One of the common criticisms of the Pentecostal/ charismatic movement
is its lack of an adequate theology. This criticism comes both
from within and without the movement. Russell Spittler, from within,
has declared that "Pentecostals have made better missionaries
than theologians. They write pamphlets, not books- -tracts,
not treatises. When a Pentecostal book is published, it will reflect
more likely personal testimony than reasoned argument."1 J.
I. Packer, from without, has written that "the charismatic
life stream still needs an adequate biblical theology and remains
vulnerable while it lacks one....The charismatic movement is theologically
immature, and its public speech and style seem on occasion half-baked
as a result."2 Both statements declare the need- -the serious
need- -for the development of a valid Pentecostal/charismatic theology.
In line with this need, the 1984 meeting of the Society for Pentecostal
Studies had as its general theme, "Toward a Pentecostal/Charismatic
Theology." Some fourteen papers were presented, and hopefully
progress was made in the direction of a maturing theology. With
this by way of background I should like to attempt a theological/biblical
study.3 The title of my paper will be simply "A Pentecostal
Theology."
Introduction:
A Pentecostal theology finds its scriptural basis primarily
in several accounts in the Book of Acts. They are as follows:
chapters 1 and 2; 8:4-24; 9:1-19; 10-11:18; and 19:1-7. There
are some references to Old Testament texts, the Gospels, and the
Epistles, but the focus is the specified passages in Acts.
The relevance of the Acts passages for Pentecostal theology is
that all refer in varying ways to a particular event/experience
of the Holy Spirit. For example, several expressions are used
in Acts 1-2: "baptized in4 the Holy Spirit" (1:5);
"the Holy Spirit...come upon you" (1:8); "filled
with the Holy Spirit" (2:4); "the Holy Spirit ...
poured out" (2:33); "receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit" (2:38). All refer to the experience in
Jerusalem relating to Jesus' disciples which is described in 2:1-4.
Another later reference to the event of Acts 2:1-4 is that "the
Holy Spirit fell...on us" (11:15). One or more of
these six expressions- -with some slight variations- -is found in
all the subsequent narratives. See the Samaritan account in Acts
8:15-17 for "receiving" and "falling"; Saul
of Tarsus in 9:17- -"filling"; the Caesareans in 10:44-47- -"falling,"
"outpouring," "receiving," and 11:15-17- -"falling"
and "baptized in"; and the Ephesians in Acts 19:2-6- -"receiving"
and "coming upon." It is apparent, linguistically if
nothing else, that all these accounts refer to essentially the
same experience.
Hence, what occurred on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) in regard
to the Holy Spirit is a repeated experience. The Day of Pentecost
is, of course, a historic, once-for-all occurrence as are all
events in history. However, the essential identity of the experiences
of the Spirit following the Day of Pentecost with the experience
of the Spirit on that day is apparent not only linguistically
but also evidenced from some words of Peter. Peter, who of course
was there on the Day of Pentecost, describes the Caesareans as
"people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have"
(10:47), and says later that "the Holy Spirit fell on them
just as on us at the beginning" (11:15). If this is true
of the events in Jerusalem and Caesarea- -often called the Jerusalem
and Gentile Pentecosts- -it is certainly also true of the other
occasions. In this sense we may properly speak of all these as
Pentecostal experiences.5
Finally, it is of particular importance in Pentecostal theology
that receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) not only
relates to certain events in Acts but also to events thereafter.
For just following the statement about receiving the gift of the
Holy Spirit are the words: "For the promise is to you and
to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the
Lord our God calls to him" (Acts 2:39). The promise of the
gift of the Holy Spirit6 in its fulfillment is the experiential
center of Pentecostal theology.
In what follows we shall seek to identify various aspects of the
Pentecostal event/experience. Our procedure will be that of utilizing
the Jerusalem Pentecost as the archetypal and paradigmatic account.
For even as the account in Acts 1 and 2 contains all the basic
terminology, so likewise are all the fundamental factors related
to Pentecostal experience found therein. It will also be apparent
that not all the succeeding accounts make reference to all the
various elements (any more than all make use of the terminology),
but they may well be included. Let us now proceed to some elaboration
of the Pentecostal event/experience and thereby of Pentecostal
theology.
I
The Essential Reality
What lies at the heart of the Pentecostal event/experience is
the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
is poured out on, falls on, comes upon; hence there is movement,
action. As a result, people are baptized (i.e., immersed) in,
filled with the Holy Spirit. All of this points to a momentous
event and experience of the dynamic presence of God.
It occurs as a movement from God the Father through Jesus Christ.
On the Day of Pentecost, just following the disciples' experience
of the Holy Spirit, Peter declares the event to be the fulfillment
of the promise in Joel: "And in the last days it shall be,
God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh"
(Acts 2:17; cf. Joel 2:28). Thereafter Peter adds that "exalted
at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he [Jesus] has poured out this
which you see and hear"7 (Acts 2:33). The Holy Spirit is the
Spirit of Father and Son, thus the fullness of God's presence.
Hence, the essential reality is that of a mediated experience
of the Holy Spirit. He does not, so to speak, come on His own
so as to provide in Himself a direct awareness of God,8 but comes
from God through Jesus Christ. Yet there is the immediacy of God's
dynamic presence through the Holy Spirit. Paradoxically then,
it is a matter of mediated immediacy. The Holy Spirit is fully
and actively present, but it happens only through the instrumentality
of Jesus Christ.
Next we may note the significance of this event in being called
"the gift of the Holy Spirit." This means two things.
First, what happens is wholly a matter of God's grace. A gift
cannot be earned, else it ceases to be a gift. Second, the gift
is the Holy Spirit Himself. Accordingly, the gift is not something
the Holy Spirit gives- -such as holiness, life, even power- -but is
the gift from Father and Son: the Holy Spirit.
It would be hard to overestimate the momentousness
of this event. Since the Holy Spirit is God (though a distinct
person) it means that at the heart of the Pentecostal experience
is the reality of God's dynamic presence. As noted, in one sense
it is an invasion from without (the Spirit falling upon, coming
on); in another, it is an immersion, a submergence within (being
baptized in); still another it is a penetration, a permeation
all through (a being filled with). Persons in the totality of
their being, even to their subconscious depths and suprarational
heights, are possessed by God.
Truly the essence of Pentecost and its continuation is dynamic
event. In this event God is moving,9 dynamic, even driving. The
"sound...from heaven" like "the rush of a mighty
wind" on the Day of Pentecost and "tongues as of fire"
resting on each person dramatizes the divine action. It is the
Spirit of God moving dynamically within the human scene. Although
this imagery is not repeated in other accounts, the language of
"coming upon," falling on," "filling with"
continues to express this divine momentum.
We may turn back for a moment to the Gospels and the beginning
of Jesus' ministry for the primary example of this dynamic presence
of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus has been baptized by John in the
Jordan, Luke's account reads: "the heaven was opened, and
the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove"
(3:21-22). The heaven "opened" is the antecedent to
the great "sound" at Pentecost, and the dove "alighting
on him" (Matthew 3:16) to the tongues "resting"
on each person. Jesus thereby is "full of the Holy Spirit"
(Luke 4:1), again the antecedent of those at Pentecost being "filled
with the Holy Spirit."
Another way of describing it is to say that the same Holy Spirit
that came from God the Father upon Jesus also came upon His disciples.
In that sense it is a transferring of the Spirit. An Old
Testament precursor of this may be found in the narrative about
Moses and the seventy elders of Israel where the text reads, "Then
the LORD...took of the Spirit that was on him [Moses] and put
the Spirit on the seventy elders" (Num. 11:25 NIV). Jesus,
of course, is far more than Moses, for (as we have noted) He is
also the medium of the Spirit's coming. However, there is also
a transferring of the Spirit. The same Spirit that was upon Jesus,
even as upon Moses, now is placed not upon some elder but upon
His disciples.10
However, as was observed at the outset, what happened to the disciples
in Jerusalem at Pentecost was variously repeated on several other
occasions in the Book of Acts. The Spirit that came upon
Jesus now comes through Him to many others. The "just
as" of Acts 10:47 and 11:15, which confirms the one-to-one
correspondence between the Caesarean and the Jerusalem Pentecosts,
doubtless applies to all other similar instances.
We have spoken of the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit in the
Pentecostal events and reviewed a number of linguistic expressions.
How, one might inquire, does this compare with Old Testament events
that use much of the same terminology? For one thing, the language
of "coming on" is employed frequently in the early history
of Israel. The Spirit "came upon" or "took possession
of" a number of persons in the Book of Judges: Othniel (3:9-10);
Gideon (6:34); Jephthah (11:29); Samson (14:19; 15:14); Saul (1
Sam. 10:10; 11:6; 19:23); David (1 Sam. 16:13). Thereafter, the
Spirit "came upon" David's chieftain, Amasai (1 Chron.
12:18); Azariah a prophet (2 Chron. 15:1); Zechariah the son of
a priest (2 Chron. 24:20). "Filled with the Spirit"
terminology is used in connection with the craftsman Bezalel (Ex.
31:3); the prophet Micah (Mic. 3:8). Also there is the language
of "falling": the Spirit "fell upon" the prophet
Ezekiel (Ezek. 11:5). It is interesting, however, that the language
of "outpouring" is not used except in reference to the
future. We have already quoted from the promise of Joel: "I
will pour out my spirit on all flesh" (Joel 2:28). To this
futuristic reference we may add similar words from Isaiah: "I
will pour my Spirit upon your descendants (Isa. 44:3); also from
Ezekiel: "I will pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel"
(Ezek. 39:29).
What shall we make of all this? The answer, I would suggest, is
that the Old Testament, for all that has been experienced of the
Spirit's presence and activity, foresees a plenitude of the Spirit
yet to come, for which the word "outpouring" is the
vivid expression. There is undoubtedly in the Old Testament an
active presence of God through His Spirit, for which the term
"coming on" is the main representative. But there is
far more to happen in the future: a day when God will bless without
measure. The aforementioned prophecy in Isaiah, "I will pour
out my Spirit on your descendants," continues with the words:
"and my blessing on your offspring. They shall spring up
like grass amid waters, like willows by flowing streams"
(44:4). Hence, whatever the measure of blessing in the Old
Testament, that to come will be far richer and greater. It will
be verily the fullness of God's presence in the Holy Spirit.
The primary response to the event of the Holy Spirit is praise.
When human existence- -individually and corporately- -is bathed with
the divine presence, there is only one truly significant response,
namely, the glorifying of God. God has acted through Jesus Christ
to pour out His Spirit, and so marvelous is its occurrence that
nothing else can capture it but the high praise of God.
On the Day of Pentecost when the disciples were filled with the
Holy Spirit they all began immediately to praise God. This is
apparent from the words of Acts 2:11 which record the multitude
saying, "We hear them in our own tongues speaking of the
mighty [wonderful, magnificent11] deeds of God" (Acts 2:11
NASB). It is not hard to imagine that, having so recently lived
through the events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, they
were praising God for the mighty deed of redemption. Also, now
He had just fulfilled His promise to pour out the Holy Spirit.
They had much to praise God for!
Years later at the Caesarean Pentecost essentially the same thing
happened: their first response was the glorifying of God. This
time the Spirit was poured out on the Caesareans (or Gentiles)
assembled, and others (Peter and his fellow Jews) "heard
them speaking in tongues and extolling [magnifying12] God"
(Acts 10:46).
We might also note the connection between being filled with the
Holy Spirit and praise in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Paul
writes: "Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
with your heart to the Lord" (5:18-19 NASB). In response
to being filled with God's Spirit, psalms, hymns, spiritual songs
break forth: the heart is filled with melody and rejoicing in
the Lord.13
Now we come to the recognition in the Book of Acts of the close
connection between praise and tongues. The Caesareans (the
Roman centurion Cornelius and his household), as we have observed,
were heard to be "speaking in tongues and extolling God."
This probably does not mean two different, though closely related,
activities, but rather that their speaking in tongues was extolling
or praising God.14 This becomes all the more likely in reviewing
the Jerusalem narrative, because there the praise of God was unmistakably
done through tongues. To go back to Acts 2:4: "And they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance." The "other tongues"
were understood by the multitude as speaking in their own tongues
"the mighty deeds of God." Hence they were tongues of
praise.
Praising God in tongues may best be understood as transcendent
praise- -praise that goes beyond ordinary capacity and experience.
This praise is sometimes spoken of as "ecstatic praise,"15
or "praising God in ecstatic utterances."16 If such language
is used, we must be careful to emphasize that "ecstatic"
should not be taken to mean out of control, irrational, frenzied
speech. Rather it is the praise of God that transcends ordinary
utterance, subject to a higher control, hence suprarational. It
is the worship of God in a speech, therefore, that is "other"17
than one's own native language. It is utterance through the enabling
of the Holy Spirit.18
All of this is possible because of the new situation created by
the event/experience of the Holy Spirit. God, while remaining
transcendent, scales the heights and plumbs the depths of creaturely
existence, thus effectuating a situation in which human existence
is so penetrated by the Holy Spirit that response may come forth
in a new spiritual key. A transposition thereby occurs wherein
human language, as representative of this dynamic situation, can
become, in an extraordinary way, the vehicle of the Holy Spirit
for the praise of Almighty God.19
We may also understand this by focusing upon the situation of
high spiritual intensity which results from the outpouring of
God's Holy Spirit. The sense of God's abundant presence evokes
a breaking forth in praise expressive of the occasion. Ordinary
language, even music, may be inadequate to declare the wonder
of God and His deeds. Herein lies the marvel: God through His
Spirit goes beyond what has been uttered or sung before and brings
forth a new language!
Now to return to the Book of Acts: let us observe that the last
account, namely, concerning the Ephesians, relates tongues and
prophesying. "And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the
Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied"
(19:6). Again, as in Jerusalem and Caesarea, the initial activity
following the coming of the Spirit is speaking in tongues. Once
more this points to praise- -as suggested by the additional wording
about prophesying. Whereas prophesying in many biblical contexts
signifies a closely related phenomenon to speaking in tongues,
it is possible here that the reference is to transcendent praise.
Let us consider this further.
We observe that on the Day of Pentecost after the disciples have
praised God in tongues, Peter describes this as fulfillment of
the words of Joel: "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." This seemingly
unusual identification of prophesying with
praise quite possibly has its Old Testament antecedents. One example
is that of the Holy Spirit upon the seventy elders. Just following
the words about the Spirit being "put on" the elders
the text reads: "When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied"
(Num. 11:25 NIV). There is nothing said concerning what they prophesied;
hence this is most likely an instance of transcendent utterance20
under the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit. Not unlike the
later Pentecost when the Spirit that had been upon Jesus comes
upon His disciples, so the Spirit upon Moses came upon his elders;
in both cases there is resulting inspired speech. One has only
to ponder for a moment the awesome and transcending nature of
each event to expect the response in speech to be carried beyond
previous utterance. Such ecstatic utterance is none other than
transcendent praise.21
Another Old Testament example in which praise and prophesying
are closely related is that of 1 Chronicles 25:1 where David is
said to have appointed persons to "prophesy with lyres, with
harps, and with cymbals." Thereafter, certain ones "prophesied
with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the LORD" (verse
3). Prophecy seems here identical with praise.
Returning to the New Testament and the Book of Acts, we emphasize
again the intimate relationship of the event/experience of the
Spirit and transcendent praise. In three of the five instances
we have been considering, namely, Jerusalem (2:4), Caesarea (10:46),
and Ephesus (19:6), such speech in "tongues" is specifically
mentioned. In the case of Samaria nothing is directly said about
the Samaritans speaking in tongues; however, such seems clearly
implied. For just after the statement that "they received
the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:17) are the words: "Now when
Simon [the magician] saw that the Spirit was given through the
laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them [Peter and John]
money" (8:18). What he saw that made him eager to pay money
was, in all likelihood, the Samaritans speaking in tongues, something
extraordinary, beyond his previous manifold occult practices.
He was willing to pay for the power to lay hands on others for
similar miraculous results. The Samaritans, we may therefore conclude,
likewise responded to the Spirit's dynamic presence with transcendent
praise.22
In the case of Saul of Tarsus and his reception of the Spirit,
nothing is said about his speaking in tongues (see Acts 9:17-18).
However, by Paul's own testimony to the Corinthians, "I thank
God that I speak in tongues more than you all" (1 Cor. 14:18),
we know he did. It is quite possible, though Luke does not so
specify, that Paul first spoke in tongues when he was filled with
the Holy Spirit. However, it may also be that he began to speak
at a later time.
To summarize: in the majority of cases- -three out of five- -people
who had received the gift of the Holy Spirit definitely did speak
in tongues. There is strong likelihood of such in the fourth case,
and a possibility in the fifth, making five instances where people
did so speak. Based on the evidence in Acts we can draw no absolute
conclusion that speaking in tongues invariably followed the reception
of the Spirit; however, the texts do incline in that direction.
This is further suggested by the fact that, as already noted,
wherever tongues are explicitly mentioned, all speak. It is not
the expression of just one or two but of everyone who has received
the Holy Spirit. The commonality of speaking in tongues would
strongly suggest their occurrence, whether or not directly mentioned,
in all situations where the Spirit was given.
In the present-day spiritual renewal, the intimate connection
between receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and speaking in
tongues is recognized everywhere. It happens again and again that
when people are filled with the Holy Spirit, they immediately
begin to speak in tongues. Indeed, since praise is the initial
response to the gift of the Spirit, and tongues represent transcendent
praise, one follows readily upon the other. In some instances,
speaking in tongues may occur later. But that it does occur is
the common testimony of the renewal through the world. Tongues
are the Spirit-given opportunity for fullness of praise.
The basic purpose of the event of the Holy Spirit is that
of enabling power.23 The biblical term for this power is dynamis- -power,
strength, might, force- -and such comes from the gift of the Holy
Spirit. It is transcendent, enabling power.
The key text for the event/experience of the Spirit is Acts 1:8,
where Jesus declares: "You shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."
The transcendent praise of God is the first thing; but the purpose
of the gift is the enabling of witness and ministry.
The primary New Testament example is Jesus Himself. After the
Holy Spirit's descent upon Him, and following His temptations
in the wilderness, Jesus "returned in the power of the Spirit
into Galilee" (Luke 4:14) to begin His ministry. Thus the
endowment of the Holy Spirit was clearly for enabling power. In
a later summary of Jesus' ministry, Peter speaks of "how
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power24
[and] he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed"
(Acts 10:38). Thus was Jesus enabled to carry forward His ministry.25
If He needed this enabling power, how much more those who follow
Him!
It might be interjected that the coming of the Holy Spirit upon
Jesus had nothing to do with His salvation or sanctification.
Jesus, of course, had no need to be saved from sin or to grow
in holiness. Hence, the coming of the Spirit was for a totally
different purpose, namely, to enable Him to fulfill His vocation.
As the Son of man, a truly human being though without sin, He
needed this endowment of power.
Now to return to the Book of Acts: it is important to recognize
that the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8 apply not only to the apostles
(to whom they were originally spoken) but also to others thereafter
upon whom the Spirit comes. Before the Day of Pentecost the number
had already enlarged to approximately 120 (Acts 1:15). At least
that many received the gift of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying
power when the day arrived. Thus all upon whom the Spirit
later comes will receive a like enabling power for witness and
ministry.
In the case of Saul of Tarsus this is clearly spelled out. We
have already noted that Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts
9:17). This occurred through the laying on of hands by a disciple
named Ananias. The Lord had spoken to Ananias: "Go, for he
[Saul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before
the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" (9:15). Thus
the gift of the Spirit will be for the purpose of carrying forward
this far-reaching witness.
It is not specifically stated in the account of the Samaritans,
Caesareans, and Ephesians that the event of the Spirit was for
the purpose of power for ministry; however, such would seem to
be implied.26
In the case of the Samaritans, who had believed and been baptized,
Peter and John came down from Jerusalem to pray for and lay hands
on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. The reason for
this mission was quite possibly that the Samaritans might have
the same empowering for ministry that Peter and John had received
at Pentecost and thus become also a vital part of the witnessing
outreach. It is not that some lack in the Samaritans' faith was
remedied by the apostles' coming27 or that the purpose was to incorporate
them into the Jerusalem church,28 but primarily that the Samaritans
might receive the same empowering that Peter and John had received
at Pentecost. Since Jesus had said, "You shall be my witnesses
in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth,"
reference to Samaria could signify not only a people to
whom witness is made but also by whom it is to be continued.
The Holy Spirit in Acts is unmistakably a "missionary Spirit."
Hence when He comes upon people, it is for the basic purpose of
driving them beyond themselves into a witness for Jesus Christ.
They thereby become participants in the continuing outreach of
the gospel to the whole world. There is an ever-widening missionary
circle: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Caesarea, Ephesus. All represent
a further extension of the gospel and additional persons and areas
that through the gift of the Spirit become participant in the
witness to Christ. Thus, though nothing is said directly in the
biblical narratives about the ministry of the gospel through the
Samaritans, Caesareans, and Ephesians, the fact that they also
receive the Holy Spirit- -the "missionary Spirit"- -would
suggest that they too become proclaimers of the Good News.
It should also be stressed that this enabling power was not only
for witness by word but also by deed. When Jesus returned
in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, the first thing mentioned
is His word or teaching ministry: "he taught in their synagogues,
being glorified by all" (Luke 4:15). Thereafter, he goes
to the synagogue in Nazareth and reads from the words in Isaiah:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed
me to preach good news to the poor"- -hence a Spirit-anointed
word ministry. But then the quotation continues, "He has
sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of
sight to the blind" (4:18), thus a ministry of deed also.
After this, Jesus moves mightily in healing the sick, casting
out demons, working miracles, and so on.
Likewise, when the Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost,
they not only witness by word thereafter but also carry forward
Jesus' ministry of miraculous deeds.29 Jesus, according to the Fourth
Gospel, had said, "He who believes in me will also do the
works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because
I go to the Father" (John 14:12). In the power of the Spirit
sent from the ascended Jesus, they perform many mighty works.
Although the apostles often do such works, Jesus does not limit
such activity to them alone ("he who believes").
Indeed, the Book of Acts records the large company of disciples
on one occasion praying, "Grant to thy servants to speak
thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest out thy hand
to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name
of thy holy servant Jesus" (4:29-30). It is the ongoing ministry
of Jesus to be carried forward by the whole body of Spirit-anointed
believers. Examples of this are Stephen and Philip, who perform
many miracles though neither is an apostle (6:8; 8:6-7).
The apostle Paul, looking back over his ministry, speaks of both
word and deed in the power of the Spirit: "I will not venture
to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me
to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power
of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that
from Jerusalem as far around as Illyricum I have fully preached
the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 15:18-19). It was the power of
the Holy Spirit that made all this possible.
The basic purpose of the gift of the Holy Spirit is dynamis- -enabling
power for the ministry of the gospel.
Before proceeding further we might briefly look back to the Old
Testament and observe the Spirit in His enabling power. Earlier
we have called attention to the wide range of terminology in the
Old Testament similar to the Book of Acts, e.g., such expressions
as the Spirit's "coming upon," "taking possession
of," "being filled with," "falling
upon." Now we note that in all these instances the purpose
of this activity of the Spirit is to enable a task, a calling,
a vocation to be fulfilled. The Spirit endows a craftsman to design
the tabernacle (Ex. 31:3), a judge to make decisions (e.g, Judg.
3:10), a king to rule wisely and effectively (e.g., 1 Sam. 16:13),
a prophet to speak God's word (e.g., Mic. 3:8). In all these cases
the Spirit comes as a dynamic presence for the purpose of enabling
a task, a calling, a vocation to be fulfilled.
Likewise, we might mention the prophecies in Isaiah about a coming
One who will act in the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. "There
shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse....And the Spirit
of the LORD shall rest upon him" (11:1-2); "Behold my
servant, whom I uphold, my chosen...I have put [or 'will put'
NIV] my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations"
(42:1); "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the
LORD has anointed me to bring good tiding to the afflicted"
(61:1). The Spirit will "rest upon," be "put on,"
"anoint" the Messiah to enable Him to fulfill His manifold
calling and ministry.
As we have previously commented, Jesus upon whom the Spirit came
is the channel for that same Spirit to come upon others. This
means, therefore, that the Spirit given at Pentecost and thereafter
is for the central purpose of enabling people to carry forward
His ministry after Him. Jesus received power for ministry when
the Holy Spirit came upon Him; He promised power for ministry
when the Holy Spirit comes upon His disciples: "You shall
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8). Hence, all occasions of
the event of the Spirit in Acts refer basically to an empowering
for witness and service.
Next we should observe that there is also a special function of
the Spirit's coming, namely, testimony. In a sense we have
been considering testimony already in that through the Holy Spirit
testimony, or witness, is made to the world about Jesus Christ.
As Peter on one occasion puts it: "We are witnesses to these
things [about Jesus Christ and salvation], and so is the Holy
Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him" (Acts 5:32).
But now we are referring not to the power to bear witness to the
world (from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth) but to the role
of the Holy Spirit in bearing testimony to God's acceptance and
approval of those who belong to Him.
Let us begin with Jesus Himself. We have already made mention
of the descent of the Holy Spirit from heaven upon Jesus and how
with this enabling power He began His ministry. But now we may
go back to the occasion of the Spirit's coming and observe that,
immediately following Jesus' baptism and the descent of the Spirit
as a dove, "a voice came from Heaven, 'Thou art my beloved
Son; with thee I am well pleased'" (Luke 3:22). In other
words, the very coming of the Holy Spirit from heaven pointed
to God's approval, as the words specify- -"my beloved Son...well
pleased." This was demonstrative testimony to any bystander
as well as to Jesus Himself that He was God's Son, approved and
pleasing in His Father's sight.30
Now we may skip over to the account in Acts of the Caesareans
and observe likewise that the coming of the Holy Spirit was testimony
to their acceptance and approval by God. When the Holy Spirit
falls on the Caesareans (evidenced by their praising God in tongues),
Peter is thereby convinced the Gentiles have been accepted by
God, for he declares, "Can any one forbid water for baptizing
these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
(Acts 10:47). Some time later when Peter rehearses these events
to the apostles and brethren in Jerusalem and describes how the
Holy Spirit fell on the Caesareans "just as on us at the
beginning" (Acts 11:15), those in Jerusalem "glorified
God, saying, 'Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance
unto life'" (11:18). The gift of the Holy Spirit to the Caesareans
was the divine certification of their salvation- -their "repentance
unto life"- -and thus of acceptance and approval of God.
But not only is the gift of the Holy Spirit testimony to others
of their acceptance and salvation, but also it was God's witness
to the Caesareans themselves. On a later occasion Peter speaks
to the apostles and elders how "God made choice among you,
that by my mouth the Gentiles [at Caesarea] should hear the word
of the gospel and believe." Peter immediately adds: "And
God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the
Holy Spirit just as he did to us" (Acts 15:7-8). God "bore
witness to them" means "shows that he accepted them"
(NIV): it was the Gentiles' own certification that they had truly
heard and believed, hence had come to salvation. Indeed, they
were now sons of God- -attested by the Holy Spirit.31
It is also quite likely that the gift of the Holy Spirit to the
Samaritans and the Ephesians had the same dual testimony and certification.
In addition to the fact that the Holy Spirit- -the "missionary
Spirit"- -was given for the enabling of witness to the world,
His very coming at Samaria and Ephesus doubtless was also God's
own attestation that they had been accepted as His children. The
Samaritans in particular had long been despised by the Jews, and
viewed as total outsiders. But now the Holy Spirit was also given
to them. The far distant Ephesians likewise, by the gift of God's
Spirit, were shown both to others and to themselves as accepted
into God's family.
To move briefly to the contemporary scene: one of the striking
features of the present Pentecostal (or charismatic) movement
is the way in which people in many churches or denominations that
have been long separated from, and even antagonistic to, one another
have changed their attitude. For example, many Protestants who
had become involved in the movement in the early to mid-1960s
were ill prepared to accept Roman Catholics for the reason that
they (the Protestants) were not at all sure whether Roman Catholics
had experienced salvation. Then the Holy Spirit began to move
among the Catholics with the resulting dynamic presence of God,
transcendent praise, and powerful witness to the gospel. All the
Protestants could do, like the apostles and brethren, was to glorify
God and say: "Then to the Roman Catholics also God has granted
repentance unto life!"
The Holy Spirit, in one event after another, is given to those
who believe in Jesus Christ. Believing means to look to Him as
Lord and Savior and through Him to enter into new life. The essentials
are shown to be repentance and forgiveness: "that repentance
and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all
nations" (Luke 24:47). To all who so repent and receive forgiveness
(usually accompanied by water baptism), and thus exercise faith,
the Holy Spirit is promised. In the words of Peter on the Day
of Pentecost: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ32 for the forgiveness of your sins; and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise
is to you..." (Acts 2:38-39). The promise of the Spirit is
to those who come to faith in Christ.
In all the Acts narratives that relate to the gift of the Spirit,
faith in Christ is essential. Only those who believe in Him receive
the Holy Spirit. This is demonstrated most clearly in the accounts
of the Caesareans, Samaritans, and Ephesians. Let us observe each
in turn.
Peter proclaims Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection,
and climaxes his message to the Caesareans with the words: "To
him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in
him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. While Peter
was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the
word" (Acts 10:43-44). It is to those who believe in Christ
(those "who heard the word") that the Holy Spirit is
given.
Philip at Samaria "proclaimed to them the Christ" (Acts
8:5). As a result, the Samaritans come to faith and are baptized:
"When they believed Philip as he preached the good news about
the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women" (8:12). Later Peter and John come from
Jerusalem and minister to them the Holy Spirit (8:14-17). Again,
the Holy Spirit is received by those who had come to faith in
Jesus Christ.
Paul proclaims Jesus Christ to the Ephesians before they receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit. He reminds them that "John baptized
with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe
in the one who was to come after him, that is Jesus" (Acts
19:4). "On hearing this" the Ephesians "were baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus" (19:5). Thereafter Paul lays
hands on them and they receive the Holy Spirit (19:6). Once again,
the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe in Christ.
In these three narratives faith is essential to receiving the
gift of the Holy Spirit. It is apparent also that believing in
Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit occur at the same time (Caesareans),
shortly thereafter (Ephesians), or some days later (Samaritans).
This does not mean that faith is only the background as if, so
to speak, the Samaritans believed one day and received another;
rather faith operates throughout.
Basically then it is a matter of faith not as a static fact, a
once-for-all thing, but a living, even growing reality. Hence,
to those believing, whether at the moment of initial faith or
along the way of faith, the Holy Spirit is given.
We may better appreciate this understanding of faith by viewing
the situation of the disciples at Pentecost. In a real sense they
were believers in Jesus already. They had known Him in His life,
death, and resurrection, had received His forgiveness33 and were
waiting at His behest in Jerusalem. Hence they had believed surely,
and now at Pentecost they were believing when the Holy Spirit
came. Some later words of Peter to the apostles and brethren in
Jerusalem about his recent experience with the Caesareans underscore
this: "So if God gave them the same gift [of the Holy Spirit]
as he gave us, who believed34 in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was
I to think that I could oppose God?" (Acts 11:17 NIV). It
was not that only at Pentecost the disciples had come to believe
or that believing was a past action; it was rather that as believers
the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
It is important to recognize before proceeding further that in
the Acts accounts persons may be believers and not yet have received
the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the case of the Ephesians Paul
at the outset questions them: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed?"35 (Acts 19:2). Hence there may be a believing
in Christ36 prior to the reception of the Holy Spirit. To be sure,
faith- -a continuing believing- -is necessary to this reception, but
the critical matter here is that Paul implies the possibility
of genuine faith that has not yet resulted in the reception of
the Holy Spirit.
Let it now be emphasized from the record in Acts: it is through
faith in Christ that persons initially receive forgiveness. It
is likewise through faith that they receive the Holy Spirit. Or
to put it differently, it is the same Christ who through faith
brings both the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit.
We may speak, accordingly, of faith in movement, faith in process.
Such a recognition of the dynamics of faith as depicted in Acts
is essential to proper understanding of the reception of the Holy
Spirit. At a certain moment in faith- -whether at the outset
or somewhere along the way- -the Holy Spirit may be received.
This moment may or may not coincide with the initial moment of
receiving forgiveness of sins. It happened at the same time (Caesareans),
shortly thereafter (Ephesians), days later (Samaritans37), or even
longer (Jerusalem38). Whatever the case, faith in Jesus Christ is
shown to be the essential matter whenever the Holy Spirit is given.
What must not be said is that forgiveness of sins and the gift
of the Spirit are identical. For example, there are those who
equate the gift of the Spirit with the gift of saving grace39 or
regeneration. However, there is nothing in the Acts narrative
to suggest such an equation. To say that the disciples had not
experienced such grace before the Pentecostal gift of the Holy
Spirit runs counter to any perceptive reading of the New Testament
record. Or to claim that the Samaritans had not truly believed
in Christ through Philip's ministry prior to their later reception
of the Holy Spirit strains credulity.40 Surely the Ephesians had
come to faith in Christ, and were baptized in His name, before
Paul lays hands upon them to receive the Holy Spirit.
It is also apparent that there simply is no evidence in Acts that
forgiveness of sins (salvation) automatically leads to the reception
of the Spirit. Philip had brought the Samaritans to this point,
but Peter and John were also needed to minister the Holy Spirit.
Saul had begun to follow Jesus on the way of faith, but Ananias
was needed to pray for Saul that he would be filled with the Holy
Spirit. Paul had led the Ephesians to faith and baptism in Jesus'
name, but it was necessary that he take a further step for them
to receive the Holy Spirit.
Here we need to speak to another concern. There are those who
may agree on the whole with our account of what happened in Acts,
but either are unwilling to apply it to today or claim that the
Epistles do not bear out the interpretation given. I will spend
no time in relation to the first category, since it has few responsible
adherents, but the second is important. Do the Epistles bear out
what has been said regarding Acts? I have time and space for only
a few comments, but trust they will be helpful.
First of all, it is important to recognize that the Epistles are
written to Christian believers in various churches and situations.
No epistle therefore directly shows people coming to faith in
Christ or receiving the Holy Spirit. The dynamics of Christian
beginnings have already happened. Second, as will be apparent,
there is significant evidence for the reception of the Holy Spirit
occurring subsequent to initial faith. Although such subsequence
cannot be proven to be temporal, there can be no question of at
least a subsequence in order (as will be noted). Such subsequence
in order lends credence to a possible subsequence in time.
The main example is found in Ephesians 1:13- -"In him you also,
who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
and have believed [or 'having believed'41 NIV] in him, you were
sealed42 with the promised Holy Spirit." The Ephesians' believing
in Christ precedes their being sealed by the Holy Spirit. There
is unmistakably a precedence in order (believing in Christ and
then sealing); there is also a suggestion of temporal precedence
in Paul's words43: "have believed" (or "having believed").
This becomes all the more likely if we look to the account in
Acts 19 where, as we have observed, Paul raises the question that
assumes the possibility of prior belief;44 moreover, after
the Ephesians come to faith in Christ, he lays hands on them to
receive the Holy Spirit.
We may say, then, that the narrative in Acts about the Ephesians
shows a definite temporal order, however brief, from initial faith
in Christ to a subsequent reception of the Holy Spirit. The whole
event is described in its occurrence. In the letter to
the Ephesians, Paul is looking back on what has already happened45
without detailing each aspect as it occurred. If we may properly
use the narrative in Acts for illumination of the statements in
Ephesians,46 we behold a temporal movement from initial faith to
reception of the Holy Spirit. The Ephesians had come to faith
in Christ before they received the Holy Spirit.
One further thing about the Ephesian narrative may be noted, namely,
that Paul both baptized and laid on hands. The Ephesians had already
been baptized "into John's baptism" (19:3). Upon their
believing in Jesus, they "were baptized [by Paul] in the
name of the Lord Jesus." Thereafter Paul "laid his hands
upon them" and "the Holy Spirit came on them."
It is important to observe that the act of baptizing in water
related to their faith in Christ and the following imposition
of hands to their receiving the Holy Spirit. All- -faith in Christ,
baptism in Christ (going beyond John's baptism), laying on of
hands, receiving the Holy Spirit- -were important factors in their
Christian beginnings. In this Ephesians passage, Paul does not
mention either baptism or hands, though they possibly may be assumed.
This leads to our second example, namely, another significant
New Testament passage that refers in sequence to a number of basic
Christian elements in sequence. Here we look at Hebrews 6 which
reads: "Let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ
and go on to maturity, not laying again a 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" (vv. 1-2 NIV). Six "elementary
teachings" are mentioned, the first two of which, repentance
and faith, are obviously the most basic since it is by repentance
and faith that one comes to salvation. The last two are climactic,
the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. In between
are instructions about "baptisms"47 and the laying on
of hands. "Instructions about baptisms" could refer
to the difference between various Jewish lustrations or between
John's baptism and Christian baptism,48 or how Christian baptism
relates to repentance and faith. "The laying on of hands"
very likely refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit49 as often imparted
through the imposition of hands (as at Ephesus).50 It is quite interesting
that the sequence of faith in Christ- -repentance, baptisms (probably
John's and Christ's), and laying on of hands- -is the same as that
in the Ephesian narrative of Acts 19. Moreover, the imposition
of hands goes beyond matters of salvation (faith/repentance) into
the area of reception of the Holy Spirit.51
With Acts 19 again as a possible historical precedent, Hebrews
6 demonstrates the dynamic movement from initial faith (and repentance)
through the matter of baptisms into the reception of the Holy
Spirit. Moreover, just as water baptism is a distinct and prior
action relating to faith and repentance, so laying on of hands
is distinct and subsequent in both Acts 19 and Hebrews 6. Thus
this condensed passage in Hebrews, which enumerates elementary
Christian principles, may be helpfully understood against the
background of the narrative of such events as occurred in Acts
19.52
In regard to these "elementary teachings" in Hebrews,
it is to be noted that the word "instruction" precedes
baptisms and the laying on of hands (this is not the case in relation
to the prior mention of faith and repentance). Is it too much
to suggest that this is the area where instruction is particularly
needed in our time? Of faith and repentance- -the area of salvation- -much
is said, especially in evangelical circles, but what of baptisms
(in the plural)53 and the laying on of hands?
But to return to our main point: both Ephesians 1:13 and Hebrews
6:1-3 bear out much of what has been detailed in various Acts
narratives. While written in compact and nonnarrative fashion,
they both include the full dynamics of Christian beginnings. Moreover,
there is subsequence in order (Ephesians) and in presentation
(Hebrews) in dealing with initial faith and the reception of the
Holy Spirit. The subsequence in order also suggests subsequence
in time (especially in Ephesians), hence a possible later reception
of the Spirit after initial faith.
A third example that may be mentioned is Galatians chapter 3.
Paul first asks: "Did you receive the Spirit by works of
the law, or by hearing with faith?....Does he who supplies [or
'gives'] the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so
by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?" (vv. 2, 5).
In Paul's questions there is unmistakable reference to the reception
of the Spirit, that it occurs by faith (as we have previously
observed), and that the working of miracles results from the giving
of the Spirit.54 All of this sounds quite familiar against an Acts
background. There is, however, nothing in these opening verses
that states or suggests the temporal relationship to their salvation- -justification,
redemption (the two Pauline terms most used in Galatians). As
we move on, however, to verses 13-14, we read: "Christ redeemed
us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us...that
in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
What is important here is that against the background of redemption
("Christ redeemed us"), we receive through faith "the
promise of the Spirit." Note carefully: not that through
faith we receive the Spirit but the promise of the Spirit. "The
promise of the Spirit"55 is essentially the same expression
as found in Acts 2:33 ("the promise of the Holy Spirit"56),
and is the promise given to those who come to faith in Christ
(repent, be baptized in His name, receive forgiveness of sins):
"you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise
is to you and to your children and to all that are far off"
(Acts 2:38-39). In Galatians the order is clear: first, there
is redemption;57 second, to those who receive such through faith
there is the promise of the Spirit. Hence, faith by which salvation
is appropriated is accompanied by the promise but not necessarily
at the same time by the realization of the promise.
Thus in Galatians, as clearly in Acts, and likely in Ephesians
and Hebrews, there may be a separation in time between the occurrence
of forgiveness of sins (redemption, salvation) and the reception
of the Holy Spirit. It is still by faith in Christ (not "by
works of the law"-Gal. 3:2) that such occurs, even though
it may be on a later occasion.
We shall not take time to examine other relevant New Testament
passages.58 It is hoped that what has been discussed in connection
with Ephesians 1, Hebrews 6, and Galatians 3 will be sufficient
to demonstrate basic congruity with the Acts narratives.
We come finally to consider the actual reception of the gift of
the Holy Spirit. The question here concerns three matters in particular:
prayer, obedience, and the laying on of hands. How do they relate
to the reception of the Holy Spirit?
In regard to prayer, it is apparent from most of the narrative
accounts that prayer has much to do by way of background. We may
begin with Jesus Himself and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon
Him. The relevant passage in the Gospel of Luke reads: "Now
it came about that when all the people were baptized, that Jesus
also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,
and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him" (3:21-22 NASB). Although
no details are given, the Gospel clearly portrays a connection
between Jesus' act of praying and the descent of the Holy Spirit.
The background of prayer is graphically set forth in relation
to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples at Pentecost.
After the apostles had heard Jesus tell them "to wait for
the promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4), they "went up
to the upper room"(13), and along with several others "devoted
themselves to prayer"59 (1:13-14). For ten days they continue
in prayer, with their number growing to about 120, until the Holy
Spirit rushes upon them at Pentecost.
In the story of the Samaritans the record reads that when Peter
and John come down from Jerusalem to minister the Holy Spirit,
their primary action is prayer: "Now when the apostles at
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God [i.e.,
had come to faith in Jesus Christ], they sent to them Peter and
John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive
the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:14-15). The praying in this case
is done by the apostles, and such prayers (possibly including
the Samaritans praying also) immediately precede the laying on
of hands and the Samaritans' reception of the Holy Spirit (8:17).
The narrative about Saul of Tarsus is suffused with prayer. For
three days Saul, blinded by the light from heaven, neither eats
nor drinks (Acts 9:9) as he gives himself to prayer. Ananias,
who will minister to Saul, is likewise in prayer. The Lord speaks
to him in a vision and tells him to go to the house where Saul
may be found, for "behold, he is praying" (9:10-11).
Hence, extended prayer is the background for Ananias' subsequent
ministry wherein Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit (9:17-18).
In the case of the Caesareans, prayer again is very much the background.
The centurion at Caesarea, Cornelius, is described as "a
devout man who feared God with all his household...and prayed
constantly to God" (Acts 10:2). Cornelius is told by an angel
in a vision that "your prayers and your alms have ascended
as a memorial before God" (10:4). The angel then instructs
Cornelius to send for a man named Simon Peter in another city.
The next day Peter is praying (he "went up on the housetop
to pray," 10:9) and also has a vision. As a result Peter
goes with the delegation from Caesarea and proclaims the gospel
to Cornelius and his household. Prayer on both sides- -Peter who
will minister and the Caesareans who will receive- -precedes the
event of the Spirit.
Only in the incident about Paul's ministering to the Ephesians
is nothing said about prayer. However, since he does lay hands
upon them to receive the Holy Spirit, this was probably preceded
(as in Samaria) by prayer. Even the laying on of hands itself
may be viewed as a kind of outward act of prayerful ministry.60
All in all, prayer is shown to be vital background for receiving
the gift of the Spirit. One further Scripture passage highlights
this all the more, namely, Luke 11:1-13. When Jesus is praying
at a certain place, His disciples ask Him to teach them to pray.
Jesus thereupon gives the "Lord's prayer," but then
tells a parable emphasizing importunate prayer: "Ask...seek...knock"
(v. 9). It climaxes with the words: "If you then, who are
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
him!"(v. 13). The asking- -meaning importunate, earnest prayer- -is
background for God's giving the Holy Spirit.61 Prayer to the heavenly
Father is channel for God's blessed gift.62
Why prayer is so important for the gift of the Spirit may be understood
in light of the nature of the gift and the human situation. It
is prayer which invites God's holy and dynamic presence63 to invade
a believer's life. The channel needs to be open for this to
happen. This may call for prayer over an extended time; or
if the channel is in readiness, the Spirit may be immediately
poured out. The moment Jesus looks to heaven after His baptism
and prays the Holy Spirit descends: the channel is open and ready
for a tremendous visitation of the Holy Spirit.64 The Caesarean
centurion and his devout household are ready to receive God's
dynamic visitation. The moment the blockage of sin is removed
through forgiveness (hearing and receiving Peter's message) and
they come to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit is poured forth.
The channel was already prepared.65
Here we must be careful not to overstate the case, but it seems
quite likely that the reason in several instances for the Spirit
not being given until some time after repentance and faith is
that further preparation is needed. Jesus' own immediate disciples,
though receiving forgiving grace by the risen Lord, had much debris
in their channel- -some still doubting,66 many still divided in their
devotion,67 all still concerned about material fulfillment.68 So they
were told to tarry, to wait. Doubtless they needed the ten days
of earnest praying as preparation for the Holy Spirit to be given.
When at last they had become a vacuum- -emptied of nagging doubt,
dividedness of heart, self-striving-the wind of the Holy Spirit
rushed in. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Saul of Tarsus seems to have been very much in a similar situation.
Although acknowledging the risen and ascended Jesus as Lord, he
undoubtedly had much self-dying to do. The formerly proud, self-reliant,
bitter Pharisee, now blinded by the glory of Jesus, needed time
not just to rethink his theology but to surrender wholly to the
Lord. Such surely was the burden of his three days of praying.
At last emptied, Saul of Tarsus was likewise filled.
What shall we say about the case of the Samaritans? To compare
them even briefly with the Caesareans shows a vast difference.
Unlike the God-fearing, God-seeking household of Cornelius, they
were a people caught up in many unclean practices69 and totally
given over to Simon the magician (Acts 8:10). So even when they
come to faith in Jesus, unlike the Caesareans, they are scarcely
ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Hence, Peter and John's prayers
with them may well have been to help them further to abjure the
demons of their past70 and to make an unreserved surrender to the
lordship of Jesus Christ.
Several things should be emphasized before proceeding further.
First, in no case is God reluctant to give the Holy Spirit. He
delights to "give good gifts" (Matthew 7:11)71 to His
children; He delights to give the Holy Spirit. But He does not
give to those for whom the way is not prepared. Second, moreover,
since this is a gift, there is no way of earning it. Prayer- -earnest
and importunate- -is a negation of all work: it is to allow God
to remove the barriers so that He may take over. Third, at the
heart of such prayer is self-surrender, the total yielding of
the person to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Those thus empty before
the Lord He delights to fill with His Holy Spirit.72
This leads next to a consideration of the matter of obedience.
It will be recalled that on one occasion Peter declared: "We
are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom
God has given to those who obey him" (Acts 5:32). If prayer
is background for the gift of the Holy Spirit, obedience is the
proper attitude of heart and will.73
In the case of the original disciples who received the Holy Spirit,
it is apparent that they obeyed Christ by waiting as He had commanded.
According to Luke 24:49, Jesus had said: "Stay in the city,
until you are clothed with power from on high." Acts 1:4
records that Jesus "charged them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for the promise of the Father." This command
of Jesus they fully obeyed, and God gave them the Holy Spirit.
Saul of Tarsus similarly obeyed the words of Jesus. Acknowledging
Jesus as Lord, "What shall I do, Lord?" he receives
a command: "Rise, and go into Damascus" (Acts 22:10;
cf. 9:5-6). Saul goes, waits, and prays. Ananias likewise receives
a command: "Rise and go to the street called Straight"
(9:11), where Saul would be found. The centurion of Caesarea is
commanded by an angel: "Send men to Joppa, and bring one
Simon who is called Peter" (10:5). Peter is told by the Spirit:
"Rise and go down, and accompany them without hesitation"
(10:20). In these latter two instances, those of the centurion74
and Saul, there is obedience on the part of both sides: the one
to minister and the other to be ministered to.
Now these are all acts of specific obedience that relate directly
to preparation for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Behind all of
these we may refer again to the words of Jesus, earlier quoted:
"Ask...seek...knock" (Luke 11:9). These words, it should
now be emphasized, are a strong command, indeed threefold, which
relates altogether to the gift of the Holy Spirit. There may,
or may not be, a direct word from Christ (as with the disciples
and Saul), but such is not necessary. The words of Christ are
inscribed for all to read and obey: Ask, seek, and knock. For
the Holy Spirit, as Peter said, is given "to those who obey
him."
But lest this be viewed only as a matter of obedience to a particular
command relative to the gift of the Holy Spirit, we should recall
the words of Christ in the Fourth Gospel: "If you love me,
you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and
he will give you another Counselor...the Spirit of truth"
(John 14:15-17). Keeping Christ's commandments, striving to be
faithful to His words, abiding in His truth: all such prepares
the way for the gift of His Spirit.75 This does not mean that beyond
faith obedience is required (not faith plus works), but this is
the obedience that faith engenders, and to such faith/obedience
the Spirit is given. For the Holy Spirit is given in the atmosphere
of obedient faith.
All of this suggests that those who seek to walk faithfully in
the way of Christ are living in an atmosphere conducive to the
reception of the Holy Spirit. There may be failures, but the essential
intention and direction is that of obedience to the word of the
Lord. Already in some sense walking in the way of holiness,76 such
persons are in a position for a further implementation of the
Holy Spirit (who is the Spirit of holiness). Conversely, if a
person is not walking in the way of faithful obedience to Christ;
if he is harboring anger, lust, bitterness in his heart; if love
has grown cold and holiness aggrieved- -such a one is hardly in
a position to receive God's Holy Spirit. For obedience lies at
the heart of faith, and it is by faith alone that the Holy Spirit
is received.77
Finally, let us look into the matter of the laying on of hands.
What relation has such an action to the reception of the Holy
Spirit? What do the Acts narratives show?
The immediate answer is that there obviously is no necessary relationship.
For in the case of both the disciples at Jerusalem and of the
Caesareans, there is no laying on of hands. Of course, since the
Jerusalem disciples were the first, there was no one who could
have laid hands. In the instance of the Caesareans Peter was present
and could have done so; however, there was no opportunity or need,
for the moment they come to faith the Holy Spirit is given. In
both cases it is apparent that hands were not involved; hence,
they were not necessary.
In the other three instances- -the Samaritans, Saul at Damascus,
and the Ephesians, there was laying on of hands. After Peter and
John have prayer for the Samaritans, "then they laid their
hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit"78 (Acts 8:17).
Following Saul's three days of praying and Ananias' "laying
his hands on him," Saul is "filled with the Holy Spirit"
(9:17). In regard to the Ephesians, "when Paul had laid his
hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them" (19:6).
Since in the Acts accounts there is shown to be no necessary connection
between imposition of hands and the reception of the Spirit, the
question emerges: Why is there a difference between Caesarea79 on
the one hand and the Samaritans, Saul, and the Ephesians on the
other? Why the laying on of hands in the latter three instances?
The answer would seem to be much in line with what was said about
prayer and obedience: the Caesareans were so ready to receive
everything from God that He immediately, without human mediation,
pours forth the Holy Spirit. The others needed further help which
the laying on of hands provided.
It is apparent that the laying on of hands, for one thing, is
a dramatic symbol for the giving of the Holy Spirit. Hands placed
upon a person clearly represents the Holy Spirit coming
upon the person. Moreover, by the very act of allowing hands
to be placed upon the head, the individual is thereby expressing
submission and docility80 to a fresh work of God. Also hands signify
contact, community, sharing- -a human channel for the divine gift.
Although a person may receive the gift of the Spirit without human
mediation, the imposition of hands may greatly facilitate this
reception.
Now let us emphasize several matters. First, based on the accounts
of Jerusalem and Samaria, God is not dependent on the mediation
of human hands for the giving of the Holy Spirit. Other things,
such as prayer and obedience, are far more basic. Second, where
there is laying on of hands, there is no limitation to office.
Apostles do lay hands in Samaria (Peter and John) and Ephesus
(Paul), but a lay brother, Ananias, places hands on Saul. Third,
there is no suggestion in Acts that the laying on of hands of
itself81 confers the Holy Spirit. It is true that each time in Acts
when hands are laid the Holy Spirit is received, but this is not
because of any latent power in the transmitter.82 Rather it is due
to God's grace operating through a human channel to the faith
of those who are prepared to receive it.
Unmistakably there is need for much further consideration of the
laying on of hands. It will be recalled that instruction about
the laying on of hands (along with baptisms) belongs to "elementary
teachings" (Hebrews 6:1). The proper understanding and practice
of the laying on of hands is much needed in our time.
A word should be added about two things: God's sovereignty
and human expectancy. Although we have been declaring that
prayer is the regular background, obedience important preparation,
and the laying on of hands the means, we must not overlook God's
sovereign disposition. This to be sure is seen in that He may
or may not use hands as a channel. In addition it would be an
error to give prayer, no matter how fervent or protracted, or
obedience, no matter how devout, the place of primacy. God as
the sovereign Lord, regardless of such factors, is free to give
His Holy Spirit to those who believe, when and how He wills. On
the human side the only critical matter is faith- -a continuing
belief and trust; but there is no guarantee of God's timetable
of further action.
Moreover, if it is true- -as many firmly believe- -that we are living
in an extraordinary time of the outpouring of God's Spirit, this
is not first of all our doing but His. God has promised that "in
the last days" He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh;
and if we are in the last of these "last days," then
what is happening stems basically from His sovereign intention.
It is not because we are more prayerful or obedient or saintly
than generations before us, so that God is responding thereto
and sending us His Holy Spirit. No, it is primarily and profoundly
a matter of God's will and purpose. He is sending forth
His Spirit, quite possibly in preparation for the consummation
of all things.
But there is also the important side of human expectancy. The
first disciples before Pentecost lived in expectation of the Spirit's
being poured out. Although they did not know just when the promise
of the Holy Spirit would be fulfilled in their behalf, they waited
and prayed with full expectancy that it would come about. Moreover,
after it happened to them, Peter declared that it was by no means
a once-for-all event, but that the gift of the Holy Spirit was
promised likewise to all who come to faith in Christ: "the
promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far
off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him" (Acts
2:39). Surely this built up great expectation. Since, moreover,
the promise was not just to people in that day but to those throughout
the ages, then everyone called by God stands under the same promise.
So should the expectation of the people of God be exceedingly
great to enter into that promise and live more fully in the reality
of God's dynamic presence and power.
Summary of A Pentecostal Theology
The critical center of a Pentecostal theology is the gift and
reception of the Holy Spirit. In the early church, as recorded
in the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon, fell
on, came upon people; and they were immersed in, filled with the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit thus given and received came from God
the Father through Jesus Christ. The result of this event was
the dynamic immediacy of God's presence. Since the gift of the
Holy Spirit was promised for all generations to come, it is available
in our time.
The primary response to the gift/reception of the Holy Spirit
in the early church was praise, the glorifying of God. In the
Book of Acts, this praise came forth in tongues as a recurring
expression of transcendent praise. This may be viewed as resulting
from the dynamic penetration of the Holy Spirit bringing about
a situation of high spiritual intensity. Since tongues occurred
frequently in the early church as the primary response to the
gift of the Holy Spirit, they may be expected likewise in the
church thereafter.
The basic purpose of the gift/reception of the Spirit in the early church was enabling power. This was the case in Jesus' own ministry as well as His disciples thereafter: it was power for ministry. The gift was not for salvation or sanctification but for service in word and deed. At the same time the Spirit who came was a testimony to God's acceptance and approval: for Jesus as God's Son, for those after Him that they had repented unto life.
What was true in New Testament times is true also today: the reception
of the Holy Spirit brings about both power for ministry and certification
of sonship and salvation.
The role of faith was central in the reception of the Holy Spirit;
only those who believed in Jesus received this gift. Each account
in Acts makes this unmistakably clear. To believe truly (i.e.,
to repent and believe) resulted immediately in the forgiveness
of sins, hence salvation. However, in many cases the gift of the
Spirit did not occur at the moment of initial faith and salvation
but shortly thereafter, or even days and weeks later. In such
cases people were believers prior to receiving the gift of the
Spirit. Hence, in the Acts narratives there is witness to a chronological
subsequence of the gift of the Holy Spirit, not to faith but to
salvation. On the matter of subsequence the Epistles, though there
is no narrational description, attest to the reception of the
Holy Spirit following upon salvation. This subsequence in order
lends credence to a possible separation in time, and thus a confirming
of the record in Acts. In any event faith, believing, continued
to be the essential condition for the reception of the Holy Spirit.
The role of faith, whatever the situation of subsequence, remains
until today central in the reception of the Holy Spirit.
The reception of the Spirit in the early church occurred ordinarily against the background of prayer and self-surrender. The proper attitude of heart and will was obedience- -thus acting in accordance with Christ's command. Both prayer and obedience were the context, not the condition (which was faith only), for receiving the Holy Spirit. The laying on of hands, while not necessary, was often the external medium for the Spirit to be given.
However, the imposition of hands in and of itself did not confer
the Holy Spirit. Far more basic was the matter of faith and prior
salvation, prayer and obedience. Ultimately, the reception of
the Spirit was due to God's grace communicated with or without
human mediation to the faith of those ready to receive it. It
follows that the same situation continues to prevail in our time.
Finally, it is apparent in the early church that both God's sovereignty
and human expectancy were involved in the gift and reception of
the Holy Spirit. Can this be any less true now?
Some Critical Points in A Pentecostal Theology
1. The gift of the Holy Spirit is a recurring event. The earliest
church historical record (Acts) depicts the Spirit being given
and received on several occasions. There is also the promise of
the gift of the Holy Spirit to generations thereafter.
The Spirit was not given once-for-all at Pentecost.
2. The narratives in the Book of Acts that record the giving and
receiving of the Holy Spirit are, in their unity and variety,
the primary exegetical basis for the gift/reception of the Holy
Spirit. Against the narrational background the Epistles may best
be understood.
It is not proper to place the so-called didactic (e.g.,
Paul's epistles) above the narrational.
3. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit Himself. He
comes from the Father through the Son. The result is the dynamic
and immediate presence of God.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is not an unmediated immediacy;
the Spirit comes through the mediation of Jesus Christ.
4. The occurrence of tongues (glossolalia) in Acts is best understood
as transcendent praise. Tongues of praise are expressive of the
situation of divine penetration and high spiritual intensity.
Tongues, accordingly, are the primary (though not necessary) response
to the gift/reception of the Holy Spirit.
Glossolalia is not the speaking of foreign languages, nor
is it a passing phenomenon of the early church.
5. The primary purpose of the gift of the Spirit is enabling power.
It is to enable the believer to minister more effectively and
to provide authentication of sonship and salvation.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is not the gift of saving grace;
however, there can be no gift of the Spirit without prior grace
and salvation.
6. Faith is basic to the reception of the Holy Spirit; however,
the Spirit may not be given at the moment of salvation but at
some time thereafter. Thus one may believe in Christ and not yet
have received the Holy Spirit.
It is not correct to say that believers invariably receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit at the inception of their faith.
7. The background of prayer and obedience, and often the laying
on of hands, are the context for the gift/reception of the Holy
Spirit.
The imposition of hands in and of itself does not convey
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Challenge of A Pentecostal Theology
Five groups may here be addressed: (1) those who affirm that the
Spirit of God is immediately present to all persons, hence without
mediation through Jesus Christ- -often a feature of mysticism, especially
in non-Christian religions; (2) those who claim that by virtue
of salvation through Jesus Christ all persons have received the
gift of the Holy Spirit- -the position of many evangelicals; (3)
those who hold that through the proper sacramental action (baptism
or confirmation) the Holy Spirit is invariably given- -sacramentalists
in general; (4) those who stress the validity of the gifts of
the Spirit for today but who hold that the gift of the Spirit
is the release or actualization of what has been received in salvation
or through the sacraments- -the viewpoint of many charismatics;
(5) those who express much concern for the renewal of the church
through such means as worship and fellowship, witness and service
but who lay little emphasis on either the gift or the gifts of
the Holy Spirit- -the perspective of many who might be called "renewalists."
My challenge is as follows:
(1) To many mystics- -there can be no immediate presence
of the Holy Spirit without the redemptive action of Jesus Christ
that makes possible the gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith in Jesus
Christ whereby sins are forgiven is the precondition of God's
immediate and dynamic presence. The urgent question to such mystics
is: "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?"
(2) To many evangelicals- -the fact that a person has come to faith in Jesus Christ and thereby entered into salvation is no guarantee of the reception of the Holy Spirit. The gift of eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit are not the same. The critical question to such evangelicals is the Pauline one: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
(4) To many charismatics- -the gift of the Holy Spirit is
a distinct and unique action of God, so cannot be viewed as simply
a release or an actualization of what is already there. There
is serious danger in such a viewpoint of minimizing the necessity
of the special event/experience whereby the gifts may flourish.
Perhaps the best word to such charismatics is: "Do not quench
the Spirit" (1 Thess. 5:19).
(5) To many renewalists- -genuine and lasting renewal can
only come about through the undergirding of various activities
by the dynamic presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise
renewal is little more than an accentuation of what is already
there. The command of Jesus needs much to be heeded: "Stay
[tarry, wait expectantly] ...until you are clothed with power
from on high" (Luke 24:49).
1Pneuma: the Journal for Pentecostal Studies, vol.
5, no. 2, Fall, 1983, p. 39.
2Keep in Step with the Spirit,
231-32.
3A fuller elaboration of many of the matters discussed in this
paper may be found in my book, The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Today (1980). Also see Renewal Theology, vol. 2, Salvation,
the Holy Spirit, and Christian Living (1990).
4Instead of "with" as is found in the RSV
and most translations. The Greek word en may be translated
as "in," "with," or "by." "By,"
in this context, however, is quite misleading.
5There are a number of other reasons besides the linguistic
and empirical for speaking of the basic identity of the five experiences.
This will become apparent as we proceed.
6That "the promise" in Acts 2:39 refers
to the gift of the Holy Spirit is apparent from 2:33 where the
promise is stated specifically as "the promise of the Holy
Spirit." This is called "the promise of the Father"
in 1:4 (cf. Luke 24:49-"the promise of my Father").
7"This which you see and hear" refers to
the visible and audible demonstrations which accompanied the outpouring
(see hereafter), but the basic reality is the Holy Spirit Himself.
8Mysticism, in some of its forms, speaks of a direct
or unmediated sense of God's presence.
9The first reference in the Bible to the Spirit of
God, i.e., the Holy Spirit, is that of "the Spirit of God...moving
over the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2).
10See Roger Stronstad, The Charismatic Theology
of St. Luke, 77, on "the transfer of the Spirit motif."
Stronstad's book has many valuable insights not only on Luke's
"charismatic theology" but also on the Old Testament
background.
11The Greek word is megaleia.
12Greek: megalunonton.
13Cf. also the relation between joy and the filling
of the Spirit in Acts 13:52-"And the disciples were continually
filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (NASB).
14EGT in reference to Acts 10:46 calls this "jubilant
ecstatic praise."
15As in the quotation in the preceding note regarding
Caesarea.
16F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, NICNT,
57. According to Bruce, this was "possibly" what occurred
at Pentecost. He had just described the utterances at Pentecost
as "words spoken by the disciples in their divine ecstasy."
17Acts 2:4. "Other" is sometimes taken to
mean other in the sense of additional human languages. However,
the more likely understanding of "other" in this text
is qualitative otherness. Thayer has two headings under heteros
("other") referring to (1) Number and (2) Quality.
"Number" would point to other tongues as additional,
thus in the case of Acts 2:4, the speaking of additional languages
such as Arabic, Greek, Chaldean; "quality" would signify
difference in kind-"not of the same nature, form, class,
kind."
18The word translated "utterance" is apophthengesthai,
literally "to speak out." It is a term used "of
the speech of the wise man [in Greek literature]...but also of
the oracle-giver, diviner, prophet, exorcist, and other 'inspired
persons'"(BAGD). This "inspired" speech is given
by the Holy Spirit through human lips.
19C. S. Lewis in his address entitled "Transposition"
(in Transposition and Other Addresses) describes how a
transposition occurs whenever a higher medium reproduces itself
in a lower. If viewed merely from the perspective of the lower,
the higher may be completely missed. Concerning glossolalia (speaking
in tongues) Lewis writes, "all non-Christian opinion would
regard it as a kind of hysteria, an involuntary discharge of nervous
excitement" (p. 9). However, "...the very same phenomenon
which is sometimes not only natural but even pathological is at
other times...the organ of the Holy Ghost" (p. 10). "Those
who spoke with tongues, as St. Paul did, can well understand how
that holy phenomenon differed from the hysterical phenomenon-although...they
were in a sense exactly the same phenomenon" (p. 17). Lewis
later speaks about "the inevitableness of the error made
about every transposition by one who approaches it from the lower
medium only" (p. 19). "Transposition" accordingly
is an excellent term to express what happens when the Holy Spirit,
the higher medium, is expressed in the lower, the human spirit.
The vehicle of expression, human language, becomes transposed
into a new dimension of utterance.
20Keil and Delitzsch have an interesting comment about
the prophesying of the elders "not as the foretelling of
future things, but as speaking in an exalted and elevated state
of mind, under the impulse and inspiration of the Spirit of God,
just like the 'speaking in tongues' which frequently followed
the gift of the Spirit in the days of the apostles" (Commentary
on the Old Testament, 1:70).
21Leon Wood identifies the elders' prophesying with
praise: "In the instance of the seventy in the wilderness...
'prophesying' would be that these seventy began to render praise
to God, when the Spirit was placed upon them" (The Holy
Spirit in the Old Testament, 111).
22A. T. Robertson states that the word structure in
Acts 8 "shows plainly that those who received the gift
of the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues" (Word Pictures in
the New Testament, 3:107). F. F. Bruce affirms that "the
context leaves us in no doubt that their reception of the Spirit
was attended by external manifestations such as had marked His
descent on the earliest disciples at Pentecost" (The Book
of Acts, NICNT, 181). For similar comments see Johannes Munck,
The Acts of the Apostles, AB, 75 and F. J. Foakes-Jackson,
The Acts of the Apostles, MC, 73.
23In Renewal Theology, vol. 2, I have more recently
spoken of the first purpose of the coming of the Holy Spirit as
guidance "into all the truth" (see pp. 237-43). Thereafter
I speak of "power for ministry" (pp. 248-63), a fuller
elaboration of the purpose described above.
24The Holy Spirit and power are not identical. As
earlier observed, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit Himself,
not something else. However, the basic purpose of the gift is
power for ministry.
25In John 6:27 Jesus says that "on him [Jesus
Himself] has God the Father set his seal"-literally, "this
one God the Father sealed" (touton ho pater esphragisen
ho theos). The idea of sealing here would seem clearly to
refer to this anointing with power at the Jordan: "to dedicate,"
"to consecrate," "to endow with heavenly power"
(TDNT, 7:949, n.83).
26According to R. R. Williams, "throughout Acts,
the Holy Spirit is thought of as the means whereby Christians
receive power to witness to Christ and His resurrection"
(The Acts of the Apostles, 36).
27James D. G. Dunn holds that "the Samaritans'
response was simply an assent of mind to the acceptability of
what Philip was saying" (Baptism in the Holy Spirit,
65). Hence, Peter and John came down to lead them into a genuine
Christian experience. This, I submit, is a faulty reading of
the narrative.
28As, e.g., I. H. Marshall writes: "God withheld
the Spirit until the coming of Peter and John in order that the
Samaritans might be seen to be fully incorporated into the community
of Jerusalem Christians" (The Acts of the Apostles,
TNTC, 157).
29E.g., observe how Peter's sermon of Acts 2 is followed
by a healing ministry in Acts 3.
30"This opening of the heaven, the descent of
the Holy Ghost in a visible shape, and the voice from heaven,
were to Jesus the final assurance from God that He was indeed
His Son and the anointed Messiah, and that God wholly approved
of His assumption of the work of redemption." So writes
Norval Geldenhuys in The Gospel of Luke, NICNT, 147.
31Obviously there is a great difference between the
approval given to Jesus who needed no salvation and the Gentiles
who had received it. However, the Gentiles had been accepted
through faith in Jesus whereby they likewise had become sons of
God. Hence, it was as if God were saying to them because of their
salvation through Christ, "You are my beloved sons; with
you I am well pleased."
32Baptism itself is not essential to forgiveness of
sins (as the account in Acts 10 will show), but the faith that
baptism signifies is wholly necessary.
33The words of Jesus after His resurrection to the
disciples, all of whom had forsaken Him, are three times repeated:
"Peace be unto you" (John 20:19,21,26). They contain
a strong note of forgiveness and grace. This peace, in the words
of R. V. G. Tasker, is "the peace of the pardoned sinner"
(The Gospel According to St. John, TNTC, 266).
34"When we believed" (RSV) is misleading.
This suggests that Peter and the others at Pentecost did not
believe until the time the Spirit was given. The Greek word involved
here is pisteusasin, an aorist participle which may express
action antecedent to or concurrent with the action of the main
verb (see, e.g., A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New
Testament in the Light of Historical Research, 860-61). If
concurrent, then "when we believed" would be correct.
However, as Dunn says, "the aorist participle does in fact
usually express antecedent action, but it is the context, not
the grammatical form, which determines this" (Baptism
in the Holy Spirit, 159). Since the aorist does usually express
antecedent action, and, I would add, the context here suggests
the same (the disciples had believed prior to Pentecost), then
"who believed" is more accurate. However, since this
is not only a matter of the past but a continuing reality, "believing"
(embodying both antecedence and concurrence) may be an even better
translation. Believing was both a past fact for the Pentecost
disciples as well as a continuing reality ("after believing"
(NASB) fails to capture the continuation of faith). (Also see
previous chap. 5, nn. 15 and 19.)
35Pisteusantes is the aorist
participle (as in Acts 11:17). "When you believed"
(also NIV, NEB) is again misleading since it conveys only the
idea of concurrence. "Since ye believed" (KJV) and
"after" (NIV margin) both point to antecedence. Probably
the best translation (though awkward) would be: "Did you
receive the Holy Spirit, believing?" (antecedence and concurrence).
However, I have retained the "when" since in this context
(unlike Acts 11:17 supra) it, along with "since" or
"after," points to a past believing wherein the Holy
Spirit may not have been received. (Also see previous chap. 5,
nn. 13 and 20.)
36Although it turns out that these "disciples"
(Acts 19:1) did not yet have a saving faith in Christ (vv. 3-5),
hence were not believers in a full Christian sense, this does
not alter the fact that Paul viewed them as such in his initial
encounter and question.
37Saul of Tarsus could also be mentioned here. Three
days after his initial faith in Christ he is filled with the Holy
Spirit. It is sometimes argued that Saul did not really believe
until Ananias came to him. However, Saul recognizes Jesus as
Lord (Acts 9:5; cf. with Acts 22:10), and when Ananias comes to
him Ananias greets him as "Brother Saul" (Acts 9:17;
22:13). For a helpful discussion of this, see Howard M. Ervin,
Conversion-Initiation and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit,
chap. 5, "Paul's Conversion."
38Eduard Schweizer writes that, according to Luke,
"days, and in exceptional cases even weeks and years may
pass before endowment with the Spirit follows faith" (TDNT,
6:412). I agree with Schweizer that the New Testament record
shows the possibility of a later impartation of the Spirit; however,
I would prefer to say not "follows faith," but follows
"initial faith." Clearly, people are still believing
when they later receive the Holy Spirit.
39E.g., Dunn who writes that "the gift of the
Spirit...is the gift of saving grace by which one enters into
Christian experience and life" (Baptism in the Holy Spirit,
226).
40Contra Dunn who holds that "the Samaritans'
response was simply an assent of the mind to the acceptability
of what Philip was saying" but not true faith (ibid., 65;
recall n. 27.
41The Greek word is pisteusantes; "having
also believed" (NASB), "after that ye believed"
(KJV).
42The Greek word for seal, sphragizo, may refer
in the New Testament to power for witness and ministry. As stated
in John 6:27 (as we have noted), Jesus declares about Himself
that "him hath God the Father sealed [esphragisen]"
(KJV). According to BAGD, syragizw
in this context means "endue with power
from heaven." Likewise 2 Corinthians 1:22-"he has put
his seal upon [literally 'having sealed'-sphragisamenos]
us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee"
means "more than just 'provide with a mark of identification.'"
It represents, according to BAGD, the same enduement of power.
Hence, I would submit, we may view the sealing of Ephesians 1:13
in the same manner. The fact that this is "with the promised
Holy Spirit" (literally, "the Holy Spirit of promise")
lends further support to the sealing as primarily an enduement
of power. However, sealing may also refer to certification, attestation,
acknowledgment-to "attest, certify, acknowledge (as
a seal does on a document)" (BAGD, syragizw,
2. c). Thus the sealing with the Holy Spirit, in this sense,
brings an assurance of forgiveness, of salvation, of new life
in Christ (recall the prior discussion of the testimonial function
of the gift of the Spirit). Both attestation and empowerment
are probably included. According to J. O. F. Murray, "the
sealing [cf. Eph. 1:13]...as in the case of our Lord at his Baptism
(Jn. vi. 27), and of the disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts
xi.17), and of the household of Cornelius (Acts x.44, xv.8) was
at once the Divine attestation of a spiritual fact already revealed
and appropriated and the means by which the recipient was empowered
to live up to the truth he had heard and believed" (Ephesians,
CGT, 26).
43Since pisteusantes is an aorist participle
which (as previously noted) usually expresses antecedence-or,
as we have discussed, antecedence plus continuance.
44Quite significantly, the same aorist participle,
pisteusantes, is used in both Acts 19:2 and Ephesians 1:13.
45There were, to be sure, only "about twelve"
(Acts 19:7) involved in the earlier narrative and doubtless many
more persons than twelve to whom the Ephesian letter was addressed.
So obviously there can be no one-to-one correspondence between
the two Scriptures. However, the pattern of Ephesians
1 clearly follows the narrated events of Acts 19.
46I recognize that such an approach, utilizing a narration
in Acts to illuminate a Pauline letter, is quite different from
the view that the so-called didactic (i.e., Paul's writing in
this case) ought invariably to take precedence over narrative
or historical parts. John R. W. Stott holds that "the revelation
of the purpose of God in Scripture should be sought in its didactic,
rather than its historical parts. More precisely, we should
look for it in the teaching of Jesus, and in the sermons and writing
of the apostles, and not in the purely narrative portions of Acts"
(Baptism and Fullness, 8). Why not both-with the historical
as background for the didactic? This is surely the case
in the Gospels: the teaching of Jesus is to be best understood
against the background of His life and ministry.
47The Greek word is baptismon; also translated
as "baptisms" in KJV. RSV has "ablutions,"
NASB "washings," NEB "cleansing rites."
48According to TDNT, "baptismwn
didachV, denotes the difference between Jewish
[and pagan?] 'washings' [including John's baptism?] and Christian
baptism" (1:545).
49F. F. Bruce refers this statement in Hebrews to "an
early Christian practice, associated especially with the impartation
of the Holy Spirit," and adds "that is most probably
its significance here" (The Epistle to the Hebrews,
NICNT, 116). Leon Morris writes: "It is Christian beginnings,
perhaps with the thought of God's gift of the Spirit, that is
in mind here" (Hebrews, EBC, 12:53).
50Also in relation to the Samaritans (Acts 8:17) and
Saul (Acts 9:17).
51Hebrews 6:4, thereafter, also suggests both salvation
and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Reference is made to those
who have "once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly
gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit." "Once
been enlightened" doubtless refers to salvation (cf. Heb.
10:32), "tasted the heavenly gift" probably to enjoying
the graciousness of the Lord (cf. 1 Peter 2:3, esp. KJV), and
"partakers [or 'sharers'] of the Holy Spirit" definitely
suggests participating in the Spirit's presence and power. It
is to be noted that one follows upon another.
52The sequence in Hebrews is also quite similar to
Acts 8, the Samaritan account. First, in Acts 8 there is repentance
(turning from their previous domination by Simon the magician)
and faith in Christ, baptism (though not baptisms; however,
they may have received such instruction), the laying on of hands,
and the reception of the Holy Spirit (the overall pattern follows
that of Peter's words in Acts 2:38).
53Of course, John's baptism is no longer a relevant
issue. However, instruction about baptisms might legitimately
include both baptism in water and baptism in the Spirit, especially
how the latter may be received through the laying on of hands.
54Herman Ridderbos writes that "Paul reminds them
[the Galatians] of their conversion and of their receiving
the gift of the Spirit [italics mine]." Then Ridderbos
adds, in regard to verse 5, "We are to think of those special
operations of the Spirit by which in the early period of the Christian
church the acceptance of the gospel was sometimes accompanied
and confirmed (verse 5; cf. also Acts 8:14-17, 10:44-46, and 19:6)"
The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia, NICNT,
112.
55The Greek phrase is ten epangelian tou pneumatos.
56The Greek phrase is ten epangelian tou pneumatos
tou hagiou (parallels in Luke 24:48; Acts 1:4; 2:38-39).
57As likewise in Acts 2:38.
58Others that merit consideration include: John 7:37-39;
Romans 5:5; 8:15-16; 15:18-19; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians
1:21-22; Ephesians 5:18-19; Galatians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 1:5,
4:8; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:12; 1 John 3:24 and 4:13. Valuable
discussions of most of these passages, and others, may be found
in Spirit-Baptism: A Pentecostal Alternative by Harold
D. Hunter, and Conversion-Initiation and the Baptism in the
Holy Spirit by Howard M. Ervin.
59NIV translates: "they all joined together constantly
in prayer."
60Francis A. Sullivan, SJ, writes that "even when
no explicit mention is made of prayer accompanying the laying
on of hands for the gift of the Holy Spirit (as in Acts 9.17;
19.6), we can rightly see the gesture itself as expressive of
prayer, since it is obvious that the apostles were aware that
this gift could only come from the risen Lord" ("Laying
on of Hands in Christian Tradition" in Spirit and Renewal:
Essays in Honor of J. Rodman Williams, Mark Wilson, ed., 45).
61One of the questions in the Heidelberg Catechism
(Q. 116) is: "Why is prayer necessary for Christians?"
Then follows the striking answer: "Because it is the chief
part of the gratitude which God requires of us, and because God
will give his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who sincerely
beseech him in prayer, and who thank him for these gifts"
(italics mine).
62Incidentally, this passage in Luke also demonstrates
that the gift of the Holy Spirit is for believers, those who know
God as Father and are truly His children. Further, the passage
shows that the gift is not primarily for oneself (salvation, edification,
sanctification), but for ministry to others since the importunate
prayer is for bread to give to a visiting friend (see vv. 5-6).
63Recall our first section on "The Essential Reality.
64In Jesus' case, of course, there is no sin blocking
the channel. His baptism was not for His own sins but
an act of identification with others. Hence, once this has been
done and He is about to begin His ministry, the moment has come
for the descent of the Spirit to anoint and further empower Him.
So does He pray, and the Spirit comes upon Him.
65Indeed, the whole narrative in Acts 10 about Cornelius
and his household depicts a situation of earnestness, eagerness,
and readiness for all that God has to give.
66Thomas in John 20:24-28. Also, even up to the moment
of his ascension "some doubted" (Matt. 28:16-17).
67Peter and several others go fishing again; later
Jesus asks Peter, "Do you [really] love me?" (John 21:1-17).
68Acts 1:6.
69Before they come to faith through Philip's ministry,
"unclean spirits" come out of many (Acts 8:7).
70In the contemporary Pentecostal movement this has
often been found necessary. See, e.g., Dennis and Rita Bennett,
The Holy Spirit and You, chap. 4, "Preparing to Receive
the Baptism in the Holy Spirit."
71Matthew 7:11 is the parallel verse to Luke 11:13.
For "good gifts" or "things" in Matthew,
Luke has "the Holy Spirit."
72John Rea puts it well: "Those seeking to be
baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit must be willing to yield
control of every part of their being to the Holy Spirit ....Yield
your will so that your motives are pure....Yield your members,
especially your tongue as the organ of expression of the Holy
Spirit through you" (The Holy Spirit and the Bible,
181).
73Frederick D. Bruner writes that "the obedience
spoken of in Acts 5:32 is an obedience which flows from
[italics: his] the prior gift of the Holy Spirit" (A Theology
of the Holy Spirit: The Pentecostal Experience and the New Testament
Witness, 173). This is an extraordinary misreading of the
text, prompted by Bruner's view that if the text really says otherwise,
then obedience becomes a condition of receiving the Holy Spirit.
Obedience, however, should be viewed not as a condition (the
only condition is faith), but as an attitude of heart and will:
it is really "the obedience of faith" (see hereafter).
Incidentally, Schweizer has no hesitation in saying that "obedience
must...precede [italics: mine] the reception of the Spirit
according to [Acts] 5:32" (TDNT, 6:412). This, rather than
Bruner's, is proper exegesis.
74At the time of the command to the centurion, Cornelius
is not yet a believer. However, he does become a believer, at
which moment the Holy Spirit is poured out. Hence, his obedience
is caught up in faith: to such a one the Spirit was given.
75The close connection between Jesus' commandments
and the gift of the Spirit to the apostles is shown not just in
the specific command that He gave them to stay in Jerusalem (Acts
1:4), but prior to this Jesus had been giving other commandments
to his apostles (1:2 KJV): "he had given commandments [plural]
unto the apostles whom he had chosen." Hence we may believe
that their obedience in the days prior to Pentecost was not only
to the command to stay in Jerusalem, but also the obedience of
heart and will to whatever else Jesus had commanded.
76This does not mean that one must be without sin to
receive the Holy Spirit. If such were the case, no one would
be a recipient, for all continue to sin. Hence, those who call
for "complete sanctification" or total "heart purification"
as necessary for the reception of the Spirit are asking for the
impossible. What is necessary is not the attainment of perfection,
but ever seeking, regardless of many a failure, to walk in the
way of obedience.
77There was nothing said in the above section on obedience
about the Samaritans and Ephesians. In the case of the Samaritans
the delay in receiving the Holy Spirit may have been due to the
need for more time after the beginning of faith for obedience
to develop. Long devoted to idolatrous practices, they may have
needed more time for commitment and obedience to Christ to replace
their deep-seated commitment to Simon the magician. In the case
of the Ephesians, the atmosphere is that of readiness to do what
John the Baptist had commanded, and thereafter to follow Paul's
injunctions (see Acts 19:4-6).
78Literally, they "were laying [epetithesan-imperfect
tense] their hands on them and they were receiving [elambanon]
the Holy Spirit." NASB translates: "Then they began
laying their hands on them and they were receiving the Holy Spirit."
The Greek tense suggests an action over a period of time, and
possibly that the Samaritans one by one received the Holy Spirit.
79Omitting Jerusalem for the moment since, unlike Caesarea,
as we have noted, no one was there who could have laid hands.
80Donald Gelpi, S.J., speaks of praying for "full
docility to Christ." He adds: "...[this] is in effect
to express one's willingness to do whatever God may be calling
one to do, no matter what the personal sacrifice or suffering
that call might entail. The person who cannot pray such a prayer
and mean it is not yet ready for 'Spirit-baptism'" (Pentecostalism:
A Theological Viewpoint, 183).
81In the Roman Catholic view, grace is transmitted
through proper sacramental action, ex opere operato, in
this case through the laying on of hands. Such a view, however,
makes basically unnecessary all that has been said about faith,
prayer, and the like: the Spirit is given-regardless. Some Roman
Catholic participants in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement
seek to mitigate this by saying that the important matter is that
of appropriating what has already been received sacramentally.
That is where personal reception comes in. Kilian McDonnell,
a leading Roman Catholic interpreter, while affirming ex opere
operato speaks of "the scholastic doctrine of ex opere
operantis [wherein] we receive in the measure of our openness"
("The Distinguishing Characteristics of the Charismatic-Pentecostal
Spirituality," One in Christ, 10. 2 [1974], 117-18).
My reply is that since there is no guarantee that the Spirit
is given in sacramental action, there may be nothing to receive,
or appropriate, ex opere operantis.
82Simon the magician is condemned by Peter for thinking
that the power belongs to the transmitter. He offers money to
Peter and John saying, "Give me also this power that any
one on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit" (Acts
8:19). Peter angrily denounces Simon thereafter for thinking
he could "obtain the gift of God with money" (v. 20).