Into What Were You Baptized? Understanding the Fullness of God's Power

There's a profound question echoing through the halls of faith today, one that demands our honest reflection: Into what were you baptized?

This isn't merely a question about a past religious ceremony. It's an invitation to examine the depth of our spiritual experience and the fullness of what God has made available to His children.

In Acts 19, we encounter a fascinating story. The apostle Paul arrived in Ephesus and found some disciples—people who believed, who had faith, who had even been baptized. Yet something was missing. When Paul asked if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed, their response was startling: "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

These were followers of John the Baptist, baptized into repentance, believing in the promise of a coming Messiah. They had faith. They had turned from their old ways. But they hadn't yet experienced the fullness of what God intended for them.

Paul's response reveals something critical about the Christian life: there are levels of spiritual experience, not in terms of salvation, but in terms of living in the abundance God desires for us.

Consider a simple light switch. When it's disconnected from power, flipping it does nothing. The room remains dark. This represents the unsaved person—no connection, no hope, no light.

But when that switch connects to the power source and flips halfway, a light comes on. You can see. There's illumination. This is salvation—the Holy Spirit dwelling within, bringing new life and sight to what was once darkness.

Yet there's still another position. When the switch goes all the way up, every light blazes. The room floods with brilliance. This represents the baptism of the Holy Spirit—not a different salvation, but a fuller manifestation of God's power working through a willing vessel.

Every believer has the Holy Spirit within them. That's what makes us new creations. But not every believer has opened themselves to the fullness of what the Spirit wants to do through them.

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave His disciples clear instructions: "Wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father." He told them, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me" (Acts 1:8).

Notice the sequence: power comes when the Holy Spirit comes upon believers, and that power enables them to be effective witnesses.

One hundred twenty people waited in that upper room. We don't know how many heard the instruction, but only 120 remained faithful to wait. And when the Day of Pentecost came, something dramatic happened. The Spirit of God filled them, they spoke in other tongues, and they were transformed from fearful followers into bold witnesses.

This wasn't just a one-time historical event. It's the pattern God established for His church to operate in power.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth" and promised that He would dwell with us and be in us (John 14:16-17). This Spirit teaches us all things, guides us into truth, and enables us to understand the deep things of God.

The world cannot receive this Spirit because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But for those who believe, He is our helper, our teacher, our guide.

Think about what this means practically. When you face situations that confuse you, when you need wisdom beyond your own understanding, when you're dealing with spiritual battles that natural solutions can't fix—the Spirit of God within you knows the way through. He can pray through you when you don't know what to pray. He can give you words of knowledge and wisdom. He can break chains and open doors.

But this requires something from us: yielding.

One of the manifestations of the Spirit-filled life is praying in tongues—speaking in a prayer language that bypasses our limited understanding and allows the Spirit to pray through us.
For some, this comes immediately. For others, it's a walk of faith. The pattern in Scripture is clear: "They opened their mouths," and the Spirit gave them utterance.

This isn't about emotionalism or working up feelings. It's about faith—believing that when you open your mouth in surrender to God, He will fill it with His Spirit's prayer.

Why does this matter? Because there are deep things in your life—complex situations, spiritual battles, unclear paths—that your natural mind cannot fully comprehend. In those moments, praying in the Spirit allows God to work through you, clearing confusion and bringing clarity that can then be understood in your natural language.

It's not about showing off or comparing spiritual experiences. It's about effectiveness in your walk with God and your ability to overcome obstacles.

God has laid out a table of gifts for His children. They're all there, available, purchased by the blood of Jesus. But it's up to each of us which gifts we open.

Some are content to admire the packages without ever opening them. They're saved, their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and they'll spend eternity with God. That's wonderful.

But God desires more for us. He wants us to live in the fullness of what He's provided. He wants us to be chain-breakers, atmosphere-shifters, and carriers of His glory and power.
The question isn't whether you're saved. The question is: Are you living in the abundance He intended?

Into what were you baptized? Were you baptized into tradition, into ritual, into just enough to get by? Or were you baptized into the fullness of Christ, into the power of the Holy Spirit, into a life of supernatural enablement?

The same Spirit that hovered over the face of the deep at creation, the same Spirit that empowered Jesus to begin His ministry, the same Spirit that birthed the church on Pentecost—that Spirit is available to you today.

Will you receive? Will you open yourself to the fullness of what God has for you? The lights are on in your life, but are they blazing with the glory of God?

This Thanksgiving season, perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself is to stop settling for average and step into the abundance God has prepared for those who love Him.