Baptism

Matthew 3:11 (NASB)

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Water Baptism for the remission of sins is an Old Testament Jewish tradition that is still observed in the Church today. Many in the Church have been baptized in water in obedience to the Church's sacraments and teachings, but have never been baptized in the Holy Spirit. As the Apostle Paul said, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Him." Paul goes on to expound on this in Acts 19:2-6 during his encounter with some believers who were baptized in water but still had no part in Christ because they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit. A further emphasis on the supremacy of the New Covenant Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire can be found in Acts 10:31-47, as Cornelius and his family were baptized in the Holy Spirit as the Apostle Paul was preaching. Peter, being a Jew, ordered them to be baptized in water after they had already received the Holy Spirit. This was an Old Testament ritual and totally unnecessary, as they had already been baptized by the Holy Spirit.

When the Lord Jesus Christ gave the Apostles and us believers the great commission, He was referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To be sure, even the Apostle Paul was baptized in water by Barnabas before receiving the Holy Spirit. I was baptized in water before receiving the Holy Spirit a week later. However, as our brother Paul stated in Acts 19:2-6, the Old Testament water Baptism is redundant and obsolete, having been replaced by the New Covenant Baptism of the Spirit and fire. Believers who have been merely baptized in water but never in the Holy Spirit should ask the Lord and receive His Spirit today and be sealed as His children eternally. Believers who have already been baptized in the Holy Spirit can undergo the sacrament of water Baptism, but it is unnecessary and considered an obsolete Jewish ritual.