Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
Subject: Tongues mean Holy Spirit? |
Bible Note: Dear WTB, Firstly apologies for referring to you as a brother and not as a sister! I'm not sure that I clarified what baptism in the Spirit means because it remains unclear and imprecise in my own mind. What I wanted to concentrate on was the utter security and full acceptance of the brand-new baby believer completely separate from any following experience. When you first believed you were washed, justified, and SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. This means that you are as fully a daughter of our Heavenly Father, and as fully a daughter of your Heavenly Brother Jesus as the most godly woman who has ever walked this earth! This is deeply shocking to those who are merely religious but it is the heart and core of the gospel. Eph 1, Col 1, Col3:11, and Heb2:11, Matt11:11 make this truth abundantly clear. In my bible I heavily underline in red, or box around in red those verses which particularly speak to my heart. I go back to them often and drink in their life-giving truth to protect me from the assaults of the unholy trinity (world/flesh/devil) which I'm sure you'll agree can be very vicious at times! Please take plenty of time to drink in the deep truths of who you are RIGHT NOW before you make any further progress in the faith dear sister. This will keep you heart safe in Him. Never forget that our security is always in his commitment to us, not in our performance. Regarding the anointing, 1john 2:20,21,27 makes it clear that you are anointed as a result of your new birth. You anointing was by and with the Holy Spirit himself WHEN YOU FIRST BELIEVED, just as surely as Aaron was anointed as priest and the oil poured down all over him (ps133:2 is a very beautiful and relevant picture of the anointing work of the Holy Spirit). I can't find evidence of subsequent 'anointings' of the believer in the N.T. but I could be wrong on this. Certainly the gift of tongues, or any other gift should not be described as an anointing but simply as a love gift from Him. I find the excessive use of 'anointed this or anointed brother that' really irritating because it seems to imply that the person is somehow now in a more lofty position compared with other believers that they were before. Jesus emptied himself and became a lowly servant, even though he ever was and ever will be the Lord of Glory (phil 2:5-9) and that's where I want to aim in my life, even though I will probably miss it by miles! I hate ranks and titles and I hate 'brother A or sister B'. When Paul wanted to show his qualifications for the highest office in the church he simply related how much he had suffered for the gospel (2cor 11:22f). I long for this level of humility in the church and in my own life. When he writes his amazing letters to us he simply says Paul and follows it with his job description, apostle. That is it! I further believe therefore that he would have been simply addressed as Paul or dear Paul. Why am I droning on at such length about these things- simply because I have had so many years of seeing christians flatten one another with their rank/gifts/experience. This kind of behaviour is soulish and not spiritual at all. Try to use your tongues more in your private times with the Lord, with just a little practice you will find that you can use them completely as normal speech without any hesitation or compulsion. It is very important that you Dont wait for any 'anointed' time or for any particular feelings. I find it helps greatly if I pause to imagine the Lord right in front of me as I speak as I can articulate the words more clearly and with more directness. This stops me from treating the gift casually, and stops me in any way trying to prove anything to others who may be in earshot. As for dancing- I read your letter to my wife and she says to you if you believe this is from the Lord then enjoy it with all your heart, but she hopes the men are being encouraged to dance too and it not just seen as a girly thing! In all these things, always do everything to and for Him. This guards our hearts. If you feel there is anything wrong then simply ask him to sieve the desires of your heart and he will (phil 3:15). As you rightly point out, King David danced before his people but TO the Lord. In no way was he trying to impress people, he was blown away by his glorious Lord and was living out the kingdom truth of matt 18:4 hundreds of years before Jesus spoke it! Dance with all your heart! but never neglect the quiet space for just the two of you. Neither seek to impress or let yourself be impressed by others.(2cor10:12). To each of us one-by-one he simply says "follow Me" (john21:22). In Him,with best wishes, Chris Moyler |