“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:4-5).
What did Jesus mean when He spoke of being baptised with the Holy Spirit? Is it the same outpouring as prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17)? John the Baptist used water as an outward symbol of cleansing after a person had repented and professed faith, but he also spoke of a baptism only Jesus could perform, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). What exactly does this baptism refer to?
Baptism symbolises washing and cleansing. There is an obvious connection between water and Spirit baptism that cannot be avoided. Baptism with the Holy Spirit must include spiritual cleansing for John said,
“He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:11-12).
Some suggest that water baptism is enough for salvation, but such a notion ignores the need for the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Water baptism cannot cleanse the soul from sin,
“For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD” (Jeremiah 2:22). How can we be a fit habitation for the Lord unless our very nature is purified and we become the temple of His Holy Spirit?
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) ...
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians
6:16-18).
The soul is that part of us which controls the human body while we live on this earth. It has been infected with sin and has no power to heal itself. Adam, the first man, caused this depravity to enter our nature through disobedience to God’s command. He lost the privilege of having the image of God in his nature,
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26), which includes righteousness and holiness. He took upon himself the nature of the one who deceived him. All the descendants of Adam are born with his likeness instead of God’s,
“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Genesis 5:3).
Every child born into this world has a nature that will quickly gravitate towards evil,
“The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3) ... “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). No wonder Paul and Jeremiah could write,
“There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10) ...
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). So is it impossible to overcome the fallen nature within us?
“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
No matter how we try we cannot overcome sin and inward depravity ourselves. Any willpower we have is soon depleted for nothing in this world can heal a defiled nature. Are we not living proof of this very thing? We are no match for the power of the fallen human nature dominated by sin. How many fall away from Christ for this very reason? Our will is not strong enough, so we need the power of God’s Spirit to enable us,
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
There is no remedy, other than Christ, for the sin-sick soul. We need the baptism only He can administer. This is that
“circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11). Jesus alone is the Great Physician that can perform such surgery,
“But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”
(Romans 2:29).
The Holy Spirit baptism does not involve water but purifying fire to cleanse us. Our God is both
“Love” and “a consuming fire” (1 John 4:8, Hebrews 12:29). God’s perfect love is ignited by holiness, and thus seeks to burn away all traces of depravity from our nature. Only disobedience will hinder this work of grace in our souls. He desires to restore us to His image.
Each of us need to be baptised with the Spirit, for unless we are we cannot hope to be useful to God. Knowing that we need such a baptism is not enough, instead we need to seek God for it, “How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13) ... “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39).
Page created 9 June 2006