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I am a retired pastor of
the Church of God (Tennessee). My name is Isaac Livingston. I am from Neyyoor India. |
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I am a retired pastor of
the Church of God (Tennessee). My name is Isaac Livingston. I am from Neyyoor India. |
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Email: Pastor True Gospel
The light that God created on the first day is Holy Spirit. God seals this Holy Spirit to establish us in Christ, for eternal life. Holy Ghost Baptism and the gifts are as ordination and license to do the ministry of God. Power and boldness were given as needed, as they were filled with Holy Ghost.
Born of the Holy Spirit and
Baptism of the Holy Ghost. Two different Spirits, one is Holy Spirit,
the other is Holy Ghost. In the beginning when God
created man, he has done it in three steps. First, he created the soul, then the
body from the dust and gave it to the soul, and the soul became a man. Then, God
breathed a life into the man, and the man became a living soul.
"Genesis
2:7 says, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul." The body of man is mortal, and it will die and return to the dust. But
the soul will never die. The life given to the soul is everlasting. So, this
life in Genesis
is everlasting
life. Scripture says that this life is Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit. That
is, the life that God breathed into Adam was the Holy Spirit, even though in
Genesis it was not mentioned by its name.
The gospel
of John 1:4 says,
"In him was life;"
Here, ‘him’ was Jesus Christ. And the life, was the Holy Spirit. Then the verse
says, "the
life was
the light of men."
So, the name of this
life
is
"light"
and it is for men.
The life that God breathed into man in
Genesis,
of course it is the holy spirit, but the name given here is "light".
So, this
light
is everlasting
life.
Let us see
where the light came from. In Genesis, there are two accounts of God creating
light. Let us see both.
"Genesis 1:3
God said,
Let there be light: and there was light.
Verse 5 says that
it was the first day"
So, God created light on the first day.
Then
God describes
in verses 14 to 19, about
the creation of the fourth day, which is also light.
Let me read
Verse
16.
"God
made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light
to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Verse 19 says that
it was the fourth day."
So, God created light on the fourth day also. On the fourth day he made sun,
moon, and stars. It is the light that we can see. It is illumination or
brightness. Further, we make plenty of lights, most of them are electric lights.
So, we are familiar with the light that God has created on the fourth day. But,
what was the Light that he created on the first day? This was the light, that we
saw in the gospel of John. This light was in Jesus Christ, it is the
light
of men, but it was given as
life
to the soul of men, and it is everlasting life.
Let us see
the gospel one more time. John 1:4.
"In
him was life; and the life was the light of men." So, the life in Jesus, is the light of men.
Verse 9 says,
"That
was the true Light, (it refers to the
person Jesus Christ) which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
It means that Jesus Christ is the store house of this light and he gives this
light to every man and woman, who will come to him. Jesus says in
John 8:12, "I
am the light of the world: (again he confirms that he is the store house of this
light, and he can give this light to the whole world. Again he says,) he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, (Usually we take this as illumination
light and think that if he is light, we can see from it. But it is not like the
light we see, it is spirit light. So, he says again,) but shall have the
light of life."
That is, we will not just see from the light he has, but we will have the light
in ourselves. Jesus Christ will give the light inside of us, the light or the
spirit will lead us in the ways of God. This light is the holy spirit that leads
us to everlasting life. So, the light that God has created on the first day, is
given to Jesus Christ as custodian of the light and to distribute it to the
world. This light is the holy spirit, and it is the life to the souls of men.
This is a little difficult subject, it must be studied to understand. You will
find the transcript in the website. If you have any doubts, you can write to me
and I will clarify it to you.
Since this light is the holy spirit, let us see
one more thing. "2 Corinthians 1:21
Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given
the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." God establishes us with Christ
and anoints us with the spirit. God gives the light that is life in our hearts.
It is the earnest of the spirit. Why is it called the earnest? Because it
is as an advance sum, for our inheritance in the kingdom of God. That is, we
will become the sons of God and as sons, we will inherit the kingdom of God. "Ephesians
1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
So, this light or life is the earnest, which is the token of the great glory,
which we will receive and witness in heaven, which is God’s kingdom.
Now let us see the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It is a
controversial topic. Many Christians say that it is of the devil and they hate
the gift of speaking in tongues. In one way, I do not blame them, because they
see the polluted tongues that are counterfeit. Many celebrity preachers are also
against the Holy Ghost baptism. To become more famous, they blaspheme the Holy
Ghost, for a show, without knowing the basics of the word of God. They commit
the unpardonable sin and seal their own eternity into the lake of fire. They
enjoy their wits and funs now, but they guarantee themselves outer darkness. It
is pathetic, shameful, and tragic.
Matthew 3:14&15
tells
us about the water baptism Jesus took under John the Baptist.
"16
And Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens
were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
lighting upon him: 17
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." That is, soon after the water
baptism, God the Father and the Holy Ghost baptized Jesus with the Holy Ghost.
Following that, Jesus Christ started his ministry. So,
Jesus waited for the Holy Ghost baptism to start his
ministry. In Acts 1: we will see the
grand finale of the Lord Jesus Christ, at the end of his world mission, just
before his ascension. It is a glorious incident. During this great moment, Jesus
Christ gave his disciples one great advice, concerning his ministry. Let us look
at it.
"4
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them
that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the
Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5
For John truly baptized
with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
8
But ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth. 9
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld,
he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."
We
Jesus Christ told them to wait until they receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost
and the power of God, before starting their ministry. We will think that
Christians will follow the advice of Jesus Christ. But, most Christians do not
even pay attention to this advice on this spectacular event.
Jesus Christ waited for his Holy Ghost baptism to
begin his ministry. Now he told his disciples to wait until they receive their
baptism of the Holy Ghost and power from God, and then begin their ministry.
Holy Ghost baptism is the ordination given by God. The gifts of the Holy Ghost
are the license given by God to do the ministry of God. Now, ordination
and license are given by churches and schools to qualify them as ministers of
God. They took the place of God. But, if the church congregation has not
received the holy Spirit, and if the minister doesn't have the baptism of the
Holy Ghost, then God considers the church as dead. However, Holy Ghost
baptism is not required for eternal life, but the holy spirit is
required for eternal life. Let us see how the baptism of the Holy Ghost is
given.
"Acts
2:2 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."
This is the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Here, all those who received the
baptism of the Holy ghost are Jews. Let us see a report by Peter about the
baptism of the Holy Ghost to the gentiles.
"Acts 11:15 And as I began
to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how
that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost." Here, the baptism is referred, as the Holy Ghost fell on
them. It is mentioned that they were also baptized, as it was in the beginning,
in the same way it happened with the Jews.
As a person receives the
baptism for the first time, God ordains, gives gifts and power, to enable
them to do ministry. Then, the Holy Ghost gives them power repeatedly, and it is
referred as filling of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost imparts power and boldness
every time. In "Acts 4:8
Peter (was),
filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of
the people, and elders of Israel, and so on." In "Acts
4:31 when they had prayed, the place was shaken
where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." We see Paul in "Acts
13:8 Elymas the sorcerer … withstood them,
seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Paul … filled with the Holy Ghost, set his
eyes on him, 10
And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou
child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to
pervert the right ways of the Lord? … and the deputy became blind." So,
God does not stop with the initial baptism, but he follows it up, by giving
power and boldness to continue the ministry. But, the Holy Ghost baptism is not
a one-day event to learn how to speak in tongues, or to make some noise.
Thank you very much for listening. God bless
you. May his presence go with you. Amen.
Please write to me in the 'Mail Box' below. I will
reply promptly. Thanks.
Please notice that the Holy Ghost baptism is not the abiding of the Holy Ghost. Baptism is just to dip in and to come out. In this case, the Holy Ghost just visit the person and gives a gift or a few gifts to use it in the ministry of God with power of God. Abiding is to live in the person. If the Holy Ghost abides in us, we will be the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Please click on the link to study the lesson. Link: "Abide Video & Transcript." Thank you.
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Matthew 28:20, & Mark 16:15. Jesus Christ preached his commandments to obey, as his
Gospel; it is the true Gospel to inherit Eternal life. Genesis 3:1-4 & 2 Corinth 11:2-4. But Preachers, who are Serpents of Satan, preach the life of man Jesus just to believe, but not to live as a chaste virgin, as the gospel; it is another gospel, which cannot and will not give Eternal life.The true gospel will convert evil people to do good and thereby they will inherit the kingdom in heaven.
John 3:19-21 say that people are two kinds, evil and true. Evil doers will not come to the Light, who is God; but people of truth come to God for their deeds to be made manifest. We have good and evil people by our standard of our society or culture. These evil people may be converted to be doers of truth by the power of God, and they may inherit the kingdom of God in heaven.
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Email: Pastor True Gospel
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