Matthew 311-12

Salvation in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is offered to us as a gift of the Father. There is nothing we can do to earn it. Water Baptism allows us to show our need for forgiveness and acceptance of this precious gift of God. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit gives us the teacher who will help us to understand the Scriptures and the power to carry out the commands of God. 

 Christ within the hope of glory.

In Him, with Him and in unity with the Holy Spirit there is nothing in his will that we cannot accomplish for His glory and the good of ALL of His children.

This image shows that there is nothing arbitrary about judgment: The good, solid grain falls to the threshing floor, while the dry, empty chaff is blown away . Faithlife Bible.

John identified people with himself and his message of repentance by water baptism; the One coming after him was so much greater that He would unite people to Himself by means of the Holy Spirit. John knew that the kingdom to come would be characterized by a great display of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s people. It would be the work of the Messiah to accomplish this, to baptize His people in the Spirit. But those who rejected Him the Messiah would baptize with fire, which is probably a figure for God’s judgment. In His first advent, Christ baptized in the Spirit. When He comes again, He will baptize with fire. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 3:11–12 (NKJV)

¹¹ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Acts 1:5 (NKJV)

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

1 Corinthians 12:13 (NKJV)

¹³ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.