Articles

Baptism in Holy Spirit

At New Life, we believe that all Christians are meant to be walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, all the time. The Holy Spirit is simply God living and active in us.

The catalyst that makes this possible is an experience often called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, or "being filled with the Holy Spirit." In the Bible, the one thing that changed the early disciples from being just ordinary fearful religious people was the experience of Pentecost (See Acts chapter 2). The Holy Spirit came upon those disciples and they were changed!

God wants to give His people certain abilities which make us effective in living God's way. These qualities or "gifts" are listed in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. They are:

"Word (or message) of wisdom"- a word or message which applies God's word or other revelation to a particular situation. It goes beyond normal human wisdom.

"Word (or message) of knowledge"- a word or message or revelation of information which can only come through non-natural means. An example of this is where a speaker may have knowledge that someone has a particular ailment or is planning to follow a particular course of action.

Faith- this is a special faith to believe for a miracle or other extraordinary event.

Gifts of healing- various gifts to bring healing (physical, emotional or spiritual).

Miraculous powers- deeds of power which alter the normal course of nature due to the direct intervention of God.

Prophecy- supernatural ability to hear God's voice and feel His heart. It involves both fore telling and forth-telling of God's plans both for the future and the present.

Discernment of spirits- the ability to see the activity of evil spirits, human spirits and the Holy Spirit. In other words, this is the ability to see through what is happening to what is causing what is happening.

Tongues- this takes three forms:

a) supernatural prayer language which is given at the time we are baptised in the Spirit. This is what is meant by the phrase "praying in the Spirit"

b) an utterance which is spoken out loud, which with an interpretation, becomes a prophecy.

c) a message given in a human language which is unknown to the speaker but recognised by a hearer.

Interpretation of tongues- the ability to hear a message in tongues and convey its meaning to hearers.

We believe that all of these gifts are given for two purposes- to build up the church AND to convince unbelievers of the reality of God.

If you have never received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, then ask God today. (See Luke 11:13)

Some people teach that these gifts are not for today, but there is no evidence in the Bible for that or in the experience of the church. Take hold of what God wants to give you!