by Mike Elliott
 
A few Sundays ago, Colin Curry was teaching in the evening service. He talked about the Holy Spirit. It would be impossible to set forth here all of the ministries of the Holy Spirit, but this will be the first of two articles that will appear in the Shepherd’s Corner of the Oracle. The concluding article will appear in next month’s issue.

I believe that it is generally true that most Christians are unaware, or confused, about the ministries of the Holy Spirit. I know that as a new believer I was confused. Some of that confusion was because of conclusions drawn by reading the book of Acts. The book of Acts is a transition book. It is going from an Old Testament economy to a New Testament economy. When journeying through the book of Acts, we are in the midst of the church being born. The church is moving from a local Jewish sect to being a separate entity.

Formulating Christian doctrine requires, among other things, that we always compare Scripture with Scripture. We should not view a particular passage or book in isolation of the totality of Scripture. This is especially the case as we consider the book of Acts. We should be like the Bereans, who “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

My first misunderstanding about the Holy Spirit had to do with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. After a casual reading of the book of Acts, you might come to the conclusion that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was some sort of second blessing that enabled you to prophesy, speak in tongues, or have some other gifted experience. There is only one place in Scripture that gives a definition of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 12:13 says, “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.” This verse tells us that the Holy Spirit baptizes us all into one body. It says that we have all been baptized, not just some of us. What is the body? Ephesians 1:22-23 tells us: “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs when we are saved and are placed into the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the church. This was pretty hard for Jews to take because it meant that both Jews and Gentiles were brought together to form one church. It is a work that occurs at salvation and is not something we have to pray for, look for, hope for or wait for.
 
 
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