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Question: Acts 8:12-17 imply there are two baptisms: 1. when you accept Jesus and 2. when you receive the Holy Spirit. I have always believed baptism prior to the death of Jesus did not bring with it the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because He was not available to us until Pentecost. After Jesus died, anyone accepting Him as their Lord and Savior received the Holy Spirit at that time, not later as implied by the above scriptures. Please explain these scriptures (see Acts 10:44).

Answer: A lot of our problems with understanding Scripture come from asking the questions wrong. For example, the question is asked, "When does one get the Holy Spirit?" "At salvation or at an experience after salvation?" Thus, we have many non-Pentecostals saying that one gets the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation, and the Pentecostals saying, "No, one gets the Holy Spirit after salvation when he receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit." The question, "When does one get the Holy Spirit?" is all wrong. The question is better asked, "What is the work of the Holy Spirit at salvation and what is the work of the Holy Spirit after salvation." In relation to your question we could ask it, "When does one receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?" "Is it at salvation or after salvation as a subsequent experience?"

Again, to argue when does one get the Holy Spirit causes both sides to get into non-Scriptural errors in a hurry. The truth of the matter, there is no salvation experience without the working of the Holy Spirit. He convicts. He regenerates. He renews. And, yes, one gets the Holy Spirit at salvation because Christ dwells in the convert's heart through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But the experience of the Holy Spirit in salvation is just some of what the Holy Spirit does. After salvation there is another way to "get the Holy Spirit." That is to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is a work of the Holy Spirit not known in salvation. One has been convicted by Him, renewed by Him, indwelt by Him, but not yet baptized (or filled) with Him. Thus, the question is better, "When does one receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?"

Before giving some Scriptures to show the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is subsequent to salvation, let's deal with a misunderstanding of terminology. "Baptism of the Spirit" is used two ways in Scripture: 1) Baptism of Spirit means the Baptism done by the Spirit. 2) Baptism of Spirit means the Baptism into the Spirit. Confusion of these two usages causes, on one hand, non-Pentecostals to assume the Baptism of the Spirit takes place at salvation, and, on the other hand, causes Pentecostals to argue as if there were no inworking of the Holy Spirit at salvation prior to what they call the Baptism in the Spirit.

First, there is the Baptism of the Spirit, the Baptism done by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent, the converted is the candidate, and the Body of Christ is the element. This is in reference to salvation. The Holy Spirit by His work in convicting, renewing, rebirthing the converted places the new believer (baptizes him) into Christ. Thus this is Baptism By The Spirit. Many who declare that one receives the Holy Spirit (Baptism of the Spirit) at salvation quote 1 Cor. 12:13: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body...." There we have it. The words Spirit and baptism are mentioned in conjunction with salvation. Therefore the Baptism of the Spirit takes place at salvation. But again notice that here the Baptizer is the Spirit and the element is the church, the body of Christ.

Second, there is the Baptism of the Spirit, the Baptism into the Spirit. Christ is the Baptizer (as John the Baptist said He would be), the believer is the candidate, and the Spirit is the element. This is in reference to an experience subsequent to salvation for the empowerment of the believer for evangelism and purity of life. If the believer is put into the Spirit, why then is the experience also referred to as "being filled" (or the Spirit being placed into the believer)? Many of these questions were answered pointedly and wittily by early Pentecostals. One said that being baptized in the Spirit is like pushing an empty bottle under water. The water into which the bottle is submerged soon fills that bottle. Thus, both terms are used. When one is "Baptized in the Spirit," he is also synonymously "filled with the Spirit." Another old time Pentecostal explains the question of when one gets the Holy Spirit this way. Salvation is when you get the Holy Ghost. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is when the Holy Spirit gets you.

In conclusion, whenever Baptism is mentioned in the New Testament of New Testament experiences, it could be referring to one of three Baptisms: 1) The Baptism by the Spirit into the Body of Christ (at salvation), 2) The Baptism by Christ into the Spirit (subsequent to salvation), 3) The Baptism into water (symbolic of salvation).

Since Baptism in water is the metaphor used to speak about the Baptism in the Spirit (John the Baptist first drew the parallel) and because there is some connection and relation, let's look briefly at water baptism: First of all, the whole counsel of Scripture declares that there is no such thing as regenerational water baptism, i.e., being saved by water baptism. Accurate exegesis of Scriptures used to support it show that those Scriptures have been misinterpreted by the neglect of context and the whole counsel of Scripture. Put simply, one is not baptized in water to be saved but to show that he has been saved. It is an act of obedience that is highly symbolic of a person's salvation experience.

Identity: Water baptism pictures Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. To depict yourself in Christ's place in the picture of baptism, identifies you with Him. It means you are Christ's. He is your Master and Lord, and you His follower. You now bear the Name of Christ. Thus, "in the Name of Jesus" (Acts 2:38) isn't a formula, but a description of identity. To be Baptized in the Name of Jesus is to identify yourself as Jesus's.

Intention: Water baptism pictures the death of the old man and the coming to life of the new man that happened in salvation. It says to all witnesses that the new believer intends on putting all of the old life to death and intends on living in the newness of life.

Inclusion: Water baptism pictures what the Holy Spirit did at salvation--He baptized the believer into the body of Christ. Water baptism shows that the believer has already been included into the Church, the body of Christ.

Now with all the above (hopefully useful) meandering, let me conclude with a summary that would hopefully answer your questions directly. The record of Scripture sometimes shows baptism in water as preceding baptism in the Spirit. What it consistently shows is that salvation precedes the baptism in the Spirit and is not synonymous to it. We could use the Apostles themselves as an example, but let's skip them and go to the day of Pentecost itself.

1. The instructions to the crowd gathered around the 120 newly Baptized in the Spirit: When this crowd was convicted by the preaching of Peter, they wanted to know what they should do. Peter said, "...Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus {to bear His name as His follower} Christ for {because of} the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38).

The "baptized" is a reference to water baptism. The "gift of the Holy Ghost" is also called the "promise" in these verses. Chapter 1:4,5 records Jesus as equating this "gift" with the "Baptism in the Spirit." Thus, reading the verses again makes it clear that there are two Baptisms, in water and in the Holy Spirit, and that one is saved before he gets Baptized in the Spirit. One doesn't have to be baptized in water before he is baptized in the Spirit, but one has to be saved first. That these were instructed to be baptized in water and then promised the baptism in the Spirit shows that the baptism in the Spirit is not synonymous with salvation but subsequent to it.

2. The Samaritans: Scripture makes it clear that these believers had already been saved and baptized in water but had not yet received the Baptism in the Spirit (Acts 8:12-17). Again, the baptism of the Holy Spirit cannot be synonymous with salvation. Here again it is subsequent (different from water baptism).

3. Paul: Paul was already saved when visited by the holy man Ananias. Ananias calls Paul, "Brother." One is not a brother until he is saved. But Paul did not yet have the Baptism in the Holy Spirit until Ananias prayed for him. Later Paul was baptized in water. Again, the baptism in the Holy Spirit was separated from and subsequent to salvation (Acts 9:17).

4. Cornelius and his household: In this instance the Baptism of the Holy Spirit so closely followed salvation they appear synonymous. As Peter preached, Cornelius and his household believed and the Holy Ghost fell on them and they spoke with other tongues. But if it is synonymous with salvation, then people ought to get tongues when they get saved. Peter later accounting what took place to the brothers back in Jerusalem stated that God gave the gift of the Holy Ghost to those who "believed on the Lord Jesus Christ." He implies that the believed on Jesus (which results in salvation, see Acts 16:31, and Romans 10:9-10) and that they then received the Baptism of the Spirit. It came on the heels of salvation but was not the same as salvation. Later they were baptized in water, showing again two different types of baptism.

5. The Ephesians: Paul asks a group of Ephesians, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" To Pentecostals, this is plain as can be. Paul is saying, "After you experienced salvation, did you also later experience the Baptism in the Spirit?" Non-Pentecostal Bible Scholars wish to muddy the waters. They say that "since ye believed?" can also be translated, "when ye believed." They miss two important things.

1) It is true "since ye believed" can be translated "when ye believed." But the Greek "when" also connotes "after." So even translated "when ye believed" doesn't have to mean, "Did you receive the Baptism of the Spirit at the SAME time you got saved, i.e. as a part of your salvation," but, "Did you go on and receive the Baptism of the Spirit AFTER you got saved."

2) Secondly, let's say that the non-Pentecostal scholars are right. Paul asked, "Did you receive the Baptism of the Spirit WHEN you believed," meaning when you got saved. Why would Paul ask that? If it is a given that one received the Baptism of the Spirit when one got saved, it would be an oxymoronic, moot question. If they are the same experience, there is no need to ask if one got the Baptism of the Spirit when he got saved. If they were saved, they had the Baptism. The question is ridiculous. It would be like asking, "Were you born again when you got saved." If one is saved, one is born again. Therefore, Paul could not have meant that the Baptism of the Spirit is the same thing as salvation or happens at the same time as salvation without asking a foolish question that would make him look ignorant.

It turns out they weren't even saved. They got saved. They were then baptized in water. Only after that did they receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Two baptisms, two different experiences. Of course, these events after Paul's question show that the Baptism in the Spirit is subsequent to and separate from the salvation experience.

I hope this is helpful. More importantly, I hope you have a desire to have all God has for you. It is a wonderful experience. Is it better than salvation? One preacher answered that this way: "It isn't better than salvation, but it makes salvations better."

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