Matt Trent

A promise is an important event in a relationship. It presents an opportunity to learn about the trustworthiness of another. A broken promise is devastating and makes doubt a part of the relationship. On the other hand, a promise kept is wonderful because both parties grow closer as they grow in trust.

In Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus made some promises to His disciples. He promised them that He was going to build a church that could not be destroyed. He also promised Peter that He would give him the keys of the kingdom. If these promises were not kept, the disciples would be devastated.

Jesus kept His promises, however. We read of the fulfillment of these promises in the book of Acts. Specifically, we read of Peter being given the keys to the kingdom on two separate occasions. The first time Peter opened the door was in Acts 2 when the gospel was first preached to the Jews. The second time Peter opened the door was in Acts 10 when he first preached the gospel to the Gentiles. Jesus kept his promise to Peter. How did Peter know when to use the keys? Luke makes it clear that Jesus told Peter exactly the right moment to open the door by using the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The primary purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was to indicate the appropriate times for the gospel to be preached to the world.

Other Positions

This position about the purpose of the Holy Spirit does not enjoy unanimous acceptance in the religious world today. The number of alternative positions is amazing. One popular position views the baptism of the Holy Spirit as “a second working of grace.” Howard Winters explains the general position:

According to certain theories (and because they vary I will have to state them in a very general way) forgiveness of sins (salvation or pardon) is a work of grace that removes the guilt of sin. But the total job is not yet done because the love of and desire to sin, along with its stains, are still there. It is possible to remove them, but it takes a second working of grace, a working so great that it separates one from the power and temptation to sin to the extent that he can live above it and without committing it. The Holy Spirit, in a miraculous way (usually called the baptism of the Holy Spirit), comes in and performs directly a second work, overwhelming the human spirit, taking charge of the individual, and removing the love of and desire for evil, thus freeing the soul from all stains of sin—the stains that remain after pardon!”

The problem of this position originates in a misunderstanding of the “double cure.” The phrase “double cure” means that as Christians we are set free from the penalties of sin and from the life of sin by the grace of God. The term “justification” is used to describe our freedom from the penalties of sin while the term “sanctification” is used to describe our freedom from the life of sin. (This concept seems to be the general outline of the first half of the book of Romans. Romans 1-5 teaches that we are justified in Christ, and Romans 6-8 teaches that we are sanctified in Christ.) Do these events occur at different times? Can we be free from the penalty of sin and ruled by sin at the same time? No. This teaching is not found in the New Testament. We cannot be free from the penalty of sin and live under its rule at the same time.

Others view baptism of the Holy Spirit as something that is experienced at the moment of water baptism. According to this view, both baptisms occur at the same time.[1] Although several “conservative” writers defend this position,[2] a fundamental flaw exists—in Ephesians 4:5 Paul taught that “there is one baptism.” Baptism in the Holy Spirit and baptism in water are not the same baptism. We can have only one of them today.

Although there are many other positions concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, these two positions are the positions we are most likely to encounter today. Nevertheless, a clear understanding of the two events recorded in the book of Acts will show that the two occurrences of the baptism of the Holy Spirit were extraordinary events used by God to open the kingdom to the world.

Pre-Pentecostal Expectations

God, in His infinite wisdom, knew exactly when and how to reveal knowledge. We find various clues about the nature of the new age scattered throughout the writings of the Old Testament. In these writings, God gradually defined the role of the Holy Spirit in the new age. The baptism of the Holy Spirit took place only after God had spent many years preparing the world for the gospel.

Beginning with the prophets, God told men to expect that the Spirit of God would be an important part of the New Testament age. For example, in Isaiah 44:3 God promised that He would “pour My Spirit on your descendants.” A more detailed prophecy is found in Joel 2:28-29, later quoted in Peter’s sermon in Acts 2.

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

By God’s direction, the prophets declared that the Spirit would play a new role in the New Testament age. These passages began to define what the people of God should expect in the age to come.

After four hundred years without a word from God, the people finally heard God’s will again, this time spoke of by John the Baptist. Like many of the prophets before him, John taught that the Spirit would be an important part of the New Testament age. In the gospel accounts, John spoke of the Great One to come after him, a Man greater than himself. What great thing would this Man do? “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11; Mk. 1:8; Lk. 3:16).

In John 1:32-33 we learn why John placed such a strong emphasis on the Spirit when speaking of the coming Messiah.

I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”

John was directed by God to watch for the descent of the Spirit. Whoever the Spirit descended upon was the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. According to the gospel accounts, John saw this descending happen the day Jesus was baptized and consequently knew that Jesus was the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

We must glean two important points from John’s teaching in order to accurately define what they were taught to expect. First, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire were clearly contrasted with the water baptism John himself practiced. Second, Jesus was the agent who would administer the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As far as John’s teaching was concerned, man’s only role would be to receive what Jesus would give.

Now we must look at the teaching of Jesus. In His teaching we will find God revealing exactly what role the Holy Spirit was to play. First, Jesus taught the apostles about the coming Comforter. The Comforter was known as “the Spirit of truth,” and His job was to guide the apostles “into all truth” (Jn. 14:16-17; 16:13). As a result of the coming of the Spirit of truth, the apostles were going to “bear witness” (Jn. 15:26-27). Until the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, they would not know “all truth” and would be unable to “bear witness” as Jesus expected them to.

The second expectation regarding the Spirit developed in the teaching of Jesus was the expectation of “power.” In Mark 9:1 Jesus promised that some with Him would “see the kingdom of God present with power” before they died.  In Luke 24:49 Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were “endued with power from on high.”

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He summarized their pre-Pentecostal expectations. In Acts 1:5 He told the apostles they were not to depart from Jerusalem, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” In Acts 1:8 He said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” By divine design, the apostles were waiting for the baptism of the Holy Spirit at which time they would receive power from God and would be witnesses for Jesus.

The Day of Pentecost

The day of Pentecost took place on Sunday, fifty days after the Passover. Jesus was on the earth for forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3). After His ascension, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem, just as Jesus had commanded them (Acts 1:14). There were also 120 other disciples with them in Jerusalem (Acts 1:15). The most significant event during this period is the appointment of Matthias as an apostle in place of Judas (Acts 1:26).

One might wonder what would have been on the mind of the apostles as they sat together. Perhaps they thought of Jesus’ resurrection that had occurred seven weeks before. Perhaps they thought of Jesus’ ascension to heaven that had occurred just a few days before. Whatever they thought of would soon be understood in a new light. In Acts 2:1-4, on a Sunday morning in Jerusalem, the calm was disrupted by the power of God.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The disruption began with a sound from heaven. This sound was like the sound of a powerful wind. Then they saw a sheet of light that broke off into what looked like tongues of fire (Reese, p. 48). These tongues of fire descended upon the apostles who then began to speak with other tongues (languages). Receiving the ability to speak in tongues meant that the apostles were able to speak in the native languages of their audience (Acts 2:8, 11). These were languages the apostles had been unable to speak before the descent of the Spirit.[3] This baptism of the Holy Spirit was the power from on high that Jesus had promised the apostles before He went back to heaven.

Some argue that more than just the twelve received this baptism. They point to Acts 1:15 and teach that the 120 disciples must have received the Holy Spirit as well. This argument cannot be true because of these facts:

1. Jesus promised the power and the Comforter only to the apostles.
2. Only Peter and the eleven offered a defense in Acts 2:14.
3. Acts 2:1-4 uses only pronouns.  What is the closest corresponding noun? It is found in Acts 1:26 where Matthias was numbered “with the eleven apostles.” Acts 2:1 could logically read, “the apostles were all with one accord in one place.”
4. Those who spoke in tongues were all Galileans (Acts 2:7). We know that all of the apostles were from Galilee (Judas, dead at the time of these events, was the only one of the original twelve not from Galilee). It is unlikely that all of the 120 disciples would have been Galileans.
5. According to Acts 2:42, the new Christians continued in the “apostles’ doctrine.” If the others also received the Spirit and spoke in tongues, why is the teaching referred to as the “apostles’ doctrine”?
6. According to Luke’s record, only the apostles performed miracles until Acts 6:8. Stephen only began doing great miracles after the apostles laid hands on him in Acts 6:6.

These facts indicate that only the apostles received this baptism. The expectations designed by God before Pentecost were fully met by this one event. The apostles were now able to tell all the Jews that Jesus saves. Remember, however, that the prophecy of Joel promised that the Spirit would be poured out on “all flesh” (as quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17).  This promise was only partly fulfilled when the sun set on the day of Pentecost.

The Case of Cornelius

In Acts 9, the church had long since spread beyond the borders of Jerusalem. According to Acts 9:31, there were churches throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria.  Peter was traveling among these churches, strengthening them and performing miracles to confirm the gospel when a message came from Joppa that a Christian woman, full of good works, had died. Peter went to Joppa, raised her from the dead, and stayed in Joppa with Simon the tanner many days (Acts 9:42).

Meanwhile, approximately thirty miles north, in the city of Caesarea, a man named Cornelius was fasting and praying. In a vision, Cornelius received instruction to send to Joppa for Simon Peter (Acts 10:4-6). The next day, while Peter was on the housetop to pray, he fell into a trance and saw heaven open and unclean animals presented to him. The lesson God wanted Peter to learn was “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (Acts 10:15). This vision happened three times (Acts 10:16). As Peter was trying to understand the meaning of the vision, the men from Cornelius knocked at the door.  Perfect timing!

This event took place several years after the establishment of the church at Jerusalem. Jerry Cutter explained,

If we assume that Paul was converted about three years after the church was established, and then spent some three years in Arabia and Damascus after his conversion (Gal. 1:17-21), then we have a lapse of six years with no mention being made of the Gentiles. After these six years, Paul returned to Tarsus (Acts 9:30). For the next three or four years he preached in Syria and Cilicia before being brought to Antioch by Barnabas. Claudius Caesar, mentioned in Acts 11:28, ruled from A.D. 41-54. The dearth mentioned in this verse took place about A.D. 44, and about this time Greeks or Gentiles are mentioned as becoming Christians at Antioch (Acts 11:19-21).  Thus, it looks like the church was eight to ten years old before the gospel was preached to uncircumcised Gentiles.

So, about ten years after Pentecost, Peter arrived at the house of Cornelius where he found a very warm welcome. It is clear that Cornelius and his household were happy to welcome a man of God into their home and were anxious to hear what he had to say. Peter’s sermon was just getting started when, according to Acts 10:44-48, the following events occurred:

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

Peter’s sermon briefly detailed who Jesus was. In support of these claims, Peter appealed to the prophets and to his personal experience. Just as Peter mentioned that anyone who believes in Jesus could have his sins forgiven, he was interrupted by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never know how he would have finished this sermon.

According to Luke’s record, the Holy Spirit fell upon them and the gift, which was the Holy Spirit, was poured upon them. Just as John had indicated earlier, man did nothing in the baptism of the Holy Spirit except to receive what God gave. With this event, Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled.  God’s Spirit had now been poured out on “all flesh,” meaning Jew as well as Gentile.

The result of this baptism at Cornelius’ house was the ability to speak in tongues, meaning that they spoke in languages they had never studied before, just as in Acts 2. If Luke had intended to describe a different phenomenon, he would have either used a different word or added commentary to explain the new event. He did neither, so we must conclude the events of Acts 2 and Acts 10 were the same.

Was the household of Cornelius saved without water baptism? Remember that Cornelius was told to send for a man who would tell him what he must do (Acts 10:6). Also remember that the only thing Peter commanded them to do was to be baptized in water (Acts 10:48). Putting these verses together, how can anyone conclude that water baptism was not mandatory for Cornelius? It was mandatory. Cornelius would have been lost if he rejected water baptism.

Word about Peter’s time with the uncircumcised men quickly made its way to Jerusalem. In Acts 11 Peter returned to Jerusalem where he was met with strong opposition. His response is found in Acts 11:15-18:

And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”  When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

As soon as Peter reported this event, the opposition was silenced. Their understanding of this event must forever define our understanding of it. According to their response, the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred in the household of Cornelius so that God could reveal that He had opened the door of the kingdom to the Gentiles. This must also be our conclusion as to the purpose of their baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Was the baptism of the Holy Spirit the same on both occasions? Peter said, “God gave them the same gift as He gave us.” According to Thayer, the Greek word translated “same” (“like” in the KJV) means “equal, in quantity or quality.”[4] In what sense were they the same? In both cases Jesus administered the baptism, the ability to speak in tongues resulted, and God’s purpose of having Peter open the door of the kingdom was confirmed. In these three ways, the apostles and the household of Cornelius received the same gift.

The fact that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was God’s way of telling Peter to open the door of the kingdom is given more support by Peter in Acts 15:7-9. Once again, at Jerusalem Peter spoke in defense of the Gentiles by describing what he saw.

Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged [bore witness to–mt] them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

One of God’s purposes in the new age was to take down the middle wall of separation and make one nation of all men. Jesus’ death broke down the wall and made this possible (Eph. 2:14-18). The baptism of the Holy Spirit, witnessed in the house of Cornelius, gave irrefutable evidence to the first century Jewish mind that this peace was God’s will. God had clearly opened the door of His kingdom to all men.

Holy Spirit Baptism Today?

Are men today baptized in the Holy Spirit? In the New Testament we read of seven baptisms:

1. Baptism of Moses under that cloud and in the sea (1 Cor. 10:2)
2. Baptism of Jesus by John (Mt. 3:13-17)
3. Baptism of repentance by John (Mt. 3:2)
4. Baptism of suffering (Mk. 10:39)
5. Baptism with fire (Mt. 3:11)
6. Baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; 11:16)
7. Baptism in the name of Jesus (Mk. 16:16)

As we noted earlier, however, Ephesians 4:5 teaches that there is one baptism. Which baptism was Paul referring to? In order to answer this question we must remember that when Paul first preached in Ephesus, he found a group of people who knew only the baptism of John. Upon learning this, these men were taught by Paul about Jesus Christ. “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5). The church in Ephesus knew that the one baptism was baptism in the name of Jesus.

Conclusion

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus promised to give the keys of the kingdom unto Peter. By using the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told Peter when to use those keys. In Acts 2, Peter unlocked the door for the Jews. In Acts 10, Peter unlocked the door for the Gentiles. Through both events, Peter opened the doors of the kingdom to all men according to the will of God.

All three members of the Godhead were able to work with men to accomplish great things. H. Leo Boles summarized the harmony in the Godhead when he said, “In every work effected by the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit in common, the power to bring forth proceeds from the Father, the power to arrange from the Son, the power to perfect from the Holy Spirit” (Boles, p. 137). We can see that harmony in this study.

Originally published in Spring 2004 CE Journal

Works Cited

Boatman, Russell.  What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit.  Joplin, MO: College Press Co.  1989.

Boles, H. Leo.  The Holy Spirit: His Personality, Nature, Works.  Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate Co.  1942.

Cottrell, Jack..  Baptism: A Biblical Study.  Joplin, MO: College Press Co.  1989.

Cutter, Jerry. “Cornelius.” The Christian’s Expositor, Vol. 5, Number 3.

Jividen, Jimmy.  Alive in the Spirit: A Study of the Nature and Work of the Holy Spirit.  Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate Co.  1990.

_____. Glossolalia: From God or Man?  Fort Worth, TX: Star Bible Publications.  1971.

Reese, Garth.  New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts.  Joplin, MO:  College Press Co.  1976.

Thayer, Joseph. Greek—English Lexicon of the New Testament.  Grand   Rapids: MI: Baker Book House.  1977.

Winters, Howard.  The Work of the Holy Spirit.  West Jefferson, NC: Win—More Publications.  1978.