Jesus’ promise to his disciples in John 14 that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them and in them forever is not the first place in the Gospels where we find mention of the Spirit’s coming. In fact, all four Gospels include the words of John the Baptist contrasting Jesus’ ministry with his own using the idea of baptism. Let’s take a look at what he said.
In Matthew 3:11 we read John saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Notice how he describes his own ministry as baptizing “with water for repentance.” This describes what John was doing in the Jordan when he called all of Judea out to publicly confess their sin and demonstrate godly sorrow by allowing themselves to be immersed in the waters of the river.
When he saw groups of both Pharisees (religious conservatives) and Sadducees (religious liberals) coming to be baptized for what were apparently political reasons, John denounced them loudly for their hypocrisy. He called them a “brood of vipers” in v.7 and warned them that their Abrahamic heritage would not protect them from the coming judgment. This judgment would be based, he said, on the fruit of the tree, so they must “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”
Now this provides the backdrop for what he is about to say about Jesus. Where John’s baptism was physical and with water, he says that the One who is coming after him is far greater than he. In fact, Jesus is so much greater than John that he says he is not even worthy of being Jesus’ lowliest servant, and that when he comes he will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.
So Jesus comes with two different types of baptism, and while John does not explain here what it means to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, he does explain the meaning of the baptism with fire in the next verse. Like a farmer with a harvest of wheat, he will “thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Clearly the baptism with fire is a reference to divine judgment, where those who are not truly repentant will be utterly destroyed.
What then is the first baptism, the baptism with the Holy Spirit? Well, the Gospel writers do not give any further details about that here, so there isn’t really any way to get an answer just by looking at the teachings of John the Baptist. But that doesn’t mean we’re completely out of luck, because Jesus and Peter both refer back to John’s teachings and quote the Gospel writers quoting John himself.
Consider first what Jesus said to his disciples at the end of his earthly ministry, as he was preparing to ascend into heaven. In Acts 1:4, after gathering his followers together he told them to stay in Jerusalem “to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” After three years of ministry leading to his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus called his disciples back to the words of John the Baptist and the promise that he, Jesus, would baptize them with the Spirit. And he said that this would be happening very soon, so stay put.
Of course, in the next chapter we read about how the disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost when God’s Holy Spirit came upon them and they were enabled to preach the gospel to all the crowds in the city in their own native tongues. This incredible demonstration of the Spirit’s power was proof that the last days had come and the pouring out of the Spirit which was prophesied by Joel would indeed be fulfilled. And after preaching to them of Christ, Peter called them all to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. If they would do so, he said, they would have their sins forgiven and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as Peter and the rest of the apostles had received.
Now this passage doesn’t use the term baptize in connection with the gift of the Holy Spirit, which has led some people to conclude that the gift of the Spirit at salvation is different from the baptism of the Spirit which happens sometime later. But the absence of the term here does not mean that at all. In fact, a few chapters later we read about Peter’s visit to the Gentile centurion Cornlelius, and Peter explains that this is exactly what John and Jesus promised.
When Peter arrived at the home of this devout man, he found a group of relatives and close friends ready to here a message, so, like any faithful preacher, he gave them Christ. And even as he was speaking to them, the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began to speak in tongues and praise the Lord. This sign made perfect sense to Peter who declared that these who had received the Holy Spirit just as he should also be baptized with water right away.
Now this was really quite controversial, because there were many in Jerusalem who felt strongly that baptism and fellowship with the church were reserved for Jews who had believed. So when Peter got back to Jerusalem he recounted his experience in Caesarea for the saints and told them in Acts 11:15-17 that “as I began to speak the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
While there is more to say about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is clear that it refers to the gift of the Spirit who comes upon every Christian when we believe on Jesus. The Spirit indwells us completely, he’s not locked out on the lawn waiting to be let in the house.