The charismatic notion of subsequence leads to other errors. The belief that spirit baptism is a second work of grace has become a cardinal doctrine of the charismatic movement. As we have seen, charismatic writers and teachers generally agree that "the baptism," evidenced by speaking in tongues, is the crucial next step after salvation.
Turning to the epistles yields quite a different view. For example, as 1 Corinthians 12:13 makes clear, Spirit baptism is actually an integral part of every Christian's salvation experience. Paul wrote, "By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." That passage has nothing to do with water baptism. Paul was not talking about the sacrament or ordinance of water baptism, important as that is in another context. Paul was talking about the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. He used the word baptizo, which is the same Greek term used in Romans 6:3-4 and Galations 3:27 to refer to spiritual immersion.
Spirit baptism brings the believer into a vital union with Christ. To be baptized with the Holy Spirit means that Christ immerses us in the Spirit, thereby giving us a common life principle. This spiritual baptism is what connects us with all other believers in Christ and makes us part of Christ's own body. Baptism with the Spirit makes all believers one. It is a fact, not a feeling.
Unfortunately, the tremendous truth of that verse has been greatly misunderstood. Paul was blending two vital thoughts here. One is that the church, the body of Christ, is formed through Spirit baptism and the other is that the life of the body is sustained as we all are made to drink of one Spirit. The twin ideas of immersion by the Spirit and drinking of the Spirit picture the all-sufficient relationship with the Spirit of God that bonds each believer to Christ and the rest of the body.
1 Corinthians 12:13 opens with the phrase, "For by one's Spirit." That is where much of the charismatic confusion begins. The Greek text uses the tiny preposition en. This term can be translated "at," "by," or "with" -- and some scholars might even translate it "in." Greek prepositions are translated differently depending on the case endings of the words that follow the prepositions. An accurate translation in 1 Corinthians 12:13, and the most consistent in the context of the New Testament, would use either by or with. In other words, at conversion, we are baptized by or with the Holy Spirit.
This must not be taken to mean that the Holy Spirit is the One who does the baptizing. Nowhere in the Bible is the Holy Spirit spoken of as the baptizer. In Matthew 3:11, for example, John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees he could baptize [them] with water but someone was coming later who would "baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire and His winnowing fork is in His hand and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:11-12).
A common charismatic interpretation of this verse takes "fire" as a reference to the cloven tongues of "fire" seen on the day of Pentecost but it is obvious from verse 12 that John was referring to the fires of judgment, the unquenchable fires of hell. Obviously the cloven tongues like fire at Pentecost cannot be equated with the unquenchable fire that burns up chaff. This is clearly a fire of judgment and its agent is not the Holy Spirit but Christ (see John 5:22). So what John was really saying here is that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and those who will be baptized with the unquenchable fire of hell. Mark 1:7-8 and Luke 3:16 contain similar expressions. Likewise John 1:33 says of Christ, "This is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit." In all those passages, Jesus does the baptizing.
In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter said of Christ, "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear" (Acts 2:33). Again, we see Christ as the baptizer, who "pours forth" the Spirit in the miraculous event of Pentecost.
In Romans 8:9 Paul says, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." If we take away the concept that every believer is baptized and indwelt by the Holy Spirit we destroy the doctrine of the unity of the body. Why? Because we have some people who aren't "in." Where are they? What kind of limbo is it to be saved but not a part of the body of Christ? Is is possible to be a Christian and not a part of Christ? No. Paul's whole point in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 is that all Christians are baptized with one Spirit into one body. We are all in one body possessing one life source, indwelt by one Christ.
The charismatic view of Holy Spirit baptism actually redefines the doctrine of salvation. According to that view, salvation does not really give us everything we need for spiritual victory. We are still lacking; we need something more. Although they sometimes concede that every believer has the Holy Spirit to a limited degree, they believe the full power of the Spirit is withheld from those who have not yet experienced Spirit baptizm with the evidence of tongues. That is the perspective of Larry Christenson, a noted Lutheran charismatic. Yet his point of view seems to overlook the clear meaning of 1 Corinthians 12: 12-13. Christenson has stated:
Beyond conversion, beyond the assurance of salvation, beyond having the Holy Spirit, there is a baptism with the Holy Spirit. It might not make sense to our human understanding anymore than it made sense for Jesus to be baptized by John . . . . We are not called to understand it, or justify it, or explain it but simply to enter into it in humble obedience and with expectant faith.
Is Christenson embracing something that does not make sense rather than admitting the truth of 1 Corinthians 12: 12-13, which clearly does make sense? Jesus' baptism by John certainly did make sense. In being baptized, Jesus identified Himself with the repenting Israelites who were looking for their Messiah. Christenson went on to say:
Sometimes the baptism with the Holy Spirit occurs spontaneously, sometimes through prayer and the laying on of hands. Sometimes it occurs after water baptism, sometimes before. Sometimes it occurs virtually simultaneously with conversion, sometimes after an interval of time . . . . But one thing is constant in the Scripture, and it is most important: It is never merely assumed that a person has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. When he has been baptized with the Holy Spirit the person knows it. It is a definite experience.
In making those claims Christenson was trying to base truth on experience. As we shall see the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a spiritual fact not a physical experience related to some emotional feeling.
