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Explain the baptism of the holy spirit
Explain the baptism of the holy spirit
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There is, perhaps, no other doctrine of the church that is shrouded in uncertainty and controversy than the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. For centuries it has been misused and misinterpreted, push aside and covered up, mocked and ridiculed. The Church and others have even martyred believers for their extreme views. However, if the Holy Spirit is a part of the Holy Trinity and a vital part of our orthodoxy, then it should be imperative for us to know it’s workings in the lives of mankind?
One question that Christians have dealt with for centuries concerns the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit relevant for Christians in our current culture? Or is the Holy Spirit just a nonessential addition to the Christian life? Kind of like the appendix in the human body; we’re not sure what it is there for, but everyone has one. This has been the sentiment for the Holy Spirits purpose in the life of the Believer.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a real and vital part of our salvation. One cannot adequately understand the full measure of the Christian life without experiencing the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is as much part of the Christian life as is the love of God or the atonement of Christ. It is insufficient to experience one without the other. Therefore, the Trinity becomes the anchor, which gives validity and balance to the working of the Holy Spirit in every believer’s life. It is essential for every Christian to take the time and diligent study to look at the historical evidence concerning the Holy Spirit to see if they point to a greater or lesser need for the Holy Spirit’s involvement in the Christian life. Then to look at theological and scriptural evidence that would suppo...
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...nity. The Holy Spirit allows human beings to become closer to God, and the relationship between the Father and the Son. After writing about both the Trinity and Salvation, I have learned that they are immensely interconnected. The Trinity allows human beings to find Salvation. All in all, the Trinity is not three separate parts, but one part with three different essences.
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Baptism in (or with) the Holy Spirit is a very important, distinctive Christian experience in the life of the believer. The basis is found in the book of Acts, specifically the event of Pentecost.
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Teaching the doctrines of the church with fervor and God-lead wisdom will help sustaining the church’s viability. The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit will unfold the deep and hidden truths of God, and his desires for His church. The role of the Holy Spirit is that He bears "witness" of Jesus Christ and the church shares that role. Here is what John 16:12-14 says about the Holy Spirit in this venue, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” The author of our textbook give great insight about The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit when he wrote this, “The gift of a new life of love, the gift of new truth, the gift of a new community different from other communities – these are inseparable gifts of the Holy Spirit and marks of true Christian spirituality (Guthrie 312).” These gifts are given freely from God via the Holy Spirit, and the new millennium church has a responsibility to tell the world that they are available to all who will receive them through their faith in Jesus
The ‘Gift of Tongues’ (Glossolalia) as described by many Christians in present day is said to be evident proof of the manifestation of the Holy Ghost in an individual. Although many outsiders see it as a new belief or ideology, Christians believe that it is not a new practice but rather a forgotten gift of the spirit given to the early church right after Jesus’ departure. Many believers provide proof of that by recalling the biblical event with the Apostles at the Pentecost, found in Acts 2 and also the twelfth chapter of the first Pauline letter to the Corinthians. Some of these manifestations and gifts of the Spirit emerged to the public, after a long period of time, in the late 19th century and early 20th century giving birth to Pentecostalism. But as any other novelties it brought strife with itself. Today many Pentecostal and nondenominational charismatic churches are firm doers of this practice. They not only think of glossolalia as an idea or a charismatic practice but hold it to be “a heavenly language that [is] unknown to the speaker but known in the heavenly spiritual realm,” a unique spiritual language through which one can communicate with God.
Jesus told his disciples that he will never leave or forsake them. (Hebrews 13:5, KJV) We as Christians should have faith that the comfort of the spirit dwells in us. Ryrie (1997) says that “Today the Holy Spirit lives in the beings of Christians only, and he does so in all Christians” (p. 95). In addition, just as Paul had to remind the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:16, when he said: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (KJV), Christians today also need the remembrance of this truth, subsequently can be found in the word of God. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:34, that God is seated in heaven with his son Jesus sitting on his right hand. Some Christians who may lack the spiritual maturity they need to understand “No matter where we may go, God is there by His Spirit—invisible, often imperceptible, but inescapable” (Price, D, p. 4, n.d. ). The evidence of this can be seen in Psalm 139: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (KJV). I conclude with author Dick Iverson’s words, he said “The name of The Holy Spirit is coupled with those of the Father and the Son” (1990, p. 3). The reference to this can be found
The Holy Spirit gives us power to make things possible. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “But 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.” The power enabled the apostles to heal the sick (3:1-10, 5:15-16, 9:32-35) and raise people from the dead (9:36-43). The power also enabled them to speak the truth boldly (4:1-14, 7:1-53,
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