We believe that we accept Jesus and be Baptized. Why, then..

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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on July 15, 2012 at 6:59am

Chris,

Most of us don't understand the Holy Spirit...what His appointment is...how He actually effects us. That is an area that we all need to work on...recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation...baptism is our declaration to the world that we belong to Christ. I see no difference between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost. They are the same to me.

I know now that the Holy Spirit was calling me at age 4. I received Christ at age 9. Now I recognize that Holy Spirit taught me through my 40 years of the *desert* until the time when I went to the altar to repent of my many sins and lifestyle during those 40 years. I was re-baptized a couple of years later. However, I heard the Holy Spirit speaking to me before my re-baptism. I was learning how to allow Him to guide my life. At this time, I inquire of the Holy Spirit of everything. Have even had His help in a quilting project. He directs me to misplaced objects. Years ago, I had offended a friend greatly. He pulled me so strongly to an apology that I left work in order to offer that apology. It was a awesome experience.

The Holy Spirit is with us and will guide us to all truths if we will allow Him to.

Blessings...

Rita

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Permalink Reply by a servant (Chris) on July 15, 2012 at 7:39am

Rita

   Amen.  

May the Lord Richly Bless You

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Permalink Reply by Colby on July 15, 2012 at 3:11pm

Chris,

The Holy Spirit, the third person in the tri-unity that is the Godhead, is not all that well understood by many Christians.  Rita said it well: "Most of us don't understand the Holy Spirit."  Some consider the Holy Spirit not to be a distinct person, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and Son, but as an impersonal manifestation of God's spirit.  The Bible begins by telling us in Genesis that God the Father is the creator of all things.  New Testament writings center on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ whom we know as our Lord, Savior and Redeemer.  But, when it comes to the Holy Spirit, many Christians ask: Who is the Holy Spirit?  What does he do? 

 

With that in mind, let me return to your discussion question, which has several parts to it, and attempt to answer it as best I can citing the Scripture as I do so:

/* We believe that we accept Jesus and be Baptized. 

1. Why, then, is it different with the Holy Spirit?
2. Yes, we receive Him, why then are we not baptized in the Holy Ghost?
3. What makes them different?
4. Why is there so much doubt in this area?  */

 

The Gospel of Mark begins with “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way;
    the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’”

 

Then we hear about this odd man named John the Baptist dressed in camel’s hair and eating locusts in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  With a sense of urgency, throngs of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem come to John to be baptized in the River Jordan.

 

All the while John is pointing to one more powerful than himself, the Messiah, who will come after him.  "I baptize you with water but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit " (Mark 1:8; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16).

Then Jesus of Nazareth comes to John to be baptized and a spectacular event unfolds.  As he is coming out of the water, the Holy Spirit appears.

• "As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the
  Spirit  descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven:
  'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased'" (Mark 1:10-11).

 

Jesus' baptism marked the beginning of his public ministry.  Jesus gave this command: 

• “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
  the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ” (Matthew 28:19).

 

The Apostle Peter, in reply to those who had gathered to hear him preach the gospel, said:

• “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
  of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit ”  (Acts 2:38).  

 

Those who accepted his message were baptized.

 

A few verses later, we read: "While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit  fell on all who heard the word" (Acts 10:44).  Then Peter declares, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit  just as we have?  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 10:47-48).

 

Of course, it is not water which saves, but rather the grace of Jesus Christ.  Water baptism, which we do out of obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior, is the outward expression and confession of what has happened inwardly, which is that we have been born anew by the "washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit " (Titus 3:5), becoming new creations in Christ Jesus. 

 

The Holy Spirit imparts faith in the believer.  And then he begins his work of sanctifying us, making us fruitful, and granting us spiritual gifts.

 

May you be blessed by the amazing grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the extravagant love of God the Father, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit,

 

Colby

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Permalink Reply by a servant (Chris) on July 16, 2012 at 8:10am

Brother

   Thank you for your Blessing and I receive that Blessing.  It appears you have a understanding of the Spirit. My desire when I ask these questions, is that we all seek out the Spirit, and no longer see the Spirit as a mystery.  For, I do not believe this Part of God should be a mystery, no more than the Father, and Our Lord Jesus.  And, the questions I ask about Holy Spirit are in an attempt to, cause others to seek out the Truth.

Lord Bless you Btother

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Permalink Reply by Colby on July 16, 2012 at 1:45pm

Chris,

Thank you for posting this question, prompting us to reflect more deeply on the nature and mission of the Holy Spirit, who, as the third person of the tri-unity that is God, is not well understand by many.

A few more reflections on the Holy Spirit.

I.  John the Baptist's Baptism / Jesus' Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Paul the Apostle has been traveling to such places as Athens and Corinth preaching the gospel.  In Acts 19, he arrives in Ephesus, a city on what is now the west coast of Turkey, where he has planted a church.

• Paul, meeting a few believers there, asks: "'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?'  They asnswered, 'No we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit'" (Acts 19:2).
• This prompts Paul to ask, "'Then what baptism did you receive?' And they replied, 'the baptism of John'"(Acts 19:3).
• "On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying."  (Acts 19:5-6).

 

As we read in we read in the gospels, John's was a baptism with water for the forgiveness of sins.  But he announced that someone mightier than him was coming, and that he, the Messiah, would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus, the Messiah, our Lord and Savior, instructed us in the form of baptism thusly:

• "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
  baptizing them in the name of
  the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

 

It is significant here that Jesus equates the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, he is not a mere man chosen by God to be a prophet, and the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or attribute of God. 

 

II.  God's love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit

John tells us that:

• "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16) and that

• "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3: 16).

• Jesus says: "No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life  for one's friends"
  (John 15: 13).

And in his letter to the Church at Rome, the Apostle Paul says: "God shows his love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us" (Roman 5:8).

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we enter into God's communion of love.

• Jesus  promises us this gift:
  "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.
  This is the Spirit of truth,  whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him
  nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you" 
  (John 14: 16-17).

• Through the Spirit, God's love dwells in us. As Paul says:
  "The love of God has been poured  out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us"  (Romans 5: 5).

 

The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, bringing us to the perfection of love. God alone is holy, and only God alone can sanctify us. Yet, it is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit, just like the Father and the Son, must be truly God.  The words of Jesus confirm this truth: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father  and of the Son  and of the Holy Spirit ." (Matthew 28:19)

 

May you be blessed by the amazing grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the extravagant love of God the Father, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit,

 

Colby

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on July 17, 2012 at 3:53am

Is Colby not just the greatest. He makes me a proud mama & he's not even mine

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on July 17, 2012 at 3:48am

Francis Chan has written an incredible book as well as Bible Study entitled The Forgotten God. It's about the Holy Spirit & how we see Him & do we think He is as high & powerful as God, etc. It's pretty awesome

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