DEFINITION
The word "baptize" means to completely immerse or submerge in something.
PROMISE OF THE BAPTISM
After the resurrection and prior to His return to Heaven, Jesus gave important instructions to His
followers:
And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the
city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.
(Luke 24:49)The promise to which Jesus referred was the Holy Spirit:
And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He
may abide with you for ever;Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth
Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you
and shall be in you.I will not leave you comfortless. (John 14:16-18)This was not a new promise. The gift of the Holy Spirit had been promised since Old Testament
times:
...for with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people.To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest,
and this is the refreshing...(Isaiah 28:11-12)...I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh...(Joel 2:28)THE EVIDENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
As you learned in a previous chapter, the Holy Spirit has many purposes in the lives of believers.
One of the main purposes of the Holy Spirit, however, is to make the Christian a powerful
witness for the Gospel:
But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and
ye shall be witnesses unto me...to the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)