June 28 – LD 26, Day 4: Baptism With
the Spirit of Jesus Christ
by Rev Arie den Hartog
Read: Matthew 3: 1 - 11
During his ministry,
John the Baptist made this prophecy concerning Jesus: “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:” Matt 3:11. This prophecy was fulfilled
on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was actually the work of the exalted Lord
Jesus Christ. He poured out His Spirit on His church. Jesus received the Spirit
from the Father, and then Jesus from His throne in the heavens “shed forth” His
Spirit on His church. This was a once and for all, never to be repeated event.
This is how Peter in Acts 2 explains the wonder of Pentecost to the multitudes
gathered in
Pentecost was the
baptism of the church by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This was the beginning of
the New Testament Age. It was a very dramatic and wonderful event! It happened
not only according to the prophecy of John the Baptist, but also according to
the promise of Jesus.
Jesus gave His disciples
the power to preach by sending them His Spirit. By the Spirit of Jesus
Christ, the disciples could understand the wonderful works of God and the
mysteries of salvation in Jesus Christ. They could then understand as
never before, what it meant that Jesus is the Son of God, why He had to die on
the cross and why He also arose again after His crucifixion. They could
understand the prophecies of scripture about the exaltation of Christ and His
glorious return at the end of the ages. With understanding of these things, they
could then preach with boldness and power.
The Spirit of Jesus
Christ was also poured out on those who believed at the preaching of the
apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost. When they were deeply moved by the truth
of Christ and brought to repentance, they asked Peter what they must do. And
Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost.” On the days of Pentecost, when the Spirit was given, 3000 were
added to the church.
From this history in the
book of Acts, we can conclude that water baptism is a sign of being baptized
with the Spirit. This is further explained by several passages later in the
letters of the apostles. Every believer receives the baptism of the Spirit when
he or she is born again of the Spirit of God. Water baptism and Spirit baptism
are not to be wrongly separated. The right understanding of the relationship of
these two is that water baptism is the outward sign of having received the
Spirit of Jesus Christ. This is one of the beautiful meanings of baptism. It is
a sign of having received the Spirit of Christ.
Every believer receives
the fullness of the Spirit when he or she is regenerated. They need not tarry
for a so-called second baptism. All the blessings of salvation in Jesus Christ
are given by the Spirit of Christ to believers. Our water baptism is a
wonderful outward sign and seal of this.