Sunday: The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Read Mark 1:8 (compare with Matt. 3:11, Luke 3:16, and John 1:33), Acts 1:5, and Acts 11:16. What other rite of initiation goes together with the baptism of the Spirit?
Copyright Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com
In the New Testament there are only seven passages that speak about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Four of those passages go back to John the Baptist and point to Pentecost. Here the Holy Spirit was given to usher in the beginning of “the last days” of salvation history.
John, however, in contrast to the other Gospels, does not use the future tense when speaking about the baptism of the Spirit. Instead, he uses a present participle, indicating that this is something that has continuing validity (see John 1:33). The same tense is used by John just a few verses earlier in John 1:29, when he talks about another important work of Jesus: the taking away of the sins of the world. The ministry of Jesus consists in taking away our sins and in giving us the Holy Spirit. This twofold experience is also reported in Acts 2:38. After their eyes were opened to Christ, the disciples received both: forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit. The same experience is reported about the believers in the house of Cornelius in Acts 10:43-44 and later in Acts 11:16. Water baptism is known as the baptism of repentance (Acts 19:4). When we repent of sin and are baptized in the name of Jesus, we also receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:28-39).
In the New Testament, the receiving of the Holy Spirit and baptism belong together. They signal our new birth. In baptism we are identified with Christ, and Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit so that we can live in His power and proclaim the good news. The baptism of the Spirit is no second work of grace at a later stage in life that some associate with miraculous gifts.
In 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul does not have in mind the unique experience at Pentecost, but rather the experience of all believers. He states that by one Spirit we all are baptized into one body, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. Paul emphasizes unity. The word “all” is crucial. Paul connects the initiation of all believers into the body of Christ with the baptism of the Spirit.
| What has been your own experience in being baptized by the Holy Spirit? What has He meant for your life? What would you be like without Him working in you? |
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NOW is the time of our salvation. We cannot do anything about our salvation yesterday and we do not have tomorrow in our hand. But NOW is always with us as long as we live. NOW is the only time we can do anything. NOW is dynamic in that it is always changing. We always have it with us. Our continual consent for God to take charge of our will and live through us is essential if we will ever have a life full of the Holy Spirit. It may become a habit to have a mind that is like that of Jesus.
Good point. I always says that we should daily live with the I Am and not with the I Was or the I'm Going To Be." One day at a time sweet Jesus"........
Without the Holy Spirit there's no hope of salvation! He does the work of God to draw people to Christ. Having Him in our hearts is having the presence of Christ abiding in us. He convicts us of our sins which leads us to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing. The more of self we surrender to Christ the more we are filled with the Holy Spirit. He teaches us all Truth, gives us discernment to distinguish truth from error, and gives us the power Christ had to live above sin and stay faithful to God.
Yes, Darlene, very true and well said!
He is the vine we are the branches, we cannot live on yesterday's sap.
God bless you for the great job you are doing thanks
No Christianity without the Holy Spirit.It is the Holy Spirit that upholds the character of God in our lives and leads us to display this character.
Also Robert it is the same Holy Spirit who leads us to repentance of our sins daily.
How to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
When we believe the WORD and repent from our sins, we give consent to the Holy Spirit to inhabit us and do its marvelous works!!!
Acts 10:43 & 44
To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
My question today to the panel is, what proportion of the Holy Spirit is given to one before baptism? We know that the HS is poured out upon our baptism, but it is the same HS that prompts us to salvation. Is it safe to say that we have the HS before our conversion? Please explain.
If you were breathing before your conversion, the Holy Spirit was the one sustaining you.
Naomi, without the Holy Spirit conversion would not be possible. Baptism is only a symbol of what has already happened in our life (death to self, burial, and resurrection in newness of life into the Character of God). It is also a symbol of what is to happen throughout the rest of our life moment by moment.
The Holy Spirit will only take charge of our thoughts and feelings when we choose Him. If we do not choose we loose. Self is automatically the driver of our life. If we do not give up our will to God He will not push His way in.
Naomi, I think the answer to your question becomes clearer when we recognize that the Holy Spirit is a Person, and He is always reaching out to us. So we will have as much of Him as we desire - that is, the more we surrender ourselves to Him, the more of a relationship we will have.
Baptism, signifies total surrender, and insofar as we allow Him total access to our hearts, He will fill our hearts with His godly thoughts and desires.
It is very important to understand that 2 baptisms are spoken of in the Book of acts. when Paul met the believers who had been baptized in John's baptism, he asked them pointedly, did you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. they replied; we have not heard of this, and he laid hands on them and they prophesied and spoke in tongues. This is a separate baptism.
also, the disciples received the Holy Spirit in the upper room prior to Pentecost. and then again at Pentecost, they received the baptism of the holy spirit and spoke with power. this is the promise for us, this is why we see so little power in the believers. we are just like the world. but claim we are of God. But we see no demonstration of it in the Body of Christ. ... Healing, deliverance from evil spirits, afflictions and more. additions. as in the BOok of acts, we are called to demonstrate the power of the Kingdom of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. are you seeing this in your area? Read your Bible and believe it. Acts 10:34 to 44- the holy spirit fell upon them... has it fallen upon you?-
Another part of the problem is that we are not, even as Adventists, practicing our faith the way the original believers did. We, like all other denominations, have become an institutional church rather than a called out Ekklesia.
I agree with you that we have become institutional in our outlook but I am not sure that the comparison to "original believers is entirely valid. My reading of denomination history shows that some of the practices among early Adventists were quite challenging in today's terms. I am not sure that we want to return there. But we could certainly benefit from a greater focus on personal spirituality rather than institutional dependence.
As I think and I believe before our Salvation,,, God will communicate with us by the Holy Spirit in different ways to assure to us His presence by Faith and His amazing Love!
Once we are saved from going to Hell and all of our sins are forgiven by God through the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the Holy Spirit will give us a spiritual divine birth within our mortal bodies and our humane souls which
are short from God nature, we should learn from that moment how to live by Faith (not by sight) with submission to God's guidance Spiritually.
I remember my baptism when I was 12, there was an irresistable draw to do so which was the Spirit of God.
As I've been in this faith, during difficult times I've had comfort and direction or have been encouraged to keep going, which again I accept as a manifestation of Gods Spirit working. The Holy Spirit has instructed, and encouraged me to read, study and memorize passages along the way. He's rescued me from my own frailties and mistakes. He's been company when I had none.
I thank the Holy Spirit for being ever present, for understanding, great wisdom and patience He's exercising in my life.
Without Him the challenges of this life would've chased me far from desiring an ongoing relationship with God.
Being baptized by the Holy Spirit has produced a change of basic thoughts and feelings in my life. It is an ongoing process. I have to allow the work of the Holy Spirit to happen in each and every issue in my life. Sometimes I have forgotten to choose to let Him be in charge of my thoughts and feelings. This has been disastrous at times. He stands patiently by, always ready to bring solutions to the problems I get myself into. He never fails me even when I fail Him. He has led me in ways I would never have imagined. Ministry has been fulfilling in my life.
I want to remember to let God lead and motivate me by His Love in every issue and let my past mistakes be stepping stones to this goal. God is always available in His Spirit.
The Holy Spirit comes with the fullness of God,therefore, we are led by the Holy Spirit or led by another spirit. God does not share the throne of human heart with any other spirit. We ought to be led by the Spirit of God if we choose God and there cannot be any other leader/s. The power of choice on our part can limit God's power in our life, yet God's power is limitless when we choose to give self fully to God. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to come and take control of all of us.
Are you saying as does Paul in Romans 6, we are dead to sin and sin has no more dominion over us?
well, said. it is difficult for our human minds to comprehend such an experience as having the Godhead living in us. And yet, He does. This is unique, to say the least. But, this experience is not singularly for us, as it is for an unbelieving world. The Kingdom of God within us demonstrating. This is the power God knows we need to deliver the Gospel of a risen Savior with power, love and a sound mind. I choose Jesus!
The Holy Spirit is available to whomever is willing to receive Him. Let us face it, we cannot continue to sin and live a life of running away from God. GOD, the Father loves us so much that He gave His own Son to die in our place and then allowed the Third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in us all at the same time. What a loving, compassionate GOD we serve. The Holy Spirit will continue to dwell, lead, guide and filled the open, willing heart. God will not force Himself on anyone. I pray everyday for my 5 adult children and their spouses to allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in their lives. I have one son that do not believe in the Godhead (he is a Muslim believer). It frightens me, but I continue to pray and ask God for his mercy, grace and deliverance from this falsehood. I believe the Holy Spirit can deliver him if he wants to be delivered. Pray with me for my son Elijah. Thank you and God bless you all
our God will help him brother
Thanks to God for giving us the Holy Spirit, He is willing to guide us as long as we give ourselves to Him.
There are some portions of Scripture that provide opportunities for readers to pause for query and understanding...I include John 1:33 among them.
I'm continuously enthralled with the ministry of John the Baptist. Here was one whose life's ministry was prophesied in Scripture (Mal 3:1; Luke 1:17) and of whom Scripture declares was, "filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). The ties between him and Jesus went far beyond their family relationship (Luke 1:35-36; John 1:6-7). Jesus clearly admired and endorsed his ministry (Mat 11:9-10; Mat 3:14-15), and John understood clearly their hierarchical relationship (Mat 3:11; John 3:29-31). Jesus was demonstrably moved by the news of his death (Mat 14:8,13).
On the weight of all of the above passages of Scripture and Jesus' warm commendation of him, I'm challenging myself and this community to carefully consider the nature of our humanity versus what it means to be "filled with the Holy Spirit".
Here are some thoughts challenging my understanding:
1) Based on the angel Gabriel's (Luke 1:19) message in Luke 1:15, greatness in God's sight appears to be linked to an abundant, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit within a person and an absence of the effects of alcohol consumption (compare Eph 5:18; Lev 10:9-11). Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit's ministry induces discernment and a desire for what is truthful (John 16:13; John 4:23-24), the exact opposite of the spirit induced, as exemplified in alcohol intoxication (Isaiah 28:7; Prov 23:31-33). If John's birth condition of being "filled with the Holy Spirit" was an exception to the normal human birth condition, what should I/we acknowledge about myself that God already knows about me/us (John 2:23-25)? Was Jesus' willingness to die for humans, at all related to His knowledge of the "normal" human condition (John 1:29; John 16:7-8; Matt 7:11)? Was Jesus' knowledge of "normal" humans also related to His message (John 8:44; John 3:3-5)?
2) Given Jesus' high commendation of John (Mat 11:9-10) and Scripture's revelation regarding his exceptional birth (Luke 1:15), why was it that Jesus, also Spirit filled (Act 10:38), and John had a different interpretation of Mal 4:5-6 (John 1:21 vs Mat 11:13-14; Luke 1:17) or that this God-appointed messenger wobbles while imprisoned (Mat 11:2-3)?
3) Then there is John 1:33...how does inspiration work in a human declared by an angel to be "filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb."? What did John mean when he stated, "I did not know Him..." (a repeat of John 1:31)? Was his stated lack of knowledge similar or different as in those who questioned him from the Pharisees (John 1:26)?
4) For any reader of Scripture who might find him/herself asking, "can anyone else qualify for a commendation like John's?" (Mat 11:9-10), I recommend paying close attention to Mat 11:11. John, the last of the Old Testament prophets (Luke 16:16), ushered in the Messiah and the New Testament period (1 Peter 1:10-12) built on "better promises" (Heb 8:6). For all who enter this "kingdom" by way of the "new birth" (John 3:3,5), Jesus Himself prophesies a greatness surpassing John's!
Does not everyone have in them the Holy Spirit? Gradually as the Holy Spirit is withdrawn the power of Satan wreaks havoc on planet earth? Is there then a special dispensation of the Holy Spirit for believers ?
Yes, Priscilla, It is called the latter rain.