| Baptism in the Spirit occurs at salvation when the Holy Spirit places new believers into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). | Paul uses the term to describe the Holy Spirit placing new believers into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), but Luke uses it to describe an experiential event distinct from and subsequent to salvation that empowers a believer for ministry (Acts 2:1-4; 8:14-17; 9:17-19; 10:44-48; 19:1-7). |
| Paul and Luke hold highly compatible or even identical understandings of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Baptism in the Spirit is a potentially repeatable event distinct from and subsequent to salvation that empowers a believer for ministry. The traditional Pauline understanding of Spirit baptism is a theological mirage based upon a faulty understanding of 1 Corinthians 12:13. |
I now understand 1 Corinthians 12:13 to mean that all the Corinthian (or Early Church believers) have been immersed into the same Holy Spirit signifying their unity in Christ and that they have all been irrigated (filled with the Spirit) signifying their unity in the Holy Spirit. Paul is likely using an agricultural metaphor here in verse 13 with immersion causing irrigation like when a gardener takes a potted plant and plunges the pot into water to water it (fill the soil with water). Given Paul's metaphor of the Corinthian church as a field in which he planted seed in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, an extension of his agricultural metaphor here in 12:13 makes sense. Like Luke implies with his use of Spirit baptism in Acts, in the Early Church, baptism in the Spirit serves as the evidence that God accepts all individuals who trust in Jesus for salvation regardless of their race or class. Yet, with the unity issues of the Early Church long resolved, how is the Church today to understand the resurgence of Spirit baptism in the last 100+ years?
Baptism in the Holy Spirit remains a theologically under-developed doctrine. I believe I have uncovered a viable alternative slant that needs to be pondered and tested. However, I suspect that many North American theologians are bound to their particular denomination's historical understanding of the concept and would likely face negative consequences if they dare question their group's established view.
Site sponsored by Goldfish Guitars. Great guitars and accessories for all ages!
Check out the Fishpicks!