The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

In John 10:10(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” As our relationship with Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ deepens, and we learn more about Him through His Word, we begin to understand that everything He does and says feeds our lives and has abiding purpose. Jesus Christ tells us in John 10:10 exactly why he came to the earth. He left the throne of God to come to earth to accomplish the mission Heavenly Father sent Him to complete. He did it because he loves Heavenly Father and because he loves us. But have you wondered why he had to be born and didn’t just arrive on the scene a fully grown individual?

The physical body of Jesus Christ was incubated in Mary’s womb in the way that all human babies are. There could be no question that Jesus Christ was fully man and is fully God. Heavenly Father tells us in His Word that He is eternally faithful to the laws He has put in place. He will never violate those laws. When it comes to the realm of earth, God’s Word decreed that humans would be created in His image, and they would be the ones to reign within earth’s domain. God established a territory on earth, and then gave us, His children, the responsibility to steward and manage it. His plan is that we operate in the same manner that He operates. Well, what’s the manner of God’s operation? The answer to this question is quite simple. It is love.

Love is not only the way God operates; it is who He is. His plan is that we follow His Perfect Will which is to behave and walk in His love as well. History has unfolded in a way that shows us very clearly how we behave and what we do to one another when the love of God is not in our hearts and therefore not the motivations behind our actions; we break each other down and tear each other apart. God’s makes His expectation and desire for us clear in Ephesians 3:19(NLT). This verse tells us, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Heavenly Father’s Will is for us to be complete with life and power that comes from Him, and the only way to do this is through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ is the greatest example of God’s love, and while he walked the earth, he set the perfect example of love for human-beings to follow.

Because of what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished through his sacrifice on the cross, we have the privilege and honor to live in two realms in the same way that he did. Physically, our bodies live on earth, and spiritually our citizenship is in heaven. The citizenship requirement for residing on earth according to God’s legal standard is that one must dwell in a physical body. This is the precedent Heavenly Father established, so Jesus Christ had to be born to meet this requirement. In John 14:6(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the way! It is a perfect ‘way’, not lacking in any aspect, never deviating from God’s law.

Jesus Christ had to fulfill the law in every way. He said in Matthew 5:17(NIV), “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” He came to fulfill the law, because this is something no human could do. He came to show us the way! And the ‘way’ that he demonstrated and made available is that of salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ told Nicodemus in John 3:3-7(NLT): 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’”

We are born once in a physical body that allows us legal access to the realm of earth. We are born-again spiritually to allow us spiritual access to the realm of heaven. We are three-part beings like the God-head bodily, but our human-spirits are dead to God as a result of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience. In order for our human-spirits to become alive to God, we must be born-again. His purpose is clear, so that we will be totally transformed in will, thought, purpose, and life. This cannot happen without the indwelling Holy Spirit. Accepting this gift of Spirit that God offers through Christ is the only way to live a successful Christian life. It is the only way to transform into the person God desires you to be.

The Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life! Many of the struggles we endure are a result of not being baptized in the Spirit. John the Baptist said about Jesus Christ in Matthew 3:11 (NLT) “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” We have a choice. We can allow darkness to dominate our lives, or we can choose the way that Jesus Christ made available and be baptized with the Holy Spirit. It’s not about religion, it’s simply a matter of making Jesus Christ the head of our lives and inviting the Holy Spirit to make himself at home in our hearts. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

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