Pentecostalism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Baptism with the Holy Spirit=== {{Main|Baptism with the Holy Spirit}} Pentecostals identify three distinct uses of the word "[[baptism]]" in the [[New Testament]]: * '''Baptism into the body of Christ''': This refers to salvation. Every believer in Christ is made a part of his body, the Church, through baptism. The Holy Spirit is the agent, and the body of Christ is the medium.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 281β282}} * '''Water baptism''': Symbolic of dying to the world and living in Christ, water baptism is an outward symbolic expression of that which has already been accomplished by the Holy Spirit, namely baptism into the body of Christ.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | p = 282}} * '''Baptism with the Holy Spirit''': This is an experience distinct from baptism into the body of Christ. In this baptism, Christ is the agent and the Holy Spirit is the medium.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 281β282}} While the figure of Jesus Christ and his redemptive work are at the center of Pentecostal theology, that redemptive work is believed to provide for a fullness of the Holy Spirit of which believers in Christ may take advantage.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 308β309}} The majority of Pentecostals believe that at the moment a person is born again, the new believer has the presence (indwelling) of the Holy Spirit.{{Sfn | Arrington | 1981 | pp = 1β2}} While the Spirit ''dwells'' in every Christian, Pentecostals believe that all Christians should seek to be ''filled'' with him. The Spirit's "filling", "falling upon", "coming upon", or being "poured out upon" believers is called the baptism with the Holy Spirit.{{Sfn | Duffield|Van Cleave | 1983 | pp = 309β310}} Pentecostals define it as a definite experience occurring after salvation whereby the Holy Spirit comes upon the believer to [[Anoint#Pentecostal churches|anoint]] and empower them for special service.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | p = 312}}{{Sfn | Horton | 2005 | pp = 139β140}} It has also been described as "a baptism into the love of God".{{Sfn | Macchia | 2006 | p = 60}} The main purpose of the experience is to grant power for Christian service. Other purposes include power for spiritual warfare (the Christian struggles against spiritual enemies and thus requires spiritual power), power for overflow (the believer's experience of the presence and power of God in their life flows out into the lives of others), and power for ability (to follow divine direction, to face persecution, to exercise spiritual gifts for the edification of the church, etc.).{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 314β315}} Pentecostals believe that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is available to all Christians.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | p = 317}} Repentance from sin and being born again are fundamental requirements to receive it. There must also be in the believer a deep conviction of needing more of God in their life, and a measure of consecration by which the believer yields themself to the will of God. Citing instances in the Book of Acts where believers were Spirit baptized before they were baptized with water, most Pentecostals believe a Christian need not have been baptized in water to receive Spirit baptism. However, Pentecostals do believe that the biblical pattern is "repentance, regeneration, water baptism, and then the baptism with the Holy Ghost". There are Pentecostal believers who have claimed to receive their baptism with the Holy Spirit while being water baptized.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 317β318}} It is received by having faith in God's promise to fill the believer and in yielding the entire being to Christ.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 320β321}} Certain conditions, if present in a believer's life, could cause delay in receiving Spirit baptism, such as "weak faith, unholy living, imperfect consecration, and egocentric motives".{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | p = 323}} In the absence of these, Pentecostals teach that seekers should maintain a persistent faith in the knowledge that God will fulfill his promise. For Pentecostals, there is no prescribed manner in which a believer will be filled with the Spirit. It could be expected or unexpected, during public or private prayer.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 323β324}} Pentecostals expect certain results following baptism with the Holy Spirit. Some of these are immediate while others are enduring or permanent. Most Pentecostal denominations teach that speaking in tongues is an immediate or initial physical evidence that one has received the experience.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 324β326}} Some teach that any of the gifts of the Spirit can be evidence of having received Spirit baptism.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 326}} Other immediate evidences include giving God praise, having joy, and desiring to testify about Jesus.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 324β326}} Enduring or permanent results in the believer's life include Christ glorified and revealed in a greater way, a "deeper passion for souls", greater power to witness to nonbelievers, a more effective prayer life, greater love for and insight into the Bible, and the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | p = 327}} Holiness Pentecostals, with their background in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement, historically teach that baptism with the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by glossolalia, is the [[third work of grace]], which follows the [[born again|new birth]] (first work of grace) and [[entire sanctification]] (second work of grace).<ref name="TWTHS2002">{{cite book|title=The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers β Issue 56 |year=2002|publisher=West Tennessee Historical Society.|language=en|page=41|quote=Seymour's holiness background suggests that Pentecostalism had roots in the holiness movement of the late nineteenth century. The holiness movement embraced the Wesleyan doctrine of "sanctification" or the second work of grace, subsequent to conversion. Pentecostalism added a third work of grace, called the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is often accompanied by glossolalia.}}</ref><ref name="FahlbuschBromiley1999"/><ref name="Anderson2004"/> While the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience in a believer's life, Pentecostals view it as just the beginning of living a Spirit-filled life. Pentecostal teaching stresses the importance of continually being filled with the Spirit. There is only one baptism with the Spirit, but there should be many infillings with the Spirit throughout the believer's life.{{Sfn | Duffield |Van Cleave| 1983 | pp = 327β329}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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