“Turned into a Different Person”

Abstract

Karl Barth’s final volume of his Church Dogmatics includes a subsection entitled “Baptism with the Holy Spirit” as part of his discussion of the foundation of the Christian life (Church Dogmatics IV/4, 2–40). Analysis of this subsection shows that Barth conceives of this “baptism” as a person’s conversion, the beginning of human faithfulness toward God. As such, it is very different from typical pentecostal construals of the doctrine, which perhaps accounts for the surprising paucity of pentecostal engagement with this subsection. This essay presents a detailed analysis of Barth’s doctrine and shows that it includes significant resonances with pentecostal doctrine, despite obvious differences. It argues that Barth’s doctrine might help Pentecostals retain the charismatic and missional emphases of their doctrine within a broader theology of the Spirit’s work in the Christian life. The essay suggests several points of dialogue between Barth and Pentecostals in which both parties might benefit from the other’s insights, illustrating this possibility with a larger discussion of the issue of subsequence.