The following quote is from a sermon by John Piper:
I do not think that baptism with the Holy Spirit refers to new birth. I do not think that baptism with the Holy Spirit refers to conversion to Christ. And I do not think that baptism with the Holy Spirit refers to being united by the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ.
I think that being baptized with the Holy Spirit (the way Luke means it) is not the same as being born again or being united to Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, I don’t think that what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 12:13 is the same as what is happening here in Acts.
Paul says, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free.” The context shows that he is referring to a work of the sovereign Spirit who unites all believers to Christ. This is virtually the same as the work of conversion. When you are born again and put your faith in Christ, the Spirit of God unites you to Christ so that you are part of his body and a fellow-heir with him of eternal life.
I used to just assume that Paul and Luke were talking about the same thing when they used the word “baptism” and connected it to the Holy Spirit — in other words, that the baptism by the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:13 and the baptism with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 were the same. Many very able scholars and teachers still make that connection. The view I am about to give you is not the only orthodox one, nor is it one you have to agree with in order to be a part of this fellowship. But it is one that I am increasingly persuaded is correct and desperately needed in the church.
We are trying to answer the question: What is the heart or essence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit? I have said that I do NOT think the essence is new birth or conversion or being united to the body of Christ. What then is it? And why do I not think it is the same as what Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 12:13?
I think the essence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is when a person, who is already a believer, receives extraordinary spiritual power for Christ-exalting ministry.
Jesus’s Focus on Being Clothed with Power
First, let’s start back at Luke 24:49. Keep in mind as we turn there that in Acts 1:4 Jesus said, “He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father” — the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Now in Luke 24:49 Jesus says virtually the same thing. “And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.” What is important here is to see that what Jesus focuses on, of all the things he might focus on in the baptism with the Spirit, is being clothed with power. So that is the first pointer that the heart of this matter of baptism with the Holy Spirit is a matter of empowerment. He told them in Luke 24:47 that they are to preach to all the nations. And the point of verse 49 is we cannot do that with greatest success unless we are clothed with power from God — that is, unless we are baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Pictured as Power for Witness
The second pointer that this is the essence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is found in Acts 1:6–8. Right after Jesus says that they would be baptized with the Spirit (v. 5), the disciples say, “‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses.’” So here the baptism with the Spirit is seen as a “coming upon” that gives power for witness. So that is the second pointer to empowering as the heart of being baptized with the Spirit.
Issues of New Birth/Conversion Not in View
Notice that neither of these texts suggests that baptism in the Holy Spirit is being reborn, or being converted, or having union with Christ. There are good reasons for believing that these disciples were already born again and converted and had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them (John 13:10; 15:3; Romans 8:9; John 3:5). These disciples, it can be shown, are already believers. They already have the Holy Spirit. But they have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit.
The issue of the new birth and conversion of the disciples are simply not in view at all in Acts 1 and 2.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Wait in Jerusalem until you are born again or converted or put into the body of Christ.” He says, “Wait until you are clothed with power.” He doesn’t say, “You shall receive membership in the body of Christ when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” He says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
And notice, in the third place, that when Peter explains what promise of the Father is being fulfilled in the baptism of the Spirit, he focuses on the promise in Joel 2. There are promises that might have stressed the promise of the Spirit to bring new birth (like Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26–27). But that is not what Peter or Luke focuses on. Peter says that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a fulfillment of Joel 2; and what Joel 2 promises explicitly is not new birth or conversion or membership in the body of Christ, but a new power to prophesy. “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (2:17).
So here is my conclusion: being baptized with the Holy Spirit is when a believer in Jesus Christ receives extraordinary power for Christ-exalting ministry.
- This is true because Luke says that being baptized with the Spirit is being filled with the Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit is always for extraordinary power in ministry.
- It is true because Luke says that being baptized with the Spirit is a fulfillment of the promise of Joel 2, and Joel 2 promises an upsurge of prophetic power among God’s people.
- It is true because Luke describes being baptized with the Spirit as receiving power for witness when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:8).
- And it is true because Luke says that being baptized in the Spirit is being clothed with power from on high so that message of Christ can be taken effectively to all the nations of the world (Luke 24:49).
The implications of this for us are, I think, very great.
Sermon, September 23, 1990
Bethel Cornerstone 
The desciples had to wait for God’s exact moment. God has His exact moment for our generation. He has prepared His people through their steadfastness, suffering, maturing & waiting for His exact moment when He will pour out His Spirit & power for great witness & revival. I’ve waited for promises / confirmed prophesies of exactly this for 23 years. It’s coming, nearly here & will be right on Time & handled as exactly He wants in these end times, through rigorous training & patient, yearning waiting. Blessings Beryl
Amen! The appointed time for the revelation of God’s glory through his prepared people is coming. It is time to listen to the Spirit and radically obey the word of God
Thank you for this good message by John Piper.
I hope you will find the following helpful.
I see in the scriptures three baptisms that are to be the experience of every born again believer in Jesus Christ. In each baptism there is a candidate, an element, and a baptiser.
When a person becomes a Christian they are the candidate, the body of Christ is the element that they are baptised into (incorporated) into the church, this is the work of the Holy Spirit who does the baptising 1 Cor 12:13
Next Believers baptism, the new believer is again the candidate, Water the element, a fellow Christian the baptiser. Acts 8:38
Like John Piper I believe that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the believer at the point of new birth, every Christian is not only born of the Spirit he is in dwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is additional to the new birth and often subsequent. When a person is baptised in the Holy Spirit again the believer is the candidate, the Holy Spirit is the element, and Jesus Christ the baptiser John 1:33
Robert Spiller
Thank you Brother Robert for this excellent explanation. God bless you
My dearest Brother in Christ & I have come to the conclusion over 11 years of fellowship & discipleship that we are to “wait” for the Holy Spirit power to conduct our separate yet parallel ministries. This article validated the Scriptural references for our conclusions. Thank you.
But, have we received that power already through our unity with the Father growing into maturity in the faith? There are many instances where I have witnessed His power through testimony & impact on those the Holy Spirit has prepared for hearing, yet, a negative response from those not readied for the surrender to His Lordship in that moment.
Could this be the aroma of the knowledge of Christ?
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. – 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2Corinthians2:14-17&version=NIV
I was raised in the “Bible” church, independent and fundamentalist. But I came to Christ in a Jesus People coffee house in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I stayed with that group for a couple years, and yes, it was charismatic/Pentecostal in nature. I saw some genuine miracles of God. I experienced some genuine miracles of God. I’ve also seen some serious abuses brought about by immature people who looked for outward signs and not for the evidence of a Godly life. That was 50+ years ago. I still attend a Pentecostal church but I don’t ascribe to all the doctrines presented. I attend that church because the pastor preaches a solid gospel of Christ and the importance of maturing in our faith. I’ve wondered where the gifts of the spirit are today and I’ve come to believe that while the gifts may not be as flamboyant and public as they were in the early church, I believe they are displayed in the lives of those that follow so closely to the Lord that their very lives the gifts to those around them. I appreciate Pastor Piper’s balanced and thoughtful views on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Absolutely correct Brother Paul. I share your exact views.
I totally agree. There were people in that day who were not aware of the gospel, resurrection, or the work of the “helper” who came and allowed for the “witnesses” to write the new testament.
Paul want to make sure that those who are reading or hearing this letter are on the same page with God’s new redemptive work of salvation.
The signs and wonders that accompanied the preaching and foundation laying of the Apostles was were for the purpose of confirming the new foundation of His church.
It is not some spiritual “portion ” that is bestowed on believers to perform miraculous power for today.
I first heard the gospel in a Pentacostal church, and came to repent and believe in that church; however, I soon realized that I was and all those around me were feigning spiritual power that was being attributed to the Holy Spirit. It was not the Holy Spirit that was producing power for ministry. It was man made spiritual pride and unbelief cloaked in an effort to receive an exciting feeling of participating in something supernatural.
There are many in the Pentacostal church who are earnest new believers that need to come to maturity, and there are those who are leading the way that are simply deceivers.
Pastor Piper is opening a door that gives credence to a whole world of false teaching.
Patrick, the God of the New Testament is the same God that we are serving today. He doesn’t change and neither does his word. The baptism in the Holy Spirit happens today the same way it happened in the New Testament, and according to Jesus it is to give believers power for ministry. The experience of the apostolic church throughout the New Testament bears witness to this, and there is no indication anywhere in the New Testament that it would ever change.
You’re right, there are serious deceptions in some Pentecostal churches. These are sad misrepresentations of God that can be very dangerous and even might be demonic. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some people misuse the Bible or the name of Jesus, but this is no sign we should quit reading the Bible or praying to Jesus. In the same way, the baptism in the Holy Spirit/spiritual gifts might be misused by some churches, but that doesn’t mean they are not real. We need the baptism in the Holy Spirit today in order to fulfill God’s plans for our lives just like the early church did, and John Piper is pointing to that need.
In the book of Acts, one sees what I would call a “conversion complex” of repentance, faith in Christ, baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit. These things are distinct so they can be separated in time but it is God’s intention that they occur together as much as possible (Acts 2,8,9,10,16,19). We have separated them in time, leading to much confusion. In apostolic days, people were not invited to “pray a little prayer.” They were invited to express their faith in baptism. They preached the package: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit(2:38).” Understood this way, there is no problem with I Cor 12: 13: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…and all made to drink of one Spirit.” Paul is referring to the “conversion complex” of repentance, faith, baptism in water and baptism in the Spirit, all of which occurred at roughly the same time. There is therefore no need for Paul to be using the word “baptized” in a different way than Luke.
Thomas L. Lawrence, M.D.
It’s true that in the early church after believers were born again, they were baptized in water and baptized in the Holy Spirit as soon as possible. Both baptisms are subsequent to being born again, and both should ideally happen quickly. Confusion comes when these two baptisms either don’t happen, are equated with salvation, happen after the space of decades, or are deemed unnecessary.