Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In the Book of Hebrews, Paul writes to us in chapter 6 about “leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ and going on to perfection.” Paul then lists six foundational principles of the life of faith that all Believers should know and understand. Without fully and completely understanding these six foundational principles of faith, a Believer will have a faulty foundation and will never be the strong, stalwart, fearless warrior of Christ we are commanded to be throughout the Gospel.
Hebrews 6:1-2
1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
For the purposes of this message, we are going to look at the oft confusing “doctrine of baptisms,” the third foundational principle of faith listed in verse 2. Many of us are aware of only one baptism, the public water baptism practiced in many churches. Did you know this is the third and last of the baptisms if we follow the order Paul taught in the churches? What, there are two other baptisms? Yes, three in all. Let’s review them.
The first baptism occurs at salvation and is performed by The Holy Spirit when He baptizes us into The Body of Christ, which is known as The Church. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and acknowledged Him as The Son of God, we were immediately translated from the kingdom of darkness into The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God’s dear Son, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13), and we were supernaturally baptized by The Holy Spirit into The Body of Christ. Our acceptance of salvation was the only qualifier, and The Holy Spirit did all the rest.
I Corinthians 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body (The Body of Christ), whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Galatians 3:27
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ (The Body of Christ) have put on Christ.
Ephesians 4:5
One Lord, one faith, one baptism (speaking in context of The Body of Christ),
Once we, as Believers, are baptized into The Body of Christ (Christ in us and we in Christ), we are then eligible for the second baptism. The second baptism is one less understood, and, in some cases, completely ignored by some denominations, which has created a significant weakness in The Body of Christ. This baptism is performed by Jesus Christ. It is the same baptism Jesus received when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and God baptized Jesus with The Holy Spirit immediately following Jesus coming up out of the water. It is commonly referred to as “the baptism of The Holy Spirit.” Do you think this baptism is important if Jesus, Himself, received it? You bet your eternity this is important.
Matthew 3:11
I (John the Baptist) indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He (Jesus) that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He (Jesus) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
We can see from Matthew 3:11 Jesus is the baptizer, and we are baptized into The Holy Spirit. The second baptism is initiated by us, the Believer, by wanting to receive the baptism of The Holy Spirit. In the first church, of which Paul was an Apostle, all new Believers were led upon salvation into the baptism of The Holy Spirit. It was clearly understood this is required. Why is this baptism so important? Let’s look at John 1:12.
John 1:12
But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name:
Upon salvation we received the “power” of John 1:12. The word “power” in John 1:12 is the Greek word, “exousia,” which means “authority and right.” So, upon salvation, we received the authority and right to become sons of God – or as the sons of God. For analogy purposes, this is the equivalent of being sworn in as a police officer or as a member of the military. Authority and right are conferred upon us at the swearing in – or in our Spiritual case, at our salvation. Now, is the badge of a police officer any good if the police officer never enforces anything? No. While the badge gives the police officer the authority or right, unless this authority or right is exercised, the badge is worthless. Now, when the police officer enforces the authority of the badge by taking action, this is a different kind of power. We see this spoken of in Acts 10:38.
Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with The Holy Ghost and with power: Who (Jesus) went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.
When was Jesus anointed by God with The Holy Spirit and with power? Yes, upon rising out of the water when baptized by John. Scripture tells us in Matthew 3:16-17 about the baptism of Jesus.
Matthew 3:16-17
16 And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw The Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.
Prior to the baptism of The Holy Spirit, Jesus did no miracles or mighty works. He couldn’t. Why? Because He required the anointing – the baptism of The Holy Spirit. What is “anointing?” Anointing is when God confers upon human flesh the power to do things that only God can do. If a Believer has not received the baptism of The Holy Spirit, they possess only the authority and right to exercise the power of The Kingdom, but they have no power.
Jesus spoke extensively of the coming Holy Spirit (came at the time of Pentecost in Acts 2 and remained in the earth) and the purpose of It. Let’s look at just two instances in Scripture:
John 14:26
But The Comforter, which is The Holy Ghost, Whom The Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:13-15
13 Howbeit when He, The Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15 All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.
We will not delve into these verses, but I encourage you as Believers, and students of God’s Word, to do your own study of these four verses. They are powerful! This wonderful, all powerful Holy Spirit came into the earth to fill all Believers who will accept the baptism of The Holy Spirit. A Believer who has not accepted and received the baptism of The Holy Spirit is likened unto a soldier entering battle with a knife and no gun. The soldier can somewhat defend himself, but only after the enemy is upon him and only under their own strength and power. This Believer must rely on the miracles of God and has an up and down life of faith. God, through The Holy Spirit, has made it clear in Zechariah 4:6-7 that a Believer’s life is to be one filled with The Spirit of The Lord (The Holy Spirit) and not by the Believer’s might and power (in the flesh). And the Believer’s life is not to be an up and down life (we might say on the mountain top one day and in the valley the next day). Instead, the Believer’s life is to be one of walking on a level plain with no mountains and no valleys through the power of God’s Grace and through the power of speaking God’s Word to the mountains and valleys that oppose a Believer’s right to a life of consistency modeled by Jesus in His time on earth.
Let’s look back at Acts 10:38 and the word, “power.” The Greek word for “power” is “dunamis,” and it means, “the power of God.” So, Jesus did not receive “the power of God,” or “dunamis,” until the baptism of The Holy Spirit. Prior to this Jesus possessed “exousia” or the “authority or right” to be The Son of God. This applies to Believers today the same way as it applied to Jesus. Yes, Believers are saved, but today, unlike the early church, many are largely powerless because they’ve not received the baptism of The Holy Spirit. I will not go into it here, but one of the manifestations of the baptism of The Holy Spirit is the ability to speak in the Holiest of Tongues, a language no other being besides the triune Father, Son, and Holy Ghost can understand. It is a perfect Spiritual language devoid of human emotions, senses, imperfections, flesh, fear, or weakness. It is spoken from The Holy Spirit inside you, and Believers baptized in The Holy Spirit can effortlessly switch into this language. I can tell you from visible and invisible experience, IT WORKS!!
The third baptism, as mentioned earlier, is the baptism almost all Believers are very familiar with and have likely experienced known as “water baptism.” This baptism is performed by other Believers. It is a baptism that can take place anytime after salvation and is a public confession that your old life was buried with Jesus Christ and you have arisen, or resurrected Spiritually, as a new creation, with Christ to the new life of Christ in you (II Corinthians 5:17). This baptism in NOT required for salvation, but it is a commandment given by Jesus to every new Believer.
II Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (new creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The three baptisms are one of the six foundational principles of the life of faith we, as Believers, are to have a clear and complete understanding of in order to continue to grow strong Spiritually in our persistent life walk of faith. This is God’s will for us as clearly expounded by Paul in Hebrews. If we are serious about our strong and victorious walk of faith in Christ, then we must obey His commandments with respect to the doctrine of baptisms.
Have a wonderful celebration of life in Christ Jesus as we universally give thanks and praise for our risen Savior’s birth over 2,000 years ago. I pray your family, and you, can look back over 2024 and praise God for His goodness, for His supply, for His protection, for His deliverance, and for His healing and wholeness. I know some of us have had a difficult year, but we learn the secret of a life of love, joy, and peace is to praise and thank God through it all. This keeps us from eating the bread of sorrows of Psalm 127:2 and gives us great hope (Biblical word is certainty and a guarantee) in God’s goodness and mercy of Psalm 23:6 to continue to follow us all the days of our life in this earth. God is able to bless a joyful, thankful, and praising heart.
In Jesus Christ,
Larry