Elementary Doctrines
Baptism of the Spirit

Studio Session 32
Sam Soleyn
01/2004

In the book of Hebrews, the 6th chapter, the writer tells us that there is a time to leave the elementary doctrines and go on unto perfection—or to maturity. Many believers know that there is “more” than what they are experiencing—more to the way of life in the Lord than they have been living—but in the normal church culture even the elementary doctrines have not been taught. In the 6th chapter of Hebrews, as we said, the list of what constitutes the elementary doctrines is noted—there are six of them; here they are: repentance from acts that lead to death, faith toward God, baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment—six. (Inserted – actual verse—“Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” – Hebrews 6:1,2)

We have so far discussed repentance from acts that lead to death and faith toward God and now we are going to speak of the doctrine of baptisms. At this juncture it is common for people to think, “This is too archaic, this is just too old-fashioned. Who wants to know about baptisms? We were baptized as infants or we were baptized later on in life when we were adults. That’s just something you had to do. Why visit baptisms?” Well, first note that he says “baptisms”—plural. So it means that there are a number of baptisms. Baptism is death and resurrection… quite literally, baptism is the immersion of a “thing” in “another” so that the thing immersed is changed by the thing in which it is immersed. So baptism is meant to result in change, it’s not just something you “do” like going under the water, coming up out of the water. Baptism is meant to impart to you a foundation of change. Now here are some of the baptisms that we must speak of: first I’d like for us to speak about baptism “of” the Spirit, second I’d like for us to speak about baptism “by” the Spirit. The two words—“of” and “by”—are very different references and have totally different meanings…baptism “of” the Spirit, baptism “by” the Spirit. Then I wish for us to speak about the baptism of fire and then fourth, baptism in water.

Now as I have said, all of these doctrines of baptism are meant to result in a certain particular change. Here at the beginning I would like to summarize what change each of these baptisms is supposed to impart to you. First, baptism “of” the Spirit—when you are baptized by the Spirit—that is meant to result in a change from your being powerless to your being powerful. It’s also meant to relate to a change from you being “outside” and lost and sinful to your being confirmed as a child of God.

Baptism “by” the Spirit is supposed to result in a change from you being your own person, living your own life the way you want to, to your being placed in your place in the body of Christ so that you may pick up your destiny and live it out to the fullness thereof. Because, you see, before you were born God had a plan in mind for you and His intent was to cause you, at some point in your life to change from running your life the way you’ve been running it—even if you’re saved—to your life being available to God for Him to live in you and for Him to live through you. So the baptism “by” the Spirit represents a change of location—from your government of yourself to your being governed by the Lord, from your being outside of the “body corporate”, of the person of Christ—to your being placed in the “body corporate”, of the person of Christ.

Baptism of fire is meant to relate to a change in you that realizes the dominance of the soul giving way to the dominance of the Spirit—your soul governing you to having your soul “saved”—the soul is saved through the baptism of fire and we’ll get into that. These are just summaries at this point. And finally, the fourth of the baptisms I wish to present is baptism in water. Baptism in water is meant to convey to you that Adam no longer rules and your identity is no longer that of a sinner… that that person will die and give way to a new person who is raised with Christ and, indeed, who becomes a new creature—even a new creation in Christ. Death and resurrection then are the results of the teaching on baptism in water.

Now needless to say the doctrine then of baptisms is not just “old-school stuff”. What is astonishing to me is that so many of the older people who were taught “baptism” have only been taught either water baptism or baptism in the Spirit and they choose between water baptism and baptism in the Spirit. There is a whole generation of people, many of whom are under the age of 30, who have never been taught anything about baptisms and so the changes that are foundational, elementary—elemental to your process—that guarantees a certain platform on which you can stand with certainty, with security; that foundation—not being laid—people are wishy-washy, they are wobbling and that’s why, when for the time many ought to be teachers, they are still battling with foundational, elementary things and are not sure. (Inserted – actual verse—“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” – Hebrews 5:12)

Sometimes there are people who have been in the Lord—they’ve been saved for twenty and thirty years—and if you press them, they are still not even sure they were saved. How does God put a foundation under you that establishes this truth in you and from which there is no going back? The answer is: through the doctrine of baptisms. So, for the purposes of this series on baptisms we will begin with the baptism “of” the Spirit. Baptism “of” the Spirit, I will point out, is the baptism of Jesus; it is the baptism with which Jesus baptizes. I’d like for us to turn to the book of Acts, the first chapter, and here is what Jesus himself says in the very first part of the book of Acts, in Acts 1:4, this is just before Jesus was taken up into heaven, “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’” (Inserted – Acts 1:4-8)

Now you will note that the sign of the baptism “of” the Holy Spirit is what? “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” Now the coming “on you” of the Holy Spirit has been previously described in the verse just above where we read in these terms: “John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Inserted – Acts 1:5) Now let’s move further into this discussion. In the book of Luke, the third chapter, John makes this declaration: (In Luke 3, John the Baptist is baptizing and Jesus comes to him and this is what Luke says about this subject) John the Baptist is speaking and he says (Luke 3:7), “John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.’”

And then John said (this is verse 15), “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.” So at that point then, John gives this answer (verse 16), “John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” This is what John said: John said that the one who was coming after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. I submit to you then that the baptism of Jesus Christ—that is when Jesus baptizes you—He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Is that not what John said? “I baptize with water but there is one who is coming after me…” (and he was referring to Jesus) “…when He comes, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

You know, I lived a number of years thinking that the baptism of Jesus was water baptism. How foolish. No, the baptism of Jesus—the baptism with which Jesus baptizes you—is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That’s the clearest of evidence in Scripture: “I baptize you with water (John says) but one is coming after me whose shoes I am not worthy to untie. When He comes (and he was referring to Jesus) when Jesus comes, Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” But in the course of His life on the earth there was no one whom Jesus baptized in the Spirit and it is Jesus who is now saying in Acts 1 (it’s in red letter) it’s the passages we read, Acts 1:5, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Now who are the ones with whom Jesus was speaking? It says, “He appeared unto them.” (Inserted – actual verse—“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” – Acts 1:3) The “them” [that he appeared to] were those the Holy Spirit gave instructions to—the apostles, the twelve disciples were the ones particularly spoken of here—but we know that there were 120 of them who were baptized in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. At this point Jesus is saying to His disciples—to the twelve in particular—“Not many days from now you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Inserted – actual verse—“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” – Acts 1:4,5)

It means that He had not baptized them with the Holy Spirit while He was alive, with them on the earth. What happens between Acts 1 where we’ve just read and Acts 2—where the Holy Spirit comes on them and baptizes them—what happens is that Jesus goes back to heaven, “While they beheld”—Acts, chapter 1, verse 11—“while they beheld, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” (Inserted – actual verse—“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” – Acts 1:9-11)

Now here is the point: the last thing that Jesus promised them was that not many days from the moment He spoke that promise—not many days from then—He would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and we know that He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight and it was not until 10 days later, on the day of Pentecost, that the Holy Spirit came to them and baptized them. The point is conclusively then that Jesus baptized no one with the Holy Spirit while He was still on the earth. He baptized no one. Everyone who has ever been baptized in the Spirit has been baptized in the Spirit from heaven: that’s the clarity of the point. Jesus has baptized no one from the earth with His Spirit.

Well what about the fact that Jesus breathed on His disciples before He went back to heaven and said to his disciples, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” (Inserted – actual verse—“And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” – John 20:22) There is a distinction between receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and receiving the baptism “of” the Spirit. What is the distinction? The distinction is that the indwelling of the Spirit—as a gift to the believer—is meant to confirm that you are born again of God. The baptism “of” the Spirit, however, is meant to impart power—two very different things. So when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, according to Acts 2:38, where the promise was “to them and to their children and to even the Gentiles.” Peter said, “If you repent and are baptized, you’ll receive the gift of the Spirit.” (Inserted – actual verse—“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.’” – Acts 2:38,39)

The same language is used when the Scriptures say, “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost.’” So what Jesus was doing when He breathed on His disciples and said to them, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost”? He was confirming them as being born from above. He did not leave the earth without confirming His disciples as being born of God. His disciples were born again and they were born again by Jesus breathing on them and imparting the Holy Spirit to them to confirm—with their spirits—that they were the children of God (so says Romans 8:16). “For the Spirit himself testifies with out spirits…” (Inserted – actual verse—“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”)

There is a mutuality of fellowship between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit and in that mutuality there is a seal—the imprint of the Holy Spirit. The seal of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is that you are born again of God and that God is your Father. But you know how many, many people there are in the churches who are not going to hell because they are the sons of God—they were saved—but they have no power… they have no power. And in fact, they’ve even come up with this “silly doctrine” that says, “You shouldn’t seek God for power, you should seek God for himself.” That’s to create a dichotomy where there is no dichotomy.

You should seek God for himself but He also gives you power. And in fact the Scriptures make it very plain: Paul said to the Corinthians, in I Corinthians, chapter 12, “Earnestly desire spiritual gifts.” (Inserted – actual verse—“But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” – I Corinthians 12:31a) Spiritual gifts are the specific gifts of the power of Jesus Christ, delegated through the Holy Spirit, meant to be operational in the Church. Jesus did not make the mistake of sending His disciples out into the world to declare the message of the Kingdom—to the unsaved world—without empowering them. Why? Because there is an enemy who holds the world in captivity and if you go out into the world armed with no more than—what used to be the fad a few years back, which is a vinyl Bible cover with a picture of a sword cut out in the vinyl—if you go out into the world with no more than a vinyl Bible cover with a sword in it thinking that your religious knowledge of the Scriptures was going to defeat the enemy where you went… no wonder so many of our young people—full of enthusiasm and totally unprepared to operate in the power of the Spirit—charged out into the world to do battle with the enemy and came back bruised and beaten up and not even attending the meetings anymore.

Why? Because there is a very entrenched and skillful enemy who is waiting for the unwary and the unsuspecting and you come out into that realm without power and it’s like taking a knife to a gunfight, as someone has said. You lost when you left the house. You find out that you lost when you are matched with a power vastly superior to anything you had the experience with. The reality is, then, the baptism of the Holy Spirit—as Jesus himself said—was meant to be a conveyance of His power to you in order to match the commission: “to go into all the world and to preach the Gospel to every creature.” (Inserted – actual verse—“ ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:19,20)

What ridiculous thinking is it that we should think that Jesus would send us out into the world that is controlled by the demonic without empowering us to do successful battle against the demonic? What guarantee would there be except our failure? The baptism “of” the Spirit—when the Holy Spirit comes and fills you up—is meant to result in your receiving an impartation of the power and the authority that belongs to Jesus Christ, working now on your behalf and working through you. Now this requires a little bit more development, so what I want to do in the next broadcast is to talk to you about the power of the Lord Jesus Christ—and the Holy Spirit as His delegate—so that the Holy Spirit, who is the delegate of the Lord Jesus Christ may come and bring the authority of Christ to you. And when He supplies you with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ then you are sufficient to the tasks which involve your calling. Baptisms, then, are meant to result in change and the baptism “of” the Spirit is meant to result, specifically, in the change from being powerless to being powerful. All of the baptisms will result in some nature of change, so I hope that you will study the doctrine of baptisms with me. I’m Sam Soleyn. Continue to study the elementary doctrines with me.

Scripture References:
Hebrews 6:1,2
Hebrews 5:12
Acts 1:4-8
Luke 3:7
Luke 3:15,16
Acts 1:3
Acts 1:9-11
John 20:22
Acts 2:38,39
Romans 8:16
I Corinthians 12:31a
Matthew 28:19,20