Pentecostalism and Baptism with the Holy Spirit

Posted by Pentecostal life Church on September 7th, 2016

Pentecostals categorize three specific uses of the word ‘baptism’ in the New Testament.

• Baptism with the Holy Spirit- It is actually an empowering incident different from baptism into the body of Christ. In this form, Christ is considered the agent and the Holy Spirit the medium.

• Water Baptism- It is representative of dying to the world and living in Christ. Water baptism is an outer symbol of those who have already be attained by the Holy Spirit. It infers baptism to the body of Christ.

• Baptism into the body of Christ- It is similar to salvation. Here, the Pentecostals believe that people, who believe in Christ, through baptism, are made of a part of his body and the Church. The body of Christ is the medium and the Holy Spirit is the agent.

Even though the redemptive work of the Christ and his figure are at the basis of United Pentecostal churches in Texas, the redemptive work is thought to offer a fullness of the Holy Spirit. The believers in Christ can actually take the benefit of it. Large numbers of Pentecostals of the belief that the moment when a person is again born, the new believer has the presence of the Holy Spirit. Even though the Holy Spirit is dwelling in all the Christians, still Pentecostals are of the belief that every Christian needs to look forward to being filled with him. The Spirit’s being ‘poured out on’, ‘coming upon’, ‘falling upon’ or ‘filling’ is known as the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

According to the United Pentecostal church Texas, it is actually a specific experience which occurs after salvation. Here, the Holy Spirit comes upon the believer for anointing and empowering them for special service. It is also popularly known as ‘a baptism into the love of God”. The key motto of the experience is granting power for ensuring Christian service. The other goals include power for ability (for exercising spiritual gifts for the edification of the church, for following divine direction etc.), power for overflow (the experience of the believer of the power and presence of God in their life flows into the lives of others) and power for spiritual warfare (The Christians struggle against spiritual enemies. For this reason they require spiritual power).

United Pentecostal churches in Lavernia are of the opinion that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is available to each and every Christian. Being born again and repentance for sin are key requirements for receiving it. The person need also believe in a deep conviction to need more of God in their lives.