Last week we started this short series on the four truths that give our Foursquare family its name, and we began where everything begins: Jesus is Savior. This week we come to the second: Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.
If the first truth is about being rescued, this one is about being empowered. The same Jesus who saves you doesn't then hand you a rulebook and wish you luck. He fills you with his own Spirit so you can actually live the life he's called you to.
The promise Jesus made
Before Jesus left his disciples, he told them not to rush off and get to work. He told them to wait, because something was coming:
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
That's Acts 1:5, and a few verses later he tells them why: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." John baptized people in water as a sign of repentance. Jesus does something deeper, he immerses his people in the Holy Spirit himself. Same idea as baptism, being plunged into something, but now it's not water, it's the very presence and power of God.
Not a reward for the elite
Let me clear something up, because this doctrine sometimes gets tangled in fear or hype. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not a graduation prize for super-Christians who've earned it. It's part of the normal Christian life, promised to ordinary people. Peter said it plainly on the day it all broke open: "the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off" (Acts 2:39). That's you. That's all of us.
We're a Spirit-filled church, and we've written before about what we mean by that, the ordinary, everyday presence and power of God, not spectacle. The point of the Spirit's power is never a show. It's to make us more like Jesus and to give us what we need to follow him and love people well.
What it's actually for
So what does the Spirit do once he fills you? A lot, and most of it is quieter than you'd expect. He assures you that you belong to God. He begins to grow real character in you, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness" (Galatians 5:22). He gives gifts to build up the church. He gives courage to speak, wisdom to decide, and comfort when you're low. He turns following Jesus from white-knuckle effort into something you're empowered to actually do.
We believe the Spirit still gives gifts to his people today, he hasn't gone quiet, and we hold that gladly and without apology. But we always hold power and character together. A Spirit-filled life is measured first by love, not by fireworks.
No pressure, no performance
If you've been in rooms where the Spirit was used to pressure people, manufacture emotion, or make you feel like you were failing, I'm sorry. That isn't him. Scripture calls the Spirit a gentle dove as often as a mighty wind. He doesn't manipulate you into a feeling. He sets you free and he does it at the pace of grace. There's nothing to perform here, and no words you have to get right.
Come and see
You don't have to have any of this figured out to come. You don't even have to fully believe it yet. Come as you are, bring your questions, and see for yourself what it looks like when ordinary people depend on the Spirit of God together. That's the whole invitation, text Pastor Brian and join us this Sunday.
Next week we'll turn to the third truth: Jesus is Healer. The same Spirit who fills us is the Spirit who makes us whole.
Pastor Brian