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. 1 Corinthians 12:13 NKJV

You can join the local church but you can’t join the Body of Christ; you must be baptized into the Body by the Spirit. This baptism whether you call it baptism “by, in, or with” the Holy Spirit-joins you to Christ (1 Cor. 6:17). This is the first blessing after placing your saving faith in Christ.

This first blessing and baptism has two aspects to it: regeneration (Titus 3:5) and integration (Rom. 8:9). When you believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into your life, and at that point, you are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. The moment you put your saving faith in Jesus Christ, you are baptized and regenerated into the Body of Christ, and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).

If the Holy Spirit is not in you, you don’t belong to Christ. When the Spirit is in you, you become a member of Christ’s Body; it is the Spirit which makes us one Body (1 Cor. 6:17). The Holy Spirit is like blood; it circulates through every member of the body. Without blood, the body dies. Without the Holy Spirit you are dead spiritually (John 6:53). Baptism in the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit is the believer’s first blessing!