Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:5 (NRSV) … John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit …
Jesus is explaining to His disciples how they will be baptized. But Jesus says something quite interesting that has more depth to it than meets the eye. He says that although His cousin, John the Baptist, baptized people with water, the disciples would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Notice that with John, the baptizer was a human being. Jesus didn’t say that they would go out and baptize in the Holy Spirit instead of water, but rather they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. The disciples understood the Jewish ritual of immersion for cleansing. So, one can only imagine how puzzling this might have been for them; they were being introduced to the idea that God’s Holy Spirit would be within them. So whereas John could only immerse a person into physical water, now through Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells within the believer and baptism is no longer an outside cleansing, but a real transformation of their lives.
As regards to today’s believer’s baptism it is symbolic of laying down our own will and submitting to God’s will. It is death and burial of our identity and allegiance to our self. Thus having our status changed so that our new identity and allegiance is Jesus through the power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Glory to God,
Denver Higley
Acts 1:5 (NRSV) … John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit …
Jesus is explaining to His disciples how they will be baptized. But Jesus says something quite interesting that has more depth to it than meets the eye. He says that although His cousin, John the Baptist, baptized people with water, the disciples would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Notice that with John, the baptizer was a human being. Jesus didn’t say that they would go out and baptize in the Holy Spirit instead of water, but rather they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. The disciples understood the Jewish ritual of immersion for cleansing. So, one can only imagine how puzzling this might have been for them; they were being introduced to the idea that God’s Holy Spirit would be within them. So whereas John could only immerse a person into physical water, now through Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells within the believer and baptism is no longer an outside cleansing, but a real transformation of their lives.
As regards to today’s believer’s baptism it is symbolic of laying down our own will and submitting to God’s will. It is death and burial of our identity and allegiance to our self. Thus having our status changed so that our new identity and allegiance is Jesus through the power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Glory to God,
Denver Higley
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