Baptised in the Spirit

by Roger Forster

As we celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, and are reminded of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it is good to look once again at the Baptism in the Spirit spoken of in the New Testament, and try to understand the controversy surrounding what this means for us today.

Baptism in the Spirit has been a seriously divisive point of doctrine, and has caused people to take sides and divide within the one 'Body of Christ'. As a result, many Christians are perplexed, and uncertain of what to believe. To the outsider it may appear that one 'camp', although doctrinally exact, lacks warmth and fervour, while another, though full of zeal, runs too often to excess and spiritual superiority: and all this centres round a phrase that is only mentioned seven times in the Scriptures, by four different people, on only four separate occasions!

This article examines three popular interpretations of those verses containing the phrase 'Baptism in the Spirit'. Understanding the validity of each of these interpretations, and the possibility of their peaceful co-existence, could help to maintain the unity of the Spirit among believers. Divisions often arise through an unnecessarily exclusive approach to the interpretation of this Scriptural phrase.