The Spirit of God. . .
This is a simplification, but on one side are those which believe that the Spirit of God enters a person at the time of profession of faith or baptism, and the other side, called Pentecostals, which believe the experience of God’s entering into a believer is the same as occurred on the day of Pentecost, documented in the book of Acts chapter 2.
Why is this something worth arguing or dividing our body of Christ about?
Jesus said:
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And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
(Acts 1:4-9 KJV)
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Jesus' final words before being taken up into heaven. . . His last words spoken on earth were hugely important. His followers left behind, now leaderless after following Him for his years of earthly ministry.
Encouraging them. . . telling them that they would have POWER after the Holy Ghost. . . God’s Spirit came upon them. He told them not to leave the area, but to wait for the promise of the Father.
Jesus had spoken of this previously, but His followers most certainly did not understand what He was saying at the time:
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John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient 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.
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So His disciples did as Jesus instructed. The gathered together:
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Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
(Acts 1:12-14 KJV)
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They remained there until the Day of Pentecost:
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And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
(Acts 2:1 KJV)
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The day of Pentecost. . . 50 days from Passover:
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And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
(Leviticus 23:15-17 KJV)
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The Day of Pentecost. . . the culmination of the feast of the first fruits. The Old Testament is a shadow of things to come. In the Old Testament the first fruits referred to the first sheaves gathered in the harvest. In the book of Acts, the giving of God’s Spirit on the day of Pentecost. . . the day of first fruits is hugely symbolic:
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In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
(Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV)
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After you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance. . .
The earnest of our inheritance. . . a small taste of the fullness to come that awaits us in Heaven.
The believers were gathered together, not knowing what awaited them:
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And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
(Acts 2:1-4 KJV)
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The gathered believers were filled with the Spirit of God, and began to speak in a language unknown to them as the evidence of that infilling. Those watching were skeptical at what they were seeing. They thought they were drunk:
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But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
(Acts 2:14-18 KJV)
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God said He would pour out His Spirit on ALL flesh. Some would tell us that this occurrence was only for those gathered in Jerusalem, but what does Scripture say:
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Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
(Acts 2:37-39 KJV)
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. . . even as many as our Lord our God shall call. . . Not only for those gathered that day nearly 2000 years ago, but unto you and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as our Lord our God shall call. . .
Some would tell us that we are filled with the Spirit of God automatically at the time of water baptism, but what does Scripture say:
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While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
(Acts 10:44-48 KJV)
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Peter preached the first message of salvation to the gentiles (Non-Jews). As he was speaking the hearers received the gift of the God’s Spirit. How did Peter know this? “For they heard them speak with tongues”. Then Peter decided, if they can be filled with God’s Spirit same as the Jews who had received His Spirit previously, how can we deny them baptism in Jesus name, so the gentiles were then baptized.
Again Paul found believers in Ephesus, who had been baptized, but had not received the gift of receiving God’s Spirit:
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And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?
And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized?
And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.
(Acts 19:1-7 KJV)
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They were baptized in Jesus' name, and then when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied. . . again and again two separate happenings.
Receiving God’s Spirit did not ever automatically happen at baptism, as recorded in Scripture.
Is there more to say on this subject? Yes surely there is. Entire books are written on what it means to be born again. I have included a link to one of my favorites below.
We began this writing with the words of Jesus’:
ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. . .
We need power. . . I need power to prevail against sin. God is offering you that power by the gift of His Spirit to you. He has given us a way to be overcomers.
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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 every one 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 give 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 KJV)
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Open your hearts. . .
Open your minds. . .
Don’t be handcuffed by tradition. . .
Receive the Gift that God wants to give you. . .
I received God’s Spirit August 17th, 2000. Truthfully I didn’t believe in it. I had been going to a Pentecostal church for roughly 2 months, and in my mind I really thought the people that I witnessed speaking in tongues around me were faking it. . . until it happened to me.
At the altar call at the end of the service, I went down front, and began to pray. The visiting evangelist put his hand upon my head, and the most amazing thing happened to me. I was filled with God’s Spirit and began to speak in a language that I could not understand.
It was an overwhelming experience. I smiled for two weeks after this happened to me. It greatly accelerated the changes that were already transforming me from my old sinful man into a new creature.
. .
I cannot put into words how powerful this experience was and is. . . you must experience it for yourself to fully understand. . .
I love you my God. . .
I thank you my Lord. . .
<3
Dave
https://www.amazon.com/New-Birth-Pentecostal-Theology-Book-ebook/dp/B004BLK5FE
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