The Baptism of The Spirit ,Pastor John Piper

let's pray Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world and when you take our sins away you come by the Holy Spirit and we are baptized into a reality that we never thought we could know a knowledge of Christ a trust in Christ a love for Christ a sight of Christ and enjoyment of Christ and obedience to Christ of satisfaction in Christ so that Christ is all and in all and how we long for a fuller baptism of your spirit so I'm praying now that on these campuses North downtown South you would come you would baptize us with the Holy Spirit in deeper fuller more powerful ways and people would be liberated from long bondages to carnality flesh leanness indifference weakness defeat discouragement and find themselves riding up on a tide of your powerful presence so come I ask this in Jesus name Amen last time we focused on one of John's testimonies about Jesus John the Baptist testimonies and the one that we focused on last time was behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world that's verse 29 John won the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world that's the best news in all the world the eternal son of God came into the world not to judge us but to take our sins away amazing I hope that you are all enjoying your freedom from the guilt of your sin I hope you are I'll be you're sitting there thrilled that your sins have been taken away and if you're not then I hope you will listen carefully today we focus on the great testimony of John concerning Jesus as the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit verse 33 chapter 1 of John I myself did not know him but he who sent me to baptize with water that is God is God who sent me to baptize with water said to me he on whom you see the spirit descend and remain this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit so that's our focus in this message what does it mean that jesus baptizes with the spirit why did John make this part of his message there are a hundred things he could have said about Jesus which he didn't say he said this why and when he said it why is it a testimony to the greatness of Christ and not mainly to the greatness of the Spirit why doesn't this testimony look like it's making Jesus a mere stepping stone to the real deal of the Holy Spirit I mean John is supposed to be preparing the way of the Lord behold there he is he's walking God in the flesh and he ascribes to him he's the one who baptizes with the spirit why is that a tribute to Jesus mainly and not mainly a tribute to the real action that he will give those are our questions now the first thing to notice because it shapes everything is that John the writer of the gospel sets up a contrast between John the Baptist's baptism with water and Jesus baptism with the holy spirit let's watch how he does this verse 31 I myself John the Baptist says I myself did not know him but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel so here he is again doing his not thing remember that sermon the not sermon I myself did not know him I'm not the Christ I'm not the Prophet I'm not Elijah incarnate I'm not the great knower knowledge is not originating with me I don't know who this is except what God tells me he is I'm just a voice telling you that the god of Isaiah 40 is here in the flesh and I'm a Baptizer in water just h2o he didn't know that it's just water but he when he comes verse 32 and John bore witness I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it remained on him amazingly it is amazing to me anyway John doesn't report the baptism of Jesus let's say a word about it you read John you wouldn't even know Jesus was baptized the other Gospels tell us but John doesn't mention it we know from the other Gospels that this dove here came at the baptism Jesus was baptized and the Dove came down symbolizing the Holy Spirit John simply says the Spirit came like a dove no mention of the baptism wow he's really riveted here he's he's he's peeling back everything that doesn't go right to serve his purposes here why add of a dove was a bird birds are the one animal that move around in heaven and come down to earth and land perfect got to have a bird if you're going to symbolize something coming from Earth from heaven to earth why a dove a dove according to Leviticus 5/7 was was pure and it was for the poor folks if they couldn't afford a lamb so add of purity lowliness humility a bird that can move from heaven to earth that's why it's chosen most suitable symbol of the Holy Spirit because as we're gonna see the Holy Spirit is the most humble self-effacing person of the Trinity he's always moving into the background and putting forward the father in the son so John totally omits the baptism of Jesus without any mention and focuses everything on one thing the Holy Spirit came on Jesus and remained on him look at that phrase at the end of verse 32 and it remained on him don't stumble over the word it this translation is construing the Dove the Dove is the it but the reality of the Holy Spirit remains the Holy Spirit is a person we will see this again and again he's not an it he is a person we will see plenty evidence plenty of evidence for it as we as we move through the book so he is stressing that the Holy Spirit came upon and he remained upon Jesus why why that stress it's all serving the main point that Jesus is now the one who can baptize with the spirit the Holy Spirit comes rests remains on Jesus not John Jesus so Jesus is the one bearing carrying covered and when the Holy Spirit baptizes anyone it's coming from Jesus that's the point baptizing with the spirit and baptizing with water are radically different things and this is the stress the testimony is he's the Baptizer in this I'm just the Baptizer with water everything is getting set to make that the main point baptizing with the spirit and baptizing with water is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug it's the difference between a person and painting it's the difference between marriage and a ring it's the difference between birth and a birth certificate it's the difference between immersion in fluid and immersion in God he's laboring to say I'm just a water guy he's a God guy he's a spirit guy everything he does is done as the god man and what he does is take away sin as the lamb and baptized in the Holy Spirit go to him don't stay with me all I've gots water he's got the spirit of nothing what can I do these are radically different categories aren't they water and spirit I can't untie his sandals he was absolutely before me he ranks infinitely above me I'm a voice he's the message I'm a temporary pointer he's the eternal person I'm a mere man he is the God man and now as though god man weren't enough the Spirit has come upon him and remains so that he's the one who can back to us in the Holy Spirit he's exalting Christ that's what he came to do help people know who Christ was so the focus is on the superiority of Christ as the one who baptizes in the holy spirit now why why is this here this right upfront at the beginnings of what could been a lot of other things you could have said about him why here why now why is it so prominent in John's message here at the beginning I'll give you one reason in the Old Testament the Spirit of God was promised to be on the Messiah and when the Messiah came to bring in the days of the Messiah and the kingdom of God in the new age the Spirit would come upon God's people amazingly give you a few verses to support that Isaiah 11:1 there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him John knows this John the Baptist the Prophet knows this if he's gonna present Jesus as that one that Messiah that coming one this needs to be said sooner or later isaiah 42:1 behold my servant whom i uphold my chosen one in whom my soul delights i have put my spirit upon him and he will bring forth justice to the nation's i've put my spirit upon him isaiah 61:1 and this is the one jesus quotes remember in the synagogue in Luke 4:18 the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor so one reason why John is so vigilant and desirous to say he's the one on whom the Spirit has come and equipped him to be the one who baptizes these people in the spirit is because that shows he's the Messiah he's the coming one he's the long-awaited Promised One he on whom you see the spirit descend verse 33 and remain this is he who baptizes with the spirit I didn't know him God I don't know him and God says I'll show you the Old Testament says that when he comes his people are going to be given the Holy Spirit like they never had before Joel 2:28 and it shall come to pass afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh Isaiah 44 3 I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams in the dry ground I will pour my spirit upon your offspring and my blessing on your descendants Ezekiel 36 27 I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my rules so that's one reason at least why this is here the the Messiah is going to be anointed with the spirit and because he has come the people of the Messiah are going to be anointed with the spirit and therefore John says God told me the one on whom the Spirit comes he is the one and the dove came down and he saw it and he knew who he was now what does it mean what does it mean when Jesus baptizes you with the Holy Spirit verse 33 at the end of the verse just get it clear that this is the focus this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit so what does that mean it means first of all that from now on now that God has become man from now on the Holy Spirit will come to people through Jesus Christ alone he takes residence on Jesus so that Jesus is now qualified to be the one who baptizes his people in the spirit and they get it no other way you don't go to see on seance for this you don't go out into nature for this the buzz you get in nature without Jesus won't be the Holy Spirit you don't want to even know what it might be if you reject Jesus it comes through Jesus the Spirit came upon Jesus remains upon Jesus and because of that Jesus is the Baptizer of his people with the Holy Spirit Jesus will be the means by which the Spirit comes to anyone who gets the spirit you want the spirit you go to Jesus you want power you go to Jesus you want relief from your burdens by the spirit you go to Jesus Jesus baptizes in the Holy Spirit he's not available from anyone else he's the means he takes away sin and because he takes away sin we may now be treated with this glorious mercy the Spirit comes upon us that's the first thing it means Jesus is the only means by which this spirit is mediated to us number two it means that Jesus immerses his people in the spirit because that's what the word baptize means dip so we are dipped in the spirit plunged into the spirit immersed in the spirit the Bible clearly says that the Holy Spirit is poured out right so zetta hmm may we dip do we how does this work I take it to mean that the Holy Spirit is poured over us so fully that we're enveloped in the spirit you don't have to choose between being immersed in the spirit and being poured over by the spirit when if you pour over but enough you're under it and that's the way the Spirit comes is poured out and swallows us up such that we are immersed in Him enveloped by him that's the point of the the image so I take it to mean something like this when you're immersed in something plunged in something surrounded and enveloped by something the point of saying it is that it has profoundly and pervasively influential effects on us profound and pervasive effects on us that's that's the point of saying I'm just there's no part of me that is not enveloped in the spirit pervasive profound influences in my life that's what happens when I am baptized plunged immersed dipped poured over by the Holy Spirit number three so the first meaning was Jesus is the only one who can do it second was baptism in the spirit means plunge in case enveloped pouring over swallowed up in and thus pervasively and profoundly influenced by the spirit in every part of us number three what are those effects of the spirit that are so pervasive and profound and affect all parts of us what are they now here we could let ourselves go and strike out in the direction of the debate between is the baptism with the spirit a second particular event of the Christian life marked by speaking in tongues or is it the first decisive work of the Spirit which is synonymous virtually with regeneration we are baptized into the spirit into the body of Christ and all made to drink of one spirit first Corinthians 12:13 or some of those texts and acts where the spirit Falls and the mark of his falling as people speak in tongues a big argument right charismatic versus whatever over here about whether or not to be baptized in the spirit is to have one of those later experiences by which we are unable to speak in tongues we could go there and I have ideas about that but as I've tried to reflect on this this gospel not you know jump over to first Corinthians if over to Acts I don't think John would would want us to do that I don't think John wants us to pose that question here there may be implications for that question and what I'm about to say but I'm going to try to stay with what I see here in the gospel and let John answer the question so what what happens to us when we're baptized in the Holy Spirit and what does it refer to and let's let John define it for us and I'll give you the heads up as I give you specifics from the gospel I don't think in John's thinking this is not a contradiction from anything else you may find other places in the New Testament I don't think in John's thinking baptism in the Holy Spirit refers to any particular point in the Christian life like here it is there it's not it's not afterwards and it's not before us it's right there when that happens it happened then it didn't happen earlier it doesn't happen later it's just that's the point and then you argue about what the point is I don't think he's thinking that way at all I think for John baptism with the Spirit is a broad general statement about the activity of Jesus in plunging us into the fullness of the Spirit in whatever measure at any point in your life it is which is why I pray for it almost every day so if this is not fitting your categories just try to adjust your categories for John different writers have different categories and they don't have to contradict each other that's just let's just listen how John thinks about being baptized in the Holy Spirit so that you can decide whether you want to pray for it tonight or not go like mu or don't do that because you know something weird might happen well that would be that would be okay but I don't think John is gonna scare you although he might I don't think it's a technical term that refers to one part of the Christian life say conversion or speaking in tongues later or a bold active witness any one of those three you might say they were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness or spoken tongues or were saved I don't think John is limiting it to any one of those or any other point in our so let me give you some examples of what I think John means if if you're if you're not I'll go to the text in a minute if you're not born again what I'm saying is just to kind of help your category shape here if you're not born again one way to describe what you need now tonight today if you're not born again one way to describe what you need is you need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit that's Janee if you're not born again that is you need to be plunged by Christ seeing him and coming to him plunged by him into a power call the Holy Spirit the person plunged into him such that you're awakened from the dead made to be a believer and a receiver of Jesus and given eyes to see that's what you need and that happens by this amazing electric connection with the Holy Spirit wrought by Jesus Christ the Baptizer or if you are born again a believer a born-again believer here in this service but you are languishing this would it's going to scribe a lot of you languishing in a season of weakness and fear and defeat ok anybody with me languishing in a season of weakness and fear and defeat one way to describe what you need it's not the only biblical way to say it one way to describe what you need is you need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit that is you need a fuller richer deeper stronger experience of the Holy Spirit enveloping you destroying all that fear and all that defeat don't don't get into a pickle with this term as though I pray for it and something good happens to me then I shouldn't never pray for it again we need it all the time in greater or lesser no never lesser greater measures all the time we have greater or lesser need for it perhaps I should say because sometimes we're experiencing it wonderfully so I don't take baptism of the Holy Spirit as the technical term I'm gonna try to show you how I take it specifically let's go to John I mean you can go to these texts with me I'm gonna look at four texts and give you four meetings that I think if you were to go up to John the writer of the gospel and say what John the Baptist mean in saying that Jesus is gonna baptize his people with the Holy Spirit I think John would say well let me show you a few things that I'm telling you about the spirit and this is what he does so that's some letting that be my guide rather than jumping over around the New Testament to fill up John's meaning number one the Holy Spirit gives new life this is John 6:63 first it says John 6 or 63 it is the spirit who gives life so dead people need the spirit to do something when I think John would say when Jesus comes to a person in the gospel if he is pleased in his great sovereign mercy he can wrap them into the Holy Spirit plunge them into the Holy Spirit and they live like rolling into a life-giving ocean of grace and power and they live John chapter 3 verse 3 the new birth jesus answered him truly truly I say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God no mention of the Spirit yet but verse 6 that which is born of the flesh is flesh that which is born of the Spirit is spirit in other words my spirit is dead until the spirit makes me alive and then I'm a spiritual person so what has to happen is a baptism into the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit otherwise we stay dead number two the Holy Spirit makes us not just life getters but life givers the Holy Spirit is given we are baptized in the spirit we are plunged into the spirit enveloped in the spirit so that one we will be life getters we live and the other will be life givers and you know where I'm going chapter 7 verses 38 and 39 chapter 7 verse 38 whoever believes in me this is Jesus the one who alone can baptize in the spirit whoever believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water the flowing out and I'll just flow it in that flowing out then he adds now this he said about the spirit the spirit is poured out we are enveloped in him such that he becomes life to our dead souls and one of the effects of that life is that a river begins to flow out and the reason I say we need to pray for this everyday is how's your river my guess is just like drip drip drip somebody gets a little help from you hear a little word there but there's a lot of grumbling there's all I'm murmuring and there's lot of hurtfulness and and your life feels more like a sledgehammer than a river of life and you don't like that that's one of the evidences that you're born again you don't like that I don't like it so I'm on my knees God please now I have no ultimate answer for how God apportions the Holy Spirit I don't think we altom utley control that although we can quench the Holy Spirit he can kill our quenching and come if he wants to and so it's both in I can push him away and he can stop me from pushing him away but I have no I just know I want more I want more of your baptizing power I want to be enveloped more fully I want you to use into me in more places I want to be permeated more profoundly and more deeply and that's why I think this whole this whole that we need to break out of our categories that say here's the place where we're baptized and then what are you doing after that right live it on your own like I got all over the gift now naho every day could be a fuller day more deeply plunge day a more fully influential day so number two we're not just life getters that was number one when we're plunged into the spirit but we become life givers a river goes out and and the river is big or small depending on how it's blowing right number three the Holy Spirit witnesses to Christ the Holy Spirit witnesses to Christ look at chapter 15 verse 26 chapter 15 verse 26 when the helper comes sometimes the word Paraclete is used it can also refer to advocate somebody who comes in alongside stands with you and stand value and advocates for you and helps you that's the Holy Spirit when the helper comes whom I will send he's the Baptizer right um when you get it I give it don't go anywhere else for this don't do any mumbo-jumbo for this you go to Christ in his death and resurrection and person and word and great work on your behalf and because of him think please when the helper comes whom I will send to you from the father the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the father he will bear witness about me now we will have in the months to come so much to say about the glorious reality of the witness of the Holy Spirit the internal witness of the Holy Spirit one of the most important experiences of your life many of you don't even know what it is you can't name it and you are experiencing it that's true for a lot of things is it not our experience is a head of our theology we don't know what's happening to us we God is so merciful he does things for us in us we can't name him we can't find him in the Bible we read parts we don't know is that me is that what I'm experiencing and so one of the things you want to do is it's become a biblical person so that you can see what's happening to you in reality in the Bible and then pray about it and adjust it with God's help so that it's fully biblical the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit in which he bearing witness with our spirit is saying Jesus is Lord you know you know it takes time quoting first Corinthians 12:3 which says no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit that's how I know he's at work in so many of your lives because from your heart not just mechanically from your heart you are saying he is Lord he's Lord in my life I'm stumbling I'm messing up but I'm coming back over and over again I have no other Lord before Jesus he's mine you can't be that way without the Holy Spirit Paul says so one of the things I know that the Holy Spirit does when he comes over us and takes us up in himself is witnesses to the lordship of Jesus he assures your conscience Jesus is your king Jesus is real Jesus is true Jesus is more precious than porn that's the Holy Spirit that gives you that deep conviction that's number three finally number four the Holy Spirit this is just taking number three and stretching it out and giving it focus and specificity the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ this may be according to Jay I pack her in his really good book keep in step with the spirit if you want to read a book on the Holy Spirit I would recommend that one keep in step of the Spirit he says this this verse this statement this purpose of the Holy Spirit is probably the all integrating work of the spirit everything else is going here this is the hub everything else is relating here and is what it says John 16 14 John 16 14 when the Spirit of Truth come jumping forward a few words he will glorify me that's Jesus talking when the Holy Spirit come when the Spirit comes he will glorify me for he will take what is mine and declare it to you if you have a dim view of Jesus right now you read the Bible say the Gospels and nothing close the Bible go to my computer do you need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit a fresh more deeply I'm not saying you weren't a Christian you know I'm not saying that I'm saying this act of Jesus in immersing us happens continually for believers and with greater or lesser extraordinariness from day to day which is why our days can be so up and down what we need is for some power beyond ourselves working in us to glorify Jesus in our hearts he glorifies Jesus Tati's he makes Jesus look great to the human heart he makes Jesus look magnificent to the human heart that's what glorified Jesus inside of you means your heart because of the work of the Spirit sees Christ as magnificent that's what we need because when you see him as magnificent the world's magnificences fade away and we're sanctified we're made more holy because we see Jesus as of superior worth value Beauty power Admiralty everything and the world loses its power who are not strangled like that awful was it the third soil the word being choked out by the cares and pleasures of the world why because the Holy Spirit is opening our eyes to see the glory of Christ why would I want to do that junk so that's number four when we are baptized in the spirit the first time continually after that and in extraordinary ways among all that continual work Christ is made to be aureus in our eyes now closing those last two three and four he witnesses to the glory of Christ and he glorifies Christ he witnesses to Christ and he glorifies Christ those answer my last question you will you won't remember what the last question was unless you wrote it down the last question was remember why when John points to Jesus and say i baptize with water mere water he's gonna baptize with the Holy Spirit why is that mainly a tribute to the glory of Christ rather than a tribute to the glory of the Spirit as the one to whom Christ is taking us and then maybe himself getting out of the way you see the issue well why is i baptize with water he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit just the emphasis fall on Oh finally we got the Holy Spirit Jesus he can just he caught it he's gone and now you you've seen the answer in three and four have you not you could finish the sermon right you could just come here and do the last two minutes you could because the ultimate meaning of being the one who baptizes in the spirit is that he gives the spirit so that this the heart will glorify Jesus so Jesus is both the ground of our getting the spirit he takes away our sin removes the wrath of God so that in mercy the Spirit can be poured out on us he's the ground of it the giver of it the baptized are with it and now we see in John 15:26 in John 16 14 when we are baptized with the spirit the effect is to send all attention back to G he's the goal so he's the ground of our being baptized with the spirit and he's the goal of our being baptized with the Spirit because the Holy Spirit being God has in God's wise and wonderful Providence become the one who directs all the tension to the Sun so that our conscious thinking is not primarily I'm going to the spirit I'm going to the spirit and go to the spirit rather I'm going to the Sun I'm going to the Sun I'm coming to Jesus he baptizes me and when he baptizes me my eyes are open and I see the glory and I'm running all the more to Jesus so that's the answer to my last question why is it a tribute to Jesus it's a tribute to Jesus because he is not only the ground of the baptism with the spirit but he is the goal of the baptism of the Spirit so back to John for just a moment John the Baptist John says he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and now we see that this is all about Jesus yes the Spirit is precious yes the spirit is God and a person but functionally the way the Spirit works is not to attract attention to himself but to attract attention to the Savior so the ultimate point of John's testimony is that under God the Father all things are from Christ and all things are for Christ including the holy spirit all things under the Father are from Christ I will send the helper and all things are for Christ he will glorify me the main reason folks that we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit this great outpouring of the Spirit it's great immersion enveloping in our spirit over every part of our lives is because we're not doing very well I mean how how is every part of your life affected by the Holy Spirit or better to sit this way is every part of your life devoted to magnifying Christ is the way you use every part of your life making Jesus look good that's what would be the case if the Holy Spirit had total control total immersion and none of us is there none I'm sure not there and therefore I'm gonna close and pray that God would do this for us continually and do this for us in extraordinary ways according to his purpose and before I pray said I want the prayer to be the last thing if there's any and any campus either watching this or right here in this room who would like us to get in touch with you to talk about becoming a Christian or anything in this message we have so designed these little things so that this part right here just goes like that and there's responses there today for the first time I put the faith in Christ and I want to learn more and I have a question about the sermon if you just tick that off there are boxes on all the campuses there are response boxes at the back as you leave and you could put that there I was talking to Fred this yesterday afternoon and he said within 48 hours we would do our best to get back in touch with with people let's pray holy spirit come o risen Christ for your great namesake grant me and all of us here a fresh baptism in the Holy Spirit don't let us be afraid Lord that you might knock us off our rockers with your power you might do a transforming work so that some people would not recognize us the way we talk or act so be it we pray this in the all-powerful merciful baptizing name of Jesus you

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Keywords: John, Piper, John Piper (theologian), Theology, reformed, preacher, street, preaching, french, church, germany, japan, arabia, koran, Quran, Doctor, Praise, Gospel, Pastor, Baptism, of, the, spirit, Holy, Spirit, Planet, David, Lord, Big, Little, Series, Earth, Rose

Id: 8yzhxQIf4xA

Length: 50min 26sec (3026 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 22 2011