The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

’ The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.’^ Acts x. 44.

THERE are three great pivotal

-■” events in the book of Acts,

the descent of the Holy Spirit at anb 0tiytv 3nterpretation£{ Pentecost, which was the long-predicted advent of a Person of the Godhead; the conversion of Saul, which gave to the Church Christ’s elect apostle for organizing institutional Christianity, and for receiving and recording the great truths concerning the mystery of the Church; and the opening of the door of the kingdom to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius.

The first preaching of the Gospel was, as Christ had directed, to the Jews in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. It was therefore preaching of a peculiar type. The Jews were the children of the covenant, and by their birth and circumcision already in covenant relation with God. They believed in and worshipped Jehovah, the true God, but they had crucified their long-expected Messiah. Of them, therefore, was demanded repentance, ‘* a change of mind *’ as to Jesus and

Joel ii. 28,
29.

Matt. iii.
II.

Acts ii.
1-4.

Acts ix.
1-6.

Acts xxvi.
16.

Matt. xvi.
19.

Acts X.
1-48.

The Jews.
Acts i. 8.

Gen. xvii.
10-17.

Acts iii.

25, 2t>.

Acts iii.
19-26.

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His Messiahship, and faith in Him as such.

The Gentiles,

Eph. ii. 12.

Rom. iii. 9,
19, 20.

Gal. iii. 29.

But the Gentile position was wholly different. The Gentiles were “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God In the world.”

To the Gentiles, therefore, a message calling them to faithfulness to a covenant Into which they had never been brought, would have been no glad tidings. For the Gentile world the Gospel must be, as It Is, wholly of grace; as, too, only grace can avail for the Jew under condemnation of the law. No Gentile ever finds himself within the covenanted mercies of God until he has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The power
of the keys,

To Peter (not to his so-called successors, for an apostle can have anb dirtier Snterpretationsi no successors,) was given the unique privilege of the keys, and he fulfilled his office once for all when he opened the kingdom to the Jews at Pentecost, and when he opened the kingdom to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius.

Peter’s sermon on the latter occasion is concerning Jesus Christ, Whom God sent, preaching peace. He rehearses the facts of Christ’s baptism with the Holy Ghost, His brief ministry of blessing, His crucifixion and resurrection, and the great message of salvation to “whosoever believeth in Him.” And when this saving message had been announced that event occurred which marks a distinct and vitally important advance in the truth concerning the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” It is needless to say that the hearing referred to was the hearing of faith.

Matt. xvi.
19.

Acts ii.
36-38.

Acts X.
34-48.

Peter’s
sermon.

Acts X.
34-43.

The Holy
Spirit and
Gentile
lOO

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A new
thing.

Acts X. 44.

Acts viii.
14-17.

Acts xi.
15-18.

I Cor. xii.
12,13,R.V.

Eph. i. 13,
14.

I Cor. vi.
19.

Acts xix.
1-6.

The point specially to be observed is, that for the first time the believing hearer was immediately baptized with the Holy Spirit, and that this occurred the very first time the Gospel was preached to Gentiles.

So long as the Gospel was confined within Jewish bounds, an interval occurred between conversion and the baptism with the Spirit. And not only so, but in some way, by prayer, or the laying on of hands, the mediation of the apostles was required.

But, from the moment when Peter preached grace to Gentile hearers, neither interval, mediation, seeking, nor any supplementary or additional act of faith stands between the receiving of Christ as a Saviour, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The case of the disciples of John the Baptist, whom Paul found at Ephesus, constitutes no exception.

lOI

Their lack of the baptism with the Spirit was not due to their ignorance of the advent of the Spirit at Pentecost, but to their ignorance that Christ had come. They were still looking for ‘* one who should come after” John the Baptist. In other words, they were not believers on a crucified Christ. Furthermore, they were Jews, and so, after their conversion, Paul mediated their baptism with the Spirit.

The vital fact then remains, that from the opening of the door to the Gentiles, faith on the Lord Jesus Christ and the baptism with the Spirit are coincident facts. Not once does Paul, or Peter, or James, or John, or Jude exhort believers to “seek the baptism with the Spirit.” Every other imaginable exhortation they do utter, but never this. It is simply incredible that an experience so important should have been forgotten.

Acts xix. 4.

‘’ Yield,’*

not,

“Seek.’*

Rom. vi.
16, 19.

Rom. viii.
13-17.

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Eph. iii.
3-10.

I Cor. xii.
12, 13.

Eph. i. 13

But not all
are filled.

I Cor. xiii.

7-20.

Eph. V.
18-20.

Acts iv.
31-33.

Eph. V. 18.

The Apostle Paul, to whom was committed the revelation of Church truth, not only does not exhort or command believers to seek the Spirit’s baptism, but he assures believers that by one Spirit they are baptized into one body, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. That ‘^ upon believing “they were ‘’ sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.”

The modern confusion (apparently hopeless) on this point is due to confusing together two distinct operations of the Spirit, the baptism and the filling. The function of the former is to unite the believer to the body of Christ, and to impart gifts for service. The result of the filling is blessing in life and power in service. What Christians need is not the baptism (which they have) but the filling with the Spirit, to which they are exhorted.

anb 0titv Snterpretationss And the filling comes through confession and prayer.