- sECTION 9 -
writings of rev. a.f. varnell
WHAT IS THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
No scriptural term has ever been more misunderstood than the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or a better rendering, baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The misunderstanding has caused endless confusion and error of teaching concerning the new birth and the filling of the Spirit.
I will present three views on the subject and then proceed to show the scriptural teachings.
One teaching is that the new birth, the baptism and the filling of the Spirit are all the same experience and always evidenced by speaking with tongues. Since the plan of salvation remains the same throughout the entire church age, then according to this teaching, no one has been born again except those who have spoken in tongues.
Another teaching is that the baptism and filling of the Spirit are the same and received subsequent to the new birth. However, the scriptures state that it is the baptism of the same Spirit that places one into the body of Christ, which is the Church. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). Then, according to this teaching, one may be born again and yet not be in the Church. This teaching coincides with the prevalent but erroneous idea that the Apostles were born again before the Day of Pentecost. The Apostles walked with Christ in the flesh, but when Jesus died, the old relationship ended and a "new and living way" was instituted, which was the Church “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:20). No one, not even the Apostles, could enter into the Church until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The third and scriptural teaching on this subject is that the new birth and Spirit baptism are synonymous terms.
The filling of the Spirit follows, either immediately or later as the born-again believer yields to the Holy Spirit.
The term baptism, from a scriptural definition means, "to place into." John baptized in water. Jesus baptizes in the Holy Spirit. The new and living way is the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which Jesus told His disciples just before His departure. They would receive "not many days hence," referring to the Day of Pentecost, which is the birthday of the Church.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Apostles received a two-fold experience. First, they were baptized into the Body, the Church, into Christ. Secondly, they were simultaneously filled with the Spirit to do the work of the ministry for which they had been prepared. As a result of the filling of the Spirit, they spoke in other tongues and had other marvelous manifestations of the Spirit. The three thousand were baptized into the body because the scripture says they were added to the Church, but it does not record their filling.
In the fourth chapter of Acts, it is recorded that the Apostles were again filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness. If the new birth and the filling are the same experience, then the Apostles were born again a second time. If baptism and filling are the same experience, then they were baptized into the Church a second time. (“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them. . .” Acts 4:8). “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
The book of Acts is a record of the experience of the early Church, while the epistles give doctrinal teaching or explanation of those experiences.
We will refer to the epistles to find out what the Apostles taught regarding this subject of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Paul gave the key in 1 Corinthians 12:13 when he said, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." In Galatians 3:27 he said, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." These scriptures state definitely and unmistakably that the means of getting into Christ or into the Body, the Church, is the baptism in the Spirit. This proves conclusively that the baptism and the new birth are the same experience.
Speaking with tongues has no connection with the new birth or baptism in the Spirit. Speaking with tongues is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, "We are all baptized into one body, and have been made to drink of one Spirit." As one yields to the Spirit and drinks of the Spirit, he will be filled or possessed with the Spirit after he has been baptized into the Spirit (new birth).
If, as some teach, speaking in tongues is the evidence of the new birth or baptism into Christ, what would it be the evidence of when a person speaks in tongues a second time? Someone will say, " All speaking with tongues, except for the first time, is the gift of tongues!" Well, the first time is the gift of tongues, too! There is no other kind of tongues from the Spirit. All other kinds of tongues are counterfeit! Tongues is not of ourselves; it is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit.
If baptism and filling are synonymous terms, the words could be used interchangeably and we could quote 1 Corinthians 12:13 thus: "For by one Spirit are we all filled into one body," and we could quote Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as have been filled into Christ have put on Christ." However, baptism and filling are not the same terms; therefore, the words cannot be used interchangeably.
So, the only sensible and scriptural thing left to do is to put things in their right place. But, so many take this attitude: "What difference does it make what we believe?" That is a poor attitude to take toward the Word of God. It makes just this much difference: The Bible states in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth on this subject has wrecked the faith of many, and turned many away from a glorious filling of the Holy Spirit because it has been presented to them erroneously. True Christians have been told that they do not have the Holy Spirit because they have not spoken in tongues, thus discouraging them and destroying their faith.
If speaking with tongues is absolutely inseparably connected with the new birth and baptism into Christ and the Church, it always has been inseparable since the Day of Pentecost. If this be the case, then thousands of martyrs who sealed their testimony with their blood died in vain with a false hope, and they were lost, all except the few who may have spoken in tongues. "But," says someone, "they didn't have the light." Well, it is the Holy Spirit who does the speaking in tongues and He always had the light. When God began to fill his truly consecrated people with the Spirit in 1906, and speak through them in other languages, they did not have the light either; and the outpouring of the Spirit did not indicate the return of the Spirit to Earth after centuries of absence.
Now, for an important closing thought! To be filled with the Spirit, to the extent of the supernatural manifestation of speaking in other languages, is a marvelous experience and a scriptural experience. This experience should be desired by all Christians and will be desired when this truth is scripturally understood.
Every Christian has the Spirit of God, but many Christians have never been filled or possessed with the Spirit. Speaking in other tongues is the highest attainment of spiritual worship and with it comes enduement of power and spiritual freedom such as is not possible otherwise. God is calling His people to surrender their minds and bodies to Him until He can possess and fill them with undreamed glory and use their tongues to sing and speak His praise in other languages. This experience is very much needed to meet the ever-increasing powers of the Anti-Christ spirit. To fail to heed God's call is just as sinful as for sinners to fail to heed the Gospel call.
WHEN GOD BECAME A MAN
One day a little Babe was born in a very crude and obscure place in a small and humble city. His expected arrival was not announced to the world.
His mother was not widely known.
Finding no room in the crowded inn, the lowly couple retreated to a stable and there in the dark hours of the night, while the city was sleeping, the little stranger arrived.
No one suspected anything out of the ordinary, but the birth of that little Babe set all the bells of heaven to ringing. A bright new star appeared in the heavens. An angel hastened to a group of shepherds to announce the glad tidings of great joy while the illuminating light of heaven encircled the astonished shepherds, dispelling the darkness of the night. Suddenly, the lone angel was joined by a whole multitude of the heavenly host chanting the joyful refrain, "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men."
When the angels had gone, the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to see the newborn Babe. From the far distant east came wise men with costly gifts to present to Him. Soon, all Jerusalem was stirred. Even the king was troubled. The birth of that humble Child had moved heaven and earth.
Who could He be? Why all this commotion about His birth? It was a mystery, a great mystery, but that newborn Babe was none other than the mighty God, the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, who was born of a virgin and came into the world in the likeness of man to dwell among us. "… they shall call His Name Emanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"' (Matthew 1:23).
The angel announced unmistakably who He was. Said the angel; "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
Many times in the Old Testament God is spoken of as the Lord God, the Lord Jehovah, the Lord thy God, etc.
And now, the angel announces that the Babe of Bethlehem is Christ the Lord.
Since both the Old Testament and New Testament emphatically declare that there is only one Lord, then it is very evident that the Lord Jesus of the New Testament and the Lord God of the Old Testament is the same Lord.
The following scriptures taken from the Old and New Testaments will prove conclusively that the Lord God of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament.
The Lord God created heaven and earth - Isaiah 42:5.
The Lord Jesus created heaven and earth - John 1:10, Colossians 1:16.
The Lord God is the only savior - Isaiah 43:10-11.
The Lord Jesus is the only savior - Titus 1:4.
The Lord God is the First and the Last - Isaiah 44:6.
The Lord Jesus is the First and the Last - Revelation 2:8.
The Lord God said, "I am He" - Isaiah 43:10.
The Lord Jesus said, "I am He" - John 6:24.
The Lord God will reign forever - Psalms 146:10.
The Lord Jesus will reign forever - Luke 1:33.
The Lord God is King of Israel- Isaiah 43:15.
The Lord Jesus is King of Israel- Matthew 27:37.
The Lord God is Lord alone - Nehemiah 9:6-7.
Jesus is Lord - Acts 9:5.
The Lord God is Almighty - Genesis 17:1.
The Lord Jesus is Almighty - Revelation 1:8.
Other scriptures that prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Babe of Bethlehem was the Lord God Almighty:
The Child - a Son - shall be called the mighty God and the everlasting Father - Isaiah 9:6.
He who was born in Bethlehem was from everlasting - Micah 5:2.
Jesus lived before Abraham - John 8:56, 58.
Thomas acknowledged Jesus to be God - John 20:28.
Now that it has been fully established by Scripture that Jesus is God, the next step is to discuss the Sonship.
When Did The Sonship Begin?
Was Jesus a Son in eternity with God before His birth in Bethlehem? If so, when did He become a Son? Was He as old as the Father? Who was His mother? What became of His body when He was born in Bethlehem? Was He born twice - once in eternity and again in Bethlehem? Did He have two Fathers and mothers?
Oh, no! That is not the right understanding of God and the Son. In eternity, God was an invisible Spirit without flesh and bones, who alone created the heavens and the earth.
Isaiah 37:16:
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
Isaiah 44:24:
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.
Job 9:8:
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
He declared Himself that there was no one else with Him and that He created the earth by Himself (Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 45:5, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me"). There is no Savior, He said, but Himself (Isaiah 43:11, "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour").
It was He, the only Lord God and only Savior who came into the world in the form of man to become man's salvation. His name was called Jesus, which means, "Jehovah has become salvation."
That is when the Sonship began, when God became a man - the Babe of Bethlehem - a Lamb of sacrifice for sin. It was God in the flesh who died for the sins of the world (Acts 20:28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood"). There was no Son before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, although He who became a Son existed as the invisible Spirit from everlasting.
Jesus Was Both God And Man
Jesus was man, a perfect man. As a man He slept, He ate and He grew weary. But all of His mighty works prove that He was more than a man. What man other than He could raise the dead, walk on the water, open blind eyes, multiply bread and fish, etc.?
He was God and man united in an image. That is the reason He could say to Philip, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). And did not He say, "I and my Father are one." And did He not also say, "If ye believe not that I am he (speaking of the Father) ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24,27)?
Indeed, it was a marvelous mystery but Jesus was the God-man. His birth was not after the fashion of ordinary man. He had no earthly father. His Father was the Holy Ghost and His mother was the virgin Mary. Therefore, He was both God and man.
As a man He ate; as God He multiplied bread and fish. As a man He slept in the boat; as God He arose and calmed the stormy waves. As a man He prayed at the grave of Lazarus; as God He raised Lazarus from he dead. As a man He died; as God He raised Himself from the dead ("Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" John 2:19). He was God and man - Father and Son - Spirit and flesh - in one Image.
Therefore, when God said, "Let us make man in our image" (not images), He was speaking of the two-fold relationship of the Father and Son in one-image. We read: "So God (by Himself) created man in his own image" (not images). Genesis 1:26 says: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." What, then is God's image? Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Colossians 1:15 says: "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature."
The children of Israel had never seen their God. He was always invisible to them. But when Jesus came, the invisible God was made visible. At the same time God was manifest in the flesh on earth, he remained Spirit in heaven. For that reason Jesus could speak of the Father that dwelleth in heaven.
Right Hand
Jesus at the right hand of God does not mean that God and Jesus are two persons sitting side by side on a throne in Heaven, both of them sitting there stationary for centuries.
That is a ridiculous and unscriptural idea of God. A preacher once said that Jesus had stood up only one time since He ascended to Heaven and that was when He stood up to welcome Stephen, because Stephen saw Him "standing" at the right hand of God.
But that is not the meaning of the right hand. The right hand is a symbolic term, which means power and authority. Jesus said, " All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth." When God became incarnate man on earth, He did all of His mighty works through the power and authority of that man. And now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, He has all power in Heaven.
Matthew 28:18 says, "And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Therefore, Jesus at the right hand of God means that Jesus is the power of God. "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).
It must be remembered that the Lord Jesus Christ is more than a man. He is both God and man. He is God manifest in the flesh. " And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Timothy 3:16).
Notice a few symbolic uses of "right hand" in connection with power.
My right hand hath spanned the heavens - Isaiah 48:13
The Lord is at the right hand to the poor - Psalms 109:31
God led the children of Israel by the right hand of Moses - Isaiah 63:12
The Lord was on David's right hand- Psalms 16:8
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not a third, separate and distinct person from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is God. In John 4:24 we read, "God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." God is holy. Therefore, God is the Holy Spirit.
No further evidence is needed to prove that the Holy Ghost is God, than the scriptural fact that the Holy Ghost is the Father of Jesus. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with the child of the Holy Ghost. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:18, 20). It must be remembered that Jesus Christ is incarnate God.
Jesus Is The Holy Spirit
Jesus called His disciples together one day and told them He was soon going away but that He would send another Comforter who would abide with them forever.
Who, then, is this other Comforter? What is His name? Is He someone else other than Jesus? If the Comforter is someone else, then Jesus is not here; He is not in us. But Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world."
Jesus did not leave His disciples in the dark. He told them very plainly who the other Comforter is. Said He, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18). And He further told them that the other Comforter was He who was dwelling with them, and would be in them when He came again. He was with them in the flesh and went away to Heaven in flesh. But He came back in Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to be in them. So, we may rightfully sing, "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart." Therefore, the name of the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, is Jesus. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26).
There is no other name.
The Trinity Theory
Through the confusion of the Dark Ages and the traditions of men, the vision of the greatness and the glory and the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ have become dimmed. He who said, "I am the First and the Last" has been relegated to second place.
After a raging discussion of centuries concerning the Godhead, a doctrine was finally agreed upon known as the doctrine of the Trinity, namely: That God consists of three separate and distinct Persons, thus, placing Jesus Christ, who is declared to be Lord of all, as the second Person.
God, no doubt, has winked at the ignorance of the people as they have piously chanted hymns to the "Blessed Holy Trinity-God in three Persons." But now the mists are being cleared away and the doctrine as taught by the Apostles is again being revealed, that Jesus Christ is God, the Spirit manifest in the flesh - not three Persons, but One.
This Trinity doctrine is man's feeble attempt to solve the great mystery of the incarnate God, but in thus disposing of the mystery they have only added absurdity to mystery.
If the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate Persons, then each Christian has three Persons in him. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16). "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:5). "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). If there are three Persons, each raised Jesus from the dead, "But God raised him from the dead" (Acts 13:30). "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11). If Christ and God are two Persons, then Jesus had two Fathers. God is His Father and the Holy Ghost is His Father. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:18). "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Moreover, Jesus Himself is called The everlasting Father. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). If there are three separate distinct Persons each called God, then there are three separate Gods, or else each one of the three is one-third of God. If there are three separate Persons, co-equal, then Isaiah had a false vision when he said, "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One" (Isaiah 40:25).
If there are three separate, distinct persons, there should be three separate, distinct names, whereas there is only one name. Father is not a proper name. Son is not a proper name. Holy Spirit is not a proper name. Peter was not so mistaken after all, as many people think, when he inspiringly said on the Day of Pentecost: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…" (Acts 2:38).
Human intelligence can never fathom the mystery of Jesus Christ. Nothing short of divine illumination of the Scriptures can reveal Him as He is. He is hidden in the Scriptures from carnal view but the illuminating light of the Holy Spirit places a halo of glory around His majestic being and brings Him to view as the Great I Am, The Everlasting Father, The only wise God our Savior, The Creator of Heaven and Earth, etc. "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17). "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him" (Colossians 1:16).
Jesus Christ puzzled the world in the days of His flesh, and He puzzles them now. The Jews rejected Him because, "He being a man, made Himself God" (John 10:33).
They were continually asking then, "Who art thou? Whom makest thou thyself? What manner of man is this? Whence hath this man this wisdom? Art thou the King of the Jews? Whence art thou? How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
And still today the world is puzzled. No wonder. He is so great and marvelous. The name of Jesus excels all other names. No tongue of man has ever proclaimed His worth.
Anti-Christ
The Devil has done his best to conceal the identity of Jesus Christ, to hide Him from the people. And with such great success at the end of the age, the entire world will reject Jesus Christ and will worship the Anti-Christ as God (all except those whose names are Written in the Book of Life).
John warned of this when he said, "Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of Anti-Christ." 1 Timothy 3:16 says God was manifest in the flesh, and 1 John 4:2 says Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
Harmonizing these two scriptures we find that Jesus Christ was God who came in the flesh, and to attempt to place Him on a lower plane than the mighty God and Lord of all is to join ranks with the Anti-Christ forces.
Colossians 2:9:
For in him (Jesus Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
THE NINE SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-11
The key given by God to interpret these gifts is in 1 Corinthians 12:7. In this verse the gifts (that are given) are called manifestations of the Spirit. Manifestations of the Spirit come and go, so the gifts of the Spirit come and go, for the Spirit is the One who gives these manifestations. They are called gifts because the Spirit gives them.
Gifts of the Spirit are not permanent presents given by God to be used by us at any time we choose. The Apostles could only do supernatural things as they were moved by the Spirit. Peter did not heal the lame man (recorded in the third chapter of Acts) the first time he saw him. He no doubt passed by him many times before he was moved by the Spirit to heal him. Acts 2:42-47 reveals the fact that the Apostles had a church established in Jerusalem, and that they met daily in the temple, long before this lame man at the gate was healed. Although Acts 3:2 says they laid the lame man at the gate of the temple daily. The lame man was not healed until Peter was moved by the Spirit to heal him. The Apostle Paul did not cast the devil out of the fortuneteller the first day she followed them. Acts 16:16-18 says, "This did she many days." One day Paul was moved by the Spirit and turned and said, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." Paul did not move until the Spirit moved him, for he did not have a permanent gift. He said, "Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily" (Colossians 1:29). Jesus said in John 5:17, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work." Jesus is saying, while my Father is moving me I must work, for it is my Father that dwelleth in Me that doeth the works.
John 14:7-11:
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Paul says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). It is easy to see that the gifts are manifestations of the Spirit that come and go, and are not permanent presents given by God.
Another fact that should not be overlooked is that the Gentiles, who were heathens, had these same manifestations in their worship around their dumb idols, but they were produced by a demon spirit. That is the reason Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:1-3:
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God called Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
The Apostle Paul is warning these Corinthians to be sure that their manifestations are produced by the Holy Ghost and not by some false spirit. To call Jesus Lord is to acknowledge His virgin birth. For Him, being begotten by the Holy Ghost is what makes Him Lord. We cannot call Jesus Lord, only by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the One that produces these manifestations, or gifts.
An Exposition of the Nine Spiritual Gifts (I Corinthians 12:8-11)
1. "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. " Because you have had the word of wisdom does not mean that you are the wise man of the church. But it does mean that you have a wise God within you that produced wisdom. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge; it means to say the right word at the right time under difficult circumstances. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
"But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:19, 20). "I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).
2. "The word of knowledge." Paul is not saying that knowledge is given to us by a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit. We must study to get knowledge. It is the word of knowledge that is given to us by the Spirit. The word of knowledge means the ability to express what we know, so that others can understand. There are multitudes of people who have obtained knowledge, but cannot express what they know, so that others can understand. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). "And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another" (Romans 15:14).
3. "Faith by the same Spirit." Great faith is not something we carry around with us. It is a manifestation of the Spirit and must be given each time something great is to be accomplished. The Apostles learned this secret from Jesus in the following lesson. A father brought his son to Jesus for healing (Mark 9:14-29). Jesus said to this father, "All things are possible to him that believeth." The father said, "Lord, I do believe, help thou my unbelief (or weak faith)." The Lord Jesus gave him the faith that was needed, and his son was healed. The Disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him, "Why could not we perform this miracle? " Jesus said, "Because of your little faith".
How be it this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Jesus is saying that it takes special faith for this kind of a miracle, and He is saying the extra faith only comes through special prayer. The Apostles remembered this experience and always waited for the moving of the Spirit before they attempted great things. All things are possible to him that believeth, but it is impossible to believe for great things unless God gives the faith.
4. "The gifts of healing by the same Spirit." This scripture teaches that healing is a gift each time someone is healed. It is God that performs the healing, and if He doesn't, there is not a man on earth who can. No man has a permanent gift of healing, so that he can heal anyone at any time. Contact must be made with God for the one who is sick, because healing is a manifestation of the Spirit. "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal" (1 Corinthians 12:7).
5. "To another the working of miracles." A miracle is that which is above the regular established law of nature. It takes the Spirit of God to perform a miracle. No man has a permanent gift of performing miracles. It takes a manifestation of the Spirit, and a manifestation must be given each time a miracle takes place.
6. "To another prophecy." To prophesy, one must speak under the impulse of the Spirit words of edification, exhortation and comfort, whether they are foretelling future events, preaching a sermon or giving a testimony. What we call a testimony meeting, Paul called a prophecy meeting. "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation, and comfort. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted" (1 Corinthians 14:3, 31).
7. "To another discerning of spirits." Many false spirits are in the world, and most of them are very religious. Therefore, John says, "Try the spirits" (1 John 4:1).
Many religious leaders are possessed with the wrong spirit. That is the reason we have such erroneous interpretations of the Bible today!
The way to try the spirits is by the Word and by the Holy Ghost.
1 John 4:1-4:
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Peter did not get discernment on Simon the sorcerer right away. The Bible says that Simon himself believed and was baptized and continued with Philip (Acts 8:13). Peter had to wait for God to give him discernment, for he did not have a permanent gift. When Simon tried to buy the gift of God with money, the Spirit moved Peter and he was given discernment (Acts 8:18-24).
8. "To another different kinds of tongues." The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:18, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all." Anyone who has been filled with the Spirit to the extent of speaking with tongues realizes that it is supernatural and gives God all the glory. When I was filled with the Spirit, and spoke with tongues, it seemed that all Heaven had moved into me. While I was seeking and yielding myself to the Spirit, and spoke with tongues, it seemed to me that the Holy Ghost was a machine within me, making "Hallelujahs" faster than I could get them out. The more spiritual joy you have, the closer you are to being filled with the Spirit and speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance.
The Apostle Paul gives the only explanation of the tongue question that is in the Bible. No man has a right to put his own private interpretation on the examples of speaking in tongues. For it is the examples in the book of Acts that the Apostle is explaining. Paul uses the same scripture that was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11). Then he said, "This shows that the gift of tongues is intended as a sign, not to those who believe but to the unbelievers" (1 Corinthians 14:21-22). A businessman does not have to look at the sign on his store to know that his store is stocked with merchandise. The sign is for the one who doesn't know. On the Day of Pentecost they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them words to utter (Acts 2:4). The Spirit giving them words to utter is what makes tongues a gift of the Spirit, for tongues are always Holy Ghost produced (if they are of God). The Spirit must give us the words we utter, whether we speak in tongues one time or a thousand times. No one can speak in tongues only as he is moved by the Spirit.
Speaking with tongues was given for three purposes:
1. For self-edification. "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself;
but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (1 Corinthians 14:4, 18).
2. For a sign to unbelievers. "In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe" (1 Corinthians 14:21, 22).
3. To edify the church when a message is given in tongues which demands interpretation.
1 Corinthians 14:5-13:
I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
Speaking with tongues for self-edification for a sign to unbelievers does not need to be interpreted. The theory that speaking with tongues is the first evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost is man-made. It is doubtful if the Apostle Paul ever heard of such a doctrine. He did not say anything about it in any of his Epistles, and they were written for the purpose of explaining church doctrine. If that doctrine were true, it would be explained in the Epistles. Let us not be wise above what is written. We will do well to take Paul's explanation of the tongue question. If you really want to know what the first evidence of the new birth is, read 1 John 3:14. It says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
Matthew 7:15-20:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Anyone who has been filled with the Spirit, to the extent of speaking with tongues, has one of the greatest experiences this side of Heaven. With this filling comes more love, more joy, more peace, more freedom, more power to witness, more boldness, etc. You do not get more of the Spirit, but the Spirit gets a greater possession of you. The Holy Ghost works like liquor. First one drinks the liquor and then it possesses them. It is the same with the Spirit. You receive the Holy Ghost first, and then the Spirit fills you as you yield yourself to Him " And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). The filling of the Spirit always comes from within.
9. "To another the interpretation of tongues." To give a true interpretation of tongues, the interpreter would have to speak in his own language, as the Spirit gives him words to utter. Otherwise, it would only be an imagination of his own mind, and not a true gift of the Spirit. No one has a permanent gift of interpretation, for it is a manifestation of the Spirit, and must be given each time one interprets.
Churches or individuals that do not have these manifestations of the Spirit do not need the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians. These chapters were written to churches that were spiritual enough to have these gifts in operation. You do not need to tell a paralyzed child to stay out of mischief.
When Paul asked the question in 1 Corinthians 12:20, "Have all the gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret," he is saying that they are not for all. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:4, 5, "I would that ye all spake with tongues." He also said in 1 Corinthians 14:31, "For ye may all prophesy one by one." James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God….” God gives these manifestations severally as he will.” "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will" (1 Corinthians 12:11). That is, He may use you one time and me another time.
All of God's people can have one or all of these manifestations (or gifts) of the Spirit if they are filled with the Spirit to the extent that they can be produced.
When Paul said, "Covet the best gifts" (1 Corinthians 12:31), it is another way of saying, "Seek the gift you need, when you need it." The gifts are not given as good, better and best. The one you need at the time is the best one. If someone is sick, healing is the best gift. If your own soul needs edifying, tongues is the best one. If a devil is trying to get into the church, discernment is the best. If you have a problem to handle, wisdom is what you need. Remember, it is God that worketh in you. Both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
So be sure and work according to His working that worketh in you.
No man has the power to impart these manifestations (or gifts) to others. They are manifestations of the Spirit and are only given by the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul is not regulating the gifts of the Spirit in the fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians as some say. Neither Paul nor anyone else could regulate the manifestations of the Spirit. Paul is explaining what these manifestations are for.
Think of how many puffed up bigots there are running around preying on the public, claiming to have one of these gifts as a present, given to him by God. You often hear these words, "I fasted forty days for this." In other words, see what I am. I would have to be something great for God to give me a permanent gift like I have. If you will watch people like that, you will find that most of them are "has beens." Their prophecies never come to pass. Their tongues are a habit; they say the same words over and over. Their interpretations are imaginations of their own minds. They build the people up on what God is going to do. Of course, it never comes to pass but the people are supposed to keep on believing it.
What we, as God's people need, is to be filled with the Spirit to the extent that God can give these manifestations as they are needed.
These gifts are not given by God to a select few, as permanent presents; rather, they are manifestations of the Spirit that come and go.
Faith (that is, the faith that we are saved by), hope and love abideth continually. "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity" (I Corinthians 13:13). The greatest of these is love, for love is the first evidence to an individual that they have received the Holy Ghost. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). Love is also the evidence to the world that we are Christians. "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples. If ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35). It should also be noticed that all the fruit of the Spirit is based on love. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22- 23).
The fruit of the Spirit is divided into three sets of three's:
1. Love, joy and peace is an inward state and is the first evidence of the new birth.
2. Long suffering, gentleness and goodness is the way we show our love to our brother.
3. Faithfulness, meekness and temperance shows our love to God.
It is impossible for a sinner, or a mere professor, to produce this fruit. Wherefore by their fruit shall ye know them (Matthew 7:15-20).
WHY DID THE APOSTLES BAPTIZE IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST?
The above question is a great question. It is a serious question. It concerns eternal salvation.
The answer, for many long years, lay buried among the hidden treasures of the Word of God, obscured by the traditions of men.
But, like a miner clears away the earth in his search for gold and digs out the precious metal, so God is clearing away the rubbish and traditions of men and bringing forth the precious truth concerning the illustrious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A Bible Contradiction?
Infidels have listed two scriptures concerning baptism, namely Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38 as contradictions. And some preachers have disregarded Acts 2:38 because it didn't seem to harmonize with other scriptures. Others have accused the apostles of disobeying the command of Jesus as given in Matthew 28:19. But, a correct answer to the question, "Why did the apostles always baptize in Jesus' name?" will reveal that there is no contradiction, no mistake on the part of the apostles, and no need to discard Acts 2:38.
How Apostles Always Baptized
First, we will quote the command left by our Savior Himself as recorded in Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Notice that He said, "name," not "names." Father is not a proper name; Son is not a proper name; Holy Ghost is not a proper name. In fact, the name is not revealed in Matthew 28:19. It is revealed elsewhere, as we will show later.
Now we will quote the same command as recorded by Luke 24:46 & 47, "And said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. " Properly analyzing this verse we find that repentance and remission of sins is to be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. The next step will be to go to Jerusalem where the Apostles began to baptize and see how they did it. They are the ones who were first given the command to baptize and they are the ones to know how to obey it correctly. Peter, standing amidst the multitude that had gathered at Jerusalem on that memorable Day of Pentecost spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Those wonderful words are recorded in Acts 2:38, which have since largely been discarded and which seem to be out of harmony with Matthew 28:19. They are as follows: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." There it is - repentance and remission of sins preached - in His name - among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Matthew said to baptize "in the name." Luke said, "in his name." And Peter revealed the name on the Day of Pentecost when he said, "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
But, says someone, only the Jews were baptized in Jesus' name. Not so. Acts 8:14-16 and Acts 10:48 record that the Samaritans and Gentiles were all baptized in Jesus' name. Even the disciples of John who had been baptized unto John's baptism were re-baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:1-5). There is no record in the New Testament of any baptism except in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why?
But the question at issue is: Why did the Apostles baptize in Jesus' name? Did not Jesus command them to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? Yes, He did. And the Apostles obeyed Him perfectly. But the secret is in the name. As stated before, neither Father, Son or Holy Ghost is a proper name. Jesus is the name, and the only name. There are not three names. If there were three names, there would be three Gods.
The Name Of The Godhead
Well, now for the scriptural proof that Jesus is the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Although there would really be no need of further proof, the very fact that the Apostles always baptized in Jesus' name after Jesus had commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Otherwise, the Apostles made a very serious mistake and did disobey Jesus, and if they disobeyed then the whole Christian structure is very shaky. Jesus prayed for all who should be saved through the Apostles' words. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word" (John 17:20). And on the Day of Pentecost 3,000 were baptized in Jesus' name according to Peter's word, and they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
But, here is more conclusive evidence that Jesus is the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Jesus said, "I am come in my Father's name" (John 5:43). And, He also said the Holy Ghost would come in His name. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26). If Jesus came in the Father's name, then the Father's name must be Jesus, and if the Holy Ghost came in Jesus' name, the name of the Holy Ghost must be Jesus. How can it be? Simply, because Jesus is God the Father -- the invisible Spirit manifest in the flesh. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Timothy 3:16). "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1,4). "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Philip asked to see the Father one time. Jesus astonished him with these words, "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" (John 14:9). Another time Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). If Jesus and the Father are one, the name is one.
Jesus said that the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, would come again after His departure in the flesh, and then told them plainly that He was the Comforter who would come.
John 14:15-18:
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
When did Jesus the Comforter come? On the Day of Pentecost He came in Spirit.
What is the name of the Holy Ghost? Jesus, of course. So we may rightfully sing, "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart." No one can have Jesus in his heart, except in the Spirit. There are not two Spirits. So, the Apostles must have known what they were doing when they baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. How foolish of preachers today to say that baptism in Jesus' name is of the Devil. If it is, then the Apostles preached doctrines of devils, and all the early church were saved through doctrines of devils. Those who baptize in the name of Jesus are accused of denying the Father and the Holy Ghost. If that were true, then the Apostles denied the Father and the Holy Ghost. But, it is not true. In Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
A Scholarly Investigation
Reader, the name of Jesus is far greater than you ever knew it to be.
At the name of Jesus every knee will sometime bow. Paul said that God hath highly exalted Him and given Him the name, which is above every name. God has revealed Himself by only one proper name and that name is Jehovah (Yahweh) in the Hebrew language. In Exodus 3:14, "I AM" is the etymology (foundation root) of the name Jehovah. The name Jehovah is a compound of three Hebrew words, which mean God is now, God always was, and God always will be.
God's proper name is revealed in Exodus 6:2,3: “My name is Jehovah.”
Jesus referred to Himself as the I AM many times. The outstanding time is in John 8:58, where He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” If the name Jehovah and Jesus is not the same name, Jesus would have been a blasphemer when He applied "I am" to Himself.
God's name, Jehovah, translated in the Greek language is Iesous. But the name translated into the English language is Jesus. Jehovah and Jesus is the same name, only one is pronounced in Hebrew and the other in English. God exalted His Son by incarnating Him and by giving Him His own name.
Philippians 2:9-11:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; to the glory of God the Father.
The name Jehovah is used 6,855 times in the Bible.
Magnitude Of His Name
Jesus means all that Jehovah meant because He said, "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." The name of Jesus means also a Saviour from sin. The angel said unto Mary: "Thou shalt bring forth a son and shalt call his name, Jesus (not Son): for he shall save his people from their sins." The name Jesus means, "Jehovah has become salvation." None but God can save from sin and Peter said, "There is no salvation in any other name but the name of Jesus." For there is no second name. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
When Jesus was born, the angel announced that He was Christ the Lord. He was the Lord God of the Old Testament who had come into the world in the form of man to be the Saviour of the world. The Lord God of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament. There is only one Lord. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5). "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Isaiah 43:10-11:
Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.
Soon the Anti-Christ will be revealed and will declare himself to be God and the deceived world will worship him as God. But the Lord is revealing a glorious message of truth concerning God in Christ, and the name of Jesus being the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Scriptural Accuracy
No one is fulfilling the command of Jesus except those who baptize in Jesus' name. Jesus said to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and no one is obeying Him or can obey Him until he knows what the name is. The Apostles knew. They had a glorious revelation of the name of Jesus, and God is restoring that revelation to us today. The name is the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38).
The Purpose And Importance
And now for a concluding chapter on the purpose and importance of baptism.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4:
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according the scriptures:
No one can be saved without obeying the Gospel. "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:8). "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17). Therefore, every one must die and be buried and rise again. How? By repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost.
Repentance is death to sin and the world. "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:2).
Baptism is burial with Christ. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).
The Holy Ghost is resurrection life. "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection" (Romans 6:5).
Baptism is not an entrance into a church organization, neither is it a lifeless form or nonessential. Peter most surely was not mistaken when he said in Acts 2:38, "Repent (die with Christ), and be baptized (buried with Christ), everyone one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (resurrection with Christ)."
No scriptural term has ever been more misunderstood than the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or a better rendering, baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The misunderstanding has caused endless confusion and error of teaching concerning the new birth and the filling of the Spirit.
I will present three views on the subject and then proceed to show the scriptural teachings.
One teaching is that the new birth, the baptism and the filling of the Spirit are all the same experience and always evidenced by speaking with tongues. Since the plan of salvation remains the same throughout the entire church age, then according to this teaching, no one has been born again except those who have spoken in tongues.
Another teaching is that the baptism and filling of the Spirit are the same and received subsequent to the new birth. However, the scriptures state that it is the baptism of the same Spirit that places one into the body of Christ, which is the Church. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). Then, according to this teaching, one may be born again and yet not be in the Church. This teaching coincides with the prevalent but erroneous idea that the Apostles were born again before the Day of Pentecost. The Apostles walked with Christ in the flesh, but when Jesus died, the old relationship ended and a "new and living way" was instituted, which was the Church “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:20). No one, not even the Apostles, could enter into the Church until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The third and scriptural teaching on this subject is that the new birth and Spirit baptism are synonymous terms.
The filling of the Spirit follows, either immediately or later as the born-again believer yields to the Holy Spirit.
The term baptism, from a scriptural definition means, "to place into." John baptized in water. Jesus baptizes in the Holy Spirit. The new and living way is the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which Jesus told His disciples just before His departure. They would receive "not many days hence," referring to the Day of Pentecost, which is the birthday of the Church.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Apostles received a two-fold experience. First, they were baptized into the Body, the Church, into Christ. Secondly, they were simultaneously filled with the Spirit to do the work of the ministry for which they had been prepared. As a result of the filling of the Spirit, they spoke in other tongues and had other marvelous manifestations of the Spirit. The three thousand were baptized into the body because the scripture says they were added to the Church, but it does not record their filling.
In the fourth chapter of Acts, it is recorded that the Apostles were again filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness. If the new birth and the filling are the same experience, then the Apostles were born again a second time. If baptism and filling are the same experience, then they were baptized into the Church a second time. (“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them. . .” Acts 4:8). “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
The book of Acts is a record of the experience of the early Church, while the epistles give doctrinal teaching or explanation of those experiences.
We will refer to the epistles to find out what the Apostles taught regarding this subject of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Paul gave the key in 1 Corinthians 12:13 when he said, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." In Galatians 3:27 he said, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." These scriptures state definitely and unmistakably that the means of getting into Christ or into the Body, the Church, is the baptism in the Spirit. This proves conclusively that the baptism and the new birth are the same experience.
Speaking with tongues has no connection with the new birth or baptism in the Spirit. Speaking with tongues is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, "We are all baptized into one body, and have been made to drink of one Spirit." As one yields to the Spirit and drinks of the Spirit, he will be filled or possessed with the Spirit after he has been baptized into the Spirit (new birth).
If, as some teach, speaking in tongues is the evidence of the new birth or baptism into Christ, what would it be the evidence of when a person speaks in tongues a second time? Someone will say, " All speaking with tongues, except for the first time, is the gift of tongues!" Well, the first time is the gift of tongues, too! There is no other kind of tongues from the Spirit. All other kinds of tongues are counterfeit! Tongues is not of ourselves; it is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit.
If baptism and filling are synonymous terms, the words could be used interchangeably and we could quote 1 Corinthians 12:13 thus: "For by one Spirit are we all filled into one body," and we could quote Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as have been filled into Christ have put on Christ." However, baptism and filling are not the same terms; therefore, the words cannot be used interchangeably.
So, the only sensible and scriptural thing left to do is to put things in their right place. But, so many take this attitude: "What difference does it make what we believe?" That is a poor attitude to take toward the Word of God. It makes just this much difference: The Bible states in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth on this subject has wrecked the faith of many, and turned many away from a glorious filling of the Holy Spirit because it has been presented to them erroneously. True Christians have been told that they do not have the Holy Spirit because they have not spoken in tongues, thus discouraging them and destroying their faith.
If speaking with tongues is absolutely inseparably connected with the new birth and baptism into Christ and the Church, it always has been inseparable since the Day of Pentecost. If this be the case, then thousands of martyrs who sealed their testimony with their blood died in vain with a false hope, and they were lost, all except the few who may have spoken in tongues. "But," says someone, "they didn't have the light." Well, it is the Holy Spirit who does the speaking in tongues and He always had the light. When God began to fill his truly consecrated people with the Spirit in 1906, and speak through them in other languages, they did not have the light either; and the outpouring of the Spirit did not indicate the return of the Spirit to Earth after centuries of absence.
Now, for an important closing thought! To be filled with the Spirit, to the extent of the supernatural manifestation of speaking in other languages, is a marvelous experience and a scriptural experience. This experience should be desired by all Christians and will be desired when this truth is scripturally understood.
Every Christian has the Spirit of God, but many Christians have never been filled or possessed with the Spirit. Speaking in other tongues is the highest attainment of spiritual worship and with it comes enduement of power and spiritual freedom such as is not possible otherwise. God is calling His people to surrender their minds and bodies to Him until He can possess and fill them with undreamed glory and use their tongues to sing and speak His praise in other languages. This experience is very much needed to meet the ever-increasing powers of the Anti-Christ spirit. To fail to heed God's call is just as sinful as for sinners to fail to heed the Gospel call.
WHEN GOD BECAME A MAN
One day a little Babe was born in a very crude and obscure place in a small and humble city. His expected arrival was not announced to the world.
His mother was not widely known.
Finding no room in the crowded inn, the lowly couple retreated to a stable and there in the dark hours of the night, while the city was sleeping, the little stranger arrived.
No one suspected anything out of the ordinary, but the birth of that little Babe set all the bells of heaven to ringing. A bright new star appeared in the heavens. An angel hastened to a group of shepherds to announce the glad tidings of great joy while the illuminating light of heaven encircled the astonished shepherds, dispelling the darkness of the night. Suddenly, the lone angel was joined by a whole multitude of the heavenly host chanting the joyful refrain, "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men."
When the angels had gone, the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to see the newborn Babe. From the far distant east came wise men with costly gifts to present to Him. Soon, all Jerusalem was stirred. Even the king was troubled. The birth of that humble Child had moved heaven and earth.
Who could He be? Why all this commotion about His birth? It was a mystery, a great mystery, but that newborn Babe was none other than the mighty God, the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, who was born of a virgin and came into the world in the likeness of man to dwell among us. "… they shall call His Name Emanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"' (Matthew 1:23).
The angel announced unmistakably who He was. Said the angel; "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
Many times in the Old Testament God is spoken of as the Lord God, the Lord Jehovah, the Lord thy God, etc.
And now, the angel announces that the Babe of Bethlehem is Christ the Lord.
Since both the Old Testament and New Testament emphatically declare that there is only one Lord, then it is very evident that the Lord Jesus of the New Testament and the Lord God of the Old Testament is the same Lord.
The following scriptures taken from the Old and New Testaments will prove conclusively that the Lord God of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament.
The Lord God created heaven and earth - Isaiah 42:5.
The Lord Jesus created heaven and earth - John 1:10, Colossians 1:16.
The Lord God is the only savior - Isaiah 43:10-11.
The Lord Jesus is the only savior - Titus 1:4.
The Lord God is the First and the Last - Isaiah 44:6.
The Lord Jesus is the First and the Last - Revelation 2:8.
The Lord God said, "I am He" - Isaiah 43:10.
The Lord Jesus said, "I am He" - John 6:24.
The Lord God will reign forever - Psalms 146:10.
The Lord Jesus will reign forever - Luke 1:33.
The Lord God is King of Israel- Isaiah 43:15.
The Lord Jesus is King of Israel- Matthew 27:37.
The Lord God is Lord alone - Nehemiah 9:6-7.
Jesus is Lord - Acts 9:5.
The Lord God is Almighty - Genesis 17:1.
The Lord Jesus is Almighty - Revelation 1:8.
Other scriptures that prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Babe of Bethlehem was the Lord God Almighty:
The Child - a Son - shall be called the mighty God and the everlasting Father - Isaiah 9:6.
He who was born in Bethlehem was from everlasting - Micah 5:2.
Jesus lived before Abraham - John 8:56, 58.
Thomas acknowledged Jesus to be God - John 20:28.
Now that it has been fully established by Scripture that Jesus is God, the next step is to discuss the Sonship.
When Did The Sonship Begin?
Was Jesus a Son in eternity with God before His birth in Bethlehem? If so, when did He become a Son? Was He as old as the Father? Who was His mother? What became of His body when He was born in Bethlehem? Was He born twice - once in eternity and again in Bethlehem? Did He have two Fathers and mothers?
Oh, no! That is not the right understanding of God and the Son. In eternity, God was an invisible Spirit without flesh and bones, who alone created the heavens and the earth.
Isaiah 37:16:
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
Isaiah 44:24:
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.
Job 9:8:
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
He declared Himself that there was no one else with Him and that He created the earth by Himself (Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 45:5, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me"). There is no Savior, He said, but Himself (Isaiah 43:11, "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour").
It was He, the only Lord God and only Savior who came into the world in the form of man to become man's salvation. His name was called Jesus, which means, "Jehovah has become salvation."
That is when the Sonship began, when God became a man - the Babe of Bethlehem - a Lamb of sacrifice for sin. It was God in the flesh who died for the sins of the world (Acts 20:28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood"). There was no Son before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, although He who became a Son existed as the invisible Spirit from everlasting.
Jesus Was Both God And Man
Jesus was man, a perfect man. As a man He slept, He ate and He grew weary. But all of His mighty works prove that He was more than a man. What man other than He could raise the dead, walk on the water, open blind eyes, multiply bread and fish, etc.?
He was God and man united in an image. That is the reason He could say to Philip, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). And did not He say, "I and my Father are one." And did He not also say, "If ye believe not that I am he (speaking of the Father) ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24,27)?
Indeed, it was a marvelous mystery but Jesus was the God-man. His birth was not after the fashion of ordinary man. He had no earthly father. His Father was the Holy Ghost and His mother was the virgin Mary. Therefore, He was both God and man.
As a man He ate; as God He multiplied bread and fish. As a man He slept in the boat; as God He arose and calmed the stormy waves. As a man He prayed at the grave of Lazarus; as God He raised Lazarus from he dead. As a man He died; as God He raised Himself from the dead ("Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" John 2:19). He was God and man - Father and Son - Spirit and flesh - in one Image.
Therefore, when God said, "Let us make man in our image" (not images), He was speaking of the two-fold relationship of the Father and Son in one-image. We read: "So God (by Himself) created man in his own image" (not images). Genesis 1:26 says: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." What, then is God's image? Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Colossians 1:15 says: "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature."
The children of Israel had never seen their God. He was always invisible to them. But when Jesus came, the invisible God was made visible. At the same time God was manifest in the flesh on earth, he remained Spirit in heaven. For that reason Jesus could speak of the Father that dwelleth in heaven.
Right Hand
Jesus at the right hand of God does not mean that God and Jesus are two persons sitting side by side on a throne in Heaven, both of them sitting there stationary for centuries.
That is a ridiculous and unscriptural idea of God. A preacher once said that Jesus had stood up only one time since He ascended to Heaven and that was when He stood up to welcome Stephen, because Stephen saw Him "standing" at the right hand of God.
But that is not the meaning of the right hand. The right hand is a symbolic term, which means power and authority. Jesus said, " All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth." When God became incarnate man on earth, He did all of His mighty works through the power and authority of that man. And now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, He has all power in Heaven.
Matthew 28:18 says, "And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Therefore, Jesus at the right hand of God means that Jesus is the power of God. "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).
It must be remembered that the Lord Jesus Christ is more than a man. He is both God and man. He is God manifest in the flesh. " And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Timothy 3:16).
Notice a few symbolic uses of "right hand" in connection with power.
My right hand hath spanned the heavens - Isaiah 48:13
The Lord is at the right hand to the poor - Psalms 109:31
God led the children of Israel by the right hand of Moses - Isaiah 63:12
The Lord was on David's right hand- Psalms 16:8
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not a third, separate and distinct person from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is God. In John 4:24 we read, "God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." God is holy. Therefore, God is the Holy Spirit.
No further evidence is needed to prove that the Holy Ghost is God, than the scriptural fact that the Holy Ghost is the Father of Jesus. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with the child of the Holy Ghost. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:18, 20). It must be remembered that Jesus Christ is incarnate God.
Jesus Is The Holy Spirit
Jesus called His disciples together one day and told them He was soon going away but that He would send another Comforter who would abide with them forever.
Who, then, is this other Comforter? What is His name? Is He someone else other than Jesus? If the Comforter is someone else, then Jesus is not here; He is not in us. But Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world."
Jesus did not leave His disciples in the dark. He told them very plainly who the other Comforter is. Said He, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18). And He further told them that the other Comforter was He who was dwelling with them, and would be in them when He came again. He was with them in the flesh and went away to Heaven in flesh. But He came back in Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to be in them. So, we may rightfully sing, "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart." Therefore, the name of the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, is Jesus. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26).
There is no other name.
The Trinity Theory
Through the confusion of the Dark Ages and the traditions of men, the vision of the greatness and the glory and the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ have become dimmed. He who said, "I am the First and the Last" has been relegated to second place.
After a raging discussion of centuries concerning the Godhead, a doctrine was finally agreed upon known as the doctrine of the Trinity, namely: That God consists of three separate and distinct Persons, thus, placing Jesus Christ, who is declared to be Lord of all, as the second Person.
God, no doubt, has winked at the ignorance of the people as they have piously chanted hymns to the "Blessed Holy Trinity-God in three Persons." But now the mists are being cleared away and the doctrine as taught by the Apostles is again being revealed, that Jesus Christ is God, the Spirit manifest in the flesh - not three Persons, but One.
This Trinity doctrine is man's feeble attempt to solve the great mystery of the incarnate God, but in thus disposing of the mystery they have only added absurdity to mystery.
If the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate Persons, then each Christian has three Persons in him. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16). "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:5). "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). If there are three Persons, each raised Jesus from the dead, "But God raised him from the dead" (Acts 13:30). "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11). If Christ and God are two Persons, then Jesus had two Fathers. God is His Father and the Holy Ghost is His Father. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:18). "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Moreover, Jesus Himself is called The everlasting Father. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). If there are three separate distinct Persons each called God, then there are three separate Gods, or else each one of the three is one-third of God. If there are three separate Persons, co-equal, then Isaiah had a false vision when he said, "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One" (Isaiah 40:25).
If there are three separate, distinct persons, there should be three separate, distinct names, whereas there is only one name. Father is not a proper name. Son is not a proper name. Holy Spirit is not a proper name. Peter was not so mistaken after all, as many people think, when he inspiringly said on the Day of Pentecost: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…" (Acts 2:38).
Human intelligence can never fathom the mystery of Jesus Christ. Nothing short of divine illumination of the Scriptures can reveal Him as He is. He is hidden in the Scriptures from carnal view but the illuminating light of the Holy Spirit places a halo of glory around His majestic being and brings Him to view as the Great I Am, The Everlasting Father, The only wise God our Savior, The Creator of Heaven and Earth, etc. "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17). "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him" (Colossians 1:16).
Jesus Christ puzzled the world in the days of His flesh, and He puzzles them now. The Jews rejected Him because, "He being a man, made Himself God" (John 10:33).
They were continually asking then, "Who art thou? Whom makest thou thyself? What manner of man is this? Whence hath this man this wisdom? Art thou the King of the Jews? Whence art thou? How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
And still today the world is puzzled. No wonder. He is so great and marvelous. The name of Jesus excels all other names. No tongue of man has ever proclaimed His worth.
Anti-Christ
The Devil has done his best to conceal the identity of Jesus Christ, to hide Him from the people. And with such great success at the end of the age, the entire world will reject Jesus Christ and will worship the Anti-Christ as God (all except those whose names are Written in the Book of Life).
John warned of this when he said, "Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of Anti-Christ." 1 Timothy 3:16 says God was manifest in the flesh, and 1 John 4:2 says Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
Harmonizing these two scriptures we find that Jesus Christ was God who came in the flesh, and to attempt to place Him on a lower plane than the mighty God and Lord of all is to join ranks with the Anti-Christ forces.
Colossians 2:9:
For in him (Jesus Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
THE NINE SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-11
The key given by God to interpret these gifts is in 1 Corinthians 12:7. In this verse the gifts (that are given) are called manifestations of the Spirit. Manifestations of the Spirit come and go, so the gifts of the Spirit come and go, for the Spirit is the One who gives these manifestations. They are called gifts because the Spirit gives them.
Gifts of the Spirit are not permanent presents given by God to be used by us at any time we choose. The Apostles could only do supernatural things as they were moved by the Spirit. Peter did not heal the lame man (recorded in the third chapter of Acts) the first time he saw him. He no doubt passed by him many times before he was moved by the Spirit to heal him. Acts 2:42-47 reveals the fact that the Apostles had a church established in Jerusalem, and that they met daily in the temple, long before this lame man at the gate was healed. Although Acts 3:2 says they laid the lame man at the gate of the temple daily. The lame man was not healed until Peter was moved by the Spirit to heal him. The Apostle Paul did not cast the devil out of the fortuneteller the first day she followed them. Acts 16:16-18 says, "This did she many days." One day Paul was moved by the Spirit and turned and said, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." Paul did not move until the Spirit moved him, for he did not have a permanent gift. He said, "Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily" (Colossians 1:29). Jesus said in John 5:17, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work." Jesus is saying, while my Father is moving me I must work, for it is my Father that dwelleth in Me that doeth the works.
John 14:7-11:
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Paul says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). It is easy to see that the gifts are manifestations of the Spirit that come and go, and are not permanent presents given by God.
Another fact that should not be overlooked is that the Gentiles, who were heathens, had these same manifestations in their worship around their dumb idols, but they were produced by a demon spirit. That is the reason Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:1-3:
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God called Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
The Apostle Paul is warning these Corinthians to be sure that their manifestations are produced by the Holy Ghost and not by some false spirit. To call Jesus Lord is to acknowledge His virgin birth. For Him, being begotten by the Holy Ghost is what makes Him Lord. We cannot call Jesus Lord, only by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the One that produces these manifestations, or gifts.
An Exposition of the Nine Spiritual Gifts (I Corinthians 12:8-11)
1. "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. " Because you have had the word of wisdom does not mean that you are the wise man of the church. But it does mean that you have a wise God within you that produced wisdom. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge; it means to say the right word at the right time under difficult circumstances. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
"But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:19, 20). "I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).
2. "The word of knowledge." Paul is not saying that knowledge is given to us by a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit. We must study to get knowledge. It is the word of knowledge that is given to us by the Spirit. The word of knowledge means the ability to express what we know, so that others can understand. There are multitudes of people who have obtained knowledge, but cannot express what they know, so that others can understand. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). "And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another" (Romans 15:14).
3. "Faith by the same Spirit." Great faith is not something we carry around with us. It is a manifestation of the Spirit and must be given each time something great is to be accomplished. The Apostles learned this secret from Jesus in the following lesson. A father brought his son to Jesus for healing (Mark 9:14-29). Jesus said to this father, "All things are possible to him that believeth." The father said, "Lord, I do believe, help thou my unbelief (or weak faith)." The Lord Jesus gave him the faith that was needed, and his son was healed. The Disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him, "Why could not we perform this miracle? " Jesus said, "Because of your little faith".
How be it this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Jesus is saying that it takes special faith for this kind of a miracle, and He is saying the extra faith only comes through special prayer. The Apostles remembered this experience and always waited for the moving of the Spirit before they attempted great things. All things are possible to him that believeth, but it is impossible to believe for great things unless God gives the faith.
4. "The gifts of healing by the same Spirit." This scripture teaches that healing is a gift each time someone is healed. It is God that performs the healing, and if He doesn't, there is not a man on earth who can. No man has a permanent gift of healing, so that he can heal anyone at any time. Contact must be made with God for the one who is sick, because healing is a manifestation of the Spirit. "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal" (1 Corinthians 12:7).
5. "To another the working of miracles." A miracle is that which is above the regular established law of nature. It takes the Spirit of God to perform a miracle. No man has a permanent gift of performing miracles. It takes a manifestation of the Spirit, and a manifestation must be given each time a miracle takes place.
6. "To another prophecy." To prophesy, one must speak under the impulse of the Spirit words of edification, exhortation and comfort, whether they are foretelling future events, preaching a sermon or giving a testimony. What we call a testimony meeting, Paul called a prophecy meeting. "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation, and comfort. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted" (1 Corinthians 14:3, 31).
7. "To another discerning of spirits." Many false spirits are in the world, and most of them are very religious. Therefore, John says, "Try the spirits" (1 John 4:1).
Many religious leaders are possessed with the wrong spirit. That is the reason we have such erroneous interpretations of the Bible today!
The way to try the spirits is by the Word and by the Holy Ghost.
1 John 4:1-4:
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Peter did not get discernment on Simon the sorcerer right away. The Bible says that Simon himself believed and was baptized and continued with Philip (Acts 8:13). Peter had to wait for God to give him discernment, for he did not have a permanent gift. When Simon tried to buy the gift of God with money, the Spirit moved Peter and he was given discernment (Acts 8:18-24).
8. "To another different kinds of tongues." The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:18, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all." Anyone who has been filled with the Spirit to the extent of speaking with tongues realizes that it is supernatural and gives God all the glory. When I was filled with the Spirit, and spoke with tongues, it seemed that all Heaven had moved into me. While I was seeking and yielding myself to the Spirit, and spoke with tongues, it seemed to me that the Holy Ghost was a machine within me, making "Hallelujahs" faster than I could get them out. The more spiritual joy you have, the closer you are to being filled with the Spirit and speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance.
The Apostle Paul gives the only explanation of the tongue question that is in the Bible. No man has a right to put his own private interpretation on the examples of speaking in tongues. For it is the examples in the book of Acts that the Apostle is explaining. Paul uses the same scripture that was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11). Then he said, "This shows that the gift of tongues is intended as a sign, not to those who believe but to the unbelievers" (1 Corinthians 14:21-22). A businessman does not have to look at the sign on his store to know that his store is stocked with merchandise. The sign is for the one who doesn't know. On the Day of Pentecost they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them words to utter (Acts 2:4). The Spirit giving them words to utter is what makes tongues a gift of the Spirit, for tongues are always Holy Ghost produced (if they are of God). The Spirit must give us the words we utter, whether we speak in tongues one time or a thousand times. No one can speak in tongues only as he is moved by the Spirit.
Speaking with tongues was given for three purposes:
1. For self-edification. "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself;
but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (1 Corinthians 14:4, 18).
2. For a sign to unbelievers. "In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe" (1 Corinthians 14:21, 22).
3. To edify the church when a message is given in tongues which demands interpretation.
1 Corinthians 14:5-13:
I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
Speaking with tongues for self-edification for a sign to unbelievers does not need to be interpreted. The theory that speaking with tongues is the first evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost is man-made. It is doubtful if the Apostle Paul ever heard of such a doctrine. He did not say anything about it in any of his Epistles, and they were written for the purpose of explaining church doctrine. If that doctrine were true, it would be explained in the Epistles. Let us not be wise above what is written. We will do well to take Paul's explanation of the tongue question. If you really want to know what the first evidence of the new birth is, read 1 John 3:14. It says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
Matthew 7:15-20:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Anyone who has been filled with the Spirit, to the extent of speaking with tongues, has one of the greatest experiences this side of Heaven. With this filling comes more love, more joy, more peace, more freedom, more power to witness, more boldness, etc. You do not get more of the Spirit, but the Spirit gets a greater possession of you. The Holy Ghost works like liquor. First one drinks the liquor and then it possesses them. It is the same with the Spirit. You receive the Holy Ghost first, and then the Spirit fills you as you yield yourself to Him " And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). The filling of the Spirit always comes from within.
9. "To another the interpretation of tongues." To give a true interpretation of tongues, the interpreter would have to speak in his own language, as the Spirit gives him words to utter. Otherwise, it would only be an imagination of his own mind, and not a true gift of the Spirit. No one has a permanent gift of interpretation, for it is a manifestation of the Spirit, and must be given each time one interprets.
Churches or individuals that do not have these manifestations of the Spirit do not need the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians. These chapters were written to churches that were spiritual enough to have these gifts in operation. You do not need to tell a paralyzed child to stay out of mischief.
When Paul asked the question in 1 Corinthians 12:20, "Have all the gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret," he is saying that they are not for all. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:4, 5, "I would that ye all spake with tongues." He also said in 1 Corinthians 14:31, "For ye may all prophesy one by one." James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God….” God gives these manifestations severally as he will.” "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will" (1 Corinthians 12:11). That is, He may use you one time and me another time.
All of God's people can have one or all of these manifestations (or gifts) of the Spirit if they are filled with the Spirit to the extent that they can be produced.
When Paul said, "Covet the best gifts" (1 Corinthians 12:31), it is another way of saying, "Seek the gift you need, when you need it." The gifts are not given as good, better and best. The one you need at the time is the best one. If someone is sick, healing is the best gift. If your own soul needs edifying, tongues is the best one. If a devil is trying to get into the church, discernment is the best. If you have a problem to handle, wisdom is what you need. Remember, it is God that worketh in you. Both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
So be sure and work according to His working that worketh in you.
No man has the power to impart these manifestations (or gifts) to others. They are manifestations of the Spirit and are only given by the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul is not regulating the gifts of the Spirit in the fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians as some say. Neither Paul nor anyone else could regulate the manifestations of the Spirit. Paul is explaining what these manifestations are for.
Think of how many puffed up bigots there are running around preying on the public, claiming to have one of these gifts as a present, given to him by God. You often hear these words, "I fasted forty days for this." In other words, see what I am. I would have to be something great for God to give me a permanent gift like I have. If you will watch people like that, you will find that most of them are "has beens." Their prophecies never come to pass. Their tongues are a habit; they say the same words over and over. Their interpretations are imaginations of their own minds. They build the people up on what God is going to do. Of course, it never comes to pass but the people are supposed to keep on believing it.
What we, as God's people need, is to be filled with the Spirit to the extent that God can give these manifestations as they are needed.
These gifts are not given by God to a select few, as permanent presents; rather, they are manifestations of the Spirit that come and go.
Faith (that is, the faith that we are saved by), hope and love abideth continually. "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity" (I Corinthians 13:13). The greatest of these is love, for love is the first evidence to an individual that they have received the Holy Ghost. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). Love is also the evidence to the world that we are Christians. "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples. If ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35). It should also be noticed that all the fruit of the Spirit is based on love. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22- 23).
The fruit of the Spirit is divided into three sets of three's:
1. Love, joy and peace is an inward state and is the first evidence of the new birth.
2. Long suffering, gentleness and goodness is the way we show our love to our brother.
3. Faithfulness, meekness and temperance shows our love to God.
It is impossible for a sinner, or a mere professor, to produce this fruit. Wherefore by their fruit shall ye know them (Matthew 7:15-20).
WHY DID THE APOSTLES BAPTIZE IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST?
The above question is a great question. It is a serious question. It concerns eternal salvation.
The answer, for many long years, lay buried among the hidden treasures of the Word of God, obscured by the traditions of men.
But, like a miner clears away the earth in his search for gold and digs out the precious metal, so God is clearing away the rubbish and traditions of men and bringing forth the precious truth concerning the illustrious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A Bible Contradiction?
Infidels have listed two scriptures concerning baptism, namely Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38 as contradictions. And some preachers have disregarded Acts 2:38 because it didn't seem to harmonize with other scriptures. Others have accused the apostles of disobeying the command of Jesus as given in Matthew 28:19. But, a correct answer to the question, "Why did the apostles always baptize in Jesus' name?" will reveal that there is no contradiction, no mistake on the part of the apostles, and no need to discard Acts 2:38.
How Apostles Always Baptized
First, we will quote the command left by our Savior Himself as recorded in Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Notice that He said, "name," not "names." Father is not a proper name; Son is not a proper name; Holy Ghost is not a proper name. In fact, the name is not revealed in Matthew 28:19. It is revealed elsewhere, as we will show later.
Now we will quote the same command as recorded by Luke 24:46 & 47, "And said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. " Properly analyzing this verse we find that repentance and remission of sins is to be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. The next step will be to go to Jerusalem where the Apostles began to baptize and see how they did it. They are the ones who were first given the command to baptize and they are the ones to know how to obey it correctly. Peter, standing amidst the multitude that had gathered at Jerusalem on that memorable Day of Pentecost spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Those wonderful words are recorded in Acts 2:38, which have since largely been discarded and which seem to be out of harmony with Matthew 28:19. They are as follows: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." There it is - repentance and remission of sins preached - in His name - among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Matthew said to baptize "in the name." Luke said, "in his name." And Peter revealed the name on the Day of Pentecost when he said, "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
But, says someone, only the Jews were baptized in Jesus' name. Not so. Acts 8:14-16 and Acts 10:48 record that the Samaritans and Gentiles were all baptized in Jesus' name. Even the disciples of John who had been baptized unto John's baptism were re-baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:1-5). There is no record in the New Testament of any baptism except in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why?
But the question at issue is: Why did the Apostles baptize in Jesus' name? Did not Jesus command them to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? Yes, He did. And the Apostles obeyed Him perfectly. But the secret is in the name. As stated before, neither Father, Son or Holy Ghost is a proper name. Jesus is the name, and the only name. There are not three names. If there were three names, there would be three Gods.
The Name Of The Godhead
Well, now for the scriptural proof that Jesus is the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Although there would really be no need of further proof, the very fact that the Apostles always baptized in Jesus' name after Jesus had commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Otherwise, the Apostles made a very serious mistake and did disobey Jesus, and if they disobeyed then the whole Christian structure is very shaky. Jesus prayed for all who should be saved through the Apostles' words. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word" (John 17:20). And on the Day of Pentecost 3,000 were baptized in Jesus' name according to Peter's word, and they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
But, here is more conclusive evidence that Jesus is the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Jesus said, "I am come in my Father's name" (John 5:43). And, He also said the Holy Ghost would come in His name. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26). If Jesus came in the Father's name, then the Father's name must be Jesus, and if the Holy Ghost came in Jesus' name, the name of the Holy Ghost must be Jesus. How can it be? Simply, because Jesus is God the Father -- the invisible Spirit manifest in the flesh. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Timothy 3:16). "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1,4). "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Philip asked to see the Father one time. Jesus astonished him with these words, "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" (John 14:9). Another time Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). If Jesus and the Father are one, the name is one.
Jesus said that the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, would come again after His departure in the flesh, and then told them plainly that He was the Comforter who would come.
John 14:15-18:
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
When did Jesus the Comforter come? On the Day of Pentecost He came in Spirit.
What is the name of the Holy Ghost? Jesus, of course. So we may rightfully sing, "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart." No one can have Jesus in his heart, except in the Spirit. There are not two Spirits. So, the Apostles must have known what they were doing when they baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. How foolish of preachers today to say that baptism in Jesus' name is of the Devil. If it is, then the Apostles preached doctrines of devils, and all the early church were saved through doctrines of devils. Those who baptize in the name of Jesus are accused of denying the Father and the Holy Ghost. If that were true, then the Apostles denied the Father and the Holy Ghost. But, it is not true. In Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
A Scholarly Investigation
Reader, the name of Jesus is far greater than you ever knew it to be.
At the name of Jesus every knee will sometime bow. Paul said that God hath highly exalted Him and given Him the name, which is above every name. God has revealed Himself by only one proper name and that name is Jehovah (Yahweh) in the Hebrew language. In Exodus 3:14, "I AM" is the etymology (foundation root) of the name Jehovah. The name Jehovah is a compound of three Hebrew words, which mean God is now, God always was, and God always will be.
God's proper name is revealed in Exodus 6:2,3: “My name is Jehovah.”
Jesus referred to Himself as the I AM many times. The outstanding time is in John 8:58, where He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” If the name Jehovah and Jesus is not the same name, Jesus would have been a blasphemer when He applied "I am" to Himself.
God's name, Jehovah, translated in the Greek language is Iesous. But the name translated into the English language is Jesus. Jehovah and Jesus is the same name, only one is pronounced in Hebrew and the other in English. God exalted His Son by incarnating Him and by giving Him His own name.
Philippians 2:9-11:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; to the glory of God the Father.
The name Jehovah is used 6,855 times in the Bible.
Magnitude Of His Name
Jesus means all that Jehovah meant because He said, "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." The name of Jesus means also a Saviour from sin. The angel said unto Mary: "Thou shalt bring forth a son and shalt call his name, Jesus (not Son): for he shall save his people from their sins." The name Jesus means, "Jehovah has become salvation." None but God can save from sin and Peter said, "There is no salvation in any other name but the name of Jesus." For there is no second name. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
When Jesus was born, the angel announced that He was Christ the Lord. He was the Lord God of the Old Testament who had come into the world in the form of man to be the Saviour of the world. The Lord God of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament. There is only one Lord. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5). "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Isaiah 43:10-11:
Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.
Soon the Anti-Christ will be revealed and will declare himself to be God and the deceived world will worship him as God. But the Lord is revealing a glorious message of truth concerning God in Christ, and the name of Jesus being the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Scriptural Accuracy
No one is fulfilling the command of Jesus except those who baptize in Jesus' name. Jesus said to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and no one is obeying Him or can obey Him until he knows what the name is. The Apostles knew. They had a glorious revelation of the name of Jesus, and God is restoring that revelation to us today. The name is the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38).
The Purpose And Importance
And now for a concluding chapter on the purpose and importance of baptism.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4:
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according the scriptures:
No one can be saved without obeying the Gospel. "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:8). "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17). Therefore, every one must die and be buried and rise again. How? By repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost.
Repentance is death to sin and the world. "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:2).
Baptism is burial with Christ. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).
The Holy Ghost is resurrection life. "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection" (Romans 6:5).
Baptism is not an entrance into a church organization, neither is it a lifeless form or nonessential. Peter most surely was not mistaken when he said in Acts 2:38, "Repent (die with Christ), and be baptized (buried with Christ), everyone one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (resurrection with Christ)."