THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
To receive the Spirit of life into you is the regeneration of the Spirit of life. That is not the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is by the Spirit of life to regenerate us, to make us children and sons of God, but baptism is the putting of all the believers by the Lord as the Head into this one Spirit to make them all one Body. So 1 Corinthians 12:13 says, "For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit." The Jewish believers as well as the Gentile believers in the past, present, or future were all baptized once for all into one Body.
Paul tells us in this verse that this baptism has transpired already. To know when this baptism transpired, you must study the Bible carefully. Only two events are referred to as the baptism in the Holy Spirit—on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and in Cornelius’ house in Acts 10. In Acts 1:5 the Lord Jesus said, "For John indeed baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now." This transpired on the day of Pentecost. Then afterwards, Peter was invited to the house of Cornelius to preach the gospel (10:1-48). While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit descended upon this Gentile family. In Acts 11:15-17 Peter reported that this was exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost to the Jewish believers. Only these two events, one on the day of Pentecost and the other in the house of Cornelius, were the baptism in the Holy Spirit. These were the two parts of one complete baptism in the Holy Spirit. The first part was to baptize all the Jewish believers. If you are a Jewish believer, you have to realize that you were baptized in the Holy Spirit by the Head, the Lord Jesus, on the day of Pentecost with Peter, James, and John. All Gentile believers, on the other hand, were baptized in the Holy Spirit in the house of Cornelius. By these two events the entire baptism in the Holy Spirit was fully completed (1 Cor. 12:13). This is an accomplished fact. The Lord Jesus died for all sinners once for all almost two thousand years ago. If two hundred new believers will be saved tomorrow, the Lord Jesus will not need to come to die for them again. In the same principle, all the believers, the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers, were once for all baptized in the Holy Spirit to be one Body. This was done by the resurrected Christ, the ascended Head.
If some come to ask you if you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you must surely reply that you have. If you are a Jewish brother, you can say, "On the day of Pentecost when Peter was baptized, I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit." If you are a Gentile, you can say, "I have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with Cornelius." When did the Lord Jesus die for you? It was two thousand years ago, even though you had not yet been born. In the same way, 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us that we all, the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers, were already baptized in the Holy Spirit. We became fallen six thousand years ago. We were redeemed two thousand years ago. Then, shortly afterwards, we were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Before we were born, all this happened, and everything was accomplished. Now, we have been born into this blessing.
We do not need Christ to die for us once more. Likewise, we do not need to be baptized by the Head once more. He already died for us once for all, and He baptized us already once for all. Now we just say, "Amen! Lord Jesus, You died for me. Amen! Lord Jesus, You baptized me in the Spirit. Amen!" This is the glad tidings, the gospel. Jesus died for me, and Christ baptized me. I do not need to do anything but say, "Amen!" The Bible tells us that Jesus died for us, but the Bible tells us further that Christ baptized us into one Body. This is not the essential but the economical aspect. If Christ had never baptized us, we would still be saved and would still be the sons of God. Peter and the other disciples were baptized on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two, but before that time they were still saved.
(The Divine Economy, Chapter 12, by Witness Lee)
