Our Text for this series:
Hebrews 5:12-14 NKJV
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Hebrews 6:1-2 NKJV
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Note:
As we see in scripture, Jesus made it clear that He didn’t come to call the righteous to repentance because they are already righteous. He came to call the unrighteous, the sinner, to repentance that they may receive salvation, becoming righteous through Jesus. I say this because I want all to understand that a person who has never received Jesus as their Lord and Savior does not have to be “worthy” in order to receive Him. Every person who has come to Christ has been a sinner. God does not see one sin as greater than another, to Him, sin is sin. You see, Jesus is the only one who can make us “worthy” and He gives it to us as a gift when we receive Him.
Matthew 9:10-13 MEV
While Jesus sat at supper in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Luke 15:1-7 MEV
Now all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. But the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Then when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Likewise, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous men who need no repentance.
Baptism in the Blood of Jesus Christ
The first baptism is the baptism into the body of Christ, also called the blood baptism. When you repent, you make that mental decision to turn away from the path you’re on and turn towards God, that’s when the Holy Spirit meets you where you’re at. The Holy Spirit is the one that baptizes you into the body of Christ and it is at this point that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you.
There are some interesting things that happen to you when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. First and foremost, you are a new creature in Christ, born from above, born into the body of Christ.
You are given the “measure of faith,” the same faith that God has or it could also be said, it is the God-kind-of-faith.
When the Holy Spirit comes and indwells you, He brings with Him “the love of God,” the same love that is needed to fulfill the commandments of Jesus and to walk in love.
When we are born again we are adopted as sons and daughters, children of God, and become joint heirs with Christ. Kenneth E. Hagin has a great mini book called “in Him” that really delves into a lot of what accompanies being a joint heir with Christ.
We have “…an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith…”
And the list goes on. There is so much more that God has for us in and through Jesus Christ than we can learn in this lifetime, which is exciting considering we are going to spend eternity with Him. That’s why I want you excited about the Word of God, to hunger for Him, and to consistently feed upon Him. Be intentional about your spiritual growth, don’t let this slip passed you.
John 14:6 NASB
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:16-17,25-26 NASB
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Romans 5:5 KJV
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Romans 8:15-17 NASB
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Romans 10:8-13 NASBS 8 But what does it say? “The WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”-that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
Romans 12:3 KJVS
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
1 Corinthians 12:13 KJVS
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Ephesians 2:8 KJVS
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
1 Peter 1:3-9 NASB
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The second baptism is the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire spoken of by John the Baptist prior to baptizing Jesus in the Jordan. We first see this happen in Acts when about 120 believer’s were meeting in an upper room when the soundof a mighty rushing wind filled the house and tongues of fire rested on each of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
This is a different action than when you receive salvation and the Holy Spirit comes and lives in you. In the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you are immersed in the miracle working power of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. This is the supernatural power that helps you to perform the works that God has called us to. And don’t get hung up on or confused by tongues, this is the supernatural prayer language that we receive as a gift, the keyword here being “receive.” If someone wants to hand you a bottle of water, it is not yours until you take it or “receive” it from that person. It’s the same with any gift from God, it is already there for us, we are not waiting for Him to give it to us, He is waiting for us to “receive” it or take it from Him.
The Holy Spirit gives to each supernatural gifts as He wills. They are word of wisdom, word of knowledge, supernatural faith, gifts of healing, the effecting of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, various kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
Matthew 3:11 MEV
I indeed baptize you with water to repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Luke 3:16 MEV
John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water. But One mightier than I is coming, the strings of whose shoes I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NASB
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
Acts 2:1-8 MEV
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 There appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed and resting on each of them, 4 and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. 5 Now dwelling in Jerusalem were Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, the crowd came together and were confounded, because each man heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to each other, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that we hear, each in our own native language?
Ephesians 4:4-7,11-16 NASB
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Baptism in Water
The third baptism is the water baptism and is typically performed with an audience of family members, loved ones, and other believers. Some people view water baptism as optional and I disagree with this. When you look at Hebrews 6:1-2, the doctrine of baptisms is required to advance from the milk to solid food, therefore I do believe that it is required in order to grow spiritually. Now the world will tell you that water baptism is largely symbolic, that it means very little but that’s not true. Lets walk through water baptism in steps to make it more clear. First the person baptizing you in water will ask if you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. When you confess that you have, this represents dying to your old sinful self on the cross as Jesus died on the cross and he will continue by saying “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then as you submerge in water you are demonstrating the burial of your old self as Jesus was buried. And, finally, as you come up out of the water, you are displaying your resurrected self just as Jesus did. Two things happen when you receive water baptism. First, you have submitted yourself to God by being willing and obedient to do what He has asked. Don’t undersell this, you have just proven to God that you love Him and that you are willing to put what He wants above what you want, because most of us don’t want to be on public display and it’s uncomfortable. Second, you have witnessed to others through your obedience. So, water baptism is in a nutshell, an outward expression of an inward witness.
Matthew 3:16-17 NASB
After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NASB
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”