Receiving the Baptism of the Spirit, Part 1

   The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is one of the most precious and essential experiences a Christian can have. Once you are baptized in the Spirit, you go through life with more power and more authority than you could have without this baptism. The Baptism of the Spirit also opens the door to know the Holy Spirit—and each member of the Trinity—more personally than you could without it.

   As you read this, you maybe wondering “how can there be a Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Isn’t this the same thing as getting saved?” Actually, no; it is not. Your salvation and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit are two different experiences. However, they can occur at the same time.

   For a while, I also struggled to grasp whether or not the Baptism of the Spirit was actually a separate experience from salvation. However, recently the Lord made everything crystal clear to me.

I read Acts 8:14-17, and the lightbulb went off:

When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed God’s message, they sent Peter and John to them.m After they went down there, they prayed for them, so the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (HCSB)

  The Samaritans had already believed or “welcomed” God’s message and they had been baptized in Jesus’ name. Afterall, the purpose of water baptism is to confirm that one has accepted the gospel. Even though the Samaritans were now saved, they still needed the Spirit to “come down on them.” The Spirit coming down on them represented their acquiring the Lord’ s power.

  This is seen even when Jesus told his “saved”, believing disciples to wait until they received power from on high before they went out to witness (Luke 24:49). The Holy Spirit came down on them at Pentecost to empower them to do God’s will. We can call the “coming down” of the Spirit, “The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

   The changes in the disciples were startling after they received the Baptism of the Spirit. Cowardly Peter who denied the Lord 3 times, suddenly stood boldly before the Sanhedrin and preached the gospel. Not to mention that all of the disciples had deserted the Lord during his time of need. However, after being baptized in the Spirit, they repeatedly put their lives on the line to testify of the Lord’s death and resurrection. What’s more, after this baptism, the apostles moved in powerful signs, wonders and miracles.

   The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is VITAL to our lives as Christians. It represents our giving God total control. In order to fully appreciate the glory of the Spirit’s Baptism, let’s take a look at our salvation. We’ll do that in Part 2.