9: The Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Part One)

Holy Spirit
/ By Randall Johnson

John the Baptist came announcing the kingdom to prepare the way for Yahweh coming, whom John described as one he was not worthy to carry his sandals. In line with the kingdom prophecies of the Old Testament he declared that Yahweh the Messiah would baptize with (or in) the Holy Spirit and with (or in) fire. What was he talking about?

^{Matt. 3:7} Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are all snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment?⁸Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives.⁹And don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks.¹⁰The ax is now ready to cut down the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹“I baptize you with water to show that your hearts and lives have changed. But there is one coming after me who is greater than I am, whose sandals I am not good enough to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.¹²He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.” (New Centruy Version)

John compared the Messiah’s baptizing with the Spirit to John’s own baptizing with water. John’s baptism in the element of water was for the purpose, he says, of showing that the one’s baptized had changed lives and hearts. He doesn’t say what being baptized in the element of the Spirit was for, but the expectation from Old Testament prophecy was that it was to give people a new heart to keep covenant with Yahweh.

When we think of the contrast between these two baptisms, we may conclude:

Water is symbolic of soul cleansing (it cannot really cleanse our souls, just our bodies); but the Holy Spirit is the literal agent of our transformation.
John’s water baptism was preparatory to the coming of the kingdom; the baptism in the Spirit is the coming of the kingdom.
The one who baptizes in water is a human; the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit is both God and man.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit brings life; baptism in fire brings destruction (it is the difference of blessing versus judgment, getting life versus being consumed).

Some have suggested that the baptism in fire that Messiah was bringing was a spiritual fire, a special fervor from being filled with the Holy Spirit. But context strongly suggests that the baptism in fire is a part of the judgment the King was bringing, putting the ax to the non-producing tree, separating the chaff from the grain and destroying the chaff.

John was giving his listeners a choice. Do you want to be baptized with the Spirit or with fire? I want the Spirit.

About the Author Randall Johnson

A full-time pastor since 1979, Randall originally graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM) in 1979 and from Reformed Theological Seminary (DMin) in 1998. He is married with four grown children and a pile of epic grandchildren.

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