Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars
| PentecostalTheology.com
“BAPTISM 125 THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF IN THE SPIRIT” Fr. Peter Hocken argued process experienced at Fuller, I of Jesus Christ and The paper to the In a paper presented at the 1982 S. P.S. Conference addressed the question of the relationship the Holy Spirit in the event of baptism in the Spirit.’ that Pentecostal doctrine does not do justice Pentecostal experience in this respect. There was a narrowing from Pentecostal experience (what the Pentecostals when they were baptized in the Spirit) to Pentecostal witness (how they testified to this experience) to Pentecostal doctrine (how it became schematized in teaching) to Pentecostal statement of faith (in which teaching was made official by particular Pentecostal denominations). statements or definitions of faith concerning in the Spirit are almost always restricted to the following points: a. it is an endument of power for ministry Pentecostal baptism service;2 of purpose. purpose (what world of applied things solely personal relationships more and or typically) by to answer the question the customary reply in terms primarily to distinguish between While in the . the language of meaning b. Jesus is the baptizer; c. it is evidenced (either necessarily the sign of speaking in other tongues. Of these, the fist alone is intended “What is baptism in the Spirit?” However, in terms of enduement for power is answering It may be helpful here is it for?) and meaning (what is it?). science and technology, it is natural to define in terms of purpose, in the realms of persons and it is less satisfactory. We can then ask the basic question “What is the meaning of baptism ‘ in the Spirit? The 1982 paper without developing and purpose urged that the meaning of baptism in the Spirit lies in the believer’s changed relationship to the persons of the Trinity, and in particular to the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom the is manifest and through whom we have access to the That this understanding and witness, though not found in more schematized was indicated by numerous references to Pentecostal literature.4 These can be summarized in a from Stanley Frodsham: of the Holy Spirit brings a and clearer revelation of our Lord and Savior Spirit Father.3 experience Pentecostal doctrine, early quotation The Pentecostal deeper Jesus Christ.5 Baptism is not foreign to Pentecostal 1 126 The same pattern of witness to a new level of relationship with Jesus Christ, as with the Spirit and the Father, is found in the testimonies of charismatics to baptism in the Spirit. For example Andrew Jumper, a Presbyterian minister, wrote of his baptism in the Spirit in the mid-1960s: It was not “something” – not just an experience – but it was someone who happened to me. There came into my life an inward reality, an inner presence, that is nothing less than Jesus Christ himself 6 ‘ Other examples are not difficult to find.’ Before returning to the relationship of Son and Spirit, I want to take this line of thought further, and say not only is the person of the Son central to the meaning of baptism in the Spirit, but so is the Father. Only when we see baptism in the Spirit as a Trinitarian event will we correlate its meaning and purpose with the meaning and purpose of God’s entire salvific plan in and through the Incarnation of his Son. The use of the prophecy of Joel in Peter’s Pentecost sermon shows clearly that the meaning of Pentecost is not just the availability of a sublime personal experience, but rather the initial realization of God’s plan to have a people who would be his very own, who would glorify him and declare his majesty. It is the inauguration of the new age, the beginning of the “last days”(Acts 2:17). Here “the last days” has a theological sense of the eschatological era, the establishment of a new creation in Jesus Christ, the eschatos Adam, the “last man” ( 1 Corinthians 15:45). It is true that the first Pentecostals were very conscious of the “last days”. But this was focused on the imminence of the Second Coming of Jesus and the urgency of evangelism in the remaining period, generally presumed to be very short. They took “the last days” in more of a chronological than a theological sense. They paid less attention to the shape of what was to come. They were of course greatly influenced by the limitations of the circles from which they came, all affected by the pervasive individualism of modern Western society, accentuated on the Western frontier of the USA. As a result the hightened attention to biblical prophecy became filtered down to a focus on a “personal Pentecost” and the imminence of the end, while the whole sense of a decisive move towards the fulfillment of God’s plan for the whole race was weakened. It is only as through the Spirit Jesus is seen to be the way to the Father that the whole sweep of God’s plan from creation onward is grasped. Notice how Paul automatically moves from 2 Christ, spiritual blessing creation love he predestined It may easily real sense of the Father. 127 plan conceived before realms with every in his sight. In Jesus because Jesus has of the upbuilding of the body the mention of the Father to his grandoise all ages: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus who has blessed us in the heavenly in Christ. For he chose us in him before the of the world to be holy and blameless us to be adopted as his sons through Christ … ” (Ephesians 1:3-5). be noted how common it is for newly-converted Christians to be full of love and zeal for Jesus, but to lack much They are excited become real for them, they know their sins have been forgiven, and they have a new joy, peace and freedom. But as yet they have little sense of God’s plan from before creation, of the establishment of God’s Kingdom, We may say that their faith is as yet fairly self- centered and (what goes with this) unaware experientially and of the Father and the Spirit. There is a direct link this ignorance of the first and third persons of the and an inability to serve and minister to others. Not the self-centeredness, but also the lack of over-all vision of Christ. practically between Trinity, spiritual tycoon movement, But their opponents) Holy Spirit Jacob. only and sense of God’s plan, prevent true service and ministry. When baptism in the Spirit is understood primarily in terms of power, it is all too easy for unsanctified power drives in the convert to be mixed with spirit-power, and for a kind of to emerge. In the early days of the Pentecostal there was perhaps more protection against this in the major emphasis on sanctification8 and in the hardships endured by many Pentecostals from humble backgrounds. the thought-world of the first Pentecostals (and that of was in significant respects different from that of the New Testament authors describing the coming of the and the work of Jesus in baptizing with the Spirit. The New Testament writers were Jews, for whom it was impossible to neglect the God who is now revealed as Father. The problem for these strictest of all monotheists was how to locate Jesus in relation to the one God of Abraham, The outpouring of the Spirit relation to the Father. We see in the accounts Jesus how the descent of the Spirit the words of the Father concerning find in Peter’s Pentecost sermon that Jesus, exalted to God’s right hand by the Father (see Acts 2:36) “has received from Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). This is fully in line with the of the Spirit made by God in Ezekiel 36:27 and 37:1-14). prophetic promise Isaac and was necessarily seen in of the baptism of on Jesus is accompanied by Jesus’ identity as Son. We the 3 128 Here too we see one of the central characteristics of baptism in the Spirit, namely revelation by God’s Spirit to the spirit of the believer. Revelation is a more basic category than power. There is no power from the Spirit of God where there is no revelation from the Spirit of God. Power in the Spirit is a consequence of revelation. How much has the priority of revelation over power been recognized by Pentecostals and charismatics? If we only look at Pentecostal statements of faith, we will find much about power and little or nothing about revelation. Pentecostals have not of course been much inclined to produce works of systematic theology. Those that exist tend to reflect the largely apologetic concerns of Christians under persistent attack for their distinctive convictions. However, W.A.C. Rowe, an Apostolic, lists “Revelation of Truth” among the effects of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and states “This is a foremost ministry that comes through the Baptism.”9 However, some of the wiser and more thoughtful Pentecostal leaders, no doubt seeing the potentially harmful effects of a focus on receiving power, say some things that ought to have more prominence in a Pentecostal theology. Thus Bishop J. H. King of the Pentecostal Holiness Church writes concerning revelation and power: The Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost was something new in the earth. Nothing like it had ever occurred. The power of the Holy Ghost had been to this given to men in ages previous of Jerusalem, but nothing like this was known to any outpouring of its recipients. Inspiration, wisdom, power and fire had been given to men previous to this, but still this was different. The difference was in the inward revelation and indwelling in those who were baptized in Jerusalem. 10 The priority of revelation over power was strongly urged by John G. Lake, a pioneer in the Pentecostal movement in South Africa and later in Washington state: The common teaching that my heart these days is endeavoring to combat is that God comes to present the individual with a gift of power, and the individual is then supposed to go out and manifest some certain characteristic of power. No! God comes to present you with Himself. “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Jesus went to heaven in order that the very treasury of the heart of the eternal God might be unlocked for your benefit and that out of the very soul of the eternal God, the streams of His life and nature would possess from the crown of your head to you the sole of your feet.” I 4 129 whether for the when the term it is revelation messages concerning world, revelation primarily used God’s plan instances clearly believer. One of the reasons for Pentecostals lacking this clarity about was the tendency to restrict it to what was new – either the future or the present, the Church or an individual. However, or apocalupsis is used in the New Testament, in terms of Jesus Christ and the whole mystery of of salvation centered on him. Some of these revealed his Son author), Ephesians God prepared context surely Corinthians 1:30; 2:2, 8). Romans communication within the or 2:9) is in the to Jesus in 1 in refer to personal Thus for example, the uses of the noun apokalupsis the verb apokalupto in Matthew 16:17 (Messiahship of Jesus to Peter by the Father), Galatians l:16 (God revealing in Paul), Ephesians 3:3 (mystery of Christ revealed to 1:17 (spirit of revelation in the knowledge of of our Lord Jesus Christ). The reference to revelation by the Spirit in I Corinthians 2: 10, the revelation of “what God has for those who love him” ( Corinthians about Jesus Christ (see references The use of the term apokalupsis 16:25 (revelation of the mystery kept hidden), while more global and being less obviously a reference to inner within the believer), should also no doubt be seen in relation to the passages clearly implying within each Christian. Some other passages using refer to the final revelation of Jesus Christ revelation God’s Spirit revelation-language at the Parousia (see Colossians Testament messages revelation and is the person particular Reaffirming Christ teaching Holy Spirit) the revealing work of 3:4, 1 Peter 1:7-13). may be the main New the view of revelation as Jesus the While the book of Revelation feature to encourage about future historical events, it also indicates that the supremely concerns Him who sits upon the throne, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation about of Jesus for example comes first in chapter I before messages for the churches. that the object of revelation is supremely and God’s plan fulfilled in Jesus is only endorsing on the role of the Holy Spirit presented in the long discourse of Jesus in John’s gospel. Here Jesus says “He (the will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:14). This is a perfect of revelation through the Holy Spirit. He takes what true about Jesus and makes it known as personal The revelation to the believer in baptism in the new in comparison to Christian history (not a new nor necessarily new to the recipient in terms of knowledge (he/ she may know the doctrine). But it is description is objectively knowledge. Spirit is not message) conceptual 5 130 new as to mode of reception (revelation from this more in the Spirit) and in the personal mode of received at and as a is its Trinitarian pattern, explicit. The content of on Jesus, the instrument of consequences flowing knowledge. One of the characteristics result of baptism sometimes, implicit, revelation centers revelation The New Testament Matthew I Cor. Galatians of revelation in the Spirit sometimes primarily is the Spirit, and the giver of revelation is the Father. passages bear this out: 16:17 Jesus by the Father (Spirit implicit) 2:10 God (Father) reveals through Spirit (Jesus implicit) God the Father reveals his Son (Spirit 1:16 implicit) Ephesians 3:3 God reveals mystery of his Son (Spirit implicit) in the Spirit, the Trinity ceases relevance, We find that for people truly baptized to be a merely theoretical construct with little apparent but is the truth about God as he reveals his inner seen There is, and baptism Jesus baptism Theologically, coherence of the three Persons The Spirit never being.?z The distinctive roles of the three Divine Persons are in their saving vivifying action upon the believer.’3 it would appear, an inner logic or connection between the emphasis on power for ministry and the restriction of revelation to special and new messages. Both flow from the unfortunate separation of Son and Spirit, between conversion in the Spirit, that tends to depersonalize the Spirit. This is not saying that Pentecostals customarily disassociate and the Spirit, but that their customary definition of in the Spirit has this effect. ia it is essential to maintain the constant mutual of the Trinity. acts without the presence and action of the Father and the Son. “The gift of the Holy Spirit” cannot be a gift that does not bring the presence of Jesus and the Father. Again some early Pentecostals were aware of this question; thus D. Wesley wrote: alone; Spirit Myland Do not think that all these displays are of the the Spirit Father is there, the Son is there, and the Holy is there. Whenever God has come to anyone, the whole Godhead is manifested therein; it is the dynamics of the Godhead; the things of the Spirit are displayed in His sovereign working. This movement must be saved from saying that there is never any Spirit until there is Pentecostal fulness, and also after we get Pentecost, from saying it is the Spirit only. It is God! the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.15 6 Don Basham quoted from Rufus Moseley: sciousness that He incomplete. There by Father, 131 an interesting passage is the only Con- Him as consciousness that is with approval “The Holy Spirit knows Jesus and is capable of revealing is.”‘6 However even this well-intentioned statement is is only one divine totally possessed Son and Holy Spirit. We may say that what the persons of the Trinity share is what it is to be God its wonder and majesty; what distinguishes the three is how they share this one divine nature. This has been stated by Thomas Aquinas in his teaching that the divine persons are distinguished only by their relation- to one another. 17 “The persons are the subsistent relations 8 in all persons classically three ships themselves. 18 person, “the gift consequence anything Since the Holy Spirit being received in a fuller way is a divine related totally and essentially to the Son and the Father, of the Holy Spirit” must have as its primary a changed relationship to the Trinity. To maintain else is to subordinate the Creator to the created. Human relationships to God are the basis for all forms of call to service. This is but a recognition both of the Decalogue commandment, covenant. of the primacy of the first and of the new and Spirit. trinitarian It may be that the origins of the Oneness movement Pentecostals was a result of this implied separation For it is clear that the Oneness Pentecostals Pentecostals of tritheism, necessarily view evangelicals arguing baptism the knowledge among between Son accuse of in practice holding of the One God. 19 and a fulness, and in total the being is a kind through Spirit inherent – towards three Gods and denying the perfect unity To insist on the absolute unity between Son and Spirit is not to agree with the objections to a second-blessing of Spirit-baptism of the kind frequently made by that conversion and baptism in the Spirit are the same.2° It is to agree with their refusal to accept a schema of reception of Jesus at conversion and reception of the Spirit at “the baptism,. “2’ The difference between initial conversion and in the Spirit is between beginnings of the ‘ recipient.22 We can then say that the meaning of baptism in the spirit is the immersion of the believer by the agency of the Spirit into and mystery of Christ to the glory of the Father. There of Trinitarian procession leading from the Father the Spirit to the revelation of the Son, who through the shows us the Father and leads us to him. The purpose in the meaning is the power to function as a Christian God in Spirit-filled praise and intercession, and 7 132 towards Nothing “enduement other people in love, service, ministry said positively in Pentecostal statements for power” needs modification. The problem what is left out. and evangelism. of faith about is with the Trinity initiated at baptism in worship belong only The changed relationships the Spirit will last for ever. So will the Spirit-filled and mutual love. The ministry purposes however to the period of the Church. Hocken is a diocesan He priest atached to the holds the Ph.D. from the where he studied with *Father Peter Mother of God Community. University Walter Hollenweger. S.P.S. of Birmingham, England He is currently First Vice President of the 2Many power (e.g. ‘This paper was published as Peter Hocken, “Jesus Christ and the Gifts of the Spirit,” Pneuma 5: (Spring 1983), pp. 1 – 16 Pentecostal statements of faith imply the enduement for without mentioning the significance or purpose of this event The Pentecostal Holiness Church, the Church of God [Cleveland], the Apostolic Church [Great Britain], the Elim Pentecostal church, the Assemblies of God of Great Britain and Ireland, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada). Interestingly, the Assemblies of God [U.S.A.] in their declaration of faith do not state that this baptism is an enduement with power, but that “With it comes the enduement for power … “. 3The Scriptural basis for this position is more fully examined in Fr. Michael Duggan’s article in this issue of Pneuma. 4Besides the references indicated in the quotations and footnotes in art. cit. (note I above), an appendix with more references was distributed to participants in the 1982 conference. These references were to the witnesses of Mrs. A.K. Mead, The Apostolic Faith 1:3 Miss A. Moomau, The Apostolic Faith 1:10 (Oct. 1907 -Jan. 1908), p. 3; A.H. Post, The Bridegroom’s Messenger, (Nov. Mrs. C. Price, Confidence 1:10 (Oct. 15, 1908), p. 15; J. The Apostolic Faith 1:6 (Feb. – Mar. 1907), p. 6; L. Osterberg, The Apostolic Faith 1:8 (Apr. 1907), p. 4; W.E. Booth-Clibborn, The Latter Rain Evangel (Apr. 1929), p. 9; E. Sorrell, The Apostolic 15. 1909), p. 2; C.H. Schoonmaker, Work and Work 27:2 31. (Nov. 1906), p. 3; 1, 1908), p. 1; Jeter, Evangel (Feb. (Feb. 1909), p. 1970), p. 5 Victory (April 1909), p. 1. 6Andrew Jumper, “The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Renewal of the Church,” (Lubbock: privately published, 1967), p. 7. Dennis Bennett Nine O’Clock in the Morning (Plainfield, N.J.: 23; B. Casebow, Revival (December C. Urquhart When the Spirit Comes (Minneapolis: Dimension Books, Bethany Fellowship, 1974), pp. 24 – 29; Larry 7E.g. Logos International, 1963), p. 6; 8 133 Christenson, The Charismatic Renewal among Lutherans (Minneapolis: Lutheran Charismatic Renewal Services, 1976), p. 30; W.T. Sherwood, Trinity (Trinitytide 1961), p. 9; G. Otis, Trinity (Septuagesima 1964), p. 4. 8This applies whether the Sanctification view held was one of “eradication” or of “victorious life” (overcoming). 9W.A.C. Rowe, One Lord One Faith (Bradford: Puritan Press, no date), p. 138. mJ.H. King, From Passover to Pentecost (Franklin Springs, Ga.: Advocate Press, 1976) Fourth Edition, p. 119. “cordon Lindsay, ed., The New John G. Lake Sermons (Dallas: Christ for the Nations, Inc., no date), p. 14 1 2Minnie Abrams, one of those in the Spirit at Mukti, India in 1906, wrote: “the in the baptized baptism Holy Ghost is the revelation of the triune God in me to do the work that God commanded me to do.””The Object of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit,” Latter Rain Evangel (May, 1911), p. 9. See also quotation from J. H. King (above note 10). i3Bryan Jones, one of the main non-denominational charismatic leaders in Britain, has written: “The baptism in the Spirit will bring us into a greater awareness of each member of the Godhead,” “in Pentecostal Casualties,” A Voice of Faith (July – Sept. 1966), p. 16. for an account of how a Spirit-baptized congregation impressed a newcomer with their focus upon Jesus, see W. F. P. Burton’s account of his first visit to a Pentecostal Church: I had never heard such praise, such love and adoration to the Lord Jesus. Indeed “tongues” were largely an expression, an overflow, of that worship … there was an intense recognition of the Lordship of Christ, and of His absolute rights over their lives ( Cor. 12:3), a for His deep gratitude a yearning precious blood, shed for their sins on Calvary’s Cross, for His return. See, My Personal Experience of Receiving the Holy Spirit, p. 9. 15D. Wesley Myland, The Latter Rain Covenant and Pentecostal Power (Chicago: The Evangel Publishing House, 1910) Second 90 – 91. Edition, pp. 16Don Basham, A Handbook on Holy Spirit Baptism (Monroeville, Pa.: Whitaker Books, 1969), p. 14. 17Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica Part l, ques. 4, ans. 2. 18Aquinas, op. cit., I, q. 40, a. 2, ad. l. 19See David K. Bernard, The Oneness of God Hazelwood, Mo.: Word Aflame Press, 1983. 2°The most widely circulated presentation of this criticism is doubt- less John R.W. Stott’s book The Baptism and Fullness of the Holy Spirit Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1964, 1971. 2’neither is it satisfactory to argue as some Pentecostals have done that the Spirit of Christ is received at conversion, and the Holy Ghost at Baptism in the Spirit. [See George Jeffreys, Pentecostal Rays: The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit (London: Henry E. Walter Ltd., 1933, 1954), p. 43.; A.L.J., Questions and Answers on the Baptism in the Holy Ghost, p. 18]. 22See P. Hocken, “Jesus Christ and the Gifts of the Spirit,” pp. 8 – 9. 9
