Dear Believer:
As I was thinking about the model that Christ had left for his church, it occurred to me that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was a piece of a complete pattern for Christians. What follows is a very simple lesson as it was given to me this day.
When Christ was born, salvation was born, as His name literally means "the LORD saves" (Matthew 1:21). Next we see Him as a young adult of twelve. Scripture records Him in the temple courts as a student of the Law. We then see Him at the Jordan getting baptized in water and the Holy Spirit. At the Jordan, all heard a voice from heaven and all saw an enduement of power that descended on Him and remained. Here began His public ministry. After His baptism, He was led by the Spirit in power to do the following: face the world's temptations, work signs and wonders, make disciples and fishers of men, face persecution, and to carry His cross. Through it all, He lived and ministered a gospel of love. What happened next in His life is a promise to all believers. After He died, He was resurrected by the Spirit and He ascended in a glorified body. The next event yet to occur is His soon re-appearing.
So what exactly is the pattern for us as Christians? First, we are born again into salvation. We must then go to His temple courts to become lifelong students, as well as, go to the waters to be baptized physically and spiritually. As we are baptized in the Spirit, we will hear voices from heaven as we utter mysteries to God in the tongues of men and angels. We will also experience an enduement of power that descends on us and remains. Our initial temple lessons and baptisms are to occur before our earthly ministries but can occur in any order relative to each other.* After these things, we are to be led by the Spirit to do the following: face the world's temptations, work signs and wonders, make disciples and fishers of men, face persecution, and to carry our crosses. Through it all, we are to live and minister a gospel of love. What happens next in our lives is His promise to us. If we die, we will be resurrected, transformed, and then ascend. If we yet live, we will be transformed and then ascend. Together, we will meet Him in the air in our glorified bodies. The next event is to re-appear with Him.
In conclusion, we are called as Christians, "little Christs," to follow the patterns He has set for us. Paul says in Ephesians 5:1-2, "Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved Children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." I pray that we all become imitators of Him!
Danny dj Morales
Light The Fire Ministries
*I will not discuss this point in detail here, but I will say that in the early church the two baptisms were intimately connected. Water baptism is a symbolic bridge between salvation and the Holy Spirit. Water symbolizes the cleansing and atoning waters of His blood. It also symbolizes the water of sanctification in that it marks the rebirth from death into life. It further symbolizes the living and resurrection waters of the Holy Spirit. To better understand the connection we can look at the birth process. The first birth is a three-part baptism: spirit first (conception), water second (womb), blood third (delivery). In the new birth, the order of baptisms is "reversed": blood (salvation=Jesus), water (into Jesus), and Spirit (by Jesus). The born-again experience does not stop at salvation it is actually three-fold (John 3:3-8). Scripture further says there is "one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5) and that the water, blood, and Spirit agree (1 John 5:5-8). The concept of baptism is the link between all three. This explains the impetus for baptism in water and in the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation. To be saved, baptized in water and in the Spirit is to fully identify with Christ. Christ's Baptism shows the link between the three persons of the trinity. This further explains why it is neither wrong to baptize only in the name of Jesus nor in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (though this is how Jesus instructed to Baptize). It's all identifying with Jesus in the end. As it concerns the relative order, we can look to the events in the home of Cornelius. Here, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (by Jesus) occurred before Baptism in water (into Jesus) while they were learning of salvation (Jesus). In case it is not clear at this point, salvation is not found in Baptism in water nor in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; it's found in the name of Jesus (Romans 10:13)! - 03/18/04
Light the Fire Ministries ©2004
