We have discussed the first two baptisms a follower of Jesus goes through. The first being the baptism by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. The second one is the water baptism. This is where our old man is stripped away and we are clothed with the new man. 

Today we are going to discuss the third and final baptism a believer should go through. This is the baptism by Jesus into the Holy Spirit. This baptism is commonly called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the baptism into the Holy Spirit. In this baptism Jesus anoints the believer or immerses the believer into the Holy Spirit. We see Jesus doing this after he resurrected and met with the disciples in the upper room. John‬ ‭20‬:‭22‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ says, “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” ‭‭

You may be thinking, doesn’t the Holy Spirit come dwell in us when we are saved? Yes. However, one could say the same thing about water baptism. Doesn’t our sinful man die when we are saved? Don’t we become renewed at salvation? Again, the answer is yes. However, the act of obedience allows Jesus to spiritually cut off the old man. We talked about in the last post. 

Likewise, when we allow Jesus to baptize us into the Holy Spirit, we are being completely immersed into the Holy Spirit. Now he doesn’t just have permission to live inside our spirits. We now grant him permission to live in our soul and body as well. We tell our body and soul to come into alignment with our spirit, which is already in alignment with the Holy Spirit. 

All 3 Baptisms Are Shown In Scripture

This is when the power of the Holy Spirit is shown. Let’s look at a few passages and see that in fact all three baptisms are demonstrated: 

• “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

• “But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬, ‭17‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

• “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭(NKJV)

What Does This Mean

In the first passage, we see that Peter tells the people to repent (baptism of the Holy Spirit into Jesus), be baptized (baptism of the disciple in water), and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (baptism of Jesus into the Holy Spirit). 

Likewise, we see a very similar course of action in the second passage. 

What about the third passage? This passage simply shows that just as the Godhead (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) are one and bear witness in heaven, so there are three that bear witness here on earth: the Spirit (that’s the Holy Spirit), the water (water baptism), and the blood (that’s the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all our sins at salvation). 

What Is The Gift Of The Holy Spirit

This leads to the question: What does it mean to “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”? In 1 Corinthians we are given a list of the various ways the gift of the Holy Spirit is manifested in the physical. Know this, the gift of the Spirit is the Spirit, not just one part of the gifts of the Spirit. There is a philosophy that in order to show you have been in fact baptized into the Holy Spirit you must speak in tongues. This simply is untrue. Let’s take a look at the passage from 1 Corinthians and then we will discuss this topic further. 

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

Utterance of wisdom, utterance of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, ability to distinguish between spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues are ALL given by the SAME Spirit. It is up to the Holy Spirit what gift he empowers believers with. He decides when those gifts are seen and experienced. Why does the Holy Spirit give believers these gifts? The answer is found in the first line of this passage: “for the common good.” We are to be attentive to the Spirit’s leading and obey his promptings. 

Different Gifts Given At Different Times

There will be times when healing is needed, and he will gift you with healing for that moment. Then you may need to have discernment that you are speaking to a deceiving spirit. The Holy Spirit will gift you with the ability to see this and know how to deal with that spirit and the person being influenced by this malevolent spirit. There are times for certain gifts. The Holy Spirit knows this and knows exactly what gifts need to be present in each circumstance. It’s up to us to be attentive and obedient. 

So don’t fret if you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit but have yet to speak in tongues. Perhaps the time hasn’t come up yet for you to need to speak in tongues. Maybe you just need to be refined a bit more, or any number of other possibilities. Seek the Holy Spirit for direction if you desire to speak in tongues. He will show you the roadblocks. 

Have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit? If you haven’t I encourage you to find a trusted believer and ask them to pray with you and agree with you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ask Jesus to immerse you into the Holy Spirit. Then walk in His power! Listen for his promptings and obey. You will be amazed what the Holy Spirit will do through you because you have been obedient in being fully immersed in Him. 
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