The indwelling of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues 聖靈住在裡頭和說方言

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues

中文回答緊接在英文之後。

Thank you for your questions, Truth_Seeker（Q 1 & 2）.
 

Truth_seeker wrote 10/18/2012 - 12:14

1.     Does it mean that we should pray for the gift of tongues and not pray for the Holy Spirit after baptism?
 

Referring to the Holy Spirit (evidenced by speaking in tongues) that the disciples were to receive in the next ten days, the Lord Jesus said: “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Ten days later, Peter referred to the phenomenon of their speaking in tongues, saying that this fulfilled the prophecy that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17).
   Whether man is passively being baptized or whether God is actively pouring out His Spirit, both descriptions refer to an event that takes place in an instant and has an outward manifestation. This is also why the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an outpouring that can be seen and heard (Acts 2:33). Therefore, after baptism, everyone must pray, not for the “gift of tongues”, which the Holy Spirit gives to whom He wills, but to “be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (this is evidenced by speaking in tongues).

2.     Can you explain more detail the different between Holy Spirit with tongues and Holy Spirit that we receive after baptism?

During baptism, a sinner is resurrected from the dead and becomes a child of God.

During this process of resurrection, the Spirit of God (automatically) comes to dwell in a body that has been purchased with His precious blood (1 Cor 6:19–20). This is because a person who does not have the Spirit of God within him does not belong to Christ; he cannot be called a son of God (Rom 8:9)! Therefore, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in a person at the very instant at which he emerges from the water after his baptism.
   However, after (or before) baptism, we must all pray to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (this is evidenced by speaking in tongues) and be sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13). This is similar to what the apostles did for the believers in Samaria in Acts 8.

3. The question most commonly asked is: since the Holy Spirit already dwells in a person right after his baptism, what need is there for him to pray to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (evidenced by speaking in tongues)?

 
   This way of thinking takes salvation to be an accumulation of points rather than a growth in the abundance of life.
   The Lord Jesus said: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6:53). But nobody ever asks: “I have been born again and already have the Lord’s life in me; why do I still need to eat the flesh of the Lord and drink His blood in order to have life? Was the life I received when I was born again not life?!” Or: “I obtained eternal life the last time I ate it; why do I still need to eat it again this time around? Did the eternal life I obtained the last time I ate it disappear all of a sudden?” (Jn 6:54). Yes, nobody has ever had such doubts. Everyone considers this grace by which we can and must receive life repeatedly to be necessary for a more abundant life. Why then are there doubts about whether we need to receive the Holy Spirit (speak in tongues) when we already have the Spirit of God in us?
   A person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells still has to pray to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (this is evidenced by speaking in tongues), in the same way that a person who has been baptized and has obtained eternal life still has to partake of the Lord’s flesh and blood in order to obtain eternal life. This is not the repeated accumulation of a given item but the growing of an ever-increasing grace!

Thanks for your questions. Please let me know if there is anything that needs to be clarified. May God continue to guide us. Peace be with you!

****

聖靈住在裡頭和說方言

Truthe_Seeker非常謝謝您10/18/2012的提問（1 & 2）。

1.     受洗後我們要祈求說方言的恩賜而不是求聖靈？

根據（徒 1.5）主耶穌指著門徒十天之後所要受的聖靈說（以說方言為憑據）：「約翰用水施洗，但你們將被聖靈施洗（ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit）」。十天之後，彼得指著他們說方言的現象說：「這應驗了神要將他的靈澆灌（pour out 傾倒）在凡有血氣的人身上（徒 2.17）」。

在同一件事上，人被動的「被洗」（be baptized）和神主動的「傾倒」（pour out）都是指著顯在外的充沛。這也為什麼「聖靈的洗」是看得見聽得見的傾倒（徒 2.33）。所以，水洗之後，人所求的不是「說方言恩賜」（不是人人有），而是求人人都應該領受的「被聖靈施洗」（以說方言為憑據）。

2.     能否請更詳細的解釋得聖靈說方言和受洗之後就有的聖靈之區別？

大水洗時，死亡的生命得到復活，罪人從此成為神的兒子，在這「復活」的過程中，神的靈「自然而然」的住進用寶血買來的身體裡頭（林前 6. 19-20）。因為一個沒有神的靈住在裡頭的人是不屬基督的，是不能被稱為神的兒子的（羅 8. 9）！所以「洗禮」（除去罪，歸屬基督）和「聖靈住進裡頭」是在「從水裡上來」的那一刻同時發生的。

但大水洗之後（或之前），人都必須要祈求被聖靈施洗（以說方言為憑據），被聖靈蓋印（弗 1. 13  be sealed with Holy Spirit）。正如同在使徒行傳第八章使徒對撒瑪利亞信徒所行的一樣。

3.     人最常問的問題是：既然洗禮之後聖靈已經住在裡頭，為何還要去求聖靈的洗（以說方言為憑據）？

這「已經有了，為何還要再求？」的思考方式是將得救當做點數的累積而不當做是生命豐盛的成長。

主耶穌說：「不吃人子肉，不喝人子血的，就沒有生命在他裡頭 ye have no life in him」（約 6.53）。然而從來沒有人問：「我已重生，已經有了主的生命在裡頭，為何還要再吃主的肉、喝主的血才會有生命？難道我重生時所得的生命不是生命！」「上次吃了，已經有了永生，為何這一次還要再吃？難道上次吃時所得的永生一下子就不見了？」（約 6. 54）。是的，從來沒有人有過這類的疑問。人人都將這「重複得著」但卻又都是「缺一不可」的恩典當做是生命更豐盛的必經過程。怎獨獨在「聖靈」的事上有「既然有了，為何還要再有」的疑問呢？

一個有聖靈住在裡頭的人還要再求聖靈的洗（以說方言為憑據），就如同一個受洗已經得永生的人還是需要領受主的肉和血才能得永生一樣。不是同一物品的重複累積，而是同一恩典更豐盛的成長！

若有需要再釐清的，求神繼續帶領！平安！