Baptism of the Spirit

Water baptism, as we have discussed, is a requirement of us, by our Lord Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins and to be born again into the blood line of Christ. But if we read John 3;5 again we find that we also need to be baptized, or infilled, with the Holy Spirit.

John 3;5 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

Whereas water baptism is for the remission of sin, baptism of the Holy Spirit is to give us power to fulfil our service to the Lord...to spread the Word of the Gospel. Being baptized in the Spirit gives us the required strength and ability to carry out our Lord's Will.

Acts 1;8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.''

So how do we go about our spiritual infilling and empowerment? John the Baptist saved many a soul, but even he couldn't baptize people in the Holy Spirit, though he did give us the answer to our question. If we go back to the scripture in the last study, then we find that Jesus Christ is the only one who can grant us this kind of baptism;

John 1;33-34 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.''

Jesus emphasized the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to the 120 in the upper room, which included women also - notably Mary, the mother of Jesus (Acts 1;14) - just before He ascended into Heaven. Notice here He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem:

Acts 1;4-5 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which,'' He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.''

Acts 2;1-4 Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Once baptized in the Holy Spirit we are given the gift of our own special prayer language. A language that only God understands. We can utter these prayers in the quietest of voices or we can sing along in the Spirit to the praise and worship in church. We can use tongues when we don't really have the words to pray effectively in our natural language and we may be blessed with other gifts of the Spirit, but thats for a later study.

So to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, firstly we need to be born again. This gift is only administered by Jesus and it is a gift received through our faith. We receive through asking, and so we must have the faith in Jesus to grant us our request when we pray:

Luke 11;9-13 "And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!''

God gave the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost once and for all, so it is not a matter of God giving you the Holy Spirit, but rather you receiving what God has already given. If you want to receive the Holy Spirit, then pray to receive the gift that God has already given to the believer.

Dear Lord Jesus
Thank you for shedding your blood on Calvary for my sins
I ask for forgiveness for my sins
and I do acknowledge you as my Lord and Savior
I pray that you will baptize me in the Holy Spirit
I ask by faith for the baptism in the Holy Spirit right now
Thank you Lord
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Now, begin to praise Jesus...but not in your natural language...relax your jaw and let your vocal chords loose. You will then be speaking as on the day of Pentecost, but the Holy Spirit will be giving you a new language to praise God. You will have another hot line to heaven with which to pray and praise the Lord.

Read Acts and 1 Corinthians 12 to 14. The Word and Jesus will become more real in the coming weeks. When the enemy comes with thoughts in your mind, resist him with the Word of God and pray in the Spirit.