Questions About the Holy Spirit (Part 1 of 2)

Q: According to John 7:38-39, is the Holy Spirit given to individuals when they believe in Jesus?

     First let’s note the historical context of this statement: “. . . the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). The Holy Spirit was to be sent when Jesus was glorified, namely after his death, resurrection and ascension (John 16:7, 12-14, 28; 17:1-5). This was accomplished shortly after Christ ascended into heaven (Acts 1:4-12; 2:1-4). Later the Holy Spirit was indeed given to individuals in some measure (1 Thess. 4:8; 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 5:5), but what was required by these individuals in order to receive the Spirit?     

     The point of Jesus’ statement in John 7:38-39 was not to detail what needed to be done in order to receive the Spirit, but rather to identify those who would receive the Spirit, namely believers as opposed to unbelievers (cf. John 14:17). But what constitutes a “believer” in the NT? He is not one who merely acknowledges the truth about Jesus (Mark 1:23-24; 5:2-7; Jas. 2:19), nor one who believes but refuses to confess (John 12:42-43; cf. Matt. 10:32-33), nor one who confesses but refuses to obey (Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46). The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey the Lord (Acts 5:32). Thus in Acts 2:44 the ones identified simply as “all who believed” (lit. ‘all the believing ones’) had actually been baptized (v. 41) after having been taught: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (v. 38).

Q: Did the apostles receive the Holy Spirit when Christ breathed on them prior to his ascension? (John 20:22)

     The apostles were not to receive the Holy Spirit until the Lord was glorified (John 7:39), and he was not glorified and therefore the Spirit was not sent until after Jesus had ascended into heaven (John 16:7; 17:1-5).  The apostles were instructed to wait in Jerusalem for about ten days after Christ’s ascension in order to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:1-12; 2:1-4).

     When Jesus breathed on the apostles in John 20:22, he did not say, “You have received . . . ” [perfect indicative] or “You are receiving . . . ” [present indicative], but rather, “Receive [aorist imperative] the Holy Spirit.” This statement instructs the apostles to be receptive to the Spirit when he comes, but it does not specify when he came. Why, then, did Jesus breathe on them? John did not see fit to explain it, but a couple of plausible explanations are the following. 

     1. Luke’s account (24:36-49) shows that when Jesus appeared to the apostles (to give the Great Commission) and said “Peace to you,” they were frightened, thinking he was “a spirit.” Jesus then showed them his nail-pierced hands and feet to prove he was alive and in the flesh. John not only mentions the Lord showing his wounds but adds that he also breathed on them (20:19-23), possibly to verify that he was really alive. 

     2. Since “breath” in the Bible symbolizes life (cf. Gen. 2:7; Mark 15:37), it may be that Jesus was illustrating the life-giving nature of their mission. In the previous verse the Lord had given them a commission, and in the subsequent verse he identified forgiveness of sins as part of their work. The gospel began to be preached, sins started to be forgiven, and the Great Commission was launched when the Holy Spirit was received by the apostles on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41).

-- Kevin L. Moore

Related posts: NT Believers, Holy Spirit Baptism, Questions About the Holy Spirit Part 2

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Questions About Holy Spirit Baptism (Part 2 of 2)

Q: If to be baptized with the Holy Spirit is to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4), and all Christians are to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), does that mean Holy Spirit baptism is for all Christians?

     While all Christians should “be filled with the knowledge of his will” (Col. 1:9), there are still different levels or degrees of knowledge (1 Cor. 8:2; 13:9-12; 2 Pet. 3:18). Likewise, there were different degrees or manifestations of the Spirit. The apostles were “baptized” with the Spirit and were thus filled with the Spirit. Others had the apostles’ hands laid on them and received a miraculous measure of the Spirit (Acts 8:17-19) but were still not able to do everything the apostles did (cf. 2 Cor. 12:12). Finally, everyone who obeys the gospel receives an indwelling of the Spirit (Acts 2:38; 5:32; 1 Cor. 6:19), but nowhere in scripture is this ever called “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

     One can be “filled with the Spirit” in a non-miraculous way. John the baptist, for example, was “filled with the Spirit” from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15), yet he performed no miraculous sign (John 10:41). Letting the Bible interpret itself, we learn that to “be filled with the Spirit” involves understanding the Lord’s will (Eph. 5:17-19), and in a parallel passage we see that it means the same as: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Col. 3:16), i.e. “be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9). The word of God is “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17). Whether one is filled with the Spirit indirectly through the inspired word and/or directly as a seal and a guarantee (Eph. 1:13-14), this is much different than what the apostles received on the Day of Pentecost. Furthermore, Holy Spirit baptism was a specific promise for a special purpose for particular individuals (cf. Acts 1:1-8), whereas the statement in Eph. 5:18 is a command for all Christians. Promises are fulfilled; commands are obeyed.

Q: Is Paul talking about Holy Spirit baptism in 1 Corinthians 12:13: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body . . . and have all been made to drink into one Spirit”?

     When examining any passage of scripture, it is important to consider who is speaking and who is being addressed. Paul is writing to the first-century church at Corinth (1:1-2). How had they entered the one body? Acts 18:8 says: “And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.” This included Crispus, Gaius and Stephanas’ household, whom Paul had baptized personally (1 Cor. 1:14, 16). This was the same baptism spoken of consistently throughout the book of Acts. Those who were baptized at Pentecost were added to the one body–the church (Acts 2:41, 47; cf. Col. 1:18). This baptism required water and was administered by people (Acts 8:36-39; 10:47-48). Holy Spirit baptism, on the other hand, was administered directly by the Lord (Matt. 3:11).      

     The teaching about baptism came by or through the Spirit and was eventually recorded in the Spirit-inspired word (Eph. 3:3-5; 6:17), which affirms that now there is only “one baptism” (Eph. 4:5). In addition to being baptized in water, these early Christians at Corinth had received spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:1 ff.), which would have come through the laying on of an apostle’s hands (cf. Acts 8:17-19; Rom. 1:11). In the absence of the completed written word at that time, these gifts were necessary to reveal and confirm God’s message to an infant church. The first-century Christians at Corinth had been immersed in water according to the Spirit’s instructions, and were also empowered with miraculous gifts of the Spirit until God’s revelation was perfected (1 Cor. 13:8-13).

--Kevin L. Moore

Related posts: Holy Spirit Baptism, Questions About Holy Spirit Baptism 1

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Questions About Holy Spirit Baptism (Part 1 of 2)

Q: Does the statement in Mark 1:8, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit,” indicate that Holy Spirit baptism was intended for others besides just the apostles?

     Luke’s account gives more details, wherein the observation is made that Jesus “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16; cf. Matt. 3:11). In the immediate context, the baptism of fire is a reference to the unquenchable fire of hell (vv. 9, 17), reserved for those who are not obedient to Christ (cf. Matt. 3:10-12; 25:41). To be consistent, those who wish to claim Holy Spirit baptism for themselves from this passage must also claim the baptism of fire. However, three baptisms are mentioned here: water, Holy Spirit, and fire. Not everyone on that occasion received water baptism (Matt. 3:7; Luke 7:30), nor is everyone to receive fire baptism (Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17). Who, then, was to receive Holy Spirit baptism? John is merely making a general statement here which is later qualified by Jesus in Acts 1:1-5. The Lord specifically applies John’s statement to his specially chosen apostles. The surest way to understand a prophecy is to consider its fulfillment.

Q: Did the 120 believers of Acts 1:14-15 receive Holy Spirit baptism?

     Between Christ’s ascension and the Day of Pentecost the apostles did assemble with 120 disciples (Acts 1:15), yet several days elapsed from the apostles’ return to Jerusalem to the outpouring of the Spirit (1:5). Seeing that Pentecost was fifty days after the Passover (Lev. 23:15-16), and from Christ’s resurrection to his ascension was forty days (Matt. 28:1; Acts 1:3), over a week stood between the Lord’s ascension and Pentecost. Since the temple was the regular assembling place for larger groups (Acts 2:46; 5:42), it is interesting to note that their prayer meetings were in the temple (Luke 24:53), not in the upper room where the apostles were residing. When Luke records that “they” were in one place (Acts 2:1), the nearest antecedent is the “apostles” (1:26). In order to assert that the Holy Spirit was poured out on 120 men and women, one has to skip back over eleven verses and ignore the immediate context. Furthermore, the apostles are the only ones recorded in Acts 2 as speaking from God, and the masculine pronoun houtoi (“these”) in verses 7 and 15 (literally “these men”) clearly has reference to them. Finally, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was never promised to all disciples but specifically “to the apostles whom he had chosen” (Acts 1:2-5; cf. 2:43; 5:12).

Q: In Acts 2:17-18 do the words “last days,” “all flesh,” and “sons and daughters” indicate that Holy Spirit baptism was not just for first-century apostles?

     The phrase “last days” in the NT refers to the last period of Bible history (namely the Christian Dispensation), which began in the first century AD (cf. Heb. 1:1-2), inclusive of a transitional period or the final days of the Jewish Age. Notice that Peter is quoting from Joel 2:28-32 and applying it to the events that were taking place as he spoke (Acts 2:16). It was “in” (not “throughout”) the last days. Joel (who lived around 800 BC) had prophesied about what was to take place in the first century AD.

     The words “all flesh” (KJV) or “all mankind” (NASB) cannot be taken in a literal, ultimate sense. No one understands this to mean that the Spirit was to be poured out on absolutely every person in the world, including unbelievers, the disobedient, Buddhists, Satanists, etc. (cf. John 14:17). It must therefore be understood representatively. When Joel received and transmitted the prophecy, there were only two classifications of people in the world: Jews and Gentiles. Therefore, the Holy Spirit was to be poured out on representatives of “all mankind,” namely both Jews and Gentiles. Since all of the apostles were Jewish, Acts 2 only records the initial fulfillment of this prophecy. Later, in Acts 10:44-47, Gentiles (viz. Cornelius’ household, including sons, daughters, male and female servants) received the same Holy Spirit baptism.

     The latter part of the prophecy quoted in Acts 2:19-21, though often mistakenly applied to Christ’s return, is actually a symbolic depiction of the dark, terrible day of Jerusalem’s destruction only four decades later in AD 70. This is figurative language typically used by OT prophets to describe God’s judgment and the violent overthrow of a nation (cf. Isa. 13:6-11; 34:1-5; Ezek. 32:7-8; etc.). The prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 had its initial fulfillment in AD 30 on the Day of Pentecost and completed its fulfillment in AD 70 at Jerusalem’s destruction, thus consummating the “last days” of the Jewish Age and ushering in the final period of Bible history.

--Kevin L. Moore

Related posts: Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Questions About Holy Spirit Baptism Part 2

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