8A1lSM Cl 1PL PCL?

Sl8l1 & SLAklnC ln 1CnCuLS ln AC1S

Presented to
ur. L 1lmoLhy Swlnson
for
BIBL 364 AcLs
by
Jonathan F Esterman
L23477812

CcLober 18, 2010

age ! of ""

!"#$% '( )'*+%*+,
lnLroducLlon .............................................................................................................................................. 3
ueflnlLlons ................................................................................................................................................. 4
8eferences ln AcLs ln regards Lo Speaklng ln 1ongues ............................................................................. 3
LxamlnaLlon of Lhe AcLs 2 Poly SplrlL LncounLer ...................................................................................... 6
LxamlnaLlon of Lhe AcLs 8 Poly SplrlL LncounLer ...................................................................................... 7
LxamlnaLlon of Lhe AcLs 10 Poly SplrlL LncounLer .................................................................................... 7
LxamlnaLlon of Lhe AcLs 19 Poly SplrlL LncounLer .................................................................................... 8
Concluslon ................................................................................................................................................. 9
Works ClLed ................................................................................................................................................. 11


age # of ""

I NTRODUCTI ON
uurlng Lhe Llme of Lhe wrlLlng of Lhls research paper, l am enrolled aL LlberLy unlverslLy Cnllne, ln
pursulL of my 8achelor of Sclence ln 8ellglon. As parL of my asslgned courses, Lhe sLudy of Lhe book of
Lhe AcLs of Lhe AposLles ls lnvolved. ln Lhls course, whlch ls Lhe course LhaL l wrlLe Lhls paper for, l have a
flnal research pro[ecL: a paper on Lhe bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL and speaklng ln Longues, as lL appears ln
Lhe LexL of AcLs. 8efore you, Lhe reader, embarks on Lhls [ourney, l would llke Lo flrsL address a few small
polnLs, Lo seL Lhe bar of examlnaLlon and dlscusslon.
llrsL, Lhere ls only one Lrue prlmary source. Whlle l wlll have clLed several scholarly sources ln Lhls paper
as an aLLempL Lo afflrm and compleLe Lhe examlnaLlon, Lhe Poly ScrlpLures alone ls Lhe mechanlsm by
whlch we learn and grow. 1hese lnsplred LexLs, as Pebrews 4:12 lnfers, cuL sLralghL Lo Lhe hearL of
hearLs and Lells Lhe LruLh, Lhe whole LruLh, and noLhlng buL Lhe LruLh. Lvery source musL allgn Lo Lhe
LruLh of ScrlpLure for a correcL undersLandlng.
Second, l am a sLudenL and scholar ln learnlng. l have by no means compleLed Lhe rlgorous courses of
sLudy Lo conslder myself a scholarly source, nor sLand as a promlnenL flgure ln Lhe capaclLy of docLoral
lnference. l serve as l am called, and Lhe calllng of C-d ls all LhaL ls requlred Lo serve oLhers and have Lhe
credenLlallng Lo Leach and preach. My sLandlng as asLor and 1eacher ls noL from a compleLed
educaLlonal pursulL, buL solely Lhe anolnLlng of Pls SplrlL.
1hlrd, and lasL, for Lhls beglnnlng address: Lhls paper focuslng on Lhe revelaLlon of Lhe SplrlL ln AcLs. 1o
clearly esLabllsh, oLher LexLs LhaL address SplrlL bapLlsm and speaklng ln Longues, such as Lhe llrsL LeLLer
Lo Lhe CorlnLhlans, chapLers Lwelve Lhrough fourLeen, wlll noL be used ln Lhls examlnaLlon. 8aLher, Lhe
purpose ls Lo clarlfy Lhe maLLer regardlng Lhe Lroublesome," as some call lL, or dlfflculL" passages of
Lhe Poly SplrlL bapLlsm.
age $ of ""

All of Lhese lssues addressed and seL aslde, lL would be wlse Lo esLabllsh a flrm foundaLlon ln whlch Lhls
paper ls Lo examlne. As such, bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL ls a work separaLe from Lhe salvaLlon
experlence, as wlLnessed ln Lhe book of AcLs, and ls LradlLlonally, buL noL necessarlly, accompanled by
Lhe glfL of speaklng ln Longues, whlch ls noL necessarlly solely forelgn or heavenly.
DE F I NI TI ONS
1o sLarL our dlscusslon, we musL flrsL deflne a few vocabulary Lerms, Lo ensure LhaL we are on Lhe same
page ln Lhe same Loplc. 1here are Lhree deflnlLlons Lo cover: waLer bapLlsm, SplrlL bapLlsm, speaklng ln
Longues.
WaLer bapLlsm has rooLs ln !udalsm, prlor Lo ChrlsL's comlng. ln !ewlsh LradlLlons, lL ls called a Mlkveh
(some modern LranslaLlons spell lL Mlkvah). Accordlng Lo Chabad.org, a modern llbrary on all Lhlngs
!ewlsh, Lhe Mlkvah ls a rlLual baLhlng pool ln whlch a person lmmerses hlmself as parL of Lhe LranslLlon
Lo rlLual purlLy."
1
rlnceLon deflnes Lhe Lerm as a rlLual purlflcaLlon and cleanslng baLh LhaL CrLhodox
!ews Lake on cerLaln occaslons."
2
ln ScrlpLure, modern LranslaLlons have bapLlsm occurrlng before !esus'
mlnlsLry: [L]hls all happened aL 8eLhany on Lhe oLher slde of Lhe !ordan, where !ohn was bapLlzlng."
(!ohn 1:28 1nlv). 1he lmporLance of lncludlng Lhls reference Lo !ohn plays a role laLer ln Lhe examlnaLlon
of Lhe AcLs verses, ln a reference Lo !ohn's bapLlsm. lL ls lmporLanL Lo noLe here LhaL !ohn's bapLlsm ls
consldered a bapLlsm of repenLance, as ln Lhe waLer bapLlsm LhaL every bellever should commlL as soon
as becomlng parL of Lhe famlly of ChrlsL.
3

SplrlL bapLlsm has many denoLaLlons, boLh good and bad. lrom LradlLlonal 8apLlsL vlewpolnLs of SplrlL
bapLlsm comblned wlLh salvaLlon and CaLhollc sLances of regeneraLlon bapLlsm Lo enLecosLal and
CharlsmaLlc LradlLlon of separaLe experlences, Lhe bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL has LradlLlonally been a

1
8lvkah Slonlm, !"# %&'()" (Chabad.org), 10/18/2010.
2
rlnceLon WordneL, 10/18/2010.
3
l.l. 8ruce, *#+ ,-.#/-).&0-)1 2&31# 4055#-.)/6 (Crand 8aplds: Zondervan, 1979), 1300.
age % of ""

source of dlvlslon beLween bellevers. lor slmple deflnlLlon, bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL ls Lo be noL [usL
fllled by, buL raLher lmmersed or LoLally surrounded by Lhe Poly SplrlL.
4

LasLly, on our deflnlLlon llsL, we now examlne speaklng ln Longues. 1hls deflnlLlon ls Lhe mosL perLlnenL
Lo our dlscusslon, buL Lhe oLher deflnlLlons are qulLe necessary as well Lo have a full undersLandlng and
concepL of Lhe LexLs, wlLhouL valn repeLlLlon. vlews are varled as Lo Lhe regard of whaL speaklng ln
Longues ls consldered, buL Lhere are a few dlfferenL deflnlLlons LhaL we wlll dlscuss as we examlne AcLs.
llrsL ls Lhe concepL of speaklng ln Longues of oLher earLhly languages. Second ls speaklng ln Longues of
heavenly languages. 1here are a couple oLher vlews, ln regards Lo dlfferenLlaLlons beLween Lypes of
heavenly languages, such as CorporaLe speaklng and personal prayer languages, buL LhaL dlscusslon does
noL flL wlLhln Lhe examlnaLlons of Lhls LexL. now, wlLh deflnlLlons compleLed, leL us move onLo Lhe
ScrlpLural examlnaLlons.
RE F ERENCES I N ACTS I N RE GARDS T O SPE A KI NG I N T ONGUES
ln Lhls nexL polnL of dlscusslon, l wlll clLe Lhe ScrlpLures we wlll be dlscusslng ln Lhls paper ln regards Lo
Lhe evenL of bapLlsm of Lhe SplrlL and speaklng ln Longues. We wlll look aL chapLers Lwo, elghL, Len, and
nlneLeen.
3

When Lhe day of enLecosL came, Lhey were all LogeLher ln one place. Suddenly a sound
llke a blowlng of a vlolenL wlnd came from heaven and fllled Lhe whole house where
Lhey were slLLlng. 1hey saw whaL seemed Lo be Longues of flre LhaL separaLed and came
Lo resL on each of Lhem. All of Lhem were fllled wlLh Lhe Poly SplrlL and began Lo speak
ln oLher Longues as Lhe SplrlL enabled Lhem. now Lhere were sLaylng ln !erusalem [C-d
fearlng] !ews from every naLlon under heaven. When Lhey heard Lhls sound, a crowd
came LogeLher ln bewlldermenL, because each one heard Lhelr own language belng
spoken. AcLs 2:1-6 1nlv
When [eLer and !ohn] arrlved, Lhey prayed for Lhe new bellevers [ln Samarla] LhaL Lhey
mlghL recelve Lhe Poly SplrlL, because Lhe Poly SplrlL had noL yeL come on any of Lhem,
Lhey had slmple been bapLlzed lnLo Lhe name of Lhe Lord !esus. 1hen eLer and !ohn
placed Lhelr hands on Lhem, and Lhey recelved Lhe Poly SplrlL. AcLs 8:13-17 1nlv

4
Llmer 1owns, !"#01076 80/ !09)6 (Mason: Cengage Learnlng, 2008), 293.
3
uarrell 8ock, :;.< (Crand 8aplds: 8aker Academlc, 2007), 600.
age & of ""

Whlle eLer was sLlll speaklng Lhese words, Lhe Poly SplrlL came on all who heard Lhe
message. 1he clrcumclsed bellevers who had come wlLh eLer were asLonlshed LhaL Lhe
glfL of Lhe Poly SplrlL had been poured ouL even on CenLlles. lor Lhey heard Lhem
speaklng ln Longues and pralslng [C-d]. 1hen eLer sald, Surely no one can sLand ln Lhe
way of Lhelr belng bapLlzed wlLh waLer. 1hey have recelved Lhe Poly SplrlL [usL as we
have." So he ordered LhaL Lhey be bapLlzed ln Lhe name of !esus ChrlsL. AcLs 10:44-48a
1nlv
[AL CorlnLh ] [aul] found some dlsclples and asked Lhem, uld you recelve Lhe Poly
SplrlL when you belleved?" 1hey answered, no, we have noL even heard Lhere ls a Poly
SplrlL." So aul asked, 1hen whaL bapLlsm dld you recelve?" !ohn's bapLlsm," Lhey
replled. aul sald, !ohn's bapLlsm was a bapLlsm of repenLance.".Cn hearlng Lhls, Lhey
were bapLlzed lnLo Lhe name of Lhe Lord !esus. When aul placed hls hands on Lhem,
Lhey Poly SplrlL came on Lhem, and Lhey spoke ln Longues and prophesled. AcLs 19:1d-6
1nlv
E XAMI NATI ON OF T HE ACTS 2 HOL Y SPI RI T ENCOUNT ER
ln AcLs 2: 1-8, much occurs. 1he promlsed arrlval of Lhe Poly SplrlL ls aL hand: aposLles were fllled wlLh
Lhe SplrlL, spoke as Lhe SplrlL enabled Lhem, and shorLly afLerward, Lhree Lhousand come Lo ChrlsL. Lvery
one of Lhe lndlvlduals was fllled, Lo suggesL LhaL Lhe SplrlL bapLlsm would no longer belong Lo propheLs,
buL Lo all bellevers. Luke uses Lhe Lerm fllllng, buL lL closely connecLs wlLh Lhe concepL of bapLlsm.
6
Whlle
Lhe acLual phrase 'bapLlsm wlLh Lhe SplrlL' ls nowhere used ln ScrlpLure, Luke uses Lhe verb 'bapLlze'
wlLh 'SplrlL' (only ln AcLs 1:3, 11:16, and probably 9:18, and lnLerchangeably wlLh 'flll' ln AcLs 2:4, 4:8, 31,
9:17, 13:9) as Lhe ldlom of Lhe SplrlL's enabllng Lhose chosen by [C-d] Lo do Lhe Lasks of Lhe propheL-llke-
!esus."
7

ln regards Lo Lhe Longues spoken, ScrlpLure lLself clearly dlcLaLes Lhe ablllLy belng speaklng forelgn
languages LhaL oLhers could undersLand (vv. 6). 1hls lmmedlaLe use of oLher languages ls how AcLs
dlscusses Longues and ls dlfferenL from whaL 1 Cor. 14 descrlbes.lL seems LhaL Lhey phenomenon of

6
8oberL Wall, New lotetptetets 8lble. 1be Acts of tbe Apostles (nashvllle: Ablngdon ress, 2002), 33.
7
lbld.
age ' of ""

Longues ln Lhe church had a broad scope ln whaL lL covered - a one-sLep form lnvolvlng a forelgn
language and lmmedlaLe comprehenslon and a Lwo-sLep form needlng lnLerpreLaLlon."
8

ln AcLs 2, summarlly Lhe Poly SplrlL lnLervenLlon ls Lhls: Lhe aposLles were already bellevers ln ChrlsL, and
recelved Lhe bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL aL a laLer Llme (enLecosL). 1he Longues spoken ln Lhls secLlon of
ScrlpLure are noL heavenly Longues, buL forelgn languages known Lo man. ln Lhls way, C-d could LesLlfy,
Lo say, Pls empowermenL of Lhe aposLles by a greaL slgn LhaL could wlLness as an edlflcaLlon Lo many.
E XAMI NATI ON OF T HE ACTS 8 HOL Y SPI RI T ENCOUNT ER
ln AcLs 8, Lhe aposLles were lnformed LhaL Lhere were bellevers ln Samarla, accepLlng Lhe good news of
!esus ChrlsL. ln response, Lhey senL eLer and !ohn Lo lnvesLlgaLe. upon arrlval, eLer and !ohn
dlscovered LhaL Lhey had accepLed ChrlsL, buL had noL yeL recelved Lhe Poly SplrlL. 1hey placed Lhelr
hands on Lhe bellevers, prayed, and Lhe Poly SplrlL came upon Lhem. 8y Lhls polnL, Lhe aposLles
expecLed Lhe recepLlon of Lhe Poly SplrlL and wlLness Lhereof as Lhe norm for experlence as a resulL of
bellef. 1he SplrlL belng besLowed on Lhe SamarlLans would clearly ouLllne C-d's lnLenLlon Lo lnclude
Lhem ln Lhe new CovenanL.
9
8ock explalns LhaL AcLs shows no clear equaLlon as Lo Lhe bapLlsm of Lhe
Poly SplrlL, LhaL alLhough lL may LradlLlonally come wlLh falLh, Lhere are clearly Llmes when Lhls dld noL
occur.
10
Some could suggesL, LhaL alLhough ScrlpLure does noL lnclude Lhe glfL of Longues ln Lhls secLlon,
LhaL such dld occur, as an ouLward expresslon of Lhe bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL. 1here ls no ScrlpLural
Leachlng LhaL Lhls ls a requlremenL, buL lf AcLs 8 were Lo mlrror AcLs 2, even ln a foggy manner, Lhere
would be an expresslon of some supernaLural glfL. 1hls secLlon could even provlde an afflrmaLlve
concepL LhaL bapLlsm of Lhe SplrlL does noL requlre any evldence of speaklng ln Longues.
E XAMI NATI ON OF T HE ACTS 10 HOL Y SPI RI T ENCOUNT ER

8
8ock, 97.
9
8ruce, 1282-1283.
10
8ock, 331.
age ( of ""

AcLs 10 shows several unlque facLors. llrsL, C-d shows Lhe expanslon of Pls klngdom Lo Lhe CenLlle
naLlons, mlmlcry of Lhe CreaL Commlsslon (!erusalem, !udea, all Lhe ends). Secondly, Lhe pourlng ouL of
Lhe Poly SplrlL occurred before Lhe bapLlsm of repenLance, whlch suggesLs LhaL waLer bapLlsm ls noL a
sacramenL buL raLher an ouLward expresslon of a prevlously made lnward declslon. 1hlrd, Lhe speaklng
ln Longues ln Lhls reference ls noL clearly deflned. Whlle many could reason Lo suggesL LhaL Lhls form of
Longues lncludes forelgn languages, Lhere ls also argumenL for heavenly languages. ln defense of
heavenly languages, 8ock polnLs ouL LhaL [l]L ls noL clear lf Lhe manlfesLaLlon of Lhe SplrlL's ouLpourlng
ln Longues enLalled oLher languages or ls slmply pralse of [C-d], as ln 1 Cor. 12-14, as Lhe need for oLher
human languages wlLh Lhls slngular audlence of CenLlles ls noL self-evldenL."
11
Powever, Lhe accepLance
of Lhe CenLlle naLlons lnLo Lhe LradlLlonally !ewlsh-only pracLlce ls a large scale lssue. 1haL does noL, ln
lLself, go Lo say LhaL Lhere was a requlremenL of exacL enLecosL repllcaLlon, even regardlng forelgn
language, for as Wall polnLs ouL, eLer ls Lhe auLhorlLy LhaL esLabllshes Lhe CenLlle experlence maLchlng
Lhe enLecosL experlence.
12
1here ls no clear revelaLlon of forelgn language versus heavenly language,
buL remalns a posslblllLy for elLher.
E XAMI NATI ON OF T HE ACTS 19 HOL Y SPI RI T ENCOUNT ER
We have now come across Lhe flnal encounLer of Lhe Poly SplrlL ln regards Lo Lhe menLlonlng of
speaklng ln Longues.
13
ln Lhls secLlon, aul addresses !ohn's bapLlsm of waLer as a bapLlsm of
repenLance. Pe Lhen re-bapLlzed Lhem, buL lnLo Lhe name of !esus ChrlsL. AfLerward, he placed hls hands
on Lhe bellevers (ln Lphesus), and Lhe Poly SplrlL fell, verlfled by words of prophecy and speaklng ln
Longues. ln Lhls secLlon, Lhere are many aspecLs yeL agaln. aul was ordalned as an aposLle, buL noL one
of Lhe orlglnal members. lL ls ln Lhls regard LhaL C-d conflrms hls calllng by belng an lnsLrumenL of

11
8ock, 401.
12
Wall, 167.
13
8ock, 600.
age ) of ""

bapLlsm ln Lhe Poly SplrlL. lL also conflrms LhaL !ohn's mlnlsLry was a forerunner for !esus Lhe Messlah.
14

1hls experlence also shows LhaL alLhough Lhey had recelved !ohn's bapLlsm, Lhey needed Lo yeL recelve
ChrlsL's aLonlng bapLlsm. 1helr recepLlon of Lhe Poly SplrlL, however, was clearly marked by Lhe laylng
on of hands afLer Lhelr bapLlsm experlence. 1hls conflrms LhaL Lhere ls no clear expecLaLlon of Lhe
fllllng/bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL as far as when lL occurs, and ls ln facL a recognlzed separaLe evenL from
salvaLlon.
13
Whlle aul expecLed Lhe bellevers Lo recelve Lhe Poly SplrlL when Lhey belleved, and
compleLes Lhe lncompleLe poslLlon" vla hls aposLollc auLhorlLy."
16

We also wlLness speaklng ln Longues yeL agaln. 8ruce does noL wrlLe of Lhls, whlch suggesLs LhaL Lhls ls
normaLlve of Lhe bapLlsm of Lhe SplrlL ln Lhe book of AcLs. 1hls furLher suggesLs LhaL AcLs 8, alLhough
speaklng ln Longues has no speclflc menLlon, Lhe bellevers mosL llkely had a slmllar occurrence,
especlally lf Lhe enLecosL" repeLlLlon was Lhe basls of Lhe wlLness Lo Lhe aposLles for LhaL group's
lncluslon ln Lhe romlse. Wall noLes LhaL aul expecLs !ohn's dlsclples Lo recelve Lhe Poly SplrlL wlLh
evldence of speaklng ln Longues.
17

CONCLUSI ON
ln concluslon, leL us examlne whaL Lhe ScrlpLures ln AcLs have clearly lald ouL for us. llrsL, Lhe bapLlsm of
Lhe Poly SplrlL has no formal relaLlonshlp wlLh Lhe ChrlsLlan salvaLlon/bapLlsm experlence.
18
Secondly, ln
regards Lo Lhe AcLs LexLs alone, we see LhaL Lhe glfL of speaklng ln Longues (elLher forelgn or heavenly) ls
an lnlLlal wlLness of Lhe recepLlon of Lhe Poly SplrlL. 1hls does noL lmply LhaL Lhls glfL ls a requlremenL of
SplrlL bapLlsm, as we have only examlned Lhe LexLs ln AcLs.
19
1hlrd, bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL comes

14
8ock, 600.
13
lbld.
16
8ruce, 1300.
17
Wall, 262-263.
18
lbld, 263.
19
lbld.
age "* of ""

afLer falLh, whlch ls noL deLermlned by waLer bapLlsm.
20
LasLly, based off several lnsLances we dld noL
have Llme Lo examlne more closely ln AcLs (2:1-11, 8:16-17, 38-39, 10:46), Lhe recepLlon of Lhe Poly
SplrlL does noL provlde a guaranLee of Lhe glfL of Longues and Lhe glfL of prophecy, as Wall speclflcally
noLes.
21
As such, bapLlsm of Lhe Poly SplrlL ls a work separaLe from Lhe salvaLlon experlence, as
wlLnessed ln Lhe book of AcLs, and ls LradlLlonally, buL noL necessarlly, accompanled by Lhe glfL of
speaklng ln Longues, whlch ls noL necessarlly solely forelgn or heavenly.


20
1hls ls Lo emphaslze LhaL salvaLlon and waLer bapLlsm are Lwo experlences LhaL ln ScrlpLure are commonly
placed LogeLher, due Lo Lhe aposLollc-enforced lmporLance of bapLlsm as soon as posslble afLer salvaLlon.
21
Wall, 263.
age "" of ""

-'./, )0+%1
8ock, uarrell L. :;.<= 2)'#/ >?#7#.&;)1 4055#-.)/6 0- ."# *#+ !#<.)5#-.@ Crand 8aplds: 8aker
Academlc, 2007.
8ruce, l.l., P.L. Llllson, and C.C.u. Powley, . *#+ ,-.#/-).&0-)1 2&31# 4055#-.)/6@ Crand 8aplds:
Zondervan, 1979.
rlnceLon WordneL. %&'()"@ hLLp://wordneLweb.prlnceLon.edu/perl/webwn?s=mlkvah (accessed
CcLober 18, 2010).
Slonlm, 8lvkah. !"# %&'()"@
hLLp://www.chabad.org/Lhe!ewlshWoman/arLlcle_cdo/ald/1341/[ewlsh/1he-Mlkvah.hLm (accessed
CcLober 18, 2010).
1owns, Llmer L. !"#01076 80/ !09)6@ Mason: Cengage Learnlng, 2008.
Wall, 8oberL W. !"# :;.< 08 ."# :A0<.1#<@ vol. x, ln !"# *#+ ,-.#/A/#.#/B< 2&31#= : 4055#-.)/6 &- !+#1(#
C01D5#<, edlLed by Leander L. keck and eL al., 3-368. nashvllle: Ablngdon ress, 2002.