Baptisms Mark 1:8 “ I indeed baptised you with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit”

Baptisms The need for strong foundations – Hebrews 6:1 – 2 Baptisms – note the plural Baptizo is a Greek word that has been Anglicised to become baptism It referred to the practice of dying cloth which entails a full submersion of cloth into the dye The word is used a number of times in the NT and always involves the idea of a complete or whole operation

Baptisms We need to recognize that much of the church and for much of church history there has been a departure from what was practiced in NT times During much of history those who sought to follow NT practice were sidelined and persecuted by the official church Baptism is NOT ceremonial Baptism is NOT a blind ritual There is a need for a fullness, complete experience

Baptisms WATER BAPTISM Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist The early church baptised believers (Acts 2:41, Acts 16:33, Acts 8:36) NT practice was partly rooted in the OT – - Noah and the Flood – see 1Peter 3:20 -21 - Moses and the Red Sea – see 1 Corinthians 10:1 – 2 - Priests cleansed themselves with water before approaching God (Exodus 30:18) - Naaman’s healing from leprosy (a symbol of sin) (2 Kings 5

Baptisms WATER BAPTISM Baptism by full immersion signifies – - our death to self - we rise from the water as a symbol of our resurrection to new life in Jesus - we identify ourselves with Jesus’ death and resurrection Who should be baptised? - those who Have repented of their sin and trusted in Jesus’ sacrifice on their behalf - those who believe (have faith) - those who want to be obedient to the Lord

Baptisms HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM In the same way that water baptism is essential for every believer so too is the baptism of the Holy Spirit Jesus promised that the disciples would receive the Father’s promise, power from on high (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4, 8) There are 7 references in the NT to baptism used in connection to the Holy Spirit

Baptisms HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16 and John 1:33– John the Baptist promises that Jesus will baptise in the Holy Spirit and fire Acts 1:5 – Jesus says that the disciples would be baptised with the Holy Spirit Acts 11:16 - Peter describes what happened in Cornelius’ house and quotes Jesus’ words from Acts 1:5 1 Corinthians 12:13 – Paul describes how believers were baptised into one body by the Holy Spirit

Baptisms HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM Holy Spirit baptism is immersion from above as contrasted with water baptism which is submersion The Holy Spirit comes upon people – power from on high The Holy Spirit has already come to dwell within us through our new birth (1 Corinthians 6:19) Now we need to be empowered to be God’s witnesses

Baptisms HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM Evidence of the baptism – something supernatural happens In the NT there are 5 accounts of people being baptised in the Holy Spirit Acts 2:4 – Pentecost Acts 9:17 – Paul Acts 8:17 – the Samaritans Acts 10:44 – 46 – the house of Cornelius Acts 19:6 – the Ephesians In almost all of these the evidence that something has happened is that people began to speak in tongues

Baptisms HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM The baptism of the Holy Spirit can be seen as an entry point to a new dimension of intimacy with God It is the necessary empowerment we need to reach the world with God’s message Once given God never retracts a gift but we need to use it or we will see a reduction in our witness Having been baptised in the Spirit we need to continue to walk in the Spirit in order to bring people to Jesus

Baptisms CONCLUSION Water baptism shows a 100% commitment to God in response to what Jesus has done for us, it is a once and for all event Holy Spirit baptism helps us to be more effective in our witness and walk with God – it is an initial event that may be repeated Both should be part of the normal Christian life Have we been baptised in water? Do we need to be? Have we been baptised in the Holy Spirit? If we have been are we leaking and need to be filled again (Ephesians 5:18)?