Salvation of the Soul of Man, continued
BAPTISM OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT, continued
WHY IS THE BAPTISM OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT NECESSARY?
Since a person receives
guidance, instruction, and protection of the Holy Spirit when he or she
receives Jesus as Savior and Lord, why is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit necessary?
But as many as received him to them gave he power
to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name.
(emphasis mine) John 1:12.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8.
According to this scripture,
all believers who have received Jesus are entitled to receive “power
from on high.” It wasn’t just that Jesus died
and overcame death. He also took
Satan’s power away from him and gave us power over Satan. This is the Good News: that we are victorious over death and
sin through the Blood of Jesus. A
person who has been saved is cleansed from all sin, though he will sin again
and again. The Baptism of the Holy
Spirit makes us overcomers, so we can go on to loving and serving Jesus. Without the power from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to overcome
temptation and sin, we pretty well mess things up. But when we permit the Holy Spirit to work through us, we
are victorious. This doesn’t
mean that the person who receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit never makes
mistakes. Giving Jesus control
over every area of our lives is part of our walk with the Lord, but the Holy
Spirit guides us when we submit and pray in tongues so that we do not
practice sin. We have grace
for forgiveness. The entire
twelfth chapter of I Corinthians describes how this “power from on
high” works through
Spirit-filled Christians. We
should be so excited about overcoming evil that we will also be effective
witnesses for the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
The tongue (spoken words) has
been an issue since the creation of man.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth
great things. Behold how great a
matter a little fire kindleth!
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is
the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on
fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. James 3:5-6.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your
mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister
grace unto the hearers. Ephesians
4:29.
“Corrupt
communication” is not just talking dirty. It is anything that disagrees with the Word of God and which
leads to sin. The mind of man is
not yet totally enlightened with all truth, so incorrect beliefs and habits
will eventually show up in our speech.
All of our speech should build up (edify and encourage) others, not
bring others down.
... for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh. Matthew 12:34.
Speaking in tongues by-passes
the unenlightened parts of the mind to speak God’s perfect prayer. That’s why the limited
understanding of man does not participate in speaking in tongues. We give God control of our most unruly
member when we allow Him to speak through us that perfect prayer. Remember as stated before, we do not
know all the details of every situation needing prayer, but God knows and has
the perfect solution.
WHAT IS IMPARTED BY THE
SPIRIT OF GOD?
Who is the Holy Spirit? e is God, and He is Holy. He is power, and most of all He is love.
The Holy Spirit is a Person.
People who have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit have experienced
love they never knew was possible.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. Matthew
22:37.
It is impossible for man to
have this kind of love unless it comes from God. God could have given us this love in any manner He
wished. He could have made it
logical so that our carnal minds would understand: it just so happens that He
chose to “hide these things from the wise and prudent,” (Matthew
11:25), so that we would seek Him “in
spirit and in truth” rather
than with our minds. Jesus told us
to love our enemies. How many of
us can do this unless we get that love from God Himself?
HAVE
THE FAITH OF GOD
After you have received the
gift of Baptism in the Holy Spirit, your adversary, the devil, will try to rob
you of your faith. He will try
several tricks to get you to doubt that you received this gift. One of his tricks is to tell you that
you are just making up the words in tongues. If you think this through, no one is humanly able to make up
tongues for any length of time. Of
course it is possible to make up gibberish, but no one can continue in it. When you receive the gift of speaking
in tongues, you will be able to speak in tongues for a long period of time if
you choose. Another trick of the
enemy is to tell you that you received this gift from the devil and not from
God. Remember that you asked God to give you the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
It is not from the kingdom of darkness.
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a
father, will he give him a stone?
or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish given him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a
scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him? Luke
11:9-13
Another trick of our
adversary is to try to bring trouble, frustration, and hardship into your
life. You may experience
mechanical breakdowns, sickness, financial difficulty, etc. He will try to make you think that
it’s not worth it to live for God.
This is where you need to remember that you have authority over the
devil in the Name of Jesus and command him to back off.
...In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33b
Everyone has trials and
troubles in this life. You
determine the outcome by your attitude.
If you “claim” the Word of God in your situations, you have
the promise that God will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) and
that He will make all things work together for your good when you give them to
God and allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you that perfect prayer. (Romans
8:26-28).
All praise and honor and
glory to our Lord Jesus Christ for giving us power to become sons of God so
that we can carry out His commandment to “Love one another as I have
loved you.”
Be prepared to answer the
following questions:
1. Why is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit necessary?
2. What is “corrupt communication”?
3. Why does the mind of man not participate in understanding
tongues (without the Gift of Interpretation)?
4. Who is the Holy Spirit?
5. Name 3 tricks Satan uses to try to convince you that you did
not receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
6. When trials and troubles come to you, what determines the
outcome?
a. your ______________
b. give your _________ to God
c. _________ the perfect prayer by the
power of the Holy Spirit.