A Christian does not become one when he is filled with the Holy Spirit, he becomes one when He believes in Christ, at that very moment, a new spirit is created in Him, this new spirit is obviously holy, but the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a separate act of Christ, that follows the conversion of a man and creates a new man, born of God, (John 1: 13) Such a convert becomes a Son of God! As it is stated: ‘You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ … Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit that calls out: Abba Father! – So, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir. (Galatians 3: 26 & 4: 6) The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Spirit. The baptism in water, by immersion, should precede the infilling with the Holy Spirit.

What is the meaning of the statement: ‘The Spirit of His Son’? God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.’  When we go back to the baptism of our Lord, it is stated: ‘As soon as Jesus was baptised, He went out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw (John the Baptist saw) the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lightning on Him. And a voice from heaven said: This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ (Matthew 3: 16-17) After thirty years, hidden in a little town in northern Palestine, which He left to start evangelising His people, whichwas the main reason for His coming into the world! it took His public baptism in water, for God to testify and declare His true divine nature! Even Jesus had to wait for God’s set time! It happened when He was about thirty years old! Obviously, He was always, from birth, the divine Son of God! For this is what the archangel Gabriel said to Mary: ‘You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most-High’! (Luke 1: 31-32) Nevertheless, we can easily see that He lived as a man, and for this reason He needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit, to have the power and authority to minister the Gospel and do the great number of miracles!  

This baptism with the Holy Spirit, was not what the apostle Paul referred to. He referred to what the apostle Peter states in His sermon recorded in Acts 2, where he says many wonderful things concerning Jesus, but in the verses, I am quoting, we find the following statements: ‘Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him!’ (Acts 2: 22) I am following the wonderful truth, that we shall mention again later on, that there is nothing that can assure us more of our conversion into new creatures, than the holy status of divine sonship, that is sealed with the baptism with the Holy Spirit. We do not know how many months or years John the Baptist was gathering a lot of His disciples as he lived and in the vicinity of the desert of Judea. He seems to have been an ascetic, yet a man full of the Holy Spirit since his mother’s womb. He only comes forcibly on the scene when Jesus actually went from Nazareth to the Jordan river where he was baptising, in Bethabara, also called Bethany, a trip of more than a hundred thirty kilometres, if not more. There Jesus was baptised in water by John the Baptist. I mention Him because what he revealed there is very important for any Christian that desires to live a fully overcoming life, and live it with the anointing of the Holy Spirit!