48: Why Was The Spirit Not Given At Baptism?, Part 1

The New Testament sets the expectation that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit normally coincides with baptism. However, Acts records a few key exceptions. In this episode, we explore two of these exceptions: the Samaritans and Cornelius' household. Why did the Spirit delay for one group and arrive early for the other? We examine the possible reasons, from Peter's role in opening the kingdom to overcoming deep-seated biases between Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. Understanding these moments helps us see how the Spirit worked to unify the early church. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll explore a third unique case!

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Ready for Eternity
podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to
inquisitive Bible students exploring
biblical truths that might not be fully
explored in typical
sermons or Bible studies.

(00:20):
My name is Eddie Lawrence.
The New Testament sets the expectation
that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
happens at the same time that we are
baptized. But there are three times in
the book of Acts where this didn't
happen. Let's find out why.

(00:42):
In the accounts of conversion recorded by
Luke in the book of Acts, there are three
times when receiving the Spirit did not
coincide with immersion. These were the
Samaritans, Cornelius and his household,
and the twelve disciples in Ephesus. This
episode will focus on the first two.

(01:05):
We'll talk about the twelve Ephesian
disciples in next week's episode.
"Now, when the apostles at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word
of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
who came down and prayed for them that
they might receive the Holy Spirit, for
he had not yet fallen on any of them, but

(01:27):
they had only been baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their
hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit." Acts 8, 14-17.
Why was the Spirit not given at baptism?
It is odd that immersion and the giving
of the Spirit didn't
happen simultaneously.

(01:48):
So much so that the apostles dispatched
two of their own to investigate. The text
strongly suggests that the apostles
expected the indwelling of the Spirit to
happen during immersion. Notice that the
text doesn't connect the timing of the
indwelling of the Spirit to faith,
repentance, or confession. For example,

(02:10):
it does not say, "The Holy Spirit had not
yet come on any of them. They had only
believed in the name of the Lord Jesus."
No, the expectation was that the
Samaritan believers should have received
the Spirit during immersion. The phrase,
"They had only been baptized," tells us

(02:30):
that something was missing. They had only
been immersed in water, and the Spirit
did not indwell them during their
immersion. Luke doesn't spell out for us
why there was a delay in the receipt of
the Holy Spirit. There are several
possible answers, though. Is this related
to Peter being given the keys of the

(02:53):
kingdom? Did the Holy Spirit delay his
indwelling so as to involve Peter? Jesus
gave Peter the keys to the kingdom in
Matthew 16. Jesus gave him the honor of
opening the door to the kingdom on
Pentecost for the Jews, for the
Samaritans who were half-Jews, and for

(03:14):
Cornelius, who was a Gentile. It's
interesting that the order of these doors
being opened is exactly
as Jesus had described.
"But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you, and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria and to the
end of the earth." Acts 1, 8.

(03:38):
Was the Holy Spirit waiting on Peter to
be present so that he could be involved
in the introduction of the Gospel to each
group of people, just like Jesus said?
Could be. Another possibility is that the
receiving of the Spirit would be the
proof that God would save someone who was
not 100% Jewish. The Samaritans were a

(03:59):
mixed race, which included Jewish
ancestry. They practiced their own brand
of Judaism. For both of these reasons,
they were social outcasts. It's not easy
for us to understand how much animosity
there was between the Jews and the
Samaritans. It's quite possible that many
of the Jewish disciples would not have

(04:20):
accepted the Samaritans as brothers and
sisters in Christ. However, the
involvement of apostles, when the Spirit
finally did descend upon them, might
change some attitudes. One other
consideration is that Peter and John's
involvement helped to unify the two
groups by overcoming the animosity

(04:41):
between Samaritans and Jews. By involving
the apostles and other Jews, no one could
accuse the Samaritans of copycatting
another religion. Both groups received
the same Spirit. This event may have
served as a unifying
force in the early church.

(05:01):
It may well have prevented a split which
would have resulted in a Jewish church
and a Samaritan church, with the two
being at odds with each other.
Cornelius and those of his household also
did not receive the Spirit during
immersion. The Spirit fell upon them
prior to their immersion. Why? Cornelius

(05:25):
and his household were Gentiles. It was
unthinkable to the Jews that God would
save a Gentile without first converting
them to Judaism. As Gentiles, they were
outside of the covenant with God. So
strong was the aversion Jews felt for
Gentiles that Peter told Cornelius, "You

(05:47):
know it's forbidden for a Jewish man to
associate with or visit a foreigner."
Acts 10, verse 28.
In fact, God had to give Peter a vision
to prepare him to accept the Spirit's
command to go to this
Gentile house in the first place.
Peter had a lot of explaining to do in

(06:08):
Acts 11 when the apostles and believers
in Jerusalem got word
of what had happened.
The Jewish believers criticized him for
going into the house of
an uncircumcised Gentile.
After explaining the whole situation, the
Jewish believers ultimately accepted that

(06:30):
the Gentiles could
also have eternal life.
Had the Spirit not been given early, the
Jews, Peter included, may never have
accepted Gentiles as fellow believers.
Would Peter have even offered to baptize
them? But baptize them he did.

(06:52):
Only no one can stand in the way of their
being baptized with water. They have
received the Holy Spirit just as we have.
So he ordered that they be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked Peter to stay with them
for a few days. Acts 10, 47, and 48.

(07:12):
Even with this event, it took a lot of
discussion back in Jerusalem to convince
the Jewish Christians that Gentiles were
now a part of the Church.
These two exceptions with the Samaritans
and Cornelius happened for a reason. In
both of these cases, the Spirit's

(07:32):
indwelling did not coincide with baptism.
One group's indwelling came late, while
the other group's indwelling came early.
In both of these situations, it's not
hard to see why the Spirit's arrival
didn't happen as expected. In the next
episode in this series on baptism, we'll

(07:55):
look at the third group, the twelve
disciples and Ephesus, whose indwelling
didn't occur when anticipated.
Thanks for listening to the podcast. We
hope this episode has deepened your
understanding of Scripture. If you found
this content valuable, please share it

(08:15):
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(08:35):
studying your Bible, growing closer to
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