The Gift - a Person

Reaching out to the Gentiles, the Lord brought together two things which had hitherto been apart -- often widely apart -- and placed them in proper order and perspective. In the lives of the first apostles for instance, baptism in water and Baptism in Spirit were three or four years apart. In the case of the Samaritans we may rightly suppose that at least a few days, perhaps weeks, intervened between their Baptism in Spirit and their baptism in water, the latter preceding the former.

As we have seen, after the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost these men, following Peter's leadership, still maintained the only order they then knew. They preached baptism in water as an immediate step of faith, to be followed later by Baptism in Spirit, as though this was the proper and only order. Moreover, as may be expected, this belief and practice has been incorporated into the teaching of vast sections of the Church, as though this is the only and inspired order. The result has been that these two are still propagated as though they are intended by God to be two different baptisms, often widely apart in experience. A worse tragedy still is that in many cases the unimportant, or at best the least important part -- water baptism -- is thought to be the only baptism there is. Investigation proves that with the majority it is the only baptism that is known or believed in.

Thus conformity to what is genuinely believed to be the true pattern, combined with ignorance of what fullness lies behind the enactment, experience and exhibition of water baptism in this world has led multitudes to rest in that ordination. To this day many are totally unaware that water baptism is intended to declare unto men on their behalf that having been inwardly baptised into the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they have thereby and therefore received the gift of the person of the Holy Ghost.

An Interim Provision

Throughout all this, it must be thoroughly understood that when these apostles baptised people upon the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, they did so in a special way. They had previously been given uncommon authority by Jesus to do so. When He came unto them in resurrection, He breathed on them saying, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose so ever sins ye retain they are retained'. No man may now baptise in this same manner, nor make the act of baptism so meaningful, for no man has the same authority.

It would be a completely unwarrantable assumption for any man to believe that apostolic succession carries with it any power or authority not included in the Baptism in the Spirit. The commission to remit or retain sins was given only to those men upon whom Christ breathed in resurrection in the exclusive interview granted to them before Pentecost for that purpose. They were special men -- the apostles of the Lamb, who in the regeneration shall sit upon thrones judging the tribes of Israel. The Lord purposely did not include this ability in the Baptism in the Spirit because it was to operate for an interim period only, that is during the lifetime of those apostles. Since Pentecost -- now the gospel can be preached in all its fullness -- this is fulfilled in another way by whosoever the Lord has promoted to the ministry.