God the Holy Spirit, Mentor's Guide, MG14

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G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T

Examples of Denominational Statements on “Baptism in the Holy Spirit” (continued)

Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness. This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as “Christian perfection,” “perfect love,” “heart purity,” “the baptism with the Holy Spirit,” “the fullness of the blessing,” and “Christian holiness.” We believe that there is a marked distinction between a pure heart and a mature character. The former is obtained in an instant, the result of entire sanctification; the latter is the result of growth in grace. We believe that the grace of entire sanctification includes the impulse to grow in grace. However, this impulse must be consciously nurtured, and careful attention given to the requisites and processes of spiritual development and improvement in Christlikeness of character and personality. Without such purposeful endeavor one’s witness may be impaired and the grace itself frustrated and ultimately lost. The term baptism in the Holy Spirit is taken from Scripture. John the Baptist was the first to use it shortly before Jesus began His public ministry. He said, “He [Jesus] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 3:11). At the conclusion of His earthly ministry, Jesus referred to John’s statement (Acts 1:5); and Peter, in reporting on the events in the home of Cornelius, also repeated the statement (Acts 11:16). The baptism in the Spirit (also referred to herein as the Baptism) is subsequent to and distinct from the new birth. Scripture makes it clear there is an experience in which the Holy Spirit baptizes believers into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and there is the experience in which Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). These cannot refer to the same experience since the agent who does the baptizing and the element into which the candidate is baptized are different in each case. The distinctiveness of the experiences is illustrated in several places. The case of the Ephesian disciples is an example. After they stated they had experienced only John’s Assemblies of God Excerpted from The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit , http://ag.org/top/position_papers/0000_index.cfm

Multiple Stage View: Pentecostal