While meeting with them, [Jesus] enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4-5
To be “clothed with power” is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This baptism is different from the one we received for salvation, which made us right with God and made us his adopted sons and daughters. At our water baptism, in addition to our identity in Christ, we are given gifts of the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, we are sealed and strengthened with the Holy Spirit. In baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the power of God, which stirs up and activates the gifts we already have. It serves as a spiritual catalyst to using those gifts to help the Church and bring the good news of God’s Kingdom to those not in it.
This baptism contains three primary effects: a deep revelation of the love of the Father, a joyful acceptance of the Lordship of the risen Jesus, and the ongoing filling of the Holy Spirit and his gifts. It moves us from a faith of conviction to a faith of experience. We begin to experience the love of Jesus in a more intense, personal, and real way.
If you would like to experience the love of Jesus in a fresh, personal, truly life-changing way, ask the Holy Spirit to come into your life in a totally new way today.