Is there an Immersion in the Holy Spirit?
Some teach that there is no immersion of the Holy Spirit or Second Blessing. However, we can see clearly in Acts 8 (The Samaritan Revival) the distinction between the salvation experience and the Holy Spirit coming upon believers.
“When [Peter and John] arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been immersed in water in the name of the Lord Yeshua.” (Acts 8:15-16)
No Sinner’s Prayer in Acts
Immersion in water, a very common Jewish practice at the time, was the sinners’ prayer of the book of Acts (Acts 2:21, 8:12, 36, Acts 10:47-48) and there was no such thing as “Baptism Classes”. It was the immediate, first expression of your new faith. When you went into the water, you were saying, “I believe in Yeshua, that He is the Messiah and died as a sacrifice for my sins.” (Acts 8:15-16)
But then the apostles came down to lay hands on the Samaritans and see them also immersed in the Holy Spirit, because, “the Holy Spirit,” although He was in them, “had not yet come on any of them.”
First, Salvation
The purpose of the two distinct experiences is clear. The first is for personal salvation; forgiveness of sins. We see this in Romans 6, one of my favorite verses.
“We were therefore buried with him through water immersion into death in order that, just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4)
Immersion in water was the perfect picture of dying to the old way and being raised to newness of life. The water symbolized a grave. What an awesome picture of death and resurrection! Can you imagine on the day of Shavuot, thousands of Jewish people all over Jerusalem going into the, more than 100, mikvot (immersion tanks) in the Old City, only to rise up out of the water, free and forgiven!
Why do we need more?
So why do we need the second blessing? The first blessing, salvation, is for you. But the second is to empower you to reach others. God would come upon these new believers with His Spirit so they could preach with conviction and do signs, wonders and miracles. The best picture of this is Simon Peter. This fellow cut off a guy’s ear and denied he knew Yeshua just 50 days earlier. When they met in Galilee he was dejected. But after the Holy Spirit comes on him in power, he stands on the Temple steps and proclaims Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, saying, “Men of Israel…”
His message was so powerful that his hearers were cut to the heart, and 3,000 Jewish men, plus women and children, came to faith in Yeshua. (Acts 2) And then, he sees a crippled beggar. He prays for him and the paralyzed vagabond jumps up, praising God. That is the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
Have you received Yeshua? He is ready to forgive you and receive you and give you newness of life.
Have you received the Holy Spirit’s empowerment? If not, ask God for it. It is his great joy to “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)
Please consider a gift to Messiah’s Mandate. We just committed to up our giving to our Tel Aviv congregation by 2,000 a month. We can only do that with your partnership. God is doing a great work at Tiferet Yeshua! Thank you.
