People's imaginations concerning 'receiving the Holy Spirit' (Example #5)
This post is written for the sole purpose of illustrating the ignorance of sound doctrine on social media these days. My aim is to emphasize the absolute necessity of studying the Bible for oneself and seeking answers from the source instead of relying on imaginations or opinions given by people, who may be sincere, but are as ignorant as the one who asked the question to start with.
So, let's begin by stating the question that was asked in the beginning of a social media thread,
QUESTION: "How can Christians catch the Spirit?"
Below is another answer that was supplied to this question on social media. The person might be sincere in their reply, but sincerity can still be wrong and misleading, as is the case with this answer which misinterprets the proper context of scripture. I add comments as to why the answer is wrong and what the Word of God actually says about it.
False Imagination #5
The gift of the Holy Ghost is promised by God if you obey Him according to Acts 2:38-39, which says, “Repent everyone of you and be baptized in the name of JESUS for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. For this is for you and your children and to all that are a far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
My comments:
Many people do not realize that the grace dispensation today has only ONE baptism, the [waterless] baptism performed BY the Holy Spirit at the moment a person is saved and immersed into the Body of Christ. Most of Christendom today has unfortunately mixed together, or blended, the doctrines of two separate programs in the Bible; the Kingdom (Law) Program and the Grace Program, resulting in a false doctrine.
In the Kingdom Program there are TWO baptisms. One of water, for the cleansing of sin, and one of Spirit, for the anointing of priesthood. BOTH are part of the requirements of the Kingdom doctrine, and both are absolutely required for salvation in order to enter into the Millennial Kingdom at Jesus’ second return. (For details, see the ADDENDUM below).
In the Grace Program there is only ONE baptism. This is the [waterless] baptism performed BY the Holy Spirit to seal you into the Body of Christ. Actual water baptism is NOT required for salvation and has no purpose in the grace program, unlike the necessity of it in the Kingdom program.
Notice the difference in the two verses below, with emphasis on WITH and BY:
Acts 1:5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized WITH the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
1 Corinthians 12:13 For BY one Spirit we were all baptized into one body —whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free— and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
After his conversion, Paul was given a new doctrine for the Body of Christ in which many things changed when compared to the Kingdom dispensation. There is a big difference regarding the Holy Spirit baptism between the dispensations of Law and Mystery.
Notice how 1Cor.12:13 refers to a spiritual body [of Christ] that we are placed into when you are saved. The Spirit of God takes you out of your position of Adam and baptizes (immerses and identifies you) into a new spiritual creature, the Body of Christ. That takes place the moment you're saved. This is brand new revelation that Paul teaches. The Jewish apostles knew nothing of this concept.
In the Kingdom program, Jesus is the baptizer of the Jews,
Mark 1:8 – I [John] indeed baptized you with water, but He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit... (See also Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; John 1:33).
This is a fact Jesus confirmed (John 15:26, 16:7). Their baptism is to receive power to be witnesses, validating their message with signs and wonders.
Conversely, in the Grace program, we learn to walk in the Spirit by FAITH and are called to "study" the "word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15), offer ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:2), and "learn [the way of] Christ" (Ephesians 4:20). We learn to live faithfully by His grace and to grow in [the way of] sanctification by the deposit of the indwelling "Spirit of life in Christ" who is ever-present and willing to guide, teach and empower us in righteous living, as we co-operate in knowledge and by faith.
The Pentecost encounter is the foreshadow of the New Covenant upon the "little flock" of Jewish believers. When Jesus comes at His 2nd advent, ALL of saved Israel will be filled with His indwelling Spirit in a greater measure which will cause them to become that priestly nation (Ex.19:6, Isa.61:6) and elevate them above other nations again in pre-eminence.
We today, as members of the body of Christ, are baptized by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.12:12-13). Our spiritual baptism into the Body of Christ is not to receive power or signs to validate our message and witnessing, but to seal us unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
ADDENDUM:
What is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 referring to?
Pentecost (in Acts 2) was a precursor to the fulfillment of the New Covenant which will happen at Jesus second advent to fulfil the verses below,
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
Acts 2:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
What is the New Covenant for Israel?
The pouring out of the Spirit of God is one the blessings of the New Covenant promise. According to the verses below, the New Covenant blessings that Israel will receive when their Messiah returns are,
• The pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon them.
• The forgiveness of sins.
Jer.31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: ... 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Ezek.36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Why did this happen in ACTS?
The promise of the Kingdom was still available to Israel in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit was poured out upon the 120 believers in the upper room so that they could be equipped and empowered to proclaim the imminency of the Kingdom. The Lord had already ascended but was prepared to come again IF ISRAEL WOULD BELIEVE!!! Yet, even with the power of the Spirit to prove their message, Israel rejected the gospel and rejected Jesus and finally rejected the Spirit of God. This is when a transition took place; where God blinded the Jews (Rom.11:25) and raised up Paul to take a new grace message to the Gentiles, (Romans 11:13; Galatians 2:8; 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11). The salvation of Israel was put on hold and through their fall, salvation came to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11).
When the dispensation of Grace ends at the rapture of the Body of Christ, the Kingdom program will be reactivated and by the end of the 7 years of tribulation, a 1/3rd remnant of Israel (who fled into the wilderness, Zechariah 13:8; Matthew 24:16-20) will be saved and they will call upon their Messiah in faith. At the appearing of Christ, He will pour out His Spirit upon them (as it happened 2000-years before at Pentecost), and they will be empowered to become a royal priesthood and a holy nation (Exo.19:6) and will fulfill their ‘great commission’ to take the Word of the Lord out into all the nations during the Millennial Kingdom (Mark 16:15).
In summary
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 was the shadow event of the real thing when it happens at the end of the 7-year tribulation. There is a purpose for all things in the Bible. God is on track with His great redemption plan to cleanse His creation and bring both heaven and earth into full restoration and glory under the reign of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:16-20).
Conclusion
If you are one who is asking questions on social media, I implore you to be careful with the replies that you get. Most of the replies will most certainly be replies that are based on absolute ignorance and the imaginations of men. Whatever replies that come, do not receive them without weighing them up with what the Bible says. As the Bereans did, do your own searching of the scriptures to prove whether the advice is sound and according to our doctrine,
Act 17:10-11 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. (11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
If you are a person that is posting a reply to someone who asked a question, I pray that the fear of God will be upon you as you write up your answer. The scriptures are a double-edged sword and can do as much harm as good. Make sure that you are sincere in your desire to reply and help the person. Then ensure that your replies are filled with confirming scripture references that validate your answer. James 3:1 tells us that masters (teachers) who abuse the office, shall receive greater condemnation than those who are hearers, and the same chapter tells of the power of the tongue which can speak both truth and lie in the same breath. Make sure of your answers and be sincere in leading people on the path of truth and reconciliation.
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