Thanks for writing. I spent the first part of last week traveling ... and then got home and did a funeral, etc.
The giving of the Spirit at conversion is a non-miraculous experience. When we receive the Spirit in baptism, he regenerates our soul and renews it to a superior quality (Titus 3:5). In this, we might say, he directly op…
Thanks for writing. I spent the first part of last week traveling ... and then got home and did a funeral, etc.
The giving of the Spirit at conversion is a non-miraculous experience. When we receive the Spirit in baptism, he regenerates our soul and renews it to a superior quality (Titus 3:5). In this, we might say, he directly operates on our spiritual heart, bringing it to life, and then remains with us in our heart helping us through the process of sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Obviously, in biblical times, the apostles received the Spirit on Pentecost with a different measure -- all for the purpose of working signs and miracles -- with the power to pass that gift on to Christians, just like the example you cited in Acts 8. I believe that only the Apostles had the ability to pass on the gift of supernatural gifts and after they died, the supernatural manifestation of the Spirit ceased.
David...
Thanks for writing. I spent the first part of last week traveling ... and then got home and did a funeral, etc.
The giving of the Spirit at conversion is a non-miraculous experience. When we receive the Spirit in baptism, he regenerates our soul and renews it to a superior quality (Titus 3:5). In this, we might say, he directly operates on our spiritual heart, bringing it to life, and then remains with us in our heart helping us through the process of sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Obviously, in biblical times, the apostles received the Spirit on Pentecost with a different measure -- all for the purpose of working signs and miracles -- with the power to pass that gift on to Christians, just like the example you cited in Acts 8. I believe that only the Apostles had the ability to pass on the gift of supernatural gifts and after they died, the supernatural manifestation of the Spirit ceased.