What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit? It is Christ putting all of God’s chosen people into Himself as the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost He put the Jewish part of God’s chosen people into Himself (Acts 2). Then in the house of Cornelius He put the Gentile part of His Body into Himself (Acts 10). These two parts put together are the baptism in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). It is an accomplished fact, just like the crucifixion. When did Christ die for you? Was it when you confessed your sins and believed in Him? No, He died for our sins before we were born. Furthermore, we all know that we were crucified with Christ. This also was accomplished before we were born. This is God’s divine economy. This is God’s accounting.
The crucifixion of Christ was once for all. It does not mean that today, when a sinner repents and confesses to the Lord Jesus, the Lord comes to die for him. Then tomorrow another sinner repents and confesses, and then the Lord comes to die for him. The Lord Jesus was crucified once and for all.
Allow me to illustrate with a circle. A circle signifies eternity, without beginning and without end. Now we put the cross of Jesus at a certain place on the circle. Adam is on the circle, as well as Abraham, David, and Peter. We also are on the circle. Then who is before the cross and who is after? No one is before, and no one is after. Jesus died for and with all of us on the cross. He died there once for all. He died there for Adam, for Abraham, for David, for Peter, and He died there for us. We do not need to ask Him to come and die for us. He has died for us already. All we need to do is to thank Him that He has already died for and with us. It is an accomplished fact. We only need to receive what He has done.
In the same principle, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is an accomplished fact. On the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius, Christ as the Head put His whole Body into Himself. Otherwise, how do you interpret 1 Corinthians 12:13. “For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit” (A.S.V.). This verse says that we all were baptized in one Spirit into one Body. When were we all baptized in one Spirit into one Body? It is the same as when we were crucified. We were all crucified with Christ at the same time. In like manner, if we are Jews, we were baptized in one Spirit into one Body on the day of Pentecost. If we are Gentiles, we were baptized in the house of Cornelius. The whole Body was baptized on these two occasions.
By reading our New Testament carefully, we see that only these two occasions, one at Pentecost and the other at the house of Cornelius, are called the baptism in the Holy Spirit. There is no third occasion. The others are not the baptism, but the experience of the baptism which has already been accomplished. The baptism in the Holy Spirit was accomplished before we were born. What we need is just to participate in this baptism that has been effected on the Body already. Christ died for all of us once and for all. In the same principle, Christ put His Body into Himself as the Spirit once and for all.
Do you believe that baptizing people into water simply means to put them into the water? Indeed not. That is just a physical sign. The reality is that we are putting them into Christ. This is what Paul meant when he said, “So many... were baptized into Jesus Christ” (Rom. 6:3), and “As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” When we baptize people in water, we need faith in our spirit to realize that we are putting them into Christ. The water baptism is just an outward sign of this.
The ascended Head, after being inaugurated by the Father, came back in the form of the Spirit. As the Head of the Body, He was the baptizer, and as the Spirit He put the Body into Himself. The Body is composed of all God’s chosen people, those whom God had marked out in eternity past. On the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius Christ put all of them into Himself. We were all baptized there. We were all put into Christ. Whether we speak in tongues or we do not speak in tongues, we are in Christ. I know many that have never spoken in tongues, yet they have full assurance that they have been baptized into Christ. Hallelujah! We all have been baptized in one Spirit into one Body.
This is not all. The first half of 1 Corinthians 12:13 says that we were all baptized in one Spirit into one Body. But the next part of the verse says that we were all made to drink of one Spirit. It is not simply a matter of being baptized. That has been accomplished already. Today it is a matter of drinking. We all have been made to drink. This means that we all have been positioned to drink. God can position us, but He cannot drink for us. We must drink for ourselves. Christ has baptized us into Himself as the Spirit, and He has positioned us to drink of Him as the Spirit. Now we must drink of Him by calling, “O Lord Jesus.” This is clear by reading 1 Corinthians 1:2. “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” Paul did not say “with all that read the Bible,” or “with all that speak in tongues,” but “with all that call upon the name of the Lord.” According to the whole book of 1 Corinthians, to call on the name of the Lord is to drink of Him. This is also proved in the same chapter that speaks of our being positioned to drink. First Corinthians 12:3 says, “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say Lord Jesus, but in the Holy Spirit” (Gk.). This means that whenever we say, “Lord Jesus,” we are in the Holy Spirit, that is, we are drinking of the Spirit.
To call on the name of the Lord is to drink of the Spirit. Some say that this is merely a psychological phenomenon. But try calling, “O Confucius, O Plato, O George Washington!” When you call on these names nothing happens. But whenever we call on the name of Jesus, no one can deny the sweetness, the refreshment, and the comfort. This is the drinking of Christ as the Spirit. We all have been baptized, and we have been positioned to drink. Now we must open our mouth and call on the name of the Lord. “O Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus!” When we do this, we are drinking of one Spirit. Then we have the reality of the oneness in the Body. Praise the Lord! It is so real and simple. We should never forget that we all have been baptized into Christ as the Spirit, and He has positioned us that we may drink of Him all the time. Now what we need is not to be baptized again, but to drink of Him every day. The more we drink of Him, the more we will grow into Him. Then we will enjoy the reality of the Body.