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NASB | Luke 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 11:13 "If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!" |
Subject: Born again son asking for Holy Ghost. |
Bible Note: Forum: What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? The Baptism by the Spirit We will look at the Greek text of 1 Cor. 12:13,” By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” The body here is clearly the Mystical Body of Christ of which He is the Head and all believers from Pentecost to the Rapture, namely, from the time the Church was formed until the Church is taken up to Heaven at the descent of the Lord into the air, are members. The word “Spirit” is in the instrumental case in Greek. Personal agency is expressed occasionally by the instrumental case. At such times the verb is always in the passive or middle voice. The Greek construction here follows this rule of Greek grammar. The personal agent in this case who does the baptizing is the Holy Spirit. He places or introduces the believing sinner into the Body of which the Lord Jesus is the living head. The verb is in the past tense, referring to a past action, and is aorist, referring to a once-for-all act. This occurred potentially to all believers of this Age of Grace at Pentecost. It is the fulfillment of our Lord’s words, “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:5) Thus, the meaning of the Greek word, “to place” or “introduce into” gives us the purpose of the baptism by means of the Spirit, namely, the introduction of a believing sinner into the body of Christ. This brings us to a careful distinction which we must make. It is not the baptism with the Spirit or of the Spirit, in the sense that the Holy Spirit is the element which is applied to us. It is the baptism by the Spirit. This baptism does not bring the Spirit to us in the sense that God places the Spirit upon us or in us. Rather, this baptism brings the believer into vital union with Jesus Christ. It is the baptism with the Spirit in the sense that God the Father does the baptizing through His personal agent, the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 3:11 we have John the Baptist saying, “I indeed baptize you with water because of repentance… He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” The word “with” is from a preposition which is used with the locative and instrumental cases in Greek. The particular classification of the locative here is “the locative of place.” The limits here are spatial. John literally said, “I place you in water.” His introduction of the believer into water is because of his repentance. Not only did John place them in water, but this placing in water was a ceremony or a rite. He not only baptized them into the water, but he baptized them by means of or with the water. The water was the element with or by which the believer was baptized. But when we come to the phrase, “baptized with the Spirit,” we find that the Greek grammatical construction will not allow us to interpret it as meaning that the Holy Spirit is the element with which we are baptized. Therefore the phrase, “baptized with the Spirit” does not mean that in this baptism, the Holy Spirit is applied to the believer as water is applied in the case of water baptism. In other words, there is no application of the Holy Spirit to the believer. Since there is no application of the Spirit in baptism, there is no power imparted in the act of baptizing with the Spirit. This baptism is only for the purpose of uniting the believing sinner with the Head of the Body, Christ Jesus, and thus making him a member of that body. The Spirit baptism to which John referred is the same one which Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12:13. It is a baptism with the Spirit in the sense that it is connected, not with water, but with the Spirit who Himself does the baptizing. The phrase “with the Spirit” therefore defines what baptism is referred to, and the words, “by means of the Spirit,” speak of the fact that the Holy Spirit is the divine Agent who Himself baptizes, the purpose of which baptism is to place the believing sinner into vital union with Jesus Christ and thus making him a member of the Body of which Christ is the living Head. The reader will observe that our study of the significance of Spirit baptism has been based upon a careful adherence to the rules of Greek grammar. This is a most scientific method of interpretation. It is a most sure method. A.T. Robertson quotes Dr. A. M. Fairbairn as saying, “He is no theologian who is not first a grammarian.” All correct theology must pay careful attention to the grammar of the Greek text, for a person is correctly understood only when his hearer or reader applies the rules of grammar which the speaker or writer uses. [Kenneth S. Wuest/Word Studies from the Greek New Testament/ W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.] Speaking The Truth In Love, BradK |