Bible Studies
“…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:8
A delayed flight to Germany gave me the opportunity to share my faith with a Jewish man. Upon reviewing some scriptures, he responded, “That is a very good interpretation.” His response startled me, and he encouraged me to learn Hebrew, which would aide in my spiritual path. What I thought first was a Divine appointment for me to witness to him; however, this event was for me. This moment in time, opened doors to studying the Bible and seeking God I may have never known.
My study of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is lengthy, so I am going to try and condense it for your time’s sake. As we saw in the first study, the Hebrew word for baptism is Tebal, which has the idea of being surrounded. With a Hebrew word play, we also found a good heart. Let’s see what we find about the Holy Spirit.
“And when He [Jesus] had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22 [emphasis mine]
Why did Jesus breathed on them? Is there something important about breath? A follow up question to this, how did human life begin?
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Gen 2:7.
We see in the natural birth, God breathed into the nostrils of man, and Jesus giving a spiritual birth in a similar fashion. Breath has much significance as found when God presents himself to Moses. What words did God give Moses who was thick tongued, to tell the captives in Egypt who had sent him? “Ahiyah asher Ahiyah” , I AM WHO I AM. These Hebrew words are spoken with the breath and not the tongue. Even the name of God, “Yahweh” (Jehovah), is a word of breath.
Using the idea of baptism of the Holy Spirit as being surrounded, we find this is what occurred on the Day of Pentecost:
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:2
Holy Spirit
Kodesh Ruah
300 4 6 100 8 6 200 = 624
The Hebrew word for Holy Spirit is Ruch Kodesh, and has a numerical value of 624. Searching for words in the Bible with the same numerical value leads me to åáøéúå (them his covenant) found in Psalms 25:14
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him, and he will show them His covenant.”
What is His covenant?
“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth…” Is 57:15
In the primitive Hebrew, Ruch, spirit, would have been written and defined as:
( øåç ) Definition: The Hebrew nomads were very familiar with the wind patterns as they would follow a prescribed path indicating the coming season. From this word comes the idea of breath as it is the wind of man which also follows a prescribed path of inhaling and exhaling.
( common, øåç / r.w.hh ) Translation: SMELL (V) Definition: The odor or scent of a thing. As carried on the wind. To be “refreshed”, as when taking in a deep breath. Edenics: reek KJV Translations: smell, touch, understanding, accept, refresh, large Strong’s Hebrew #: h.7304, h.7306 |
( fem., øåç / ru-ahh ) Translation: WIND Definition: A natural movement of air; breath. The breath of man, animal or God. The character. A space in between. KJV Translations: spirit, wind, breath, side, mind, blast, vain, air, anger, cool, courage, space, enlargement Strong’s Hebrew #: h.7305, h.7307 |
Esoterically, the letters of Ruch (spelled Resh – Vav – Cheth) gives much insight into the word spirit. As seen above, the Resh was drawn as a head, and the word means head. This has a sense of being first – God’s spirit moved upon the face of the deep – and leadership. The spirit leads, guides and directs us.
The Vav is the word for Peg, which is used to connect two materials. The Holy Spirit provides a connection between heaven and earth. Vav is the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and associated with the six directions, (N,S,E,W, Up and Down). The Holy Spirit is the seventh direction, connecting us to the spiritual world.
The Vav also tells us to find our connection to heaven in that special way that God created us to find our connection. Instead of imitating or comparing ourselves to others, look to see what special way the Holy Spirit may choose to manifest itself to you.
The Cheth is for new beginnings and binding with God. The Holy Spirit lets us know that we are His in this new life called Christianity. As we give our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit is what binds inside of us, and lets us know we are children of God.
“…in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirt of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…” Eph 1:14
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Cor 1:21-22
Personally, having reviewed some of the esoteric meanings from the letters gives me a precious view and an enlightened appreciation for the Holy Spirit. We have learned a little about it, but how is one baptized with the Holy Spirit? Enter my dilemma with religious doctrines, my friends in other religions and the book of Acts. If I follow the Baptist theology, the order is repentance, belief, Holy Spirit, and immersion in water. However, as I study the life of Christ, he despised the “legalism” of the Pharisees. If religious doctrines hold, then the order of conversions found in Acts should be the same?
What does this exercise teach me? Receiving of the Holy Spirit is different for different people. I ask the question, why? This cannot be, this is a contradiction in doctrine, no? Even my personal experience is contradictory to my religion’s doctrine. This is a mystery to me and maybe Jesus sheds some light when he tells Nicodemus:
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
My Personal Experience
I recently read a verse in Ezekiel and found my experience with an Holy God to be similar. The moment I surrendered to God, he changed my heart, it was the most humbling experience in my life. I was done being who I thought I was, what I had become, and now I would be different.
After baptism, I was perplexed for I had expected to be supercharged with the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t there. I knew I was changed, and what I had experienced. It was very real to me. For the next few weeks I would come home from work, and sit in front of a blank TV, meditating. Having grown up in church, I felt I had a good handle on the Bible; however, when I started reading it, things changed. I did not know anything like I thought I did.
Still concerned about the Holy Spirit, a Roman Catholic Priest came on TV while I wasn’t paying attention. My ears perked up when he talked about his personal surrender to God, and after baptism he was expecting a fire from the Holy Spirit. His experience was similar to mine! It wasn’t a supercharged singular event, but the Holy Spirit ebbed and flowed from day to day and continued to grow.
The Holy Spirit has enlightened me in the word of God. Has been my guide, has led me to places to witness and to be taught. It has grown me exponentially that I cannot even describe. At times I feel surrounded by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and have experienced a filling that if it was any stronger, I would have exploded.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will keep my judgements and do them.” Ez 36:26
Evangelist Experience
At the time of this writing, I have had the privilege of leading 42 people to Christ in the past seven months. After one prays, I will ask how they feel. Some are awestruck, some have told me, “How do I describe what happened? I cannot put this into words.” Some have cried, others rejoiced. In some events, God has allowed me to feel His Spirit flow from me into the other person.
Summary
I have not defined or figured out what Baptism of the Holy Spirit fully represents. One part of me says it is the sealing of the spiritual heart, where the Spirit surrounds our heart. Another view could be during a church service or gathering of Christians where the Holy Spirit manifest itself.
As I was driving to work, the Lord impressed on me that everyone’s experience is different, and not to question someone’s experience with God. He also jabbed me about my belief in different interpretations, and accepting others for how they read scripture. After all, I have said, “It is not so much what I read in scripture, but how I have experienced scripture that makes it come alive.”
So what is the application of this study? God is the one who sends His Holy Spirit, and as Acts has shown me, it doesn’t follow a set order. If my Pentecostal friends react lively to the Holy Spirit, that is just as okay as my Catholic friends who react in quietness and solemnness. In the end, it is the heart that God has changed, it is God who saves, God who grants mercy and grace, God who gives a “good heart.” Who am I to question someone’s experience with an infinite being, for I cannot see inside the heart of anyone.
This is why Paul calls it the mystery of the Gospel of Peace. How can one fully explain the inner voice, the inner peace, the leading and directing, and of course the pleasant surprises. God made all of us as individuals, with different experiences. He did not make us into robots. Just because someone may have had a different experience, sequence or response, does not mean they are not a child of God; likewise, no one can dispute my experiences with God. In my quest to try and pinpoint the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I have learned the Holy Spirit comes from God and not always as expected.
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