| The Pattern Of Baptism & Receiving The Holy Spirit |
Baptism in the New Testament has a pattern that we see in the book of Acts. Jesus included baptism with the great commission.
Mark 16:15-18
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (KJV)
Here Jesus said that those who believed and are baptized shall be saved and those who do not believe will not even bother with baptism for obvious reasons.
Let us look at a piece of the pattern of baptism.
Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 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. (KJV)
First we see that a person must repent. Secondly they must be baptized for the remission of sins. And lastly they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We see a similar pattern when Jesus was baptized.
Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (KJV)
Here we see that Jesus was baptized, then the Holy Spirit came upon Him.
Going back to Acts the second chapter we see that those Jews who were assembled on the day of Pentecost that heard Peter's sermon were pricked in their heart and asked Peter and the brethren: “what shall we do?” Peter's reply was verses 38 and 39. After those who were gathered together heard his reply they were baptized apparently on the same day.
Acts 2:37-41
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 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.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (KJV)
Later in Acts we see Philip in Samaria preaching the Gospel. We see that they believed the Gospel, and obviously repented of their sins and were baptized.
Acts 8:12-17
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
Here we see that the Holy Spirit did not fall upon the believers when they believed or when they were baptized, but rather the apostles came to town to lay hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit. Yet once again we see that they did not receive the Holy Spirit until after the were baptized.
Philip soon left Samaria as the angel of the Lord told him to go unto Gaza. There Philip saw a eunuch from Ethiopia. Philip shared the Gospel with him. While we do not know exactly what Philip told him it must have included baptism because the asked to be baptized.
Acts 8:35-39
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (KJV)
Notice how the eunuch believed in the Gospel and was baptized. Here we do not see the Holy Spirit, but according to biblical pattern the eunuch must have received the Holy Spirit after he was baptized.
The next example we see is that of Paul. After he meet Jesus on the road to Damascus Paul must have believed in the Gospel and repented of his sins. We see that Paul was baptized and received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 9:17-18
17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. (KJV)
Acts 22:12-16
12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (KJV)
While we do not see the order in which Paul was baptized and received the Holy Spirit, if we look back at Jesus' baptism or Peter's Pentecost sermon the order very well could have been baptism and then receiving of the Holy Spirit. In verse 16 above “be baptized, and wash away thy sins” is basically what Peter said in Acts 2:38 so to assume the pattern of Acts 2:38 is a fair assumption.
Acts 10:44-48
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. (KJV)
At Cornelius' house we see the first Gentile converts to the Faith. Here things happened a little differently. While Peter was still preaching the Gospel the Holy Spirit fell upon them. Afterwards they were baptized with water. We should note that though a common pattern is seen in scripture regarding baptism, some times God breaks that pattern according to His good and perfect will to accomplish His divine purpose.
We now go to the city of Thyatira for the next baptism. Lydia and her household listened to the message Paul spoke unto them at the river and were baptized.
Acts 16:13-15
13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. (KJV)
Who doesn't know about Paul and Silas in jail when the mighty earthquake occurred as they sang praises to God? When the dust cleared the jail keeper asked Paul and Silas what he need to do to be saved. They told him to believe in Jesus. He obviously must have believed because he was baptized later that night with all of his family.
Acts 16:27-34
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (KJV)
When did they receive the Holy Spirit? The text does not say, but based on the pattern seen in Acts 2:38 I believe that it was after they were baptized.
In Corinth the chief ruler of the synagogue, his family and many others believed in the Gospel and were baptized.
Acts 18:8
8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. (KJV)
Once again we do not see when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Why? Could it be because of the pattern already set in scripture? I think so. They couldn't have received the Holy Spirit beforehand.
In Ephesus Paul found some believers. Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit. They told him that they haven't even heard of the Holy Spirit. Then Paul asked them about their baptism and found that they had not been baptized into Christ. When they heard this they were baptized and then Paul laid hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit. Why would Paul have them baptized before he laid his hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit? Again, the pattern!
Acts 19:1-7
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve. (KJV)
The pattern of believe, repent, baptize, receive the Holy Spirit occurs many times in the history of the early church. Some times God does break this mold for His own purposes, but one cannot deny the consistency of the pattern concerning believing, being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit. Some times the mode for receiving the Holy Spirit is different, like by the laying on of hands or the Spirit falling upon them. This only shows that there are different ways that God works within the pattern.
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