...........................................................................................................................................................
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The Nature and Purpose of the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Dr.
Richard D. Dobbins – Author
Right up front, let me say that every person who
has accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior has the Holy Spirit residing in
him or her.
Non-Pentecostal evangelicals frequently resent
Pentecostals who infer that evangelicals do not have the Holy Spirit.
Pentecostals are not "more capable" of
living a life that is pleasing to Christ than are other evangelicals.
The solution to the sin problem in each of our
lives is found in the Cross, not in some subsequent Christian experience.
I want to answer five important, frequently
asked questions about the nature and purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
What Is The Baptism in The Holy Spirit?
In order for anyone to experience a baptism,
three components must be in place.
First, someone must administer the
baptism.
Second, some element that brings
about change must be present.
Third, someone must submit to the
baptism.
The theological terms for these components are:
the celebrant, the element, and the communicant.
The celebrant is the person who administers the
baptism, the element is that into which the communicant is immersed, and the
communicant is the person who experiences the baptism.
Let me explain this in New
Testament terms. When we are born again, Paul tells us, "For by
one Spirit are we all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13).
The Holy Spirit is the celebrant. He is the one
who does the baptizing and He immerses the believer into the body of Christ,
which is what makes the person a new creature in Christ Jesus.
The celebrant is the Holy Spirit, the element is
the body of Christ, the communicant is the believer, and the change is we are
translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son --
we are born again.
Every born-again believer has experienced this
baptism. It is a baptism of the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.
Once you are a born-again believer, Christ
admonishes you to submit yourself to water baptism.
Physically, the change is from dry to wet.
Symbolically, we are married with Christ in baptism and we rise to walk in
newness of life (see Romans 6:1-4).
We are symbolically saying that we have died to
our natural life and made a line to our spiritual life. This is water baptism.
Then the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the
baptism of Jesus.
Remember John the Baptist
said, "He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with
fire" (Matthew 3:11).
In the Pentecostal experience, Jesus is the
celebrant. He is the one who does the baptizing.
The element is the Holy Spirit and the communicant
is the believer.
In regards to the baptism in the Holy Spirit,
Jesus baptizes the born-again believer (in the Holy Spirit).
Where Is It Talked About In The Bible?
John the Baptist first mentions it
in Matthew 3:11.
Then, in Luke 24:49, Jesus instructs His
disciples to tarry at Jerusalem until they are endued with power from on high.
Notice, He does not say filled with power from on high.
Then, in Acts 1:5 Jesus says that,
although they have been baptized with water, the believers are going to be baptized
with the Holy Spirit in a few days.
He also reassures them in Acts
1:8 that when this happens, they will receive power to become witnesses.
Acts chapter 2 records this experience coming to
believers at Jerusalem.
Acts chapter 8 describes the experience coming
to believers in Samaria.
Acts chapter 10 talks about Cornelius and his
household being baptized in the Holy Spirit, and Acts chapter 19 records this
experience coming to the church at Ephesus.
Why Should I Want To Be Baptized In The Holy
Spirit?
First, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift from
Jesus Christ to you.
Christ promised this to the Church. They waited
after they had received the Holy Spirit, after they were saved, until the Day
of Pentecost was fully come and then the Lord Jesus endued them with power from
on high -- baptized them in the Holy Spirit.
Second, Jesus says that when we are baptized in the
Holy Spirit, we are endued with power to witness (see Acts 1:8).
I think many Pentecostals mistakenly believe
that they cannot be overcomers until they are baptized in the Holy Spirit.
But the baptism in the Holy Spirit has nothing
to do with the overcoming life.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is for an
entirely different purpose. It is for world evangelism -- to give us power to
witness.
Dr.
Richard D. Dobbins is the leader of EMERGE Ministries of Akron, Ohio.
He
serves on the faculty of Ashland Theological Seminary and initiated the
coordination of their master s program in Pastoral Counseling.
An
acclaimed author, Dr. Dobbins has created numerous film/video presentations on
topics of interest to believers and has written many books, booklets, articles
and audiotapes on Christian mental health care.
No comments:
Post a Comment