BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Hi GIG,

I don't know if this will help clarify things or muddy them up more, but there may be two different things talked about here so far.

When we become born again, we are given the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). Inasmuch as baptism means 'immersed', then that is certainly a kind of baptism in or of the Holy Spirit. We belong to God at that point and our lives are not our own but are HID in Christ.

However there is something else that happens to a number of other Christians which some either don't know about or ignore or make light of. My husband refers to it as 'coming into the fullness of the Spirit.' For some, it feels more sudden than for others. There are a number of ways to describe it -- here are a few efforts; all are attempting to describe the same thing:

1. A sort of 'clicking over'. When belief becomes a lifestyle and the intellect submits to trust and faith.

2. A rush of awareness, often with emotions riding along, that one is being used by God Himself, and the awe and humility that come with that knowledge.

3. A sudden understanding (not just acknowledgement) that one cannot do a thing on one's own worth talking about and the internal agreement and submission that goes along with that knowledge.

4. A sudden understanding that one has been completely called out of the world and belongs to God and to God alone.

However the experience hits one, the Holy Spirit is in the center of it, and this is recognized by the person and attributed (rightly) to Him. It is something apart from actually being born again. It can be confused by some with an emotional experience that comes and goes -- and I think the Pentecostals are at the forfront of those who incorporate this confusion into the actual experience.

For my husband, it was a sudden experience. For me it was slower, like a sunrise in sort of slow motion. It always involves a further submission to Christ and a deep burning desire to be closer to Him and obey Him fully.

Some people seem to get this understanding, or clicking over, or onrush in answer to prayer. Some get it simply as God chooses to use them. Again, it is different from the initial being born again, and it may not happen to every Christian. I don't know. But because it has been part of my life of faith, I understand what people are talking about. But I also understand why and how it is not understood by many and even ridiculed (which they shouldn't do).

[ October 01, 2002, 10:39 AM: Message edited by: Helen ]