R. A. Torrey was the close ministry associate of D.L. Moody. He was the first head of Moody Bible Institute, and was later the first head of Biola University.
Holy Spirit Baptism is Separate from Being Born Again
The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a work of the Holy Spirit separate and distinct from His regenerating work. To be regenerated by the Holy Spirit is one thing, to be baptised With the Holy Spirit is something different, some thing further. This is evident from Acts i: 5. There Jesus said: “Ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” They were not then as yet “baptised with the Holy Ghost.” But they were already regenerated. Jesus Himself had already pronounced them so. In Jno. xv: 3, he had said to the same men, “Now are ye clean through the Word.” (Comp. Jas. i: 18; I Pet. i: 23) and in Jno. xiii: 10: “Ye are clean, but not all,” excepting by the “but not all,” the one unregenerate man in the Apostolic company, Judas Iscariot, from the statement “Ye are clean.” (See Jno. xiii: 11.) The Apostles, excepting Judas Iscariot, were then already regenerate men, but they were not yet “baptised with the Holy Ghost.” From this it is evident that regeneration is one thing, and that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is something different, something further.
One can be regenerated and still not yet be baptised with the Holy Ghost. The same thing is evident from Acts viii: 12-16. Here we find a company of believers who had been baptised. Surely in this company of baptised believers there were some regenerate men. But the record informs us that when Peter and John came down they “prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them). “It is clear then that one may be a believer, may be a regenerate man, and yet not have the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is something distinct from and beyond His regenerating work. Not every regenerate man has the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, though as we shall see later, every regenerate man may have this Baptism. If a man has experienced the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit he is a saved man, but he is not fitted for service until in addition to this he has received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
~ R. A. Torrey The Baptism with the Holy Spirit
The Necessity of Baptism in the Holy Spirit for Successful Ministry
“It is evident that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is an absolutely necessary preparation for effective work for Christ along every line of service. We may have a very clear call to service, as clear it may be as the Apostles had, but the charge is laid upon us as upon them, that before we begin that service we must tarry until we are clothed with power from on high. This enduement of power is through the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
When the Apostles found believers in Christ, the first thing that they always did was to demand whether they had received the Holy Spirit as a definite experience and if not, they saw to it at once that the steps were taken whereby they should receive the Holy Spirit. It is evident then that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary in every Christian for the service that Christ demands and expects of him.
There are certainly few greater mistakes that we are making today in our various Christian enterprises than that of setting men to teach Sunday-school classes and do personal work and even to preach the Gospel, because they have been converted and received a certain amount of education, including it may be a college and seminary course, but have not as yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit. We think that if a man is hopefully pious and has had a college and seminary education and comes out of it reasonably orthodox, he is now ready that we should lay our hands upon him and ordain him to preach the Gospel. But Jesus Christ says, “No.” There is another preparation so all essential that a man must not undertake this work until he has received it. “Tarry ye (literally ‘sit ye down’) until ye be endued with power from on high.”
A distinguished theological professor has said that the question ought to be put to every candidate for the ministry, “Have you met God?” Yes, but we ought to go farther than this and be even more definite; to every candidate for the ministry we should put the question, “Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?” and if not, we should say to him as Jesus said to the first preachers of the Gospel, “Sit down until you are endued with power from on high.”
But not only is this true of ordained ministers, it is true of every Christian, for all Christians are called to ministry of some kind. Any man who is in Christian work, who has not received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, ought to stop his work right where he is and not go on with it until he has been “clothed with power from on high.”
But what will our work do while we are waiting? The question can be answered by asking another, “What did the world do during these ten days while the early disciples were waiting?” They knew the saving truth, they alone knew it; yet in obedience to the Lord’s command they were silent. The world was no loser. Beyond a doubt, when the power came, they accomplished more in one day than they would have accomplished in years if they had gone on in self-confident defiance and disobedience to Christ’s command.
We too after that we have received the baptism with the Spirit will accomplish more of real work for our Lord in one day than we ever would in years without this power.
~ R. A. Torrey “The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit” pages 151-153
Bethel Cornerstone 