by Missionary David R. Cox
| Asking God to give us His Holy Spirit | |
| If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his | |
| The Seal of God, the Earnest of God: The Holy Spirit |
Many Pentecostals have positioned a doctrine of their own invention as a principle key element in Church doctrine. This is what they call the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, or Baptism of the Holy Spirit. To them, a person is first saved, and then in the majority of the cases, at some later date (years after sometimes) that person comes to understand the teaching (their teaching) of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and the person earnestly seeks this gift of the Holy Spirit, and God will send the Holy Spirit upon them.
This experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit (to them) is when God takes control of your life (here understand they mean body) and at times a violent shaking, or crying, or many other things happen, among them speaking in ecstatic tongues. To them this is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
They position this as an absolutely must for each believer, and all Christians are on a pursuit of this experience. If you red their literature, it is an experience, emotional and spiritual, but what is important to understand is that they define it such that it is a supernatural experience, dealing with things beyond what is human.
The older Pentecostals and Pentecostals groups and teaching like the holiness movement of old and Wesley talk of a second work of Grace, but all understand that it is equal or more important than that first work of Grace, Salvation.
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
The typical Pentecostal-Charismatic teaching goes far a field from Bible teaching at this point. The Bible simply deposits that every single true believer in Jesus as their personal Savior has the Holy Spirit residing within that person. Romans 8:9 tells us that without the Holy Spirit inside of you, you need to be saved, not filled with the Spirit, nor baptized with the Holy Spirit. You are non-Christian.
This issue has to be seen as black and white. There are no other alternatives. You either are saved, or you are not, and if you are saved, you have the Holy Spirit. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, then your need is Jesus, not the Holy Spirit. Your need is salvation, not a supernatural experience or encounter with shaking and other hokey things they invite. (Some groups roll around on the floor, bark and make other sounds of animals.)
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. Why do people use seals? First of all, it is to guarantee "freshness", "purity", or "fidelity" in some way. Buy some vitamins or a bottle of aspirins, and it has a seal of protection. This tells you it is pure, what it is supposed to be. Businesses use seals on their boxes to tells others that a particular thing belongs to them.
God has sealed us to make sure that we make it to the actual salvation of being rescued and taken to heaven with God the Father for eternity. It is God's word at stake here, and God has sealed the deal with depositing His Holy Spirit within each child of God that has accepted Jesus as his Savior.
The Bible also speaks of an earnest, which is simply in a transaction, an advance payment of what is later finished.
Ephesians 1:12-14 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
This sealing or deposit of the Holy Spirit has certain conditions which trigger it. Ephesians 1:13-14 speaks of being sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest (anticipated pre-deposit sealing or making official the deal) of our salvation. This happens when the person "first trusted in Christ", hearing the gospel, "after that ye believed, ye were sealed". Sealing comes on believing, saving, redeeming faith.