Acts 1:5 - Double-Dipper

Tuesday 3/13/12 – Double-Dipper

Acts 1:5 “…for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Interpretation:

     I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept. You’re eating with friends and sharing the same dipping sauce. And then it happens – the worst thing, someone double dips. Maybe it was even you! But really, why do we double dip? Because we didn’t get enough sauce on our food the first time. Dipping our chips or fries into the sauce just once wasn’t sufficient enough to enjoy our food to the full extent so we needed a second dipping.

     The same concept applies in this concept. There are two baptisms here. The first is John’s baptism. This is an outward sign of you dying to yourself and your sin and being raised up in Christ as a new creation. The second dipping is an empowering of the Holy Spirit who helps you live the life of that new creation to the fullest extent. So many Christians will be saved and are a new creation in Christ, but they haven’t gone through this empowering of the Holy Spirit in their lives; instead, they are trying to live their new life in the flesh or under the law instead of in the Spirit. It’s like getting a new upgraded video game system and using an older video game controller that’s not usable with that system. The old controllers won’t work because it’s a new system with new products for using it. Likewise, our Christian life is a new life with a new way of walking. Galatians 5:16-18 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Once the Holy Spirit is leading you, you need to stop trying to succeed according to the law in your flesh. You can’t help the Spirit along by obeying the law in your flesh because the Spirit and flesh are contrary to one another and the purpose of the law (which is being our tutor to bring us to Christ) is no longer needed (Gal. 3:24-25). Once you are in constant communication with the Spirit, He can lead you. The law will now be written on your heart (Heb. 10:15-16) as the Holy Spirit guides you according to the way that you should live. (Of course, this doesn’t mean we can’t quench the Holy Spirit. We must always be careful to not grieve Him.) God had given His disciples a new life, but now they would need His Spirit to be successful in that new life because the Old Testament law would not work anymore.

     So now how about us? We’re saved; but are we trying to live our new life by keeping the law in our flesh? The areas in our life where we answer “yes” to this question are the areas in our lives where we will always be lacking power. We’ve already died to our sin and have been raised to eternal life; now let’s “dip” down once more in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and die to our flesh and live our new life through the power of the Spirit and through His power alone. When it comes to Christianity, double dipping is okay – in fact, it’s the best way to go!

Application:

     Today, I will pay attention to how I’m living my life: am I trying to succeed in the flesh by the law or am I trusting in the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me? When I find myself not living my life in the Spirit, I will confess it before God and ask Him to change me.