1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that the Holy Spirit lives within every Christian. As a believer, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. To be inhabited by the Holy Spirit is an incredible thing. But there’s more. Acts 1:8 and many other passages speak of the subsequent experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So what is the difference?
Take a large sponge and pour into it a cup of water. The sponge will easily absorb the water. You can hold the sponge up in the air and the water will stay inside. That’s a picture of God sending His Holy Spirit to live within us at the moment of conversion. The Holy Spirit possesses us, helping us live the Christian life.
Now take that same sponge and dip it into a bucket of water. That’s a picture of the baptism. The word means to immerse, submerge, or to make overwhelmed. Having dipped the sponge into the water, lift it up and see what happens. The water will pour out of it. It’s like Jesus said in John 7:38, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be immersed, submerged, and overwhelmed with power. This is what enables us to be bold and effective witnesses for Christ. My question to you is the same Paul asked the Ephesians, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?”
Pastor Todd
Take a large sponge and pour into it a cup of water. The sponge will easily absorb the water. You can hold the sponge up in the air and the water will stay inside. That’s a picture of God sending His Holy Spirit to live within us at the moment of conversion. The Holy Spirit possesses us, helping us live the Christian life.
Now take that same sponge and dip it into a bucket of water. That’s a picture of the baptism. The word means to immerse, submerge, or to make overwhelmed. Having dipped the sponge into the water, lift it up and see what happens. The water will pour out of it. It’s like Jesus said in John 7:38, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be immersed, submerged, and overwhelmed with power. This is what enables us to be bold and effective witnesses for Christ. My question to you is the same Paul asked the Ephesians, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?”
Pastor Todd
