The baptism of the Holy Spirit is something that is especially for NT Christians. We are truly a blessed people. Even tho He (Holy Spirit) came to folks in the OT, He has never come as He did on the day of Pentecost. Those holy men of the OT were moved by the Holy Ghost, and thru that anointing performed miracles, prophesied future things, and wrote the scriptures. Speaking of which the Spirit also revealed to them that the infilling of the Holy Spirit was for another generation and not for theirs ( 1Peter 1:10-12 ). They were anointed but not regenerated with the life-giving experience that is given to us in the church era. (Heb 11:39-40) God has something better for us on this side of Calvary . .the abiding indwelling presense of His Spirit.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
I was just reading where the prophet Joel foretold of the day when Jehovah would pour out His Spirit on all flesh . .a prophesy that is being fulfilled in the church (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:16-17). I know that Isaiah told of the identifying sign of the indwelling Spirit, that of speaking with tongues as the Spirit gives utterance(Isaiah 28:9-12 . .1Cor 14:21-22 . .Acts 2:4). Jeremiah described the coming experiance as a new covenant in which God would write His laws on the "inward parts" and "in their hearts" (Jerimiah 31:31-33 . .Heb 8:8-13).
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Also . . .When John the Baptist proclaimed Christ, he said that He would baptize His with the Holy Ghost (Mat 3:110). Jesus said, preached, and promised that those that believed in Him would recieve the Holy Ghost, but the experiance would be after His crucifixion and resurection (John 7:37-39). Jesus told His diciples to encourage them "It is expediant for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you" (John 16:7).
Now . . .this promise began to be fulfilled in Jerusalem with the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:33), but the promise of the Spirit certainly did not cease with the 120 diciples or the Jews and Gentiles of that 1st century. There are millions of people living today of all nations that have recieved the Holy Ghost with the same sign of speaking with tongues. As long as Gods church is on the earth, the Spirit will be the means by which people are sanctified, regenerated, and sealed. Check out (2 Thes 2:13 . .John 3: 3-5 . .Eph 1:13-14 and 4:30). Without His presence, there is no salvation, unless the Spirit draws, convicts, and indwells us, we will remain lost in our sins.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
By the Spirit we are born into the kingdom of God (John 3:5, 8). By the Spirit we are baptised into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). The Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance and the seal of our salvation (Eph. 1:13-14). By the Spirit we have access to God (Eph. 2:18). The Spirit sanctifies us (Rom 15:16...1 Cor. 6:11), renews our natures (John 3:5), makes us Sons of God (Gal. 4:5-6...Rom. 8:15), witnesses that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16), and will one day resurrect us (Rom. 8:11). The Holy Ghost experience is the essence of the new covenant, replacing the old covenant of the law (2 Cor. 3:3-18). The promised blessing of Abraham is "that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:14).
The Bible says, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Rom. 8:9). Paul wrote "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Cor. 12:3). He is not our Lord until we have submitted ourselves to Him and allowed His Spirit to ascend to the throne of our lives. A christian should not only be born of the Spirit but he should also pray in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit. Check out (Jude 20 and Gal. 5:25).
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
"The church era is the age of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit is life, the rivers of living water from which all christians drink. He is the unique force in redemption, bringing illumination, conviction, regeneration, transformation, and sanctification to our lives. It is by the indwelling Spirit that we are made free from sin in Christ (Romans 8:1-2, 9). Individually each christian is a temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor 6:19), and collectivley all christians form the holy temple, the one building . . .fitley framed together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (Eph 2:20-22)."
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Without the infilling of the Holy Spirit, a persons birth is not complete . . .he may be forgiven of his past sins, but he is not born again. His new birth is not finished. A person needs a spiritual change of his sinful nature that comes only by the infilling of God's Spirit.
A saved person is one who is both forgiven and regenerated, pardoned and transformed. He is no longer controlled by the nature of sin, and he no longer follows a sinful lifestyle. The new birth does not mean that a person will no longer battle his sinful nature or that he becomes incapable of sinning. God does not make His people to be robots . . .He does not take from us our free will, but He does give us power thru His indwelling Spirit to resist the temptation to sin. While we are still capable of sin, we do not have to sin.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Jesus said to His diciples, "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot recieve, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him; for He dweleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you confortless: I will come to you" (John 14:16-18). From this passage we see that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Christ.
Jesus told us, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Mat 28:20). The Son ascended, but the Holy Spirit, which is Christ with us and in us, has come to abide with us forever. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is none other than God who created all things, who lived among us as Jesus Christ, and who now lives in us. He is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of the risen Christ.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Some folk are confused as to the ministry of the Holy Ghost. Some teach that the Holy Ghost baptism is just an added blessing that comes after salvation and is therefore not a part of the salvation process. They try to seperate the "birth of the Spirit" from the "baptism of the Spirit", saying that a person can posess the Spirit without being baptized with the Spirit. But the bible does not make this seperation.
The preponderance of the evidence in the NT affirms that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is an essential experiance in salvation. A person will not go wrong if he stays with the plan of salvation as expressed in (Acts 2:38), that of repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, and recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost. The NT presents only one plan of salvation and calls all others false. (Gal 1:6-10) One gospel message of hope and truth and power saves all who respond in obediant faith. (Romans 10: 11-17)
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
On the day of Pentecost, Gods Spirit was poured out on the Disciples, and with the Spirit came the experiance of speaking in tongues (Acts 2:1-4). (Acts 1:15) About 120 disciples recieved the Holy Ghost at this time. The outporing was not limited to these. Peter preached that the Holy Ghost was a promise that every person could recieve.
Speaking with tongues is closely linked with the reception of the Holy Ghost not only initially on the day of pentecost, but also at other events in the book of Acts. Also speaking in tongues is refered to in the book of Mark and in Pauls epistle to the Corinthians.
When the Gentiles in Caesarea recieved the Holy Ghost, the sign of speaking in tongues convinced the Christian Jews that God had given them the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:44-47, 11:15-18). Also the 12 disciples that Paul met in Ephesus spoke in tongues when they recieved the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:6). And further the Bible says the saints in Corinth spoke with tongues (1 Cor 14), a fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah (Isaiah 28:11). Jesus said that those that believed the Gospel would "speak with new tongues" (Mark 16:17). Speaking with tongues is a biblical experiance linked with recieving the Holy Ghost.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Baptism Of The Holy Spirit
