Subject: Does speaking in tongues come naturally? |
Bible Note: "What happened in John 20:22? Did they recieve the Holy Spirit? - if so, what happened in Acts 2:4 ... and between? - if not, what does this verse mean?" Good question, Searcher. Hope you can stick with me and no warp anything from it's moorings. Awhile back I stated there are three manifestations of the Holy Spirit no one responded to except to read my explanation. I didn't give one. I've been waiting for this opportunity. Ezk.44.17 says this: "And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat." Keeping the above in mind lets move on. If I say the Holy Spirit is with you I trust you'd have no problem understanding that. So that's number one. Moving up to John 20.22 to the scene with Thomas when Jesus appeared to them and then "He breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost". This is when they became "Born Again". In other words the indwelling to place; the first written of anyone's 'new birth in Christ'. That's number two. Next we come to Acts 2. But before that in Acts one we read this from the Lord who said to the newly new born disciples: "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, said He, ye have heard of me. Vs. 8 explains what that power is all about: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Various translations interpret the "come upon you" to mean "endue with power" or 'cloth with power". This is due to the verses in Ezk. 44 I placed at the beginning of the post. Here we see the third manifestation, i.e., the "coming upon" of the Holy Ghost. God, in Ezekiel, gives His reasons for the need for everyone to have their own Pentecostal experience. The Holy Spirit in this case represents the Priestly garment. Some also liken it to the engagement ring for the bride of Christ. You make your own distinctions which I'm sure you will but the one distinction that will remain is the need for power to function in intimate cooperation with the Father in His purposes for His Church for His Son. That's what the office of priest is all about. So we see that the three manifestation are "with", "in", and "upon". Do they not still remain of importance in the lives of today's professing Christians. Now, one for you: Why did the priest of the OT tie a rope around their ankle before going into the "Holy of Holies"? |