Deny the Holy Spirit

I do not deny the Holy Spirit

My answer in “red” and scripture in “green”.

Once again, there are various positions on this issue within the Church of Christ denomination, but this is probably their most grievous error. Because it goes way beyond just rejecting the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in I Corinthians chapters 12-14. It also includes the rejection of His "enduement of power." Jesus said in Acts 1:4-8 that He would "baptize them in the Holy Spirit" and they would "receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." You only use part of the scripture, by using the rest of the passage you would see that this is to the Holy Apostles not all believers that there would ever be.  And we see the fulfillment of this promise on the day of Pentecost. Peter said in Acts 2:39,This promise is the promise of eternal life or the gift of the Holy Spirit. that the promise of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit was for every believer, for "as many as the Lord our God shall call!" You need to pay attention to the scriptures.  In Acts 2 those who received the tongues were the 12 apostles.  This out pouring of power did not come upon all believers. Only the apostles received this power and were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Now lets look at scripture. Ac 1:15 ¶ And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)  16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.  17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.  18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.  19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.  20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. 21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,  22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.  23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.  24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,  25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. 26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Acts chapter 2

 1 ¶ And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  5 ¶ And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.  6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. Notice that the “they” and “them” in each one of these verses refers back to the 12 apostles.  What happened here is what Jesus was talking about when he told his apostles that he would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5-8, Acts 11:16)  In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus had also promised that the miraculous would follow those that believed, in Chapter 16, verse 17. Jesus promised in John 14:16, that the Holy Spirit "would be with us FOREVER!" Paul said in Romans 11:29 that, "The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable." Yes the Holy Spirit is still working today. But the miraculous things that the apostles did ended back then.  Let us observe some things.  What happened in Acts 2.  They heard something, they saw something, and the apostles spoke in such away that every one heard them peak in their own Language. They heard every man in their own language where they were born.  Out of one mouth came many different languages.  This is what is mean by “cloven tongues”.  One man spoke at a time and all heard and understood. What happened in Acts 2 is exactly what happened in Acts 10.  This only happened two times.  If this happened today there would be no doubt about it.  Those standing by would hear something and see something and the language that followed would be understood by all.  Now let us look at Acts 8.  Ac 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.  13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.  14 ¶ Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:  15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:  16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)  17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.  Why did Phillip not lay his hands on them and impart these powers given by the Holy Ghost?  He could not do it, only the apostles could impart the Holy Ghost (spiritual gifts) by the laying on of hands.  What they imparted was what they had received in Acts 2.  If this be the case then, those things died with the Holy Apostles.  Where is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  Those who were baptized of Phillip were not baptized of the Holy Ghost.  In Acts 19 we see something similar.  Ac 19:1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,  2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.  3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.  4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.   5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.  7 And all the men were about twelve.  Notice that since they did not know about the Holy Ghost, Paul knew that there was something wrong with their baptism.  When a person is properly baptized, they receive the “gift of the Holy ghost” or the indwelling of the spirit.  Not power or gifts like tongue speaking and so on.  That only came about when he laid his hands on them.  Were they saved prior to this point of their laying on of hands? Yes!  They received the promise of the Father when they were baptized. (Acts 2:38 – 41)

The only verse that they can even attempt to take out of context to uphold their dispensational outlook is I Cor. 13:10, that states at some point in time ("when that which is perfect comes") the miraculous will be done away with. They believe "that which is perfect" was the canonization of the Scriptures. But when you read this statement in context, you see that it couldn't be what or when they say it is. First of all, the Apostle Paul virtually tells us when it would happen, in verse 12, by telling us what would transpire at the arrival of "that which is perfect." He says, "For NOW we see in a mirror dimly, but THEN we will see face to face; NOW I know in part, but THEN I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known". Are you certain that he is not speaking about the church in the very beginning?  They received knowledge directly from God, by the Holy spirit.  No one person, like Peter, received all the revelations, but rather some went to one and others went to another like Paul.  Then when the complete will of God had been declared and wrote down by inspiration, these things would cease.  How do you correlate the verse that says “ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.“  to what you are saying.  It is easy for me, when the Church was in development or child part, then it became complete as God wanted it, the church put away those things.  So now, we have faith, hope, and charity.

To prove that the miraculous didn't cease at the canonization of the Scriptures, all you have to do is plug their theory into verse 12, every time Paul says the word THEN. "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but THEN, at the canonization of scripture (300 AD), we will see face to face; now I know in part, but THEN, at the canonization of scripture, I shall know fully as I also have been fully known." The term "face to face" was used in Paul's day (as it is in our day) as a very literal term. The I in this passage could be speaking of a person in the Church.  In verse 9 we see that he uses the we to show that he is not speaking individually but as the body of Christ.  The I there is used as the body of Christ.  At the canonization of scripture, who or what did Paul see "face to face?" At the canonization of scripture, how did the Apostle Paul grow in knowledge? He had been in Heaven for over 200 years! The body of Christ grows in knowledge.  The fact of the matter is that when Paul referred to "that which is perfect" he was simply referring to the second coming of Christ, or when we would go home to glory, whichever came first. Will you gain knowledge when you get to heaven? Absolutely! Will you see anyone (Jesus, for example) "face to face?" Undoubtedly! So this verse is obviously a very precarious place to hang one's hat in an attempt to prove that the miraculous workings of God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, have ceased!  I do not hang my hat on this verse.

But some (not all) of the members of the Church of Christ denomination go even further in their defiance of the Holy Spirit, and say that he is not even a person of the Trinity. The Bible is very clear in attributing personhood to the Holy Spirit by stating that the Holy Spirit has a will (I Cor 12:11); that He can be grieved (Eph 4:30); that He would be our Teacher (John 14:26) and more. Many of the Church of Christ denominations even come dangerously close to committing blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31) by saying that any manifestation of the miraculous in this day and age are all 100% demonic! Take it from me, I am living proof that God still performs miracles today. Because in 1979, while a member of the Church of Christ denomination… I committed suicide. My family was falling apart, and thanks to the erroneous teachings of the Church of Christ denomination, all I had to fall back on was a "religion," not a living, personal relationship with the living Lord of the Universe. So faced with a future of hopelessness and despair, I took an overdose (130+) of sleeping pills, and laid down to die. I am sorry to hear that you did such a thing.  However, you do not need to blame this on the Church.  Certainly God works today.  My experience with this is that it is a selfish act that shows a lack of faith and temperance.   God answers prayers, and he has saved the life of many people.  Myself being one of them on more than one occasion. 

But because of the mercy and grace of our loving Creator, a minister friend of mine from the Christian Church came by (after the pills had been in my system for nearly six hours!) As he struggled to help me get dressed to go to the hospital (with the rescue squad on its way), I lapsed into a coma. I went stiff as a board and my eyes rolled back in my head and I keeled over. But on the way to the hospital, as my friend prayed for me, I came to! I had no adverse side effects, other than being thirsty and feeling like I hadn't slept in days. The doctors didn't have a clue. My minister friend didn't even know what to think either. My own earthly Father went to the grave suspecting that the whole thing was an effort to get attention. Hey, you don't take over 100 sleeping pills to get anyone's attention but a mortician!  I saw my father-in-law fall out of his dinner chair on to the floor.  He left his dinner on the table.  We tried to revive him and could not.  We picked him and headed straight for the emergency room.  The doctor came in and examined him and said “he is a sleep”.  We were all in shock.  It took him a few minutes to convince us that he was just asleep.  He said to load him up take him home and that tomorrow he would be ok.  He had only taken a pill that was prescribed by his doctor to help him rest at night.  The next day he was ok.  He was allergic to the medicine.  But he sure look as if he was in a comma.

So now maybe you can see why I feel so strongly about reaching the poor souls that have fallen prey to the dead theology of the Church of Christ denomination. It is not dead theology, it is the doctrine of life.  Surely the grace of God will help those who are struggling to keep the laws or teachings of Jesus Christ and his Holy Apostles.  Legalism robs a believer of their Joy! And since the Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10), then legalism is a parasite that will sap you of your ability to stand when the storms of life come your way. I have found strength in the teachings of the Church.  Romans 8:28 has been a great comfort and encouragement.  I have seen many personal things that the Lord has led me through.  If the Church of Christ denomination wants to be a TRUE representation of the New Testament Church, then they must embrace that which the original church embraced. We have embraced it.  You see we can only do what we can as humans.  We cannot make God do anything neither can you.  As with Simeon the saucer, the gift of God cannot be bought nor earned.  I am grateful for the basic biblical foundation that I received while in the Church of Christ denomination, but even more grateful that Jesus has shown me a "more excellent way!"  You had best go back, and reexamine your position.  Perhaps the group that you were with, missed the concept spoken of in Rom. 6:1-2.  But you need to be ware, unless you be found guilty of partially, and teaching the doctrines of men and worshiping God in vain.  (Mt. 15:9, Mt. 15:13-14)