Was Paul Baptised in the Spirit?

When the first Christians were baptised in the Spirit, this event was associated with dramatic signs.  They were all together when they heard the sound of a violent wind blowing through the house where they were.  Then what seemed to be tongues of fire came down to rest on each of them.  They then began to speak in foreign languages.  The sound, probably of the wind attracted a large crowd of the foreign visitors, who were in Jerusalem for the Pentecost celebrations, came to see what was happening.  Then the Christians started talking with them in their own languages.  What is important is what they talked about:

“Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?  Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2:8-12

They shared with foreigners the ‘wonders of God.  This fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about God’s people declaring God’s glory to the nations

 “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.  I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.” Isaiah 66:18–19

God has always intended his people to be a missionary people

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.  Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples.” Psalm 96:1-3

What precisely did the Christians talk about when discussing the ‘wonders of God’?  Surely they would have explained how god intervened to save his people repeatedly in the past and had now definitely intervened in world history by entering his world himself in the form of Jesus.  Throughout the Bible these are the wonders of God.

Here are some other passages that reflect the same idea of declaring God’s mighty works or wonders.  Moses had reminded God’s people of the mighty acts of God in saving them in Deuteronomy 11:2–7

Jesus’ followers already had a tradition of celebrating God’s wonders.

“. . . the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.” Luke 19:37

This is what Christians do when celebrating Holy Communion.  We remember that it was through the death of the Lord Jesus, through his corpse and his shed blood that our sins have been taken by him.  Jesus said ‘This do in remembrance of me’, and by participating we are reminded of the wonderful story of our redemption.

Saul’s conversion

When Saul, later to be called Paul, met Jesus in flashing glory on the road to Damascus he fell to the ground and then heard a voice:

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Acts 9:4

Saul was utterly confused asking,

“Who are you, Lord?”

This question was answered clearly,

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:6

The significance of this verse is easily overlooked.  Becoming a Christian will involve doing something for the Lord Jesus.  It will also involve obedience to what God says.  For three days, surely a significant number for Saul, he was blind, he was in the dark, until ananias bravely went at God’s command to speak with Saul.  He was told that he was praying and was expecting a man named ananias to visit him.  Ananias was told,

“This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. . . “ Acts 9:11

This Ananias bravely did.

“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised,” Acts 9:17-18

Baptism is a public acknowledgment that Jesus is Lord of all and therefore my Lord.  It begins a new life, living with and for the lord Jesus. He could not only see physically but gradually everything about he gospel began to make sense.  After spending several days with Christians in Damascus an immediate change was seen:

“At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.  All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”  Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.” Acts 9:20-22

Saul was teaching an evidence based faith, that people must be Christians because it is true that Jesus is God’s Messiah, prophesied about in the Jewish Scriptures who had risen from the dead.

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit’s coming was marked by tongues of fire and a desire to tell others about the wonders of the gospel.. In Acts 9 Paul received the Holy Spirit through Ananias.  His immediate response was a longing to share the gospel with others, a sure mark of the holy Spirit’s presence.  This is still the case today:

“For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”  1 Corinthians 12:13

Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit at his conversion (Acts 9:17), similar to other believers in Acts. While his experience lacked the dramatic outward signs of Acts 2, the dramatic internal work of the Spirit was clearly present.  Openly acknowledging the rule of Jesus in our lives is evidence that we have been born again by God.

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

We must be careful to distinguish what a real initiation into the work of the spirit involves.  It may or may not be associated with emotional experience, but it will always be followed by a longing to live for the Lord Jesus, to live closely with him for life and to share the gospel with others.  We are blessed when we are given the Spirit of God that results in these two features both of which centre on our Lord:

“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.” Psalm 89:15

BVP