The Problem With Making Acts a Formula
I love God. I love His Word. I want my life to count for the Kingdom.
But I also hate being misunderstood — and nothing brings that out quite like the comment section.
This week, reading through the responses on a post got me passionate. The post didn’t say everything that could be said — and yes, it was intentionally provocative (that’s the Theosu playbook). But it revealed something deeper:
Some Pentecostals (and I am one — I think?) seem to forget that the broader body of theologians doesn’t read the Bible the same way we do.
We need to remember: there are different interpretive perspectives in the global church.
Prescriptive vs Descriptive: The Acts Debate
There are plenty of Pentecostal, gift-operating, power-ministering theologians who don’t believe in the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” as a normative second blessing or experience. Some of them pray in tongues — but they don’t see tongues as the necessary sign of being filled with the Spirit.
I’m with them.
I believe people are filled with the Spirit at conversion. I believe we can — and should — experience ongoing, powerful moments of being filled. I believe people receive gifts. I believe there is evidence and there are manifestations. But I don’t believe anyone is a second-class Christian if they haven’t had a “Baptism of the Spirit” experience marked by speaking in tongues.
So where does the difference come from?
Mostly, it comes down to how you read Acts. Is it prescriptive or descriptive?
Power at Pentecost… or Pattern for All?
Take Acts 2. The apostles had already received the Spirit in John 20:22. Yet Jesus tells them to wait for the Spirit’s power. A prescriptive reading says, “That’s for us too — we receive the indwelling Spirit at conversion, but we need a separate baptism experience for power.”
So we make slogans:
“The Spirit is in you for you, but on you for others.”
“You get the indwelling at salvation, but power comes with the baptism.”
“You need the baptism to minister with power.”
But here’s the tension: while it’s true that we can receive more power along the way, to say we don’t receive any power at conversion is to miss the depth and miracle of salvation.
A descriptive reading, however, asks different questions:
What is this moment in the story?
What’s Luke trying to show us?
What’s the broader narrative?
And usually, you land on the fact that the apostles were in a unique crossover moment between covenants. A moment we no longer live in. There’s a bigger story being told — not just a pattern to be repeated.
The Balloon vs the Cup
Here’s one way I like to think about it:
It’s not that you’re empty and suddenly full.
It’s more like a balloon — receiving more fullness, more power, more expansion over time.
The Spirit has been poured out. So now, when someone repents, believes, and is baptized, they receive the gift of the Spirit in all His fullness. That doesn’t mean the journey’s over. We’ll continue to have encounters. We’ll be empowered afresh. But it’s not a second filling of something absent — it’s a fuller expression of what’s already present.
What About the Other Acts Moments?
What about Acts 4, 8, 10, 19? All powerful moments that some interpret as second (or third!) blessings or fillings.
Here’s a quick flyover:
Acts 4 – Is this a third blessing? They were filled again.
Acts 8 – Samaria. This is probably the hardest to interpret. Every view leaves questions.
Acts 10 – Cornelius and his household are filled before water baptism.
Acts 19 – This seems to happen at conversion to the gospel of Jesus.
And here's the kicker: the phrase “Baptism in the Holy Spirit” isn’t used in any of these accounts.
So Are We Using the Phrase Right?
The phrase “Baptism in the Spirit” appears seven times in the New Testament. All seven use the Greek word en (in), not the English with. Here’s where they show up:
The first four are from John the Baptist:
Matthew 3:11
Mark 1:8
Luke 3:16
John 1:33
These are prophetic — Jesus is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. But they don’t define what that means.
The next two refer to Pentecost:
Acts 1:5
Acts 11:16 (which looks back at Acts 2)
Whatever “Baptism in the Spirit” means, it clearly happened at Pentecost — when the Spirit fell, tongues were spoken, and 3,000 were saved.
That’s six of the seven.
The final reference — and maybe the most crucial
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 cor 12:13 (ESV)
If this referred to a second experience, it would imply we’re not part of the Church — and therefore not saved — until it happens. As far as I know, even second-blessing Pentecostals wouldn’t argue that.
So What Is Baptism in the Spirit?
It refers to the work of the Holy Spirit at the start of the Christian life — when He regenerates us, makes us new, justifies us, adopts us, and sets us apart.
In other words, "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" is shorthand for the Spirit’s full work at conversion. Not a separate event, not an afterthought, not a merit badge.
It’s the miracle of new life.
Speaking in Tongues?
Beautiful. Controversial. Mysterious.
And it deserves more than a footnote.
Stay tuned.
