How does Acts 8:14-18 fit with this exegesis of the Holy Spirit given at Baptism (vs.16) and the subsequent “laying on of the Apostles (Peter & John) hands and then (not before) they received the Holy Spirit vs. 17??
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.
How does Acts 8:14-18 fit with this exegesis of the Holy Spirit given at Baptism (vs.16) and the subsequent “laying on of the Apostles (Peter & John) hands and then (not before) they received the Holy Spirit vs. 17??
Thanks
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.