Water
Baptism
Jesus set the example for us by He Himself submitting to the baptism
of John (Matt 3:13). John’s baptism was done while confessing one’s sin (Matt
3:6) and the fact that Jesus had no sin meant there was another purpose why He was baptized. We
believe it was in obedience and that baptism is a sign that we are a disciple of the one whom we call our teacher (John
4:1,2). Paul tells us water baptism is a visual picture of our sin nature being put to death, our
being buried, and then being resurrected into a new life with Jesus (Rom 6:3-11). The apostles
understood the importance of being baptized in water after accepting the gift of salvation (Acts 8:36-38; 10:47).
The
Lord’s Supper
This rite is given to us by our Lord to be a reminder
to us of what His death on the cross meant for us (1 Cor 11:24,25). The wine represents His blood
poured out for us establishing the new covenant God gave us for the forgiveness of sin (Lu 22:20). The
bread represents His body that was given for us (Lu 22:19), and also is representative
of the church. The Lord’s Supper is a solemn rite that is to be taken with the highest regard for
Him and each other in the body of Christ (1 Cor 11:27-29).
Baptism into the Holy
Spirit
The baptism into the Holy Spirit is given to each believer that elects
to be obedient to the Lord’s desire and command to receive it (Acts 1:4,5). Jesus told us
that we would be given power to aid us in the fulfilling of His commission to us to “make disciples of all men”
if we would wait upon Him to give us this power (Lu 24:49). This experience is a one-time immersion
into the Holy Spirit by Jesus and is not to be confused with the in-filling of the Spirit that every child of God receives
at their spiritual rebirth and then continually throughout their daily walk with the Lord.
Evidence
of the baptism into the Holy Spirit
The only evidence mentioned
in the scripture that a person has experienced the baptism into the Holy Spirit is displaying the manifestation of the Spirit. (Acts
2:4; 10:46; 19:6)
