Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Part II

2022-01-09

Previously we saw that if you are a Christian, you have been baptized of the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? The Spirit seals us. Consider these three sets of verses:

Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

Here are some observations:

  1. God seals us with the Holy Spirit. This is something that God does. We have no role in this sealing.
  2. The Holy Spirit is the earnest. The Spirit is the down payment for our future inheritance with the Lord. We are saved spiritually now, but there is a day when we will be redeemed physically as well, on the Day of Christ. If God provides the down payment, then you know He will pay the balance.
  3. The Holy Spirit is in our hearts. If in our hearts, He will be there to lead us, convict us, and teach us. He continually points us to Christ.
  4. The Holy Spirit is in us to glorify God. It is “unto the praise of his glory.” He is the source of our worshipping God within us; He is how we worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth.
  5. The Holy Spirit can be grieved. We may have Him, but we can walk contrary to Him. This grieves Him.
  6. The Holy Spirit seals us unto the day of redemption. This is evidence that the truly saved will not become unsaved again. The truly saved truly have the Spirit, and He will not leave us, ever.

A word of caution here. What about this:

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. (Psalms 51:11)

The baptism of the Spirit did not happen until the day of Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension. The anointing of the Spirit mentioned in this verse came with being the King of Israel, like David was. He knew this very thing happened to his predecessor:

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. (1 Samuel 16:13-14)

Also, what about this:

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. (John 20:21-23)

I once thought this was when the baptism/indwelling of the Holy Spirit began. However, I am not as sure about this. Some preliminary understanding is given to them by the Spirit, but the full gift was not yet. Considering a parallel passage might help us more:

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures (Luke 24:44-45)

Scriptural understanding from the Spirit was given them considering the Scriptures, and they were given authority. This new understanding is demonstrated here: “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take” (Acts 1:20).

To conclude, the baptism or the indwelling of the Spirit is an objective truth; it is true of every born-again believer. The filling of the Spirit is subjective; it is dependent on a believer’s experience at a given time. This we will consider shortly.