Many Christians know and agree the urgent need to live a Spirit-filled life as this will empower us to live victoriously and more abundantly as promised by the Lord Jesus. A common difficulty is that one does not know how to do it.
So today Jack decides to search Bible references to better explain what he has discovered and believes. To dispel the misunderstandings and fears about being “Spirit-filled” of the traditional protestant Christians (of whom Jack had been one), Jack now shares the following excerpts and notes taken from the New Spirit Filled Life Bible*.
To lead a Spirit filled life, one has to know and understand some basic teachings on Holy Spirit in the Bible. The following are excerpts and summary notes made from an article (“Holy Spirit Gifts and Power” by Paul Walker) in the above mentioned Bible.
Historical background: Pentecostal revival in the early 1900s and the Charismatic renewal beginning in the late 1950s.
Why has this happened?
1. Evident need for renewal of mission and purpose throughout the church and among its individual members.
2. Definite movement of sincere believers to recover the dynamic power f the Holy Spirit.
3. This in-breaking of the Holy Spirit has linked the mainline Protestant and the traditional Pentecostal movement to the worship practices of the first century through the Charismatic movement.
What is this doing?
1. The Scripture is being fulfilled. (Eph. 5:18)
2. The Person of the Holy Spirit is at work.
3. Accounts in Acts are being rediscovered and applied.
How can spiritual integrity be maintained?
1. Establishing our perspective (of the traditional Pentecostal/Charismatic): agree that the Holy Spirit is operative in every believer and in varied ministries of the church. Still every believer must answer the question of Acts 19:2, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?”
a. The “baptism of the Holy Spirit” does not refer to the baptism of the Holy Spirit accomplished at conversion, whereby the believer is placed into the body of Christ by faith in His redeeming work on the cross (1 Cor.12:13). No Biblically oriented Charismatic views a non-Charismatic as “less saved” or “less spiritual” than himself. The baptism in or with the Holy Spirit was and is directed by the Lord Jesus to be “received” (John 20:22; Acts 1:8) as a “gift” given following His ascension (John 7:39; Acts 2:38,39).
b. By “a process of yielding the complete person” does not mean either (a) a passivity of mind or (b) a self-hypnotic or trancelike state. Rather, this refers to an assertive prayerful, heartfelt quest for God. The mind is active worshipping Jesus Christ, the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). The emotion is warmed, as the love of God poured forth into our hearts (Rom.5:5). One’s physical being participates, as worship is spoken an expressed, with upraised voice in prayer (Acts 4:24) or upraised hands of adoration (Ps. 63:1-5).
2. The twofold functions of the gift of tongues: In regard to those who received, the Bible described two basic functions of “tongues”; it is for personal edification and for public exhortation. Tongues function as a sign of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Jesus prophesied it as a sign (Mark 16:17). Paul referred to it as a sign (1 Cor. 14:22). Peter noted its uniformity as a sign-gift in confirming the validity of the Gentiles’ experience in the Holy Spirit (Compare Acts 10:44-46 with 11:16, 17 and 15:7-9). It is not viewed as qualification for fullness of the Holy Spirit but as indication of that fullness.
As Jack has been recording and sharing his experience in living in the Spirit, the above explanation helps to answer the fearful queries of some of his friends from traditional non-Charismatic churches.
Note: Jack comes from traditional Protestant denominational churches.
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*Reference: New Spirit Filled Life Bible –Kingdom Equipping through the Power of the Word- (NKJV), Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2002.
October 11, 2009
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