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83
Baptism
in the
Holy Spirit:
Its
Purpose(s)
In the
ongoing
discussion of Baptism in the
Holy Spirit
which has taken
place
over the
past century,
most
people
have come to agree
on at least two
things. First,
it is an
experience
of the
Holy Spirit.
Second,
it is as
legitimate
an
experience
for Christians today
as it was for those of the First
Century
church. But this discussion has made it
equally
clear that there are several additional
points
where a
range
of
differing opinions
continue to be maintained. And these
points
have
significant impli- cations for the Christian life.
The first such issue is “When does
baptism
in the
Spirit occur?”
Generally speaking,
the answer to this
question identifies this
experience
as
being
related to
conversion/
initia- tion
(James
D.G.
Dunn, Baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
Philadel- phia :
Westminster, 1970),
or it
postulates
this
baptism
as
being related to some later, some
subsequent spiritual experience.
As such,
it has been classified
alternatively
as an
experience
of purification
or sanctification
(A.M. Hills,
Holiness and Power for
the Church and the
Ministry
New York:
Garland, rpt. 1984; Charles J. Fowler, Back to Pentecost
Philadelphia:
Christian Standard Co., 1900), or an
experience making possible
a life of power
or an
overcoming
life
(W.E. Boardman,
The
Higher Christian
Life
New York:
Garland, rpt. 1984;
Arthur T. Pierson,
Forward Movements
of
the Last
Half Century
New York: Garland,
rpt. 1984;
P.C.
Nelson,
The
Baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
Fort Worth: Southwestern
Press, 1942).
It has also been typified
as an
experience
of
empowerment
for service or the release of gifts in the work of ministry (R.A. Torrey, The Person and Work
of the Holy Spirit
Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, rpt. 1974;
Carl
Brumback,
“What Meaneth
This ?”Springfield,
Mo.: Gospel Publishing House, 1947; Ralph
C.
Horner,
From the Altar to the
Upper
Room New York:
Garland, rpt. 1984).
How one answers this
question surely
has much to
say
about the purpose
for which this
baptizing
work is
given,
but as
yet
a concensus on the
answer(s)
has not been reached.
The second issue is “How does one
verify,
or is it
possible
to verify
that
s/ he has, indeed,
been
baptized
in the
Holy Spirit?” This is the
question
of evidence, or of evidences.
Again,
answers differ. Some
suggest
that the answer lies
solely
in faith
(Freder- ick Dale
Bruner,
A
Theology of the Holy Spirit
Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970),
or in the
experience
of results which “attend or follow that
baptism”
such as when we are
“strengthened
with might
in the inner man”
(Asa Mahan,
Out
of
Darkness into
1
84
Light
New York:
Garland, manifestation of divine “love”
rpt. 1985).
Others
suggest
that it is a
Garland, Turner,
rpt. 1984),
Speaking H. Horton,
(John Wesley, E.rplanatory London:
Epworth, rpt. 1966),
(Hannah
W.
Smith,
The
ed.; New York:
“What Meaneth
This?’)
or to
Notes
Upon
the New Testament
the
presence
of fruit of the
Spirit
Christian’s Secret
of
a
Happy Life
revised
even the
ability
to
speak
in
tongues (W.H.
Pentecost and
Tongues
Second
ed.; Franklin Springs, Ga.: Advocate Press, 1968; R.L.
Black, Holy Ghost and
in
Tongues Cleveland,
Tn.: White
Wing, 1983;
Wade
ed. The Glossolalia Phenomenon Cleveland: Path- way Press,
1966; and Brumback,
exhibit one or more of the other manifestations of the
Spirit
“Do All
Speak
with
Tongues?” Brooklyn:
The
Alliance
Publishing Company,
no
date).
It is more often than
not,
the most controversial of the issues left unre-
(F.F. Bosworth, Christian
solved in the discussion.
The third issue is “For what
purpose
What are to be the
consequences
of this
baptism?
for the individual
Christian,
for the Church
whole,
while not
totally independent
issues
might prove
to be
is this
baptism given?”
What is its
as a it is this issue
which,
the
Is
incorporation
understood
primarily 1:8)?
overcoming
of the sin
thereof in the Christian (Galatians 5:22-23)
should
they
be
purpose
Spirit something
affiliated
significance
and for the world?
Undoubtedly
of the first
two,
is
ultimately most
important one,
for it
provides
the reason that such a baptism
exists at all.
Unfortunately,
it is often the most overlooked. The
discussion, then,
tends to
get
sidetracked on
which even
if they
are not meant to do
so,
can derail what
a more fruitful
activity. Thus,
the
question remains.
Why
this
baptism
in the
Spirit?
it to be understood
primarily
or
only
as an act of
into the
Body
of Christ
(
Cor
12:13)?
Is it to be
or
only
as an act of
empowerment (Acts
Is it to be understood
primarily
or
only
as related to the
or
triumph
over sin
(Keswick)
or to the eradication
nature
(Holiness),
or is it even related to sin or the lack
life? Are the fruit of the
Spirit
to be understood
primarily
as evidences, or
understood as the
consequences
related to the
for which “the
baptism”
is given?
Or,
are the fruit of the
which is
independent
of
baptism
in the
Spirit?
with the mission on Azusa Street
life
Early
Pentecostals
in Los
Angeles
called it a “gift of
power upon
the sanctified …”
[The Apostolic
Faith l:l (September
1906), p. 2].
It was described as “…
power [for
witness? or
living
a life of holiness?]
of the Word
[revelation?
or
hermeneutics?]
God
[triumphalism?
or a
theologia crucis?]
and
understanding and the
glory
of
2
and
[The Apostolic
This issue of Pneuma
85
would
upon your
life.” It was even stated that such a
baptism make the
recipient”…
more humble and filled with divine love
the
grace
and fruits of the
Spirit …”
would be manifest
Faith II
(sic.):13 (May, 1908), p.2].
is dedicated to another look at the subject
of
purpose.
Classic
Pentecostal,
with an article which examines
baptism
in the
Spirit
occurs. He
argues
it
may
well be separate from
conversion,
of it
all,
he notes is “probably
the later articles
by noting
is the role of the
Spirit
in “the
empowerment
with
openness
to
gifts
and the
miraculous, plus
obedience to
in
short,
the
question
of
purpose.
Richard Lovelace
provides
an
evangelical perspective
on the
the tradition embodied in the various
discussion “when” tially spite stage
for question
mission”,
subject
by tracing
Pietists, nineteenth
Gordon
Fee,
starts the
briefly
the issue of
that
experien-
a point which in irrelevant.”
Yet,
he sets the
that the more
important
for
life,
Evangelical awakenings, especially among
the Puritans and the
and the
great awakenings
of the
eighteenth
and
centuries.
They may
well have
experienced,
he
says, what we
today
call
“baptism
in the
Spirit”. Yet, they
seem to
motivated
by
that
experience
to take
seriously
the
the
spiritual
and the ecumenical
challenges
of their
day. This article
may, indeed,
shed considerable
light
on the
subject
have been social,
written
published primary category
purpose
revelation Pentecostal
concern Spirit yields
Fr. Peter
of
purpose.
A pair of articles
by
two Roman
Catholics,
Hocken and Fr. Michael
Duggan
make a singular contribution to the
dialogue
as well. Peter Hocken builds
upon
an article
in an earlier issue of Pneuma,
arguing
that the
of
baptism
in the
Spirit
is one of revelation, a
which he
argues
is more basic than that of
power,
for “there is no
power
from the
Spirit
of God where there is no
from the
Spirit
of God.” He cites a number of
early
sources to buttress his
argument.
In tandem, Fr. Michael
Duggan,
motivated
by
a
pastoral
for Christian
growth, argues
that
baptism
in the
Holy
a
personal
revelation of the
Lordship
of Jesus Christ which also embodies the “destruction of the self-life
by
of the Cross.” It is this
revelatory experience
of the
of Jesus and the
power
of the cross which
“provides the basis for an
on-going growth
in the life of the
Holy Spirit.”
David Dorman has worked at the
subject of purpose,
the
revelatory
character of baptism in the
Spirit.
His
is
upon
the fact that its
purpose
is to
a revelation of the
immediacy
of God in the life of the
the
power Lordship
Finally, also
noting emphasis, provide
however,
3
86
individual,
a revelation which is in its
very
essence a source of power
for witness to the
reality
of God’s life
changing
character.
This issue of Pneuma, then, should
spur
some new
thinking
on the
subject
of baptism in the
Spirit
and its
purpose(s).
It will not provide
all the answers, but it
may
head the
dialogue
into new directions. A new look at
purpose may give
the Church a renewed
intentionality
about the reason it exists at the close of the Twentieth
Century.
Cecil M.
Robeck,
Jr.
Editor
4
