Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Dunn, Scripture, and Eastern Orthodoxy

Introduction: The Promise of the Spirit

James Dunn's book Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a traditional exegesis of a religious phenomenon that has, in modern times, been largely relegated to Pentecostal Christian churches. The baptism in the Holy Spirit was prophesied in the Old Testament writings and demonstrated in special circumstances among Old Testament leaders. The prophet Joel, however, promised that in the latter days this experience would be available across the entire church:

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit." (Joel 2:28–29 ASV)

In the second chapter of Acts, Peter's sermon to the assembled crowds quotes this passage directly:

"Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day; but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams: Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days will I pour forth of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy." (Acts 2:14b–18)

Under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter identified that the Spirit baptism which those in the upper room had just experienced was meant for the entire church. His words invoke the promise of Joel and apply it to the Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit. Peter's application confirms that this experience is intended for all believers and is meant to be part of the universal Christian experience. The power with which the early church preached the gospel, performed miracles, and brought converts into the kingdom is directly linked to the experience of Pentecost throughout the book of Acts. Dunn's book, which presents a theological and scholarly examination of these events, nevertheless misses the importance of those events in defining the transformational role of the church in today's society. His position is one of theological exegesis rather than dynamic engagement with the Holy Spirit's power.

This paper examines the scriptural basis for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and compares it to Dunn's classic work on the same subject. Dunn approached the subject from a dispensational and existential philosophical framework, so many of his conclusions are subject to reconsideration under the full light of scripture. His questionable beliefs regarding the deity and messianic identity of Christ are further reason to examine the conclusions he draws. Finally, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the church's experience of it will be compared and contrasted with Eastern Christian views of the theology of the Holy Spirit. Vladimir Lossky's work The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church provides the basis for this comparison.

The Debate over the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Evangelicals believe that believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but there is ongoing debate over whether all believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist prophesied that while he baptized with water, the one who would come after him — Jesus — would "baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matt. 3:11). Jesus reminded his disciples of this prophecy before his ascension, telling them to wait for this baptism in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4–8). Given the responsibility to bring the gospel to the entire world (Acts 1:4–5), it was essential that the early church "wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit which my Father has promised, and about which you have heard me speak. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." This occurred on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). The question that has troubled theologians and Christians alike is whether all believers now receive Spirit baptism at the moment of belief, or whether believers should seek to be baptized in the Spirit as an experience subsequent to salvation.

This debate carries with it an unspoken corollary that must be addressed in order to evaluate the scriptural record clearly. In Christ, all men, women, slave, free, Jew, and Gentile are forever equal. Yet in experience, some do participate in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and some do not. An underlying emotional question often surfaces: if some have it and some do not, does that mean some Christians are "closer to God" or "more right" than others? This value judgment has clouded effective discussion of this experience for centuries. Each believer is on an individual walk with Christ, and those who have been part of Christian traditions for decades are no more favored by God than those who have just begun their journey. The presence of Spirit baptism in a believer's life is in no way an indicator of preferred status in the kingdom of God. If in God's plan the baptism and ministry of the Holy Spirit is meant for only a few, then Christians must accept those differences as part of their ministry in the Body of Christ (see 1 Cor. 12:12–41). But if the baptism in the Holy Spirit is intended for the entire church — intended to empower the church to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth — then perhaps its absence across a majority of Christendom helps explain the diminished impact of the gospel in the modern era.

The classic Protestant position, embraced by many evangelicals, holds that believers are baptized with the Spirit at the moment of conversion. This position argues that the New Testament does not distinguish between receiving the Holy Spirit and being baptized in the Spirit. All believers are "marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit," which is "the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption" (Eph. 1:13–14). All who believe are "baptized into one body" by "one Spirit" and "made to drink of one Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:13). According to this view, if one is not baptized by the Spirit, that person is not part of Christ's body. Either a person has the Holy Spirit — and is therefore saved — or does not have the Holy Spirit, in which case "Christ does not belong to him" (Rom. 8:9).

This position argues that the equation of Spirit baptism with conversion is found throughout Acts. True, the disciples had to wait forty days for the baptism of the Holy Spirit even though they already believed in Jesus — but only because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given (cf. John 7:38–39). Since Pentecost, this position maintains, the Holy Spirit comes immediately when a person believes. On the day of Pentecost, Peter promised that all who repented and were baptized would receive "the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). When Cornelius and his household heard the gospel for the first time, they believed and "the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word" (Acts 10:44). Similarly, when the disciples of John the Baptist first heard Paul preach, "the Holy Spirit came upon them" (Acts 19:6). The absence of any interval between believing and receiving the Holy Spirit in these episodes, and the fact that the Spirit fell on everyone simultaneously, is taken as evidence that Spirit baptism is not a subsequent experience.

However, this position does not adequately explain events in which there is an apparent interval between believing and receiving the Spirit. When Philip preaches to the Samaritans in Acts 8, Luke records that many "believed Philip," including the sorcerer Simon (8:11–13), yet they did not receive the Holy Spirit until Peter and John came from Jerusalem and prayed over them (8:17). Adherents of the classic Protestant position argue that this episode should not be taken as normative: God wanted to demonstrate that the Samaritan mission had apostolic authority behind it, and therefore arranged for the Spirit to come as Peter and John laid hands on the new believers. The apparent interval, they insist, should not be generalized. To insist on such is to impose upon the text a reasoning that belongs to modern denominationalism rather than the scripture itself.

Other evangelicals maintain that the New Testament does distinguish between receiving the Holy Spirit and being baptized in the Spirit, and that conversion and Spirit baptism are not synonymous. In John 20:22, Jesus appeared to the gathered disciples, breathed on them, and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Here Jesus gives the believing community the Holy Spirit. Yet days later, at his ascension, he tells those same disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised power of the Holy Spirit before beginning their mission. From Jesus' own words one can understand that:

The baptism of the Spirit occurs at some point subsequent to salvation; it is distinct from receiving the Holy Spirit upon conversion and faith in Christ; and Spirit baptism is specifically for the purpose of empowering believers for ministry.

Jesus told his disciples they would "receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them" and would be his "witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The disciples already believed in Jesus and thus already had the Holy Spirit, since no one can authentically confess Jesus as Lord without the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). But they were not yet empowered for ministry.

A closer examination of the relevant Greek vocabulary illuminates why Spirit baptism is considered a universal Christian experience:

"Clothed with power" — The Greek verb enduo means "to dress or clothe." This parallels the analogy of baptism as complete covering. The word translated "power" is dunamis, the root of the English word "dynamite." The church was to be covered with power in order to carry out the mission of the gospel.

"Receive power" — The Greek verb lambano means "to receive," with an emphasis not on voluntary acceptance but on possessing something handed to you, as if receiving a package.

"Come upon" — The Greek compound eperchomai means "to come over or upon." It often referred to unpleasant happenings or an enemy attack. Used here of the Holy Spirit, it suggests something outside our control that happens to us. Spirit baptism is wholly in God's power and at his time and pleasure.

"Pour out" — The Spirit is "poured out" upon believers (Acts 2:17–18, 2:33, 10:45). Like water poured from above upon the believer, this image suggests saturation with the Holy Spirit.

The infilling with the Spirit that occurs at conversion is therefore distinctly different from the "pouring over, or immersion in the Holy Spirit" described in these passages. The "baptism of the Holy Spirit" involves being covered with, immersed in, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Advocates of this position point to further evidence throughout Acts and Paul's epistles. In Acts 6, the apostles instruct the Jerusalem church to find "seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom" (6:3), implying a distinction between those who are "full of the Spirit" and others who are not. In Paul's encounter with the disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus, he asks, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" (Acts 19:2) — a question that would make little sense if all believers automatically receive the full empowering of the Holy Spirit. Paul later urged the Ephesian church not to "get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18), a command that similarly presupposes the possibility of believers who are not yet fully filled. For all these reasons, advocates of this view encourage all believers to seek to be filled with or baptized in the Holy Spirit, through which they are fully empowered for the work of the kingdom.

James Dunn's Expositions

Dunn's book has become the standard reply by non-Pentecostals and non-charismatics to the doctrine of Spirit baptism. Written in 1970, it became required reading in many evangelical divinity schools before the modern charismatic movement became widespread across the American continent. Even those who do not fully agree with Dunn tend to adopt his theological approach when explaining Spirit baptism in Acts.

Dunn opens his examination with the following premise: "The core of religion is religious experience. If a man must say that he cannot find God in the reality of his own present life, then his belief in God will be a theoretical dogma; and however great the force with which he clings to this belief, it will not be true faith, for faith can only be the recognition of the activity of God in his own life." (Bultmann, 1958) From this starting point, Dunn explores Spirit baptism, but his approach tilts heavily toward the existential and dispensational theologies that were popular in his day. As a result, he departs quickly from traditional theology and even from orthodox Christology. Dunn begins his examination by posing the question "What was Jesus' experience of God?" — and approaches Jesus' experience in the same way he would measure his own. This existential approach leads him to sidestep the crucial issue of Jesus' deity.

Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. His experience of God was unlike every other person's because his communion and community with the Father was one of perfect oneness. Though he was tempted as every man is, his experience was one of perfect union. Dunn suggests that Jesus had to grow into the knowledge that he was inspired by God, and that he did not assume the role of Son of God or his messianic destiny until his baptism at the Jordan (Dunn, 1975). This perspective limits Dunn's understanding of Jesus' relationship to the Father to the level at which it parallels ordinary human experience. Consequently, Dunn's evaluation of Jesus' experience of the Holy Spirit is also distorted.

After skirting the issue for some pages, Dunn expresses that he does not believe Jesus was the divine God-man that John's Gospel clearly identifies. He contends that Jesus' experience of God, his relationship to the Father as a son, and his unique purpose were "probably a fundamental element in his self-consciousness out of which his other-based convictions about himself and his mission arose." (Dunn, 1975, p. 39) Dunn sidesteps the question of Christ's deity again when discussing Jesus and the power of exorcism, arguing that "Jesus' consciousness of spiritual power, the visible evidence of the power of God flowing through him to overcome other superhuman power, evil power, to restore and make whole" (ibid., p. 47) is the source of Jesus' supernatural authority. For Dunn, it is not Jesus' divinity but his clear consciousness of connection to spiritual power that explains his authority over demons, disease, and the natural world. Dunn here falls prey to the existential premise that nothing is real outside of personal experience. While true faith and a living relationship with God are indeed founded in personal experience of the divine, true faith also involves holding to scriptural truths that lie beyond personal experience — truths such as the deity of Christ and the certainty of his return.

For these reasons, Dunn's exegesis of Spirit baptism must be held in careful suspicion regarding its alignment with orthodox scriptural interpretation. A scholar who regards Christ's deity as a doctrine developed by the early church rather than an inherent attribute of Jesus may not be a faithful interpreter of other biblical doctrines. Dunn limits his evaluation to what men can do to reach upward toward God, whereas the New Testament incarnation was necessary precisely because humanity cannot reach God by its own means. God became flesh and walked among us in order to lead us to himself. How and why Dunn's work became the standard reference for non-Pentecostal and evangelical denominations — given his unorthodox beliefs regarding Christ — is a question that merits further examination.

In Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Dunn proceeds through a systematic evaluation of the texts traditionally used by Pentecostals to argue that Spirit baptism is a separate and distinct event from conversion. He begins with a brief history of the charismatic movement, starting in the early 1900s. From the Azusa Street revival of 1906, the gifts of the Holy Spirit began re-entering traditional Christendom, and by the mid-twentieth century, Pentecostalism was regarded as the "third wave" of Christianity, following Catholicism and Protestantism. Dunn appears to agree that Spirit baptism is a "second work of grace — a deliverance from sin — or an empowerment for service" (Dunn, 1970, pp. 2–3), the descriptions commonly used within the Pentecostal movement at the time of his writing. However, he takes the doctrine one step further than the scriptures warrant by asserting that Spirit baptism is the proof of faith, and that its evidence — speaking in tongues — will be manifest in all believers. Dunn uses his existential paradigm to construct the following logical chain:

Faith demands baptism as its expression; baptism demands faith for its validity; the gift of the Holy Spirit (evidenced by speaking in tongues) presupposes faith as its condition; and faith is shown to be genuine only by the gift of the Spirit. (Dunn, 1970, p. 228)

Had Dunn allowed the scriptures to interpret themselves rather than forcing them into an existential framework, he might have stopped short of such an unbiblical and unorthodox conclusion.

Conclusion: Integrating Western and Eastern Views

The baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Western church is an event — the response of God to a soul that has believed in him. Spirit baptism is meant to empower the believer for service and prepare him or her to carry the message of the gospel to the world. The Eastern understanding is that Spirit baptism is meant to expand the believer's capacity to experience the mystical, cosmic nature of God himself. The person who receives this gift is forever accountable to the church (Lossky, 1957, p. 34) to live in the reality of the divine. Spirit baptism enables deeper communion with God, and thereby transforms the believer more fully into God's image and likeness.

The experience of Holy Spirit baptism in the book of Acts demonstrates that the Spirit's outpouring provided both of these dynamic, transforming dimensions in the life of the church. The apostolic church was transformed by the Spirit's power: believers became more like Christ in their ministry and in the boldness of their faith, and they duplicated the miraculous life of Jesus in their everyday religious experience. The church also took direct and concrete steps to minister to the needy, the orphans, and the widows as its numbers grew. It did not place a self-imposed priority on "preaching" the gospel without a matching dedication to "living" the lifestyle of Christ. If there is any genuine "proof" of Spirit baptism, it is the presence of both of these elements — empowered proclamation and transformed character — in the life of the individual believer and in the corporate life of the church.