Review:
In my last article, we talked about the work of the Holy Spirit and His work in salvation:
- God pours out “common grace” on the saved and unsaved.
o Common grace is limited in that it can’t bring about salvation.
- God also pours out, what theologians refer to as “efficacious grace,” meaning that it is most certainly “effective” in bringing a person to the point of believing and receiving Jesus Christ as their Savior:
o Efficacious grace is from God alone. Humans are incapable of producing it.
o It is certainly effective in bringing a person to saving faith in Christ.
In this next article, we’ll discuss: The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
There Is Much Confusion!
That may be an understatement, but it is definitely true. Across denominations, amongst pastors, preachers and lay leaders, there are multiple opinions about what, exactly, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is and how it manifests itself.
I believe most of this confusion comes about, primarily, because of a failure to understand the distinctive nature of the Church:
- The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not found in the Old Testament.
- The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not included in any prophecies regarding the Millennium.
- The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a distinctive work of the Holy Spirit for this, current, age of grace!
o It’s a distinguishing characteristic of the Church, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ.
o It provides for a special intimacy and relationship between believers and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- The Baptism of the Spirit has been improperly linked to other ministries of the Holy Spirit such as:
o The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every true believer.
o The work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit in every true believer.
o Linked to certain spiritual gifts and their exercise.
o Its mistakenly been referred to as a “second work of grace”:
· The adherents to that would say that the first work of grace is salvation.
o Some have tried to define the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second “sanctification,” or a second setting apart
Important Scripture Passages:
- In all, there are eleven references to spiritual baptism:
o Matt. 3:11, “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.”
o Mark 1:8, “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
o Luke 3:16, “John answered and said to them all, ’As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”
o John 1:33, “And John bore witness saying, ‘I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”
o Acts 1:5, “… for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
o Acts 11:15-16, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell[fell in the Greek means to come upon someone] upon them, just as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”
o Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
o 1 Cor. 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” [“baptized” is a past action].
o Gal. 3:23-29, “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
o Eph. 4:4-6, (This is a KEY PASSAGE), “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
o Col. 2:11-14, “And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
- The passages written prior to Pentecost, are prophetic in nature:
o A forth telling of what was coming in the lives of those who would believe and receive Jesus as their Savior.
- The passages written after Pentecost, treat the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an existing reality:
o Something that had alreadyhappened.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit Is Universal Among All True Believers:
- 1 Cor. 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drinkof one Spirit”:
o “We were all made to drink.” The Greek word translated as “drink” means we have all been made to drink, or been permeated, or saturated, with the same Spirit. This is a past action.
o Salvation and spiritual baptism are extensions of each other.
o It is impossible to be saved without this baptism of the Holy Spirit.
o At the moment of salvation, every true believer is baptized, or immersed into Christ by the Holy Spirit.
o All true Christians are baptized by the Spirit, even carnal ones:
· Yes, even the ones who may be backsliding. (see Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth where he addresses them as “brethren”).
o The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not just for those who are free from guilt, or make the claim that they no longer sin.
o Nor is baptism by the Holy Spirit ever held up as some goal, or objective, for the believer to reach for.
o It is the universal work of the Spirit of God in every true believer.
o Regardless of nationality or position in life, all are identified with Christ:
· Baptized into one body and . . .
· Indwelt by the Spirit; “given the one Spirit to drink.”
- Scripture tells us there is only “one baptism”:
o Eph. 4:4-5, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,”
o This passage refers to the things that are universal among believers:
· One body of Christ = the Church.
· One Spirit of God = the Holy Spirit.
· One hope in Christ = for salvation and eternal life.
· One Lord, Jesus = “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
· One true faith = trust in Jesus, in His death and resurrection.
· One baptism = spiritual baptism.
· One God and Father:
o Yahweh = LORD
o Jehovah = Lord
o El Shaddai = God Almighty
- Truths about the baptism of the Holy Spirit:
o There is no exhortation to “be baptized by the Spirit” in the Scriptures.
o Christians are never admonished or told to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
o Never in Scripture is baptism by the Spirit recorded as occurring before, salvation:
· Baptism by the Holy Spirit and salvation are inseparable.
o We are, however, exhorted to seek to properly adjust to the Holy Spirit’s leading and prompting.
o 1 Thes. 5:19, “do not quench the Spirit of God”
Baptized Into the Body of Christ:
- 1 Cor. 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
- Spiritual baptism provides for believers the joining with the body of Christ:
o “Baptized into one body.”
- One body of Christ around the world; one “Church.”
- Individual believers are joined to this living organism called “the Church” by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
- There is no regard for race, culture, income, or occupation.
- One body of Christ, yet each individual believer has a distinct place.
- Every believer is essential to the harmony and completion of the whole body of Christ, known as “the Church universal.”
- 1 Cor. 12:15-27, “For the body is not one member, but many. 15 if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; or again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ 22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, 24 Whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”
Baptism Into Christ:
o The true believer is now “in Christ.”
o Jesus speaks of it. John 14:20, “In that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
o Before salvation, the individual was “in Adam,” partaking in Adam’s human nature and sin.
o In salvation, true believers are removed from their position in Adam, and they are placed “in Christ.”
o What are the benefits of being “in Christ?”
· Justified = declared not guilty by God.
· Sanctified = set apart for God.
· Deliverance = from penalty of all his/her sins: past, present, and future.
· Access to God the Father: boldly come into His presence to seek help and grace in time of need.
· Inheritance = heaven; eternal life; new heavens and new earth.
· Glorification = new glorified body just like Jesus’:
Ø Mercy of God displayed for all eternity.
- Baptism into Christ brings us identification with Christ:
o Baptism into Christ is primarily identification. With what?
· His death.
· His resurrection.
· His righteousness.
· His glorification.
o Baptism by the Holy Spirit always precedes water baptism:
· Converts were, and are, already identified with Christ at the moment of saving faith:
o His righteousness.
o His death.
o His resurrection.
o His glorification.
· Water baptism, in a sense, is the symbol of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which allowed for this identification:
o It’s a public testimony to the saving work alreadyaccomplished by the Holy Spirit.
o Col. 2:12, “Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead”:
· Every true believer goes with Christ to the grave.
· Every true believer becomes dead to sin.
· Every true believer resurrects with Christ from the dead.
· Every true believer becomes alive to God.
Summary:
The baptism of the Holy Spirit creates for the believer:
- A new union:
o Joined to the body of Christ, that is the Church universal.
o Joined to Christ in eternal life.
- A new position:
o Now a child of God, not of the devil.
o Used as an instrument of God for His purposes.
o Enabled, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to accomplish God’s will.
o Being “in Christ” guarantees all of that.
o Our new position becomes a challenge and incentive toward godly living.
- A new association:
o The believer is now associated, intimately, with the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Every aspect of the Christian’s life is changed because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit of God.
- And for that, we should all be grateful to Almighty God!
May the Lord bless you as you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
By His Grace,
Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.
