HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM

Pastor Art Watkins of Coden Bible Church (Coden, Alabama)

July 14, 2018

1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

One of the most important duties of the Spirit today is to baptize every person who believes the Gospel of the Grace. Baptism is important today and God has entrusted that work to the Holy Spirit. He is the one who baptizes believers in behalf of God today. He began his ministry when he came into the world in Acts 2. Once Christ baptized the apostles with the Spirit, he began to baptize all believers into Christ.

Every single believer has been baptized by the Spirit of God into the body of Christ, but how many believers know what it means to be baptized by the Holy Spirit? Not many. The devil has done a masterful job in blinding and deceiving believers about Holy Spirit baptism.

The charismatics have distorted Spirit Baptism by equating it with speaking in tongues when it has nothing to do with speaking in tongues. (The charismatics have done more to disgrace the Holy Spirit than any religious group) Most denominational churches ignore Spirit baptism and place their emphasis on water baptism. Water baptism is the main focus of most denominational churches today. Their doctrinal statements say more about water baptism than Spirit baptism. Water baptism even dictates the way they construct their churches. When you walk into most churches your eyes are immediately drawn to the baptismal pool. When they draw up plans to build a church the baptismal pool is the main focus.

Water baptism will get you wet, but it will not change who you are, and what you are, and where you will spend eternity, but Spirit baptism does that and more.

****Holy Spirit Baptism Is For Salvation****

Romans 6:3-7 says; Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Verse 3 says we were baptized into Jesus Christ. The word into is a preposition and in this verse it describes the motion of an object from one position to another. It describes the motion of an object from the exterior of something into its interior. Before you were saved you were without Christ, but now you are in Christ. But how did you get from the outside to the inside of Christ? The Holy Spirit baptized you into Jesus Christ. The word baptism is a noun, but the word baptized is a verb. A verb shows action and motion. When you were baptized into Jesus Christ an action and motion took place. God took you from your former position outside of Christ and moved you into your present position in Christ.

Only those who are in Christ are saved and the only way you can get into Christ is by baptism. Therefore, the baptism of Romans 6 is saving baptism. It is not an option, it is mandatory for salvation. That is why we believe that baptism saves, BUT IT'S NOT WATER, its Spirit for only the Holy Spirit can baptize you into Christ.

****Holy Spirit Baptism Is For Identification****

The word “into” in Romans 6:3 not only means to pass from the outside of an object into its interior, but it also means to pass from one form or state into another. For example: If I take an ice cube and place it into a bucket of water I am not only moving it from the outside of the bucket to the inside, but I am changing its form and appearance. Outside the bucket it is a solid square object, but inside it becomes a smooth liquid. It takes on the form and identify of what it is placed into. Its identify is changed. It is no longer solid, it becomes liquid.

When the Holy Spirit baptizes a believer into Christ, God changes his identity. You put off your former identity in the flesh and put on Christ's identity. Galatians 3:27 says; For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. To put on Christ is to put on his identity. When you become identified with him, you put off your former identity in the flesh. You are given a new identity. You become a new creature. You are not in the flesh anymore. This shows Romans 6 cannot be water baptism. In water baptism the person who goes under the water is the same one who comes up out of the water. But when a person experiences the baptism of Romans 6 he becomes another person. He becomes a new creature.

****Holy Spirit Baptism Is A Baptism Of Crucifixion****

Romans 6:3 says that those who are baptized into Jesus Christ; were baptized into his death. Verse 5 says for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death.

By Holy Spirit baptism you become identified with Christ. You become so identified and united with him, that what is said of him becomes true of you. Therefore, when he died, you died with him. When he was buried, you were buried with him. When he was raised, you were raised with him. God now counts Christ's death on the cross as yours. We can now truthfully say that we are crucified, buried and raised with Christ. Why is it so important to be crucified with Christ? Because it is through death that we gain freedom. That brings us to the next point about Holy Spirit baptism.

****Holy Spirit baptism Is A Baptism Of Emancipation****

Romans 6:7 says; He that is dead is freed from sin. It is through death that we gain our freedom from sin.

----Freedom from the penalty of sin is through death.

Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  This verse says the wages or penalty or punishment of sin is death. Because all have sinned, all have all been sentenced to death. This death is the second death, which is suffering forever in the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-14) But, if you have been baptized into Christ you will not receive the wages of your sins. You will escape the penalty and punishment for your sins. You will not suffer the second death. Why? Because those who are baptized into Christ are baptized into his death. His death is counted as ours. When he was crucified we were crucified with him. When sin slew him, it slew us. Having died with Christ, sin cannot condemn us any longer for it has already condemned us when it condemned Christ. For example; When the state executes a man it can no longer condemn him. Death frees him from future condemnation. Through death we gain freedom from the damnation of sin. Jesus Christ stood trial for our sins and was executed for them and because we died with him, the law cannot condemn us again. As far as the law of God is concerned we have been executed for our crimes. Christ death is counted as ours for we were baptized into his death by the Spirit. And you can't punish a man twice for the same crimes.

----Freedom from the power of sin is through death.

Romans 6:7 says; For he that is dead is freed from sin.  When the state executes a man he is not only freed from future condemnation, but is freed from the control of the state. As long as he is alive the state controls everything he does while in prison. But, once he dies they have no more control over him.  Having died with Christ we are not only freed from sins condemnation, but its power and control also. That is why Paul says; Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (Rom.6:12) There is a difference between sin and sins. Sin is the root, sins are the fruit. From Romans 1-5 God deals with sins and how Christ paid the penalty of our sins through his death. Those chapters deal with the justification of the believer.

From Romans 6-8 sin, the old nature is dealt with. God shows us what he has done about sin in the believer and how we have victory over sin even though we still have sin dwelling in our bodies.

God knows what a problem we have with sin. That is why he led Paul to write so much about the sin nature in his epistles. God committed to Paul the great doctrines of grace. One of the outstanding blessings of grace is the freedom God gave us from the dominion of sin. Romans 6:14 says; For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace. When it comes to sin under grace God has done more for the believer than in any previous age. Under grace we can say that even though sin dwells in our flesh, we are not under dominion to sin, and we do not have to serve sin any longer.

The main purpose of Holy Spirit Baptism in Romans 6 is to free you from the condemnation of sin and from the power of sin.

No other baptism can do this. No other baptism has this kind of power. ALL THAT WATER BAPTISM WILL DO FOR YOU IS GET YOU WET. It cannot free you from the condemnation of sin which is hell. It cannot free you from being a slave to sin. Water baptism is weak and powerless when it comes to sin, whereas Holy Spirit baptism is all powerful. It has power to save sinners from hell and power to change their lives for the better once they are saved.

****Holy Spirit Baptism Is A Baptism Of Unification****

Galatians 3:28-29 says; For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

According to these verses Spirit Baptism erases all barriers between believers. It eliminates all national, racial, sexual and religious advantages. It creates an oneness between all believers. No one has any advantage over another in Christ because of his race, sex, or nation. There is true equality in the body of Christ, which is the result of Spirit Baptism. Today, there is no advantage in being a Jew or disadvantage in being a Gentile. Christ is all, and in all. (Col. 3:11)

In closing, every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ the moment they believe the gospel. There is no waiting period or works required. It is an essential part of salvation and no one can be saved without it.

Rejoice in it, and seek to understand it more fully.