____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ November 27, 1994 ____________________________________________________ The Promise of Baptism With the Holy Spirit by Keith Sharp Our Pentecostal friends contend that "the Baptism of the Holy Ghost is a needed and promised experience for every believer who will `tarry,' `ask, seek and knock' until they receive, and that the receiving is always evidenced by the speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives them utterance" (J. A. Dennis, The Holy Spirit, p. 7). The New Testament undeniably records the promise of baptism with the Holy Spirit. But to correctly apply the promise, we must note to whom it is given. For example, the Lord promised, ``To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates'' (Gen. 15:18). But that pledge was addressed specifically to Abraham, thus, I do not hope for my heirs to inherit one square foot in Canaan. Is the baptism with the Holy Spirit ``a needed and promised experience for every believer''? This article will examine the question--Is baptism with the Holy Spirit promised to every believer? If not, to whom was it promised? The Promise and Threat of John John the Baptizer warned his audience: "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Mt. 3:10-12; cf. also Mk. 1:7-8; Lk. 3:7-17; Jn. 1:26-27,33). John pledged two baptisms in Matthew 3:11, one ``with the Holy Spirit'' and one ``with fire.'' It is a grievous error to confuse the two. What is the baptism with fire? The Immerser's own words, the context of the promise, reveal the answer. The fire of verse ten is that of punishment, and the same is true of verse twelve. Luke records the same threats of fiery punishment (Lk. 3:9, 17). In fact, in this very connection, John denounced, ``Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?'' Pentecostals respond, Didn't tongues of fire come on the ones gathered in the temple in Acts two? The Scriptures record, ``Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them'' (Acts 2:3). ``As of fire'' is a figure of speech called a ``simile'' which expresses a comparison. To say tongues are ``as of fire'' is not more to call them fire than to say a girl's cheeks are ``as roses'' is to claim she has a rose bush sprouting from her jawbone! The baptism with fire is ``wrath to come'' promised to a ``Brood of vipers.'' Whatever you do, do not pray to be baptized with fire! But John also promised baptism ``with the Holy Spirit.'' To whom was this promise given? To answer this query we must determine who the ``you'' are of Matthew 3:11. Sometimes the pronoun ``you'' does not include the entirety of the audience addressed. For instance, the apostle Paul wrote to ``the church of God which is at Corinth'' (1 Cor. 1:2). In this letter he accused, ``Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another'' (1 Cor. 6:7a). Although, speaking to the entire church, he said ``you go to law,'' the apostle did not mean that every individual in the church did so. When John promised, ``He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit,'' this was not to his entire audience, but to certain ones. Even Pentecostals realize this. John addressed a group of people he called a ``Brood of vipers,'' yet Pentecostals limit the promise of Holy Spirit baptism to ``every believer who will `tarry,' `ask, seek and knock.''' The Great Commission To determine to whom the promise was extended, we must consult other passages which discuss the subject. In Luke 24:49 we find the beloved physician's record of a portion of the Great Commission, which the Lord delivered ``to the eleven'' (Mk. 16:14-20), who were ``the apostles whom He had chosen'' (Acts 1:2). The Christ commanded, ``Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.'' Remember four particulars of this verse: the promise was to the Lord's chosen apostles, it was the promise of the Father, it was to be received in the city of Jerusalem, and the pledge was of ``power from on high.'' The Lord's Application Now note Acts 1:1-5: "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, `which,' He said, `you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'" In this text we find the application of all preceding occurrences of the promise of baptism with the Holy Spirit. The promise of John recorded in Matthew 3:11 and the pledge of the Father found in Luke 24:49 are one and the same (vss. 4-5). The promise was ``to the apostles whom He had chosen'' (vss. 2-4). They, the apostles, were the ones commanded to tarry in Jerusalem in order to ``be baptized with the Holy Spirit'' (vss. 4-5). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself specified to whom John promised baptism with the Holy Spirit. Christ applied the pledge to His own chosen apostles. We dare not attempt to widen the scope of that promise. The Promise Fulfilled Acts 2:1-4 is the record of the fulfillment of the divine pledge: "Now 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." Who are ``they'' of Acts 2:1, ``they'' who were baptized with the Holy Spirit? The term ``they'' is a pronoun. To determine to whom a pronoun refers, one must find the antecedent, the noun which identifies the pronoun. The preceding verse declares, ``And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles'' (Acts 1:26). The antecedent of ``they'' in Acts 2:1 is ``apostles'' in Acts 1:26. This is further confirmed by the fact that the apostles alone in Acts two spoke and performed wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:7,14,37,42-43). The apostles were the recipients of baptism with the Holy Spirit. This harmonizes perfectly with the fact the apostles were the ones to whom baptism with the Holy Spirit was promised. Conclusion This exhausts the New Testament passages which specifically deal with the promise of baptism with the Holy Spirit. Pentecostal people contend, ``the Baptism with the Holy Ghost is a needed and promised experience for every believer....'' But the Lord Himself limits the promise ``to the apostles whom He had chosen.'' I simply ask, will you believe modern experiences and denominational preachers, or will you believe Jesus Christ and His chosen apostles? -- Via Stand, October 1994 ___________________________________________ SENTENCE SERMONS When God measures a man, He puts the tape around his heart, not his head. The man who kneels to God can stand up to anything. If folks did not carry gossip, it would not go so far. Bad men excuse their faults; good men abandon them. The road to success is always under construction. Love will find a way--indifference will find an excuse. When it seems hardest to pray, we should pray the hardest. -- Selected ___________________________________________ "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________