I've always wondered about getting Baptized. My dad has been wanting me to do it for a long time now. I just don't understand why it is done. I still don't understand it in the Book of Matthew when Jesus got baptized by John; why wasn't it the other way around?
Hi Christine. Firstly, you need to understand that there is a difference between being baptized (in water) and being baptized in the Holy Spirit. They can happen at the same time, but not necessarily. God baptized me in the Holy Spirit three days after I was born again (at a midnight Christmas service - best Christmas present I ever had
) but I was not water baptized till 6 weeks later.
Water baptism is symbolic. At one level, it symbolizes us being washed clean of our sins. At a deeper level it symbolizes the fact that, when we come to Christ we are "united" with Him in His death, burial and resurrection - it is as if we had been there with Him on the Cross, in the grave, and on that glorious first Easter morning. So, as we go down into the water it speaks of our old life being dead and buried, and as we come up out of the water it speaks of us rising in newness of life.
I believe this latter symbolism is the reason Jesus was baptized by John. That event marked the end of His private life - from that moment onward, He was pointing to the Cross. By going through a symbolic death, burial and resurrection, He was effectively stating His commitment to fulfill His destiny as our Saviour (even though probably nobody witnessing it at the time understood.) His baptism looked forward to what He was going to do; our baptisms look back to what He has done.
For Jesus, His "Holy Spirit baptism" came at the same time as His water baptism. For us, it can come any time after our salvation. We need to understand that being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not really "receiving" the Holy Spirit (as in receiving for the first time.) The moment we are born again we receive the Holy Spirit. He comes to live
within us and begin the work of transforming us into the likeness of Christ. When we are baptized in the Spirit, the Spirit comes
upon us to equip us to be Christ's witnesses.
We also need to understand that there is a difference between being baptized
by the Holy Spirit
into the Body of Christ, and being baptized
by Jesus
in the Holy Spirit. The first happens as soon as we are born again, the second happens some time later.
We can only be
baptized in the Spirit once, but we can be
filled with the Spirit many times.
It is very important to remember that, as wonderful as the accompanying signs - heat, being slain in the Spirit, joy or whatever - may be, that is not what the baptism is about. It is about equipping us to be His witnesses - literally, His martyrs - about building the Kingdom of God. So please, everyone, enjoy the experiences, but be sure to seek the Lord to know what He would want you to do with His power for the Kingdom.
blessings,
Lynn