This classic, now in a new paperback edition, introduces the reader to the most distinctive aspect of Pentecostal theology— baptism in the Holy Spirit. Dr. Dunn sees water-baptism as only one element in the New Testament pattern of conversion and initiation. The gift of the Spirit, he believes, is the central element. For the writers of the New Testament only those who received the Spirit could be called Christians. For them, the reception of the Spirit was a very definite and often dramatic experience—the decisive and climactic experience in conversion-initiation—to which the Christian was usually recalled when reminded of the beginning of his or her Christian faith and experience.
What Dr. Dunn uncovers here is the place of the gift of the Spirit in the total complex event of becoming a Christian. His conclusions will help any reader to deepen his or her own understanding of the sacrament of baptism.