What's happening at this time? I open my mouth in prayer...unintelligible compared to human languages...then what? The Lord assigns meaning to the sounds?
Hmmm
1Co 14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue
pray that he may interpret.
1Co 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but (Possibly because) my understanding is unfruitful.
1Co 14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and
I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
I'm going to add something here I hope leads you to a greater understanding of the Holy Spirit.
Excerpts from:
THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE ONE BAPTISM
THE ANOINTING -
PERSONAL AND PRACTICAL
A.S. Copley
"For as the Body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the Body, being many,
are one Body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one Body, whether
Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit" - I Corinthians
12:12, 13 R. V.
The Holy Spirit, in man's personal experience, was variously symbolized in the Old Testament.
WATER and OIL are the special symbols - the latter being the more common. As quoted above,
God said, "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." In I Samuel 16:13, "Samuel took the horn of
oil, and anointed him ... and the
Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward."
Proverbs 1:23, "I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My Words unto you."
I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes" -
Ezekiel 36:27. There were then definite promises of a definite due-time-advent of the Personal
Holy Spirit, just as truly as there was a definite due-time-advent of Jesus.
It is very important to see this clearly and hold it in mind. For He came once, and only once.
Our personal receptionand experiences of the Holy Spirit are matters entirely different. We must look well to this truth. His coming from Heaven was one fact, God's sovereign act.
His coming into a believer is another fact, dependent upon the believer's faith act.
The substance of the Old Testament shadows is found in the New Testament. The fulfillment of
Old Testament promises is recorded in the New Testament. Accordingly
John the Baptist foretold the Spirit's advent by saying that Jesus "shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost, and with fire" - Matthew 3:11 (
My thoughts - if there is but one baptism according to Eph 4:5, was it at Pentecost?)
After His resurrection, Jesus gave a final announcement of the coming of the Spirit. He said, "Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem,
until ye be endued with power from on high". Lk 24:49.
Act 1:5 John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance" - Acts 2:4. With most believers, that is simple history. With many, it is not
even that much. But, with him who really believes it from the heart, it is reality - living and
powerful. Pentecost was not only history, but prophecy as well. They "began to speak." It not only
brought an experience to the one hundred and twenty, but it provided a like experience for all who
believe. "All have been given to drink" - I Cor. 12:13. But there is an unfolding of the divine
arrangement which we need to see clearly. It will help us to grasp the fullness of our own
privileges in Christ, and to meet effectually the gainsayers.
TO WHOM IS THE PROMISE?
It is very important to note that "the promise of the Father" and its fulfillment were wholly to Israel.
Paul, long afterward, calls this filling with the Spirit (Act 9:17) the anointing and sealing
with the Spirit and the earnest of the Spirit - II Cor. 1: 21, 22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13; 4:30. His reception of
Christ and of the Spirit were very simple and definite - by faith only, as he always afterward
taught. "By grace are ye saved through faith." We "receive the promise of the Spirit through faith"
- Eph. 2:8; Gal. 3:14. There was no long lapse between receiving Christ and receiving the Spirit,
and yet these receptions were distinct. The penitent sinner can receive the Savior only. The
believer, the child of God who is already begotten of the Spirit, he only can receive "the promise
of the Father" - the other "Comforter." The sinner must receive life. Then he who has life receives
power.
The Church is the Body of Christ - Eph. 1:22, 23. But the definite personal reception of the Holy Spirit
by faith brings us into the conscious experience, joy, and power of that standing; namely, the
baptism in the Spirit. Therefore, the significant question for all believers is, "
Have ye received the
Holy Ghost since ye believed?" - Acts 19:2. The question "Have ye been baptized in the Spirit?"
Dear Brother
Edward, you can read the entire study at
http://www.gracegod.com/pamphlet_and_articles/pamphlets/The Holy Spirit - The One Baptism and the Anointing.pdf
NOTE: The Pamphlets and Articles are in PDF format and can be read with the free
Adobe Reader
Blessings in Christ Jesus.
