise (Acts 2:1-16).
If the purpose for Holy Spirit baptism was not for sanctification, what, then, was its purpose? Let’s see what the Bible says.
The Purpose of Holy Spirit Baptism
The Old Testament saints prove that Holy Spirit baptism is not the source of power for faithful living and service. They were not baptized with the Holy Spirit, yet many of them served God admirably, living blamelessly (Job 1:1; Genesis 17:1; Exodus 19:1-8). Where is the Bible example of God ever-changing a man morally by the direct or miraculous influence of the Holy Spirit? There is no passage in the Old or New Testament. God has always changed man morally through teaching. In the days of Noah when the world was full of ungodliness, God tried to change man through teaching (1 Peter 3:18-20; 2 Peter 2:5; Genesis 6:3). God tried to change the Israelites through teaching as well (Nehemiah 9:13-30).
After Christ died and rose from the dead, God still tried to change the world morally through teaching (Acts 2:36-47; Ephesians 3:1-5). If God worked any other way, it would violate the free will of man. So, the purpose of Holy Spirit baptism was not to empower men to live right and serve God. In fact, those who were baptized with the Holy Spirit could still make mistakes and sin against God (Galatians 2:11-17).
What, then, was the purpose of Holy Spirit baptism? It was for the purpose of inspiration and confirmation. We have already seen that only the apostles were promised to be baptized with the Spirit, and they were the ones who received it. What did it give them the power to do? It gave them the ability to preach (Acts 1:8). The Spirit inspired the apostles, guiding them into all truth (John 16;13; 1 Corinthians 2:6-13; Ephesians 3:1-5). Furthermore, the Spirit gave them the ability to confirm through signs and wonders (Mark 16:19, 20; Hebrew 2:4). Now, as we stated earlier, the apostles performed miracles before they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, but now they could do more…they could lay hands on others and give them the ability to perform miracles as well. In a time when the written word was not complete, this was an essential part of the apostle’s work, and it was a sign of an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12; 1 Corinthians 9:1). So, when we think of the miraculous work of the Spirit, including the effects or results of one being baptized with the Holy Spirit, that work is always associated with inspiration or confirmation.
The question that needs to be asked now is, “Is there still a purpose for Holy Spirit baptism?” The answer is no. Do we need the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel? No, we have the gospel in written form. Remember, the apostles were guided in all truth, and we have that truth today. Latter-day revelation or inspiration is not necessary, and if we had inspiration, then the written Word would not be necessary.
Do we need miraculous deeds to confirm the Word? No! Once again, we have the written Word, including the miraculous works of the Spirit recorded to produce faith (John 20:30, 31). The Word confirms itself.
So then, if there is no longer a purpose for Holy Spirit baptism, we should see that the baptism no longer exists. Hence, Paul could say that there is one baptism (Ephesians 4:4). We know that water baptism is still valid and even commanded today. That baptism is for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) and puts one into Christ (Galatians 3:27). If Holy Spirit baptism is still around, then we have two baptisms, and that contradicts Paul’s words in the book of Ephesians. The truth is, baptism of the Holy Spirit ceased a long time ago and is no longer necessary. In the next article, we will look at what happened to Cornelius in Acts 10.