"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 2:38, 39.
"And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."--Acts 5:32. "That the
blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."--Gal.
3:14.
"That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles
might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost."--Rom. 15:16.
"But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."--2 Thess.
2:13.
In a previous chapter we have noticed that the Holy Ghost experience of
the apostles and all those of the early church was the same; and we see
definitely by the texts just quoted that it is the design of God that
all believers receive it. Also we have seen that this Holy Ghost
experience is a subsequent one to regeneration, and identical with
sanctification. Every young convert who has truly been regenerated, will
in due time find that something more needs to be done in his heart
before he can fully realize an experience that will correspond with the
fulfillment of the many exceeding great and precious promises of the
Holy Ghost.
The Scriptures clearly teach us that regeneration is a work of the Holy
Spirit. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body."--1 Cor.
12:13. This does not have reference to the Pentecostal baptism, but to
the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, inducting us into the body
of Christ, the church. This is very different from the baptism with the
Holy Ghost. In regeneration the Holy Ghost baptizes the believer into
Christ; in sanctification Christ baptizes the believer with the Holy
Ghost. "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."--Matt.
3:11.
This latter is the sanctification and Pentecostal experience. Both are
spiritual experiences. When reading these wonderful promises by the
prophets, we can clearly distinguish the two works of grace foretold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account