The Baptism of the Spirit
SCRIPTURE :\’”John bare witness, saying, He that sent me to baptize with water, He said
unto me, Upon Whomsoever thou shalt see the, Spirit descending, and abiding on Him the
same is He that baptizeth with the Holy Spirit.”\’ John 1:33
THERE were two things that John the Baptist preached concerning the person of Christ, The
one was, that He was the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world The other, that
He would baptize His disciples with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The Blood of the Lamb,
and the Baptism of the Spirit were the two central truths of his creed and his preaching. They
are, indeed, inseparable: the Church cannot do her work in power, nor can her exalted Lord
be glorified in her, except as the Blood as the foundation-stone, and the Spirit as the
cornerstone, are fully preached.
- The preaching of the Lamb of God, of His suffering and atonement, of pardon and
peace through Him, is more easily apprehended by the understanding of man, and can
more speedily influence his feelings, than the more inward spiritual truth of the
baptism, and indwelling, and guidance of the Holy Spirit. - The pouring out of the blood took place upon earth, it was something visible and
outward, and, in virtue of the types, not unintelligible. - The pouring out of the Spirit was in heaven, a Divine and hidden mystery.
- The shedding of the blood was for the ungodly and rebellious, the gift of the Spirit, for
the loving and obedient disciple.
It is no wonder, when the life of the Church is not in very intense devotion to her Lord, that
the preaching and the faith of the Baptism of the Spirit should find less entrance than that of
redemption and forgiveness.
And yet God would not have it so. The Old Testament Promise had spoken of God\’s Spirit
within us. The forerunner at once took up the strain, and did not preach the Atoning Lamb
without telling whereunto it was that we were to be redeemed, and how God\’s high purpose
was to be fulfilled in us. Sin was not only guilt and condemnation; it was defilement and
death. It had incurred not only the loss of God\’s favor it had made us unfit for the Divine
fellowship. And without this the wonderful love that had created man could not be content.
God wanted really to have us for Himself, our hearts and affections, yea, our inmost
personality, our very self, a home for His love to rest in, a temple for His worship.
PRAYER The preaching of John included both the beginning and the end of redemption:
the blood of the Lamb was to cleanse God\’s Temple and restore His Throne within the
heart; nothing less than the Baptism and Indwelling of the Spirit could satisfy the heart of
either God or man. PRAY FOR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS AND THE TRUE
IMPACT IN EVERYONE OF OUR LIVES.