Baptism: Essential or Not

[A.W. Bowman]

Originally Posted by TGBTG

What meanest thou?

See Post # 31. The elevation of the Holy Ghost above its intended position.

I apologize to the long delay in responding – I thought I was finished with this thread.

The Spirit is given for a purpose, to serve the children of God that they might fulfill God's design and purpose in our lives and to labor within the kingdom of God. For the most part, we look to the Spirit as a source of fulfilling our personal desires and needs, but that is a secondary task of the Holy Spirit. The primary task is to provide us with spiritual insight into the word of God and to provide God’s witness to our testimony concerning the gospel. (Mark 16:17-18 & Hebrews 2)

In too many worship services, we are looking for the ‘feel’ of the Holy Ghost (goose bumps), the blessings of the Holy Ghost (deliverance from problems), the power of the Holy Ghost (healing), the signs of the Holy Ghost, (speaking in tongues & interpretation), etc. etc. In these kinds of services when the name of Jesus is invoked, it is generally as an addendum to a prayer. Even when the Spirit is manifested, it is the Spirit that is often times worshiped, not the one He is there to represent and was sent to remind us of whom we are to focus our attention worship upon. See John 15:26 & 16:12-16.

We are to imitate Jesus, i.e., to take on (and to keep) the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5 & 1 Peter 4:1). We are to become living epistles (1 Corinthians 1:10 & 2 Corinthians 3:3) of the word of God, and to conform ourselves to the likeness of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1, followers, i.e. imitators of). In many services we seek the ‘gift of the Holy Ghost’ (the experience of) and fail to transform that experience into kingdom service.

Even in our prayers, we generally call upon the name of the Father, the Lord, God, Jesus, or the Holy Ghost, to heal, deliver and to bless us and others. We tack on the phrase “In the name of Jesus.” not understanding what that prayer signature actually means or the authority it carries when used according to scripture. We need to move from asking Jesus to do what He has instructed us to do – in His name (authority) - and to perform those tasks according to the power provided to us via the Holy Spirit of God, so that we might exercise the authority that has been given to us (John 14:8-21).

Without the Spirit of God we have no power (Acts 1:8). But, let us not worship the power or even its method of delivery, but its originator - Jesus.

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Note to readers: It is imperative that the content of the scriptural references provided be read and understood within their larger context.