Hi Everyone,
I have a question and I hope that the friends I have found in all of you can help. I have not yet gotten my books that I have ordered, so I need to know, how to perform a "Spirit Baptism". I know that there is a Water Baptism and a Spirit Baptism. I have searched on the Internet, but I can find no info on how to do either one until my books arrive. Can anyone help?

Very Sincerely,
Rev Kim

Hi Rev Kim

Well you might want to grab yourself a cup of coffee; since this is an interesting subject and quite frankly, one of which that has been, and surely will continue to be the subject of debate in various churches.

At any rate, my mind started spinning with all the thoughts that I wanted to share on this. Although, what small ammount of information I may be able to provide you with; may not be the exact answer which you seek or perhaps even be of much value, it is just my 2 cents on the subject.

Lets begin by looking at Matthew 3:11-17 it speaks where John the baptists says:

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Interestingly, when the Lord gave the apostles specific instructions on how to perform baptisms (Matthew. 28:19), It has been said that He said nothing at all about the necessity of full immersion versus pouring or sprinkling.

Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

So then; should'nt we presume that the apostles understood how to baptize as per Jesus' specific instructions on how to, or should we just assume that the part about the water was left out.

Baptism is not some complicated practice, but it means so much. Although this is a topic for debate among many churches. Technically any Christian can Baptize someone. The person being Baptized must simply believe upon Jesus Christ as Savior and Resurrected only begotten Son of God whom died for his or her sins.

Any Christian can then take that person to a body of water and before fully immersing the person state as Jesus instructed, "I Baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" then raising the person up out of the water. They are now Baptized into the body of Christ.

Clearly there are several kinds of immersion in the New Testament, including immersion into the Holy Spirit

(John 1:33 - I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit').


(Matthew 3:11 - I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire).

(Galatians 3:27 - For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ).

(1 Corinthians 10:2 - They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea) and, of course, water.

An example of a non-water immersion is
1 Corinthians 12:13 - For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

It should be understood that it is not the Christian doing (or officiating) the Baptism that makes the person Baptized, it is the Lord that accomplishes the Baptism, for we do it in His Name thereby asking His seal upon it.

Now various churches have their own take on this. Many may state that the person being baptised must confess all of their sins, repent. Although I wont get into all of that, instead I will share 1 Peter 3:21 where it states:

"And this is a picture of baptism, which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection. Baptism is not a removal of dirt from your body; it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience".

Since the word baptism has over the course of time; been defined to mean plunging, dipping, or immersing. By using this terminology, the Bible depicts the experience as a complete immersion in the Spirit of God. The Baptism of the Spirit is a vital New Testament experience with God. The KJV speaks of being "baptized with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 1:5).

Since the Bible describes a person who receives this experience as being filled with the Spirit. It may be easier to understand if we imagine how an empty glass when completely submerged into a body of water, how it is not only surrounded but also completely filled (inside and out) with the water.

Also, considering the purpose of baptism and especially being baptized in the spirit. The primary concept here is for salvation, or being saved or most importantly Born Again.

John 3 verses 5-8

Jesus Say's "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of Water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

For those who are not aware of what being "Born Again" really means. Jesus was not talking about a physical birth, born of flesh is flesh, but a spiritual birth, born of the Spirit is Spirit. So what did Jesus mean by "born again?" The actual Greek word He used means "born anew," "born from the very first," or "born over again." Jesus was talking about the fact that were all spiritually dead and needed a spiritual birth. Obviously we've all had a physical birth. Now we needed a spiritual birth. That is the meaning of "born again."

Also for those who may want to know how to be spiritually born. Jesus explained that a person needs to see the need for God's forgiveness before God will give him or her a spiritual birth. But in order to have a spiritual birth, to be born of the Spirit, a person needs to believe in Jesus. So this provides some explanation or reasoning to the aforementioned confessing of sins or repenting for past transgressions.

Being born again is a much misunderstood concept about which there is a great deal of confusion in the churches today. It is the change of heart, wrought in the individual by the Holy Spirit, which enables him to understand and act upon the truth of God's word. The importance of this doctrine is underscored by Jesus' words; Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Being born again is closely related to the concept of the effectual call of God's Spirit which ushers the sinner into a relationship with God by faith.

Essentially it is only through one's confession {if you would} of having being born a sinner, and acknowledging or professing that you are believing that Jesus is the son of God and also that he died for you and that God raised him from the dead, that you may be forgiven your sins. And that you are not only accepting him, believing in him but are also inviting him into your life as your Lord and Savior.

In Romans 10: 9-10 is say's: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved

This is the way to being Born Again.

I would hope that my analogies may help to communicate the idea that a person who receives the Holy Spirit achieves a close personal union with God. He lives in constant contact with God, and God becomes a part of his life. He becomes a temple in which God dwells, and the Spirit of God affects his every thought and action.

In closing, while not a direct answer to your question Reverend Kim, and perhaps the future point of arguments from others. However personally I am of the belief that being Born Again is ultimately equivalent as Being Baptised in The Spirit or that of a Spirit Baptism. So in my mind, it is reasonable to believe that this practice should be the same process. Although I am not saying that you cannot just stand beside someone and simply say, "I Baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and The Holy Spirit" and that they would not have been baptized.


Repectfully

Reverend Jack

Hi and thank you Rev Jack. You are what I would call a silent hero. You have answered my questions in a most honest and non questioning way. I am going to share a story with you. When I was a teenager, I went to church with my Grandma every Sunday. When I was 17, she died and I quit going to church because it did not hold the same meaning anymore. I started believing that as long as you held the love of God in your heart and felt Jesus in your soul, then you did not need to go to church. The way you explained a spirit baptism is almost what the moral of my story is. Thank you so much for my complicated answer to my complicated question.

Rev Kim

Well Thank You Very Much

For those were very kind words and in my opinion, very inspirational.

I should perhaps apologize for being so very brief in my answer earlier. But are'nt you glad I was??? Honestly I posted that answer and realized that I needed to mow my yard while the sun was still shining. So as I mowed, my head was simply flooded with, uh oh's of how I forgot to mention this, and of course theres another important point.

So in short, I will apologize to all of you who perhaps feel as though I was too brief in my reponse and or that I left something out.


Reverend Jack

My limited studies (and some
say substantial growth)
leads me to believe you're right, Reverend Kim.

As a matter of fact, I was taught that, the church was intended
to renew our memory of what's already in us.

I must say, I was kinda happy to see Reverend
Jack answer your question, because having been
Baptised in The Holy Spirit, my
head began to spin for some way to explain it.

I did want to tell you this much about being baptised in
The Holy Spirit:

Before I was baptised I saw the world a lot different than
after I was baptised.

Birth in the spirit was like birth from the womb
in that the new birth makes the world look
different to me now.

Initially, I began to see how, being born
innocent, I became lost and why I had
to forgive those who tresspassed against me,
many of whom coloured my world, so to speak.

When Jesus told His disciples that, "the Kingdom
of Heaven is within you"...and when He said
paradise and the kingdom is, "spread-out all
around you"... He was saying we'll have to look
at ourselves and our surroundings differently because the
glory of GOD still exists in reality.

Which to me meant looking through the
compassionate eyes of The Comforter.

So, I wanted to tell you that, perhaps, had this
change in sight been mentioned to me and anticipated
by me... perhaps I would've seen I was saved, sooner...
as opposed to the many who are still only hoping they are saved
because they don't "see" the kindom all around them.

I am grateful to be able to see nature as the glory of
GOD's paradise all around us.

And most days I can see people as the
everyday lost and found
Children of The Kingdom of Heaven, as
souls from GOD seeking fellowship as such.

IMHO, people are only lost from the thoughts or, spirit
of who and what's already inside of
them.


Just some thoughful babblings.


Kolt for Jesus Christ