BaptismNäide

The essential question is this... Which comes first – placing one’s faith in Christ or water baptism? The Scriptural answer is clear. One’s personal decision to receive Christ by faith – which produces the Holy Spirit’s baptism, should always precede water baptism. These two events can either be separated by a few minutes, hours, days — or even years depending on the circumstances. With the Ethiopian Eunuch, it took only minutes, but with other believers like Simon and those who heard Phillip preach, it could easily have taken hours to find nearby water (see Acts 8:5-13).

The Holy Spirit’s baptism was clearly explained by Paul when he wrote to the church in Corinth. He said, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)

Notice the two capital S’s in the verse above. This unquestionably means that it is the Holy Spirit’s baptism, rather than water baptism, that makes a believer part of Christ’s body. This explains why the Holy Spirit’s baptism comes first and is then followed by one’s public testimony of faith. Since the time of our Lord’s ascension, that has always been water baptism!