THREE BAPTISMS

THREE BAPTISMS

1/ Baptism "into Christ" or the body of Christ—(Gal 3: 27), (1 Cor 12: 13) This is the first thing a sinner does to become a follower of Jesus. We must be "born again" (John 3:3), (2 Cor 5:17), (Eph 2:1-10), which is the same thing as being baptized into the body of Christ, in my opinion.

2/ Baptism in water---(Matt 3:13-17), (Acts 8:35-38), (Rom 6:1-6)
This is the second thing a person should do, as soon after becoming "born again" possible. There has been some controversy over the mode of baptism, whether it should be done in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or in the Name of Jesus. To me they are the same, because Jesus is the only Name in the Godhead, Father and Holy Spirit are titles and not names. An understanding of this would eliminate the controversy.

3/ Baptism "in or with" the Holy Spirit--- (Matt 3:11), (Acts1:1-8)
This can happen at any time after the first two, when a person yields completely to the Holy Spirit, and confesses every known sin, and those that were unknown until God makes them known. This often takes some time of spiritual growth after conversion! (Eph 4:11-13) Some people claim that speaking in "tongues" always accompanies baptism in the Holy Spirit as the "initial sign" or evidence. But others have believed there should be many signs of a "Spirit filled" life besides the gift of tongues, See (Eph 5:18-21) where Paul describes what being filled with the Spirit really means. The Greek word translated here as "be filled", means to keep on continually being filled, and is not a one time experience! The danger as I see it is that if people are expecting any sort of a sign or experience, they might be deceived by Satan who can counterfeit gifts. But if they are seeking Jesus, who is the baptizer, and not some experience, they are safe. I believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the first step in a spirit filled life, and the two terms mean the same thing. The baptism never needs to be repeated, but we need to be filled daily. And the initial biblical evidence of the baptism is speaking in a language you have never learned as the Spirit gives this ability.(Acts 2:4)  Once a person is baptized in the Spirit, they need to keep being filled daily, by constantly hungering and thirsting after God!

Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer