Luke 3:15-18 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.
John baptized repentant souls with water for their sins. His baptism was to have a better life by committing wholeheartedly to God and following his commandments, but it still left mankind with a sin question, for water alone or a strong commitment to God could not wash away sins, could not bring righteousness to the soul. But John says, one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus Christ's baptism will be one of fire, that which purges the soul, burns the chaff, establishes righteousness within the soul. John says, His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Within one's soul, He alone can separate the wheat from the chaff, and within the world, He will separate the wheat from the chaff. He knows what is true and what is false, what is worthy of God and what isn't.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit encompasses the soul, the inner man. Christ takes our commitment to him, our confession and our water baptism, and then makes our lives eternally viable by filling us with the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit of God comes to abide, WE ARE NEVER AGAIN ALONE. Without his presence in us, we are just men and women with a strong commitment to God. But when we are found IN CHRIST because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, WE ARE NEVER ALONE. Then God is in us, and we are in him, the great mystery of the Bible. From the time of our immersion in the Spirit, we are known as GOD'S ELECT or GOD'S CHOSEN, God's sons and daughters, with the seal of the Spirit upon up. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
Yes, you must be baptized with the Holy Spirit. You must open the door to the Holy Spirit by making a strong, irreversible faith commitment to Jesus Christ. This statement of faith allows us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Son of God; through him and in him comes life and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. From that time on, we are his and He is ours. Our spirits take a backseat to his spirit. We are no longer in the driver's seat. God has eternal plans for us. We succumb to HIS WILL and not our own. We constantly seek that the Lord will burn up the chaff in us and make us more like him, for we are his, and we desire more of him and less of us.
The baptism of water indicates a strong desire to follow God, a death to this world and sin; it is an outward sign of an inward change of heart. If it means to you that now by faith you belong to God, and you are no longer your own, then Jesus Christ will come and penetrate your heart and implant the Holy Spirit deep within your being. You will find the lovely Holy Spirit alive within your soul. The Comforter will come to teach you, to guide you, and to abide with your forever This everlasting spiritual infilling will bubble to the surface and overflow to those around you every day with the good news as you walk this earth. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
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