We believe that the Holy Spirit is actively involved
in the lives of Christians today.
We have looked at the deity and personality of the Holy
Spirit and also discussed the reasons why we believe that this is the age of
the Holy Spirit. Now, we want to get more specific in our study and look in to
the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the individual Christian.
We observed that in the Old Testament time, the
ministry of the Holy Spirit was basically reserved for the spiritual giants.
This is not so in the New Testament age. The average layperson has access to
the Holy Spirit in the same way as the greatest spiritual leader.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit
There are a number of very important ministries the Holy
Spirit does for the believers. One of the most important is know the baptism of
the Holy Spirit. This is a highly controversial issue, practically every
theologian and every church has a little different slant on this subject.
Different interpretation of the Holy Spirit
There are at least five major interpretations of
this experience. Some teaching said, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is simply
means the initial filling of the Holy Spirit. This means the expression
“baptism of or with the spirit is synonymous with the filling whit the spirit
or being endued with the spirit. Pentecost was clearly the time when the
disciples were filled with the spirit.
Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation?
An obvious question that arises is this; were not
the disciples already converted before they enjoyed the Pentecostal experience,
and did not you say that Pentecost obviously was synonymous with the baptism of
the Holy Spirit? The answer is yes to both questions, but there is no conflict
here. Though the disciples were certainly saved before Pentecost, they were not
members of the body of Christ. The body of Christ or the church was not
officially constituted until Pentecost. Pentecost was the initial or the grand
baptism of the spirit. The disciples and the others who had put their faith in Jesus
Christ while he was on earth were upgraded and constituted as the church on its
birthday. However, every person since that time who has become a Christian has
been baptized directly into the body of Christ when he or she repented without having
to go through any kind of waiting period.
When did the baptism of the spirit take place?
The beginning point of the new age was the exact
moment when the Holy Spirit was poured out at the Pentecost. In addition to
filling the disciples with the Holy Spirit in a new and precious way, the
disciples were also baptized into the body of Christ. In fact, Pentecost was
the starting points that body. Many theologians and church leaders call
Pentecost the birthday of the church. Before that time, there were godly
people, and it might even be said that there was a family of god’s children,
but there was no church and there was no body of Christ. Pentecost ushered in
that new age and created the church.
However, Pentecost was only the initial stage of the
baptism of the spirit. Paul says all of us were baptized into the body of
Christ .certainly all of us were not at the initial outpouring at Pentecost;
however, we were all baptized into the family of god when we were born again or
regenerated.
The work of Holy Spirit
Ø He helps the Christian to obey
It
is the Holy Spirit who enables the Christian to obey the truth of god’s word.
The king James version adds a phrase to 1peter 1:22 not found in the older Greek
manuscripts, “seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through
the spirit onto unfeigned love of the brethren see that ye love one another
with a pure heart fervently ”. The phrase “through the spirit,” though probably
not in the original text reflects what the early church knew- we cannot fully
obey without the aid of the Holy Spirit. In my teaching I have found people who
believe if they keep the ten commandants they will be saved. In our own
ability, it is impossible to successfully keep the Ten Commandments or the
other principles in the bible. However, in the power of the and through the aid
of the Holy Spirit it is possible for a Christian to live a victorious life to
obey the truth and to love one another fervently
Ø He helps us in prayer
Another benefit of the ministry of the Holy Spirit
is assisting us in prayer. Jude 20, state that we are to build ourselves up in
the faith and, “pray in the holy spirit.”
To pray in the Holy Spirit apparently describes
effective praying whenever one is not simple saying words or repeating phrase
but is sincerely praying. Paul described these same pros in the Romans 8:26 as
the spirit himself intercedes for us. To properly understand these expressions
we must understand want intercession is. An intercession is one who goes
between two parties for the purpose of pleading on behalf of one of them. For
example, a lawyer is an intercessor; he or she stands between the defendant and
the judge to plead the case of the defendant.
The Holy Spirit is our intercessor as far as prayer
is concern. He certainly knows our needs because, as a Christian the Holy
Spirit dwells within us. He certainly knows what to do with these needs because
he himself is God and has immediate access to God the father. Therefore, he is
able to interpret the groaning and longing of our heart and to take them to the
father on our behave. Sometimes we are limited in our prayer because of our
finite minds and physical bodies but not so with the Holy Spirit, he always has
access to the throne of God.
Ø Help us to learn
Jesus declare on the night before he was crucified,
“but the counselor, the holy spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will
teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (john
14:26). The Holy Spirit is the one who inspired the bible. He is the same one
who lives in the heart of believers. Therefore, Christians have the one who
inspired the bible living inside them. They have direct access to the one who
inspired the book.
Ø Reproves and convicts
Jesus declared Holy Spirit; “when he comes, he will
convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (john
16:8ff)
W.A. Creswell has written these;
The Holy Spirit convicting ministry is operative in
three different aspects; first, he convicts us of sin in its ultimate form,
namely, the failure to place our faith in Christ. Second, he convicts us of
righteousness in that the righteous one has gone from our midst back to heaven,
having conquered sin and death in the resurrection and third, he convicts us of
judgment in that the prince of this age is clearly judged in the cross and the
resurrection (john 12:31, 14:30, col 2:14). The Holy Spirit convicts of sin
committed, righteousness forfeited, and judgment coming.
Ø He will raise our bodies
The Holy Spirit will be active in the Christians
future, because it is he who will raise our bodies from the tomb. The book of
roman 8:11 says “And if the spirit of him who raises Jesus from the dead is
living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also gives life to your
mortal bodies through his spirit, who lives in you.” Certainly as the spirit
dwell within us, we shall be raised from dead on resurrection morning.
Conclusion
The Holy Spirit is not a meaningless theological
curiosity. We believe the Holy Spirit is very active in the lives of believers
today and is the indispensable guide to holy Christian living.
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