How does the baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13) relate to the Spirit’s activities in the Book of Acts?
How does the baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13) relate to the Spirit’s activities in the Book of Acts?
Acts describes a number of occasions in which the Holy Spirit “fell on” or “filled” or “came upon” people (2:4; 10:44; 19:6). Here in Acts 11:16, 17, Peter recounts how the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles just as it had the early Jewish disciples. Peter identifies these actions by God as a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28–32).
Viewed from the perspective of the entire New Testament, these experiences were neither the same nor replacements for what John the Baptist (Mark 1:8) and Paul described as the baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). The baptism with the Spirit is the one-time act by which God places believers into His body. The filling is a repeated reality of Spirit-controlled behavior that God commands believers to maintain (Eph. 5:18). Peter and others who experienced the special filling on Pentecost Day (2:4) were filled with the Spirit again and again (4:8, 31; 6:5; 7:55) and so boldly spoke the word of God. That was just the beginning. The fullness of the Spirit affects all areas of life, not just speaking boldly (Eph. 5:18–33).
©BY PASTOR JUDAH OLATUNDE
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