The debate over immediate receipt of the Holy Ghost through laying on of hands versus receiving the baptism of fire before/after baptism is well-known in this forum.
Certain Christians hold Baptismal Regeneration, equating it with rebirth and Holy Ghost reception. Others, like Calvinists, view baptism as symbolic of prior spiritual renewal. I had never thought to explore 2000 years of Christian history for insight. Only once I began to study that history did I realize this debate has fueled divisions in Christianity for centuries.
Although I am not here to tell you what I think the answer is, I want to share something that I read while reading about John Calvin:
https://www.bucer.ch/fileadmin/_migrate ... spirit.pdf
The core of his thoughts are here:
The paper discusses Joel's prophecy regarding "The Lord will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh," and Peter's declaration that this was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, Calvin offers insights as follows:"that the purpose of the Gospel is the re-stora-tion in us of the image of God which has been cancelled by sin."Just as Adam was filled with the Spirit before the fall -- so too does even fallen man now need to be filled with the same Spirit
indeed, to keep on being filled, from faith unto yet greater faith, and from glory unto yet greater glory, 'even as by the Spirit of the Lord'"
Something that has nagged at me me pertains to the instance when the Lord directed the Apostles to "Receive the Holy Ghost," seemingly contrasting with the apparent delay until Acts 2 when they seemingly encountered the Spirit."Believers to the very end of their lives ardently desire more abundant grace.... The Holy Spirit is a constantly flowing well.... We have not drunk of the Spirit just for one day, or for any short time -- but as of a perennial fountain that will never fail us....
Those who believe, shall lack no spirit-ual blessings. “He [Jesus] calls it 'living water' whose spring never grows dry, and whose flow never ceases....
Whoever believes in Christ, will have a fountain of life springing up in himself.... Christ says that by faith, we draw in the Spirit Who is a fountain of water -- [and Who keeps on] springing up unto everlasting life... . The Holy Spirit is like a living and ever-flowing fountain [with]in
believers.... As believers advance in faith -- they continually aspire to new increases of the [Holy] Spirit..."
Calvin suggests that these Apostles were already imbued with the Spirit long before Acts 2, with that day marking a "filling with the Spirit." Similarly, when Jesus conveyed "Receive the Holy Ghost," it signified a "strengthening" or "filling with the Spirit." It's important to clarify that this pertains not to a mere emotional warmth, but rather to complete immersion in the Spirit, a concept sometimes termed the "Baptism of fire" on this forum.
He poins out that on Easter Sunday,
The earlier linked paper encapsulates Calvin's prevailing stance and the core idea I aim to convey:Jesus then said to His already regenerated apostles: 'Receive the Holy Spirit!' John 20:22. Here, Calvin remarks that Christ "bestowed His Spirit on thea postles by breathing.... The [Holy] Spirit was given to the apostles now, in such a way that they
were...sprinkled with His grace -- and not saturated with full power.... When the Spirit [later]appeared on them, in tongues of fire -- they were entirely renewed." Hence, on Pentecost Sunday, we learn that they were then once again 'all filled with the Holy Spirit.' Acts 2:4.
The paper underscores how Calvin references multiple New Testament instances of individuals being "filled with joy" or "filled with the spirit" to buttress this notion. While I won't delve into specifics here, I'd like to draw attention to a Book of Mormon scripture where Alma lays his hands on his companions, and they experience being filled with the spirit."Those further observations make it clear that Dr. Calvin strongly believed in subsequent and repeated or augmentative infillings with the Holy Spirit, during the life of Christians – and, indeed, increasingly so."
There is more I could discuss upon regarding the content of that paper, but I'll end here. I had a spirit filled study session with this paper and I wholeheartedly recommend it."Alma 31: 36 Now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words, that he CLAPPED his hands upon all them who were with him. And behold, as he CLAPPED his hands upon them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit."
In closing, while this doesn't definitively address the moment of a Christian's rebirth, it does present a potential explanation for these "baptism of fire experiences." They may signify subsequent, recurring, and augmented infillings of the Holy Spirit—grace upon grace, gradual accumulations, attaining greater measures of the Holy Spirit. The question remains whether these experiences are preceded by a supernatural immersion of Holy Spirit, or if a subtle "still small voice" reception of the Holy Ghost suffices (as is the mainstream LDS church position).
God bless
