Brenton Malnofski: Discussion Questions

1. The part of Bird that stood out to me the most was when he said that baptism in the Holy Spirit isn’t always separate from initial conversion. On page 636, where he quotes Acts 19. There, Paul comes across a group of Ephesians and asks if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They respond that they didn’t even know that there was a Holy Spirit. They also say that they have only received John’s baptism, and Paul tells them to believe in Jesus, the one coming after John. Bird points out that this likely indicates that these guys weren’t converted yet. Thus, their baptism by the Holy Spirit was simultaneous with their conversion.
Anderson makes some great points about some Pentecostals taking the baptism in the Holy Spirit doctrine too far. Such examples include saying that speaking in tongues is the only evidence of the baptism having occurred, and that all spiritual gifts come after the baptism. I wouldn’t agree with either of those stances, since they’ve been things I’ve wondered about since I’ve been saved. I understand that speaking in tongues is strong evidence, but I wonder if it has to be the only evidence, also could be spiritual gifts manifest before a Holy Spirit baptism? I don’t necessarily know, but I don’t think the Spirit isn’t confined to a box of “cans” and “cannots”.

2. Question #3 – Do you think we should worship the Holy Spirit?

It’s been made clear to me that God consists of three persons (Father, Son, Spirit) in one essence. From my ministry experience thus far, we don’t seem to have any qualms with worshipping the Father or Son. So I’d say yes, we should absolutely worship the Holy Spirit. Right now, I don’t see any valid reason why we shouldn’t. It seems like a perfectly logical thing to do if worship of the other two persons is also happening. The Spirit is another way God works through us and helps along our spiritual path. Seems only natural for us to acknowledge that and respond accordingly. And from the worship experiences I’ve had, it seems like we already do sing plenty of songs that reference and revere the Spirit. And there’s many people who pray in the Spirit whenever they feel so led. So I’d say we’re all good when it comes to that.

Brenton Malnofski wrote:1. The part of Bird that stood out to me the most was when he said that baptism in the Holy Spirit isn’t always separate from initial conversion. On page 636, where he quotes Acts 19. There, Paul comes across a group of Ephesians and asks if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They respond that they didn’t even know that there was a Holy Spirit. They also say that they have only received John’s baptism, and Paul tells them to believe in Jesus, the one coming after John. Bird points out that this likely indicates that these guys weren’t converted yet. Thus, their baptism by the Holy Spirit was simultaneous with their conversion.
Anderson makes some great points about some Pentecostals taking the baptism in the Holy Spirit doctrine too far. Such examples include saying that speaking in tongues is the only evidence of the baptism having occurred, and that all spiritual gifts come after the baptism. I wouldn’t agree with either of those stances, since they’ve been things I’ve wondered about since I’ve been saved. I understand that speaking in tongues is strong evidence, but I wonder if it has to be the only evidence, also could be spiritual gifts manifest before a Holy Spirit baptism? I don’t necessarily know, but I don’t think the Spirit isn’t confined to a box of “cans” and “cannots”.

I've had similar questions as you, I think we all do at some point since the Holy Spirit is so different from what we know and experience as humans. I really like what you said about the Holy Spirit not being confined to a box of cans and cannots. That is so true! From what I have heard from other people and from what I have read, everyone's experience with the Holy Spirit is different. I think it is crazy for us to think that we will all experience Him the same way. I also think it's crazy to try to limit or explain all of what He can do. I think the Holy Spirit and baptism in the Holy Spirit is one of those things that we will never fully understand and we will just have to trust God that as long as we follow Him and pursue more knowledge about Him, He will reveal to us what He wants us to know.