Many people have a view of the gospel that includes Jesus and God, the Father. But they leave out the Holy Spirit's role in the good news. I have come to believe that this omission is not just theological, but practical too. Not understanding the role that the Holy Spirit plays in the life of followers of Christ, can contribute to living spiritual lives in chaos and disappointment rather than in the spiritual abundance that God desires for us.
John the Baptist was offering a baptism that symbolized repentance (a chance of direction from religion to a relationship with God). This was to prepare the way for Jesus. But Jesus was coming with something far more spectacular: a baptism with the Holy Spirit and with Fire! And John knew all about it...
Luke 3:15-16, 18 15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire... 18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
Many people think that Jesus' purpose was fulfilled when he was crucified and resurrected. Especially in our culture... we focus on this... we are only too happy to accept this amazing work of Jesus and get our ticket punched for heaven. In his crucifixion, the ultimate sacrifice was made for us. And in his resurrection, he over came death. But these events, which demonstrate the grace and love of God, are NOT the end of Christ's work. We are not complete if this is the end of the story. We need more to be empowered to follow Jesus in our daily lives. We can not do it on our own merit. And John the Baptist knows this!
He doesn't say, "One greater than I is coming who will die for you and be resurrected so that you can go to heaven." Instead, he says that Jesus has come to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Jesus was the Messianic bearer of the Holy Spirit. His end purpose was to enable us to be inhabited by the Holy Spirit who would set us apart, guide us, and empower us for holy use. Being a follower of Jesus is not about what happens to us when we die, but about allowing God to live through us now.
Jesus' purpose is to make us able - by the cleansing of our hearts through the crucifixion and the overcoming of evil through his resurrection - to be inhabited by his Spirit. The ancient prophets even taught this! After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus tells the disciples to gather in Jerusalem and wait. It is there - on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) - that they are baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Since this time, every follower of Christ is inhabited with the Holy Spirit - filled with the power of God. But most don't know it and most don't depend on this power to follow Jesus. We tend to continue in the old ways of thinking and being and achieving... trying to live out the Christian life on their own - often caught in a cycle of failures.
But it is the Holy Spirit who lives within us who sets us aside for holy use and enables us to follow Christ. This is what being a follower of Christ is all about and what makes us different from any other faith.
Asking someone if they are going to heaven when they die is never a question you will find the disciples asking as they take the gospel into the world. Instead, they asked, "Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?" So... have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Do you live in the Spirit? Does the Spirit produce fruit in your life? If not, why not?
Accept Jesus' shed blood in the crucifixion for the forgiveness of sin - a cleansing of your heart as a place where the Holy Spirit can now inhabit. Accept the power of the resurrection to win out over sin and death. And now allow that power - the very power of the resurrection - to live within you. Live your life out of the guidance and power that the Holy Spirit gives you. How would it change the decisions you make today knowing the Holy Spirit is with you and empowering you to be the hands and feet of Jesus?
*** John the Baptist's words recorded in the other gospels...
Matthew 3:11 11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Mark 1:7-8 7 He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
John 1:24-28 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
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