BAPTISM
THERE ARE THREE MAJOR BAPTISMS
– Baptism in Water – Identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and a public declaration for Him. Immersion by watering the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:3-4, Matt. 28:19).
– Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The fact is, adult believers often act as if the Holy Spirit really was hiding in the church cellar. They may know something about the Holy Spirit, but they don’t know Him personally or realize that He is God in the same way the Son and the Father are God. When they read the Bible, many people are surprised to find that the Holy Spirit was at the very dawn of time: “The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2), and many are amazed to find out there are approximately 100 references to the Holy Spirit throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Nevertheless, the Spirit’s role is fundamental both to creation and the life of the believer. When a person comes to Jesus Christ, he receives Christ into his heart. The Spirit of God comes and joins with the spirit of the believer. This “indwelling Spirit” reproduces the life of Jesus in the believer’s life.
What, Then, Is The Baptism In The Holy Spirit?
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is an empowering for service that takes place in the life of the Christian (Acts 1:5,8). In it we are immersed in the Spirit’s life and power.
To illustrate, if we drank water from a glass, then the water would be inside us. However, if we went to the beach and stepped into the ocean, then we would be in the water. We receive, as it were, a drink of the Holy Spirit when we are saved, but when we are baptized in the Spirit, it is as if that initial drink becomes an ocean that completely surrounds us.
There is In–filling and Outpouring of HolySpirit– Just as the indwelling Spirit that Christians receive when they are saved; reproduces the life of Jesus, so the outpoured, or baptizing, Spirit reproduces the ministry of Jesus, including miracles and healings.
Why Do We Need The Baptism In The Holy Spirit?
We need a power beyond ourselves for service and ministry in Christ’s Kingdom.
When Jesus gave the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), He knew that His disciples could not fulfill it in their own power. Therefore, He had a special gift in store for them: It was His plan to give them the same power that He had — the power of the Spirit of God. So, immediately after giving them the Great Commission, Jesus commanded his disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father promised, “which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4-5). He further promised: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the outermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The disciples waited in Jerusalem as Jesus had commanded, and one day when they were all together, “suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing winds, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance” (Acts 2:3,4). Then Peter explained to the crowd that gathered that they were seeing the working of God’s Spirit and told them about Jesus. The Christian church began that day with the disciples and the 3,000 people who joined them as a result of the day’s events.
We can undertake making disciples of all nations with some degree of success without the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but when we do, we are undertaking a supernatural task with limited power.
It is God’s will – it is His commandment – that we be baptized, or filled with the Holy Spirit: “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). The knowledge and reality of the empowering Spirit enables us to reproduce the works of Jesus.
When May I Receive The Baptism In The Holy Spirit?
It can take place at the moment you confess faith in Christ, as in the case of the first Gentile convert, Cornelius (Acts 10:44-46; Acts 11:15-16); but often it occurs some time after the salvation experience (Acts 8:12-17).
How Do I Receive The Baptism In The Holy Spirit?
You only have to do two things.
First, once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior you just have to ask God to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you” (Luke 11:9).
Second, believe you have in fact received this gift from God. The apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, said, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith?”
(Galatians 3:2). The answer, obviously, is faith. You have to believe that if you ask, you will receive.
This can be also received by the laying of hands (Acts 19:1-6)
LAYING ON OF HANDS :- Placing hands upon the body of another
Person for a definite spiritual purpose.
– It has a lot of significance in the old testament (Lev. 1:1-4, Gen 48:14, Deut 34:9)
– Reasons:
(a) To impart healing (Luke 4:40 Mark 16:17)
(b) To impart baptism of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 19:6)
(c) To impart spiritual gifts and blessings
(Rom 1:11, 1tim 4:14 2tim 1:6)
(d) To set people apart for specific assignment (Acts 13:2-3)
However, care should be taken in the laying on of hands (1Tim 5:22).