The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts

Charles Ryrie holds a Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary and a PH.D from the University of Edinburgh. Hence, he is quite knowledgeable about theology and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Ryrie’s book is comprised of twenty-two chapters. He includes a section in the book that provides other helpful books the reader might find invaluable to read on the subject of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the book there are two indexes – an index of subjects and an index of select scripture passages.

The various gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in Scripture are conveyed according to the will of the Holy Spirit to every man for the eventual purpose of the edification and building up the church body.

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

Acts of the Apostles chronicles the rapid advancement of the Gospel by way of the gift of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles: The Charismatic Community in Mission” takes into account the narratives succeeding Pentecost including Spirit Baptisms from Samaria to Ephesus (Acts

Baptism in (or with) the Holy Spirit is a very important, distinctive Christian experience in the life of the believer. The basis is found in the book of Acts, specifically the event of Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit of God is the active force or power in one’s life, which most certainly includes spiritual formation (Pettit, 2008, p. 46). When Jesus was speaking with his disciples he made it clear – by using the analogy of a vine and branches – that apart from him they could do nothing (John 15:5). Only if one is connected to Christ will they have the ability to bear fruit and the way Jesus empowers those connected to him is through the Holy Spirt that that father will send in his name (John 14:26). The fact is that the triune God dwells in the Christian in and through the Holy Spirit. One sees this when they place multiple passages together to gain a full understanding of this concept. For example, Jesus made it clear that he and the father would come and make their home with the disciple (John 14:23). In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul reminds the Corinthians that their bodies are the very temple of God because the Holy Spirit dwells in them which is similar to what Jesus said would happen when he sent the Holy Spirit after his resurrection and ascension (John 14:17, 16:7).

Gromacki’s book is comprised of fifteen chapters. The book focuses on the personality, deity, and symbols of the Holy Spirit. Six chapters are dedicated to the various aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry. There is a chapter that focuses on the baptism of the Holy Spirit as well as one that discusses what it means to be indwelled and filled by the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit as well as speaking in tongues are covered in the book. Each chapter is divided by headings and these headings are separated into sub-headings. Theses headings and sub-headings keep the reader focused on what the chapter is about. The book ends with a discussion of the future of the Holy Spirit.

Spirit baptism has been an important topic in the Church for a really long time and while we discuss this topic we always have several questions rising about this issue. Churches have different perspective about the way they address the issue. The common question which arises with this topic are that, some of the Churches claim that spirit baptism is demonstrated after receiving the gifts of tongues and the other issues which often raises is that its relation with the word.

THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: OUR FRIEND, COMFORTER, TEACHER, AND PART OF THE TRINITY

The Holy Spirit, the third person of God, is the dynamic agent that both leads us toward Christ and transforms us through and in him. Upon a believer’s conversion and regeneration , the Holy Spirit continues to work; the Spirit dwells actively in Christians doing many facets of work like empowering, illumining, teaching, reproving, interceding, sanctifying, and bestowing gifts . Often the overlooked work of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual gifts he entrusts to believers are important for the growth of both the believer and Christ’s bride, the church. God’s desire is for us to be informed about the gifts his Spirit gives (1 Corinthians 12:1), and it is our obligation and should be our desire to understand the giving of, the exercise of and the purpose in spiritual gifts. This paper endeavors to present a synopsis of this subject.

Scripture uses the effect of filling (Acts 4:8; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9), indwelling (Act 6:5; 10:44) and baptism/immersion, (Acts 1:5; 2:38; 11:16) in the Holy Spirit to express how the Spirit is obtained by believers. The Holy Spirit is not new, “Filling with the Spirit was a phenomenon believers also experienced at various times in the Old Testament economy (Exod. 35:30-34; Num. 11:26-29;1 Sam. 10:6, 10).” When the Spirit makes an appearance in the Old Testament, He usually speaks with or directs the actions

The baptism of the Holy Spirit. What is it and how do I get it? A teaching from Pat Robertson. The first of two parts.

● First, not everyone who was baptized (with water) later received the baptism of the Spirit. In fact, of the (at least) nine occurrences of water baptism in the book of Acts, two are followed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and one is preceded by the Holy Spirit precedes baptism by water (Acts 10). Pentecost is a unique instance where three-thousand are baptized with water after the Apostles were baptized by the Holy Spirit. So we see that already in the book of Acts that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not the normal and regular form of baptism. On the other hand, every convert to the Holy Church in Acts is baptized with water. This is why the church has taught that the baptism of water in the name of the Holy Trinity is a sacrament which works faith and gives the forgiveness of all sin, while the unique baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a sacrament, but a sign of the unique office of Jesus (ascended to the right hand of God) and of the apostles (sent by Jesus to teach His Word).

The power of the Spirit in Jesus should be an example of how believers should interact with the Spirit. As Jesus told His disciples of the helper He would send to them (Jn 15:26), believers today have the privilege to be empowered by the Holy Spirit as well. The disciples witnessed the miracles which Jesus performed and from this example they were able to have powerful ministries as well. Jesus ministry consisted of redeeming humanity from sin, performing miracles full of the Spirit and making available the power of the Spirit. His mission did not stop at establishing the Kingdom on earth, the great commission provides guidance to believers with what He wants for the Kingdom. The work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry did not start at the baptism at the Jordan rather it started much earlier than His

When you consider who the Holy Spirit is, something will stir up within your spirit. The more knowledge your spirit-man receives the stronger it will become and you become abundantly dependent towards the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person that bears witness in the Godhead. The book of Acts describes Him as “…a rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2). This is not just an ordinary Spirit that you have been sealed with, He is mighty and able to take down forces, He is rushing to fill you and equipped you and He is the breath of God that gives you the life you need to raise the dead to life. Let us look into profound details about the Holy Spirit according to scriptures; you must understand that in Him there is revelation knowledge concerning His nature. His nature is able to revive and create an awakening within your identity.