Baptized Once for All: The Spirit’s Unified Outpouring
“Just as each tile in a mosaic finds its place in a greater design, so we have been placed into one Body through one Spirit—whole, unified, and beautifully complete in Him.”
Today's eManna entry, Baptizing the Entire Body Once for All, unfolds a beautiful and often overlooked truth—Christ, our exalted Head, has already baptized His entire Body into the Holy Spirit. The significance of Acts 2 and Acts 10 is not just historical; it is doctrinally monumental. On the day of Pentecost, Christ immersed Jewish believers into the Spirit, and in Cornelius' house, He did the same for the Gentile believers. These two moments were not repeatable experiences for new believers to seek after. They were the once-for-all baptism of the entire Body of Christ into the Spirit.
What follows in the book of Acts—such as with the Samaritans, Paul, and the Ephesians—while involving the Spirit, are not described as new acts of baptism in the Holy Spirit. That’s because the baptism had already taken place in its entirety. From God's perspective, it was complete. From our perspective, we now live by drinking of that one Spirit into whom we were baptized.
This changes everything. We are not waiting for the Spirit to come upon us. We are not striving to be filled. We were included in what Christ did for His Body. And now, we simply draw from the well that never runs dry—the very Spirit of Christ already within.
Personalized Journal Entry – In the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture:
I have brought you into Myself. The baptism has already occurred. You were immersed in Me the moment you were placed into Christ. In one Spirit, you were baptized into one Body, and I have given you to drink freely, continually, abundantly.
You do not belong to yourself; you belong to the Body of which Christ is the Head. The same Spirit who descended like fire at Pentecost now resides in you—not in part, but in full. You were included when the Spirit fell. You were remembered in the heart of God when the Gentiles received Me just as the Jews had. You were not added later—you were there in Him, when He poured Me out once for all.
I did not baptize you so you could wait again for Me. I came to dwell, not to visit. I came to indwell, not to whisper from afar. I am not a cloud passing over—I am the wind within. I am the breath of Christ now animating your new creation life.
Drink of Me. Not as one thirsting with desperation, but as one who knows the well is inside. You are not dry; you are damp with My presence. You are not barren; you overflow because I dwell in you.
Remember this: I am the seal of the finished work, the down payment of eternal fellowship. I do not come and go—I came and remain. And your life now is hidden with Christ in God, and I am the witness within you that this is so.
Scriptures woven in: 1 Corinthians 12:13, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 10:31, 44, Romans 8:9, Ephesians 1:13-14, John 4:14, Colossians 3:3
Prayer:
Lord, I rejoice that I am not waiting for something more—You have already given me everything in Christ. Thank You that the baptism into Your Spirit is not something I need to seek, but something I get to live from. I trust that the Spirit who indwells me is not silent, not distant, but joyfully active, ever-present, and full. What freedom there is in knowing that I have been included in this once-for-all immersion! I rest in the certainty that Your Spirit, the very life of Christ, is my source, my joy, and my unity with the Body. Today, I simply drink—aware, grateful, and yielded.
Devotional Credit:
Excerpt and insights adapted from eManna by Living Stream Ministry.
Photo Credit: Unsplash.com.
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