"Christ, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise..." (Eph 1:13).
Such a simple verse of Scripture, and yet so full of impacting truth! How sad that many believers will overlook such things! It's only "AFTER that ye believed, ye were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise".. This of course references the Holy Ghost baptism as a second experience in the salvation process, completely separate and distinct from our initial justification. Nonetheless, countless Christians deny such a second experience, and consequently are missing out on quite a bit of what God is up to these days! Friends, we cannot go DEEP without the Holy Ghost: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Cor 2:9-10).
Oh the detriments of such a neglect!
Men refuse this truth because they assume you cannot be saved without the Holy Ghost baptism; they mistakenly conclude both events as always simultaneous. But what does the Bible say? Is it possible to be saved and "baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus", yet not to have received the Holy Ghost baptism? Yes! These are NOT necessarily simultaneous acts: "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8:14-17).
Scripture lays out a clear and unambiguous pattern, all we must do is allow it to direct our steps.. "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied" (Acts 19:1-6). What was the baptism of John, we may ask? His baptism was water baptism; it was a baptism of repentance (Matt 3:2, 11; 21:32). At this baptism, the people were said to be "confessing their sins", and were fleeing "from the wrath to come" (Matt 3:6-7). This baptism, therefore, is significant of justification by faith (1 Jn 1:9; Acts 22:16). The Holy Ghost baptism, however, is is a second experience in the Christian life, and does not necessarily occur automatically: "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive..." (Jn 7:38-39).
The person of the Holy Ghost, of course, is required to draw men to Jesus and to apply His blood to our hearts (Jn 6:44), and this is why we casually assume our justification to include this baptism. It's because His power obviously facilitates the salvation process, and even places us in the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). In fact, we are given a measure of the Holy Spirit when we are saved (Jn 20:22). However, this mustn't be confused with the "baptism" of the Holy Ghost, as men are so prone to do. This is entirely different (Jn 16:7; Acts 2:4; 38; 8:15). The word baptism means "immersion". It is very possible to be genuinely blood-bought, yet never immersed in God's Spirit. This "immersion" is a subsequent experience, occurring once a person has been justified, or "after that ye believed" (Eph 1:13).
We see this further by examining the feasts.. We know that the feasts of Israel are typical for us (spiritual Israel) in our walks with God (Col 2:16-17). Passover is described by the Apostle Paul as a type of our justification experience, that is, our freedom from Egypt (the bondage of sin and Satan). Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us (1 Cor 5:7). Interestingly, Old Testament Pentecost occurred exactly 50 days after Passover (Exod 12:18; Num 28:16; Lev 23:4-5). New Testament Pentecost also occurred exactly 50 days after Passover (Acts 1:3; 2:1); the disciples tarried in Jerusalem for 10 days, 40 days after Jesus' resurrection. When the day of Pentecost was "fully come", the Holy Spirit was out-poured on the believing and waiting Christians. If it was so naturally speaking, why do we expect it to be any different in the spiritual realm? These two events are separate and distinct, and oh what a detriment to neglect such a precious gift!
Still don't believe me? Well, ask God to baptize and immerse you in His great Comforter.. why settle for a drop when you can have a downpour? Why settle for a breath (Jn 20:22), when you can have a holy tempest (Acts 2)! Friend, your life will never be the same!
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