Immersion 1: There Is More

Immersion 1: There Is More

1. Jesus came to immerse us in the Holy Spirit. Mt 3:11

A. The Bible uses the terms baptized in the spirit and filled with the Spirit interchangeably.

B. Being immersed in God (woven into the union of the Trinity), is the purpose of our salvation. Jesus died to give us eternal life, and eternal life is experiential union with God. John 17:3

1. When/How does this happen?

A. Catholic view: You are filled with the Spirit at water baptism as an infant and then this is later “revitalized” or stirred up and deepened in confirmation and/or a Charismatic experience

B. Evangelical view: You are filled with the Spirit simultaneously with conversion or being born again. So being baptized in the Spirit is the same save being saved.

C. Pentecostal view: You are filled with the Spirit when you pray for and receive an encounter with God that results in speaking in tongues.

D. Charismatic view: You are filled with the Spirit when you pray for and receive and encounter with God with results in various charismatic phenomena (gifts of the Spirit, ecstatic experiences etc.)

III. Analogy: When does a marriage happen?

A. When you sign the marriage license?

B. When the pastor says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife?”

C. When the marriage is consummated?

IV. You can make a valid argument for all 3. The reality is that there is a piece of truth in each. In the analogy, Evangelicals argue for A, Catholics argue for B, and Pentecostals and Charismatics argue for C.

A. There is academic benefit to the debate, but a much more pressing question than, “When did you get married?” is, “How is your relationship now?”

V. I’m not overly concerned about when or how people’s initial baptism in the Holy Spirit occurred. In Acts, there are examples of happening simultaneously with conversion, and other times where it happened subsequent. Being dogmatic about this misses the point.

A. What is more important to me is that people are filled with the Spirit, and continue to have experiences with Him throughout their lives. Acts 2:1-4, Acts 4:31 Our relationship with God is a marriage, not a one night stand.

B. The problem with the Evangelical view tends to be that we experience “conversion” and then we think that’s all there is to experience in God, and we end up repeating that experience over and over again because it’s the only way we know how to engage with God.

C. The problem with hardline pentecostal and some charismatic views is actually similar. In those belief systems, you get to have 2 life changing encounters with God (which is better than 1), but then that’s it.

D. Theology that limits what God can do to a 1st or 2nd work of grace, limits what can happen in our lives because we quit expecting to meet God in a powerful way to change us.

IV. Our opinion: Being filled with the Spirit or immersed in God is an ongoing experience that begins at conversion, and continues throughout our lives as we grow in our relationship with Him. We believe in however many works of grace are necessary to conform us into the image of Christ.

A. There are special moments in life that mark us forever, but these moments are meant to be an introduction to a lifestyle. (Weddings, birth of our kids, etc.)

B. Insisting that people’s relationship with God conforms to a certain pattern limits God, and actually ends up restricting the kinds of and amounts of encounters they can have with Him. (Luke 1:15)

C. In Scripture and in our experience, there do seem to be several broad statements we can make.

1. Everyone who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit living inside them. Rom 8:9

2. There can and should be supernatural experiences subsequent to conversion that produce various fruit and supernatural gifting in our lives.

3. We believe in seeking an lifetime of encounter more than the encounter of a lifetime.

4. Spiritual gifts are to be desired and sought after and often are increased after a charismatic experience. 1 Cor 1:14

5. As we are filled with the Spirit, He manifests through us in 3 broad categories: (Wisdom—Eph 1:17, Power—Acts 1:8, and Love—Rom 5:5)

6. Demanding that people have a particular kind of encounter tends to be counter-productive, but focusing on something and inviting people to experience it is powerful.

7. No matter what we’ve experienced, there is always more left for us to experience in God.

V. My testimony.

VI. Let’s believe God for more. Not as beggars trying to coerce God into doing something, but as beloved children who know that their Dad still has some surprises up His sleeve.