Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan/76

Contributor - Rev. Opmeer

Title - Baptism and the Holy Spirit PART I

Topic - Holy Spirit

The subjects of baptism and of the gift of the Holy Spirit have received a lot of attention in recent years. They still are in the center of interest in our Reformed Church. Witness two reports that were discussed by last year's General Synod: "Concerning Rebaptism" and "The Baptism in the Holy Spirit". Both are excellent reports, which I recommend for your reading. The report on baptism was approved by General Synod. The one on baptism with the Holy Spirit was not adopted, but approved for study by the churches.

In my own study on these subjects I have noticed that people often think of them as separate subjects, only vaguely related to each other. But that is not what we read in the Bible.

CLOSELY CONNECTED

When we study what the New Testament teaches on water baptism and Spirit baptism, we notice immediately that the two are usually found in the same context. On a number of occasions, they are even found together in one sentence. I will give two examples, one from Luke and one from the apostle Paul. In Acts 2 : 38 we read that Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. and you shall receive the gift oi the Holy Spirit." And in Titus 3 :5, 6 Paul wrote, "He saved us . . . by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour". From these two texts alone we can see that baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit belong closely together.

This is not the case when we look at the baptism of John the Baptist. That baptism is one of preparation. It is not connected with the coming of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus said, ". . . for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 1 :5). The reference here ',s to the new covenant baptism, the Spirit baptism, which replaced the baptism of repentance belonging yet to the old covenant. The new baptism includes the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is the full meaning of New Testament baptism Let's look at this for a moment.

CHRISTIAN BAPTISM

John the Baptist's baptism consisted of two elements: repentance and immersion in water (Matt. 3:6). Christian baptism involves much more:

1. Repentance (Acts 2 :38).

2. Confession of Jesus as Lord (Acts 8: 37; Romans 10 :9).

3. Immersion in water (Acts 8: 38).

4. Reception of the Holy Spirit, usually following laying on of hands (Acts 8:17; 19 : 6; Hebr. 6: 2).

The book of Acts fully describes several incidents of the full range of New Testament baptism. And, be it noticed, the gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift experienced and manifested (8 :18; 11: 15; 19 :6). The New Testament epistles are alive also with references to the filling by the Holy Spirit of those who become believers (I Cor. 6: 11; 12 :13; II Cor. 1 :21, 22; Gal. 3 : 2, and many others).

So then, New Testament baptism is the sacrament of initiation into the Christian life. In it, a person becomes part of the community of Jesus, the risen and ascended Lord. It means at least two things:

1. the experience of being accepted by a loving God, and transferred from the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of Christ.

2. the experience of being empowered by the Holy Spirit to live the life in Christ.

I use the word 'experience' deliberately. Faith is based on objective facts, not on our experience. But New Testament faith is an experienced faith, and that right from the start. Reading the New Testament we cannot help but notice that these believers knew Jesus Christ, knew that they had been filled with the Holy Spirit! into this kind of a full, rich experiential life in Christ a person is initiated.

INFANT BAPTISM

Looking at the rich reality of New Testament baptism, we may wonder: "Isn't something missing when we know only infant baptism? It looks indeed as if the church, in the centuries following the New Testament, lost something vital in the sacrament of baptism. It kept one part of baptism (immersion, or sprinkling), and called it the whole of baptism. "Aha", some may say, "that's because of infant baptism; just do away with it, and your problem is solved!"

But that solution won't do. The problem lies deeper than that. Infant baptism is indeed part of the problem. Not because it is 'false' or 'man-made' or whatever else it has been called. But because it has been made to stand for all of baptism. Baptized children are truly baptized, but they cannot be considered to have been baptized in the full New Testament sense of the word.

To make up for what was missing, the church - over the centuries - instituted another sacrament, called confirmation. When the Reformation began, this sacrament was continued in the practice of confession of faith. As a result of this development, emphasis in the most common baptism came to rest on the future. This baptism is no longer the fullness of New Testament baptism, but a sign and seal of God's grace. When the child is baptized, the Holy Spirit is not received (some teach otherwise), but promised. And even in the later confession of faith, the emphasis is not on the experiential reception of the Holy Spirit, but on communicant membership in the church.

But what happened to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit by the Glorified Christ, which was part -of the initiation of a person into the life in Christ? I am not sure how YOU are answering that question. There are many who maintain that the reception of the Holy Spirit is totally separate from Christian baptism. I am not convinced. I see them in the closest possible relationship in the New Testament. But I also see that infant baptism cannot be considered to be all there is to baptism. It is, as it were, only the first instalment of baptism. Fully baptized is a child only when, later on, he confesses faith in Jesus Christ, is admitted to communicant membership, AND receives the gift of the Holy Spirit as hands are laid on him (or whatever other procedure is followed). So baptized, a person is prepared to receive the body and blood of Christ in the celebration of the Lord's Supper.

All this is very brief. But perhaps it is sufficient for you to follow the line of argument, and to come to your own conclusions. I would like yet to deal with two questions that are raised by the foregoing:

1. What is the work of the Holy Spirit in infant baptism?

2. What is the gift of the Holy Spirit?

(To be continued)

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