Baptized in Water, Filled with the Spirit: The Three Experiences Every Disciple Needs

Meta Description: Baptism isn't just a church tradition—it's a public declaration that changes everything. Discover the three experiences God wants every follower of Jesus to have. URL Slug: baptized-in-water-filled-with-the-spirit Featured Image: A close-up, warm-toned photo of someone emerging from a baptism pool, water streaming, arms raised—capturing both the joy and the spiritual weight of the moment.

What if you've been missing something? Not because you're a bad Christian, but because nobody ever told you there was more?

That's the question I want to sit with you in today. Because when I opened up Luke chapter 3 recently and walked through what happened at Jesus' baptism, I became convinced all over again that God has more for every one of us than most of us are currently experiencing.

John the Baptizer and the Moment Everything Changed

Before we get to the theology, let me introduce you to one of the most important and honestly most entertaining figures in the entire New Testament: John the Baptizer.

John was the fulfillment of the last prophecy in the Old Testament. The book of Malachi closes with this promise: "See, I will send the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." Then there's 400 years of silence. Four centuries of God's people waiting. And then John walks out of the wilderness—wearing camel's hair, eating locusts and wild honey, preaching short sermons that basically amounted to: Repent. You're wicked. Bend your knee to Jesus.

He had zero fear of man and total fear of God. The entire region of Judea was coming out to be baptized by him. He was a big deal.

And then came the moment that changed everything. Luke 3 tells us: "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized, too."

Jesus got in line.

What Baptism Actually Is

That moment raises an obvious question: why? Why did Jesus—who had no sin to repent of—submit to baptism?

The answer unlocks what baptism is meant to be for all of us.

Baptism is the way God commands us to make a public declaration of a new association. The Greek word baptizo literally means to dip, dunk, or submerge. It was used in first-century pickle recipes—you don't make a cucumber into a pickle by sprinkling a little water on it. You submerge it long enough to produce a complete change.

Romans 6 gives us the theological foundation: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

Dead. Buried. Raised. That's what baptism symbolizes.

Think of it like a wedding ring. If I take off my ring, it doesn't mean I'm no longer married to my wife, Jana. If I'd never put it on, it wouldn't mean we didn't get married. Baptism doesn't establish your relationship with God—it points to your relationship with God. It's a visible symbol of an invisible spiritual reality.

And if the world has the courage to come out publicly for all kinds of things, disciples of Jesus Christ need to have the courage to go public for Jesus.

The Third Experience Nobody Told You About

Here's where I want to spend the most time, because this is where I think a lot of us—myself included for years—have been missing something.

Watch what happens immediately after Jesus is baptized in Luke 3: "And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.'"

The New Testament is clear that there are three experiences God wants every disciple to have:

1. The Holy Spirit baptizes you into Christ at salvation (1 Corinthians 12:13)
2. You are baptized in water in obedience to Jesus (Matthew 28:19)
3. Jesus fills you with the Holy Spirit for the rest of your life (Luke 3:16)

Some Christians hear that third point and push back: "I already have the Holy Spirit. I got him when I was saved." And that's true. Romans 8:9 is clear: "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ." The Holy Spirit permanently indwells every believer at salvation.

But Paul writes to people who are already Christians in Ephesians 5:18 and tells them: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." He's not writing to unbelievers. He's writing to the church—to people who already have the Spirit—and telling them to keep seeking a fresh filling.

We leak. We need to be continually filled.

What Happened When I Finally Asked

Eleven years ago, I started studying what the New Testament actually teaches about a Christian's relationship with the Holy Spirit. The longer I read, the more an agony began to well up inside me. I'm not a big crier, but my eyes got real leaky during prayer. I just kept telling God: "If there's anything you have on offer that I haven't experienced, I want it all. I don't want to get to heaven and find out I missed something."

One day I was driving circles around a mall in Franklin, Tennessee, listening to Bible teaching on this. And the only way I know how to describe it is that something broke open inside me. The presence of God filled my car, and it felt like I was being attacked by love.

From that moment on, things changed. Freedom from a sin I'd struggled with for decades. Supernatural things happening in my preaching I couldn't explain. And honestly—I've never been able to preach the Bible since without seeing people come to Jesus. All of it traces back to that moment of simply asking God for more.

Acts 1:8 tells us: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

You need that power. Your family needs that power. Our world needs that power.

Your Next Step

So here's what I want to ask you directly: Have you been baptized since placing your faith in Jesus? If not, don't delay. Obedience to Jesus isn't optional—it's the mark of someone who actually believes he's Lord.

And have you ever cried out to God for a fresh filling of his Spirit? Have you ever prayed, "God, if there's anything you have for me that I haven't experienced, I want it all"?

If not, let today be the day you start.

If you've never been baptized, text LIFE to 20411 and our team will help you take that next step. And if you want to go deeper into everything we covered here, catch the full Boot Camp series on our YouTube channel—this is a message that builds on itself week after week.

Don't settle for less than everything God has for you.

Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): Most Christians know they have the Holy Spirit—but did you know Jesus himself didn't begin his ministry until after being filled with the Spirit? If he needed that, how much more do we? This week's message unpacks the three experiences God wants every disciple to have—and why you might be missing one of them.

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