The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
By Craig Condon | Submitted On January 10, 2015
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Expert Author Craig Condon
If the reading we heard from Mark 's Gospel a few minutes ago sounds familiar, it 's because we heard part of the same reading a few weeks ago on the Second Sunday of Advent. On that Sunday, we heard John the Baptist talk about the coming of Jesus and the baptism that he would provide-the baptism of the Holy
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Not only was this gap first bridged at Jesus ' baptism when the Holy Spirit descended from heaven like a dove, it was also bridged at his death when the veil in the temple was torn in two. The Temple was divided into several sections, including the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the temple by a curtain. The only person who could enter this particular part of the temple was the High Priest, and even then he could only enter on the Day of Atonement. No one else could enter, so a rope was tied to the high priest 's waist so that if anything happened to him he could be removed without anyone else having to enter. A bell was attached to the high priest so that people on the outside could hear him move. If the bell stopped ringing for any length of time, the people would know that something happened to the high priest and that they needed to pull him out of there immediately.
God claims us through baptism. In the waters of our baptism, God speaks our name, unites us to Christ and grants us the promise of new life. He says that he loves us, he claims us and he is proud pf us. Nothing else is needed. No one can take our new identity in Christ away from us. No matter what other names we are called others or even by ourselves, we are now beloved children of God. In the Baptism Service in the Anglican Church of Canada 's Book of Alternative Services, there is a line that is read when a person is baptized-"I sign you with the
Ultimately, when an individual responds to their baptismal call, a community of Christian believers are united under the goal of guiding the initiated. Thus, this attained unity allows the faith to prosper like a living religion. Furthermore, re-birth from sin is intrinsically connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a fundamental belief throughout Christianity, though it is practiced differently. “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.” (CCC, 1213). Regardless of the denomination, all baptism rituals symbolise beliefs in the Christian faith, all involves water. Some denominations, like Lutheran practice the sprinkling of water over the head of an initiate, while Pentecostals, practice immersing the head of the initiate in the water. Thus a reminder that, “Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”, for individuals who have been initiated that they made a commitment to the teachings, practices and life of of the community. The baptised should live a life of faith as modelled on the example of Jesus, who forgave their sin. The last belief derived from Baptism, is the believed in the Trinity. Through the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit, an individual's is able to carry out God’s word, and evangelise and spread the message of Jesus. “One will come more powerful that I, and he
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Often held as a rite of passage and entrance into the Christian church, baptism is much more than just symbolic ritual. Baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission recounted in the book of Matthew. Even though we are simplistically called to be obedient by being baptized the Christian church has long debated the aspects of this ordinance. Denominations are divided on the basic meaning, types and modes of baptism even two thousand years after the founding of the Christian church. Just as the other ordinance, the Lord’s Supper, congregations find themselves at odd with tradition, biblical interpretation and even individual understanding. However, the simple message of this awe inspiring act can be explained out of the
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Thus, being a member of my Quaker in-group involves being prepared to right this particular misconception and also being willing to explain what Quakerism in fact is. This, I think, is what makes Quakers different from most other religious denominations in America—we frequently have to explain who we are and where we came from (what we believe) *"What we believe" goes better with "practices" below. This creates a strong sense of group identity, for I have to know and be able to explain my in-group’s history and practices at any given moment. With these explanations, I am constantly reminded that my denomination is unique and that I should carry my membership with pride.
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The Holy Spirit had an immeasurable impact on believers and nonbelievers in the book of Acts. He brought about significant conversions of nonbelievers throughout the text, including the conversions of Saul of Tarsus and the 3000 that heard Peter preach. The Holy Spirit used conviction, repentance, and baptism for conversion in the lives of many non-believers. In the case of Saul the prosecutor, Acts 9:1-30, the Holy Spirit spoke to him while in the midst of his Christian prosecution with instructions to follow His command. Saul was eventually converted, preaching the Gospel with boldness through the Holy Spirit (Woods, 1). Likewise, the 3000 who gave ear to Peter’s speech in Acts 2:22-41 were convicted, led to repentance, and baptized. Immediately following their conviction, their hearts sought repentance and right standing with God. Afterwards, they were fully adopted in to the faith and devoted to the ministry according to verses 42-44 (Woods, 1).
This work edited by Schreiner and Wright is a comprehensive study in the theology of baptism and an affirmation of the Baptist understanding of the Christian sacrament baptism. The primary assertions made in Believer’s Baptism is to argue and expound on the concept that “[baptism is] reserved for believers…in the lord Jesus Christ”. This idea is in direct opposition to the various approaches to baptism practiced by some within the Christian community. Specifically, the authors are addressing the problem of “evangelical pedobaptism…who believe that baptism brings children into the covenant community.”
Baptism is the sacramental rite that admits an adherent into the Christian Church community. It has origins with of John the Baptist as described in the Gospels, available through the recounts from Paul.
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Throughout the course of organized religion both present and past, ritualistic acts of praise and worship have been practiced as a sign of both love and honor to God. Catholicism refers to these rituals as sacraments. As Christians and members of this faith, the first sacrament received by each member is Baptism. This sacrament has not only been practiced since the beginning of our faith, but has deep meaning and symbolic ties to the start of creation with Adam and Eve. I hope to prove through both illustration and published works how Baptism as a sacrament is both a sign and symbol of humanities desire to become closer to God by cleansing them of original sin through this ritual and rite of passage.
All Christians know about the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, English Standard Version). In that command, Jesus tells us to baptize in the name of the Trinity. What does the word “baptism” mean? Baptimsa and sometimes baptismos, the Greek word origin of “baptism”, can translate to “immersion” or “bathing” without any religious implications (McGowan, 2014). Nearly every Christian church practices baptism with a religious implication; however, they do not agree on God’s activity in, the qualifications for admitting a person to, and methods of administering baptism. For instance, many churches do not baptize people until they become adults and make a profession of faith, while others encourage baptizing an infant soon after they are born. The practices and philosophy for baptism changed throughout its use in the New Testament, the Early Church, and the Medieval era.
The Classical Pentecostal doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit was first formulated at the turn of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, Classical Pentecostals claim that their view of Spirit baptism is based on Scripture, and that this doctrine was a normative part of the experience and teaching of the New Testament church. They further claim that this doctrine should be a normative part of the experience and teaching of the Church today. However, the biblical texts, which are cited by Classical Pentecostals to support their view, have been interpreted differently by non-Pentecostals. The practical value of this study is to help Classical Pentecostals and non- Pentecostals identify the source of this doctrine, and to understand why they disagree on this important point.
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: OUR FRIEND, COMFORTER, TEACHER, AND PART OF THE TRINITY
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