Who Was Baptized with the Holy Spirit?

by Terry Wane Benton

Let us observe that being filled with the Spirit is not the same thing as being “baptized with the Holy Spirit.” John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit but spoke of Jesus as the one who would baptize in the Holy Spirit. There is a difference that needs to be understood! All people can be filled with the Spirit, but only a few were ever baptized with the Holy Spirit. Consider the biblical evidence:

• Was David baptized with the Holy Spirit? He spoke by the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36). But all prophets of the past spoke by the Spirit's guidance. That is not the same thing as being “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” Was John the Baptist baptized with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb? (Luke 1:15). He was filled with the Holy Spirit, but not baptized with the Holy Spirit.
• Elizabeth was "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:41), but was she "baptized with the Holy Spirit"? No! Jesus would be the One who would do this.
• Zacharias was "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:67), but was he "baptized with the Holy Spirit"? No! Jesus would be the One Who would do this.
• Simeon had the Holy Spirit upon him (Luke 2:25) and had revelations from the Spirit (Luke 2:26-27), but was Simeon "baptized with the Holy Spirit"? No! Jesus would be the One Who would do this.
• John the Baptist introduced baptism with water, and Jesus would be the One Who would "baptize with the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8).

How would one know that John had baptized them? John would have dunked them under the water, and they would have come up wet.

How would one know that Jesus had baptized them with the Holy Spirit? Jesus would have immersed them in the power of the Holy Spirit, and they would come forth endowed with power from on high. Jesus said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8).

What power proved that the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit?

• "They began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance"  (Acts 2:4).
• "Many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles" (Acts 2:43).
• When healing a man who had been lame from birth, Peter said it was not "by our own power" (Acts 3:12) but through the name of Jesus, and that Jesus was the One who had baptized the apostles with the Holy Spirit, which gave them this power.
• The priests asked, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" (Acts 4:7). Peter answered, "By the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 4:10).
• The priests said to themselves, "A noteworthy miracle has taken place through them (the apostles) and we cannot deny it" (Acts 4:16).
  (Note: John the Baptist had been "filled with the Holy Spirit," but he did no miraculous signs (John 10:41). The proof that the Apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit was in the miraculous signs they were equipped to perform in the name of Jesus Christ.)
• "With great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 4:33).
• "At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people" (Acts 5:12).
• People were bringing the sick and afflicted, and "they were all healed" (Acts 5:16). This was the power with which Jesus baptized them in the Holy Spirit. This did not happen to John, Elizabeth, Zacharias, David, or Simeon. Nor did anything akin to this happen to anyone today who is making the claim to have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. The proof is in the miraculous power, which none of them have today.

Up to this point (Acts 5), only the apostles were working miracles. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit also gave them power to impart miraculous gifts "through the laying on of the apostle's hands" (Acts 8:18; 6:6-8). Please note that the Apostles could impart limited gifts of the Holy Spirit to others, but they could not "baptize people with the Holy Spirit". Only Jesus could do this. The proof that Jesus did it was in the fact that no hands were involved, a miraculous display of power came from heaven, and there was a visible miraculous proof of power coming from those directly endowed from heaven, such as we saw in Acts 2:1-4 and in Acts 10:44-48, without the apostles' hands involved.

Needless to say, today’s charismatic has no proof that he, too, was "baptized with the Holy Spirit." The proof is always a miraculous display of power from heaven. One could be "filled" with the Spirit, like John, Elizabeth, Zacharias, or Simeon, without a miraculous sign, but those who were "baptized with the Holy Spirit" always had miraculous signs to demonstrate it.

Today’s charismatic has not been endowed with power from on high. He has no Spirit revelations coming through him, and no signs to prove it is from God. He cannot lay hands on people and impart the Holy Spirit gifts of power to others. He has no proof whatsoever that he has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. People may have deceptive spirits (I Timothy 4:1-3) that influence their imaginations and lead them to teach unbiblical doctrines, but the real Holy Spirit has already revealed and confirmed the whole counsel of God in the finished New Testament documents (John 16:13; Acts 20:27; 2 Tim.3:16-17). There are no new revelations to give and confirm. Thus, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit completed the mission.

The Apostles were indeed "baptized with the Holy Spirit." Miracles were the clear proof of it.
The modern charismatic has indeed not been "baptized with the Holy Spirit." Lack of miracles is the clear proof, and his false teachings are the clear proof that what he has is an "unholy spirit", but not the Holy Spirit. When someone claims the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they must demonstrate that the claim is true (I Corinthians 2:4-5). Empty claims must not be accepted! Demonstration of power must be offered for proof!