Thursday, 7 June 2012

Interesting theological model on Spirit's Baptism

Baptism of the Holy Spirit, A New Model by By Gordon L. Anderson as published in Enrichment Journal Winter 2005 Issue

Here are some excerpts:

The goal is to try to understand what is involved in spiritual life and how it is accomplished. The nine elements are:

1. Justification: the experience of forgiveness, adoption into the family of God, being made spiritually alive, receiving the potential for growth and development, and enjoying fellowship with God.
2. The Word: the source of direction for life, conviction of sin, encouragement, and doctrines to live by.
3. Prayer and fasting: the source of strength, power, growth, and discipline for an overcoming Christian life.
4. Community (or the church): where a person receives the help, support, correction, rebuke, encouragement, and fellowship needed to live a successful Christian life, and the opportunity to minister to others.
5. Water baptism: a symbolic rite that signifies the reality of the Cross in the life of the believer. This experience symbolizes the spiritual crucifixion that takes place in our lives, where death to self is established, and we are made alive to God and dead to sin.
6. Sanctification: the ongoing, progressive work of purifying and perfecting the believer.
7. Suffering: the divinely ordained trials and tests; the chastening that produces strength, character, obedience, and perseverance.
8. Ministry: the call of God to service that is accompanied by empowerment, ministry gifts, and the ability to get the work of God done.
9. The baptism in the Holy Spirit: the experience subsequent to salvation where more power for ministry, more gifts, more miracle-working ability, and many other added dimensions of spiritual power are given. This experience includes the ability to have noncognitive communication with God by means of speaking in tongues. In addition, more passion and emotion for ministry are conveyed.


This list shows there are many significant spiritual activities in the life of any believer. We all know people who strongly disagree with the doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit (No. 9), but who demonstrate a godly life and ministry because of their rich experiences in God in the other areas (No. 1 through 8). For example, there are many non-Pentecostal ministers who have not had a Pentecostal experience and do not speak in tongues, but have, nonetheless, wonderful ministries by virtue of their knowledge of the Word, the sufferings they may have endured, and the discipline of a rich prayer life.


Evangelicals collapse No. 9, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, into No. 1, and eliminate the charismatic gifts and speaking in tongues. Charismatics are satisfied with the list, but they eliminate tongues as the essential item in
No. 9 — the baptism in the Holy Spirit — and emphasize its value as a prayer language. They also believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for personal edification and spiritual growth more than an empowering for service. Third Wave Christians probably agree with the elements in the list, but de-emphasize the unique experiential quality of No. 9 — the baptism in the Holy Spirit — and see it rather as a gifting that occurs apart from a specific and concrete experience. Also, they eliminate the necessity of tongues for this enabling to occur. Over-reaching Pentecostals see No. 8, ministry, as following from the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Some even include No. 6, sanctification, as a part of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

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