I am preaching a series on the Holy Spirit The second sermon in the series was this past Sunday, May 11, and it was entitled “The Seal is For Real!” Can you guess what the sermon was about? You got it: The sealing of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. In that sermon, I mentioned that I believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit happens at the point of conversion for the believer. This view contrasts many today who say that the baptism of the Spirit is some sort of second blessing that comes at some point after conversion and is often evidenced by speaking in tongues. They often see salvation as being a two-stage initiation. During my sermon I did not have time for fully go into detail regarding the foundation for my view, so I wanted to use my blog as an opportunity to do so.

To keep this simple, I’m splitting it into two blogs. Today’s will be showing the Scriptural support for my views. The second (coming Friday) will address the three passages in Acts that are often used to support the second blessing view.

For starters, let me state just a couple of relevant exegetical or hermeneutical (biblical interpretation) principles.

1. When the common sense reading of the passage makes perfect sense, then seek no other sense.
2. Narrative passages are often descriptive rather than prescriptive. They still contain valuable principles for us and have been included in the Word for a purpose, but that does not always make them normative for daily Christian living (Hello, Onan!).
3. Scripture helps interpret Scripture. Passages that are clearly teaching truth and giving us instruction should be used to help interpret narrative passages…not vice versa.

So, here is why I believe the baptism of the Spirit occurs at the moment an individual places his or her faith in Christ.

• There are only seven explicit references to the Spirit baptism in the Bible. All seven represent initiating individuals into the New Covenant (a.k.a. salvation). We find that the first six all compare/contrast the baptism of John the Baptist (repentance and water) with the baptism of Jesus (Spirit). [Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; Acts 11:16] There is no mention of Jesus saving individuals and then the Spirit comes later. Obviously, the Holy Spirit first came down to baptize believers at Pentecost (Acts 2). This was the initial coming. Now, however, Jesus is baptizing the believer in the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion.
• The seventh reference is found in 1 Corinthians 12:13. “By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” It is precisely in the context of speaking about diverse spiritual gifts within the body of Christ that Paul states we are all baptized by one Spirit…regardless of the gift any individual has received. It is not merely those speaking in tongues; it is all believers. We all “drink” of that one Spirit.
• Jesus told Nicodemus that to be born again and see the Kingdom of God, one must be born of water and the Spirit. The presence of the Spirit is essential in salvation.
• I preached this past Sunday out of Ephesians 1:13-14 (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 is somewhat of a parallel to these verses). Neither of these literally refer to baptism in the Spirit, but both speak to an important role that the Holy Spirit plays in our lives when we give our lives to Christ.
• Ephesians 1:13 states: “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation – in Him when you believed – were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” (bold italics mine) When you heard and believed, you were sealed. Done. Finished. You were marked with the Holy Spirit when you came to faith in Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 states: “Now the One who confirms us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God; He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts.” There is no indication here that the seal, the presence of the Holy Spirit with us, is after salvation. The sealing is part of our salvation.

I will stop there for now. I want to say that even though we are baptized in the Spirit at conversion, there is still a daily need for the filling of the Spirit. The filling and the baptism are very different aspects of our life in the Spirit. At salvation, we get all of the Holy Spirit (not just an installment). With the filling, the Spirit gets all of us. That is what I am going to preach on this coming Sunday (May 18).

Check out Friday’s blog as I address the passages in Acts.