“As for me, I immerse you in water for repentance. But the One coming after me is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) and fire” (Matt 3:11 TLV italics added).

The New Testament, I have found, is replete with Jesus’ unequivocal claims and, unmistakable nuanced statements from many witnesses of who he truly was. If we allow these thoughts to marinate our souls, even in their most basic significance, they will have us on our faces in loving adoration. For example, John the Baptist would have been clueless who Jesus truly was had God not, categorically, identified Jesus Christ to him (through the Holy Spirit) as Yahweh in human flesh who baptizes or gives believers His Holy Spirit (Jn 1:33; 1 Cor 12:3). God’s declaration to John thus, totally, negates any concept of coequality and trinity in the Godhead, for “God is only one,” apostle Paul asserts (Gal 3:20 NASB).

So, to understand the full force of John’s claim that Jesus is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit we must examine the Greek verb baptizōn translated “baptizes” in English. According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word comes from baptizo which simply means “to dip” (literally, “dip under”), “sink,” “immerse” (metaphorically, “to overwhelm”) rather than “sprinkle” (antexomai).

In the Great Commission in Matt 28:19, Jesus gave the ordinance of baptism in his name to his disciples but, notice that he did not give them the authority to baptize people with the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained why to Nicodemus, “spirit is born of the spirit” and, to the Samaritan woman that “God is a spirit” (Jn 3:6; 4:24). The Holy Spirit is “the promise of the Father,” the gift that only God can give (Acts 1:8; 2:38). Yet, God pointed John to Jesus Christ as the giver of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Are you getting the picture?

Let us see how this plays out in the Old Testament when Yahweh baptized 70 elders in the wilderness with the Holy Spirit to assist Moses in the administration of Israel.

And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. (Num 11:25 KJV).

The NLT, like a host of Bible translations, reveals its modern bias against ecstatic utterances by rendering yasafu, heb. in the last clause as “But this never happened again” unlike the KJV’s better reading and did not cease. The context further bears strong evidence that Eldad and Medad, two of the elders who were left behind in the camp for unspecified reasons, did not cease to prophesy when Joshua tried to have Moses stop them (Num 11:26-30). The bottom line is Moses was incapable of giving people the Holy Spirit.

Elijah though powerful in prayer told Elisha, his protégé, that his request for “a double portion of his spirit” was a hard task, and all he could do was to coach him on how to receive it—i.e., stay faithful to your pastor and God will give it to you (2 Kgs 2:8-10). By the way, Elisha received the Holy Spirit after Elijah’s departure.

Likewise, Samuel could not give the Holy Spirit to Saul, but he prophesied and guided him on how to receive it—stay close to those filled with the Holy Spirit, i.e., do not abandon our worship meeting (1 Sam 10:5-6, 10-11; Heb 10:25). And, truly, when Saul joined himself to the company of prophets, the Spirit of God came upon him or, “rush upon him,” think of the picture of the father rushing to embrace the prodigal son in Lk 15:20. The Holy Spirit is contagious for a ready and willing heart.

Three separate groups of messengers sent to capture David who was hiding with Samuel at Naioth (the abode of prophets) had the Holy Spirit come upon them when they saw prophets prophesying under Samuel’s leadership (1 Sam 19:20-21). Finally, Saul himself, also experienced this grace of God reaching for his soul one more time (1 Sam 19:23).

Throughout the OT the Holy Spirit will, suddenly, come upon select individuals or judges such as, Deborah and Samuel, and they will be used for specific purposes either to save a tribe or the whole nation of Israel. In the NT, Luke also recounts individuals ranging from a priest, Zechariah, prophets Simeon and Anna, and ordinary women such as, Elizabeth and Mary who were all filled with the Holy Spirit and exhibited ecstatic prophetic utterances.

The Gospel of John describes Christ Jesus as God manifested in human flesh (Jn 1:14), which helps to understand why God would point John the baptist to Jesus as the Giver of the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37-39). Jesus is Yahweh’s human manifestation, he fills, immerses, and overwhelms repentant hearts with the Spirit that changes them from the inside out.

In the OT, Yahweh promised he would make the gift of the Holy Spirit universal: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28; cf. Acts 2:16-18). The Father will send the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name (Jn 14:26), but in Jn 15:26 and Jn 16:7 Jesus will send the Holy Spirit from the Father which means Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 10:30; 15:15).

Connecting the dots, on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus Christ, literally, fulfilled the prophecy in Joel 2:28-29 as the giver of the Holy Spirit which is the Promise of the Father, or the Spirit of Christ, Acts 1:8; Rom 8:9). Many people do not realize that Jesus Christ is the Holy Spirit in human form, many are frustrated on how to receive it, some are doubtful if speaking in tongue is real. Taste and see that the Lord is good, so come with expectation to Jesus Christ, He will give His Holy Spirit to every sincere seeker (Jn 4:14).

“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22 NKJV).