Grace Chapel Community Church
307-347-3086
Our Beliefs:
The Spirit-Filled Life
For many years, one of our ministers, Charles Weber, challenged people to "live out of the overflow." He spoke of the Spirit-filled life. With similar emphasis, the late Marcus Morgan has stated that for Christians the challenge is to "realize the full influence of His power and presence in our living." John the Baptist proclaimed,
I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I,
whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
—Matthew 3.11, NIV
Jesus himself, at the time of his baptism, "saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove" (Mark 1:10, niv). Several experiences of the baptism of the Holy Spirit are recorded in the New Testament (Acts 2:1–4; 9:17; 10:44–46; 19:1–7). Jesus sustained the promise just before his ascension, saying, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" (Acts 1:8, NIV).
The events in the New Testament account are sufficient to indicate believers can experience the baptism of the Spirit. We could say one's life is saturated with the Holy Spirit or immersed in the Spirit. The word sanctification is often used to describe the experience of the Spirit-filled life. Whatever the term used, we believe the infilling of the Spirit in the life of the Christian makes a dynamic difference in the individual's receptivity to the Spirit's leadership and the individual's effectiveness as a witness for Christ.
The believer's experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit may be viewed from at least four perspectives:
Cleansing: The Holy Spirit cleanses the attitudes, mindset, habits, and spirit of the believer. In the Old Testament, we read of utensils that were set aside to be used exclusively in worship. Sanctification is the word used to refer to this cleansing (Ezekiel 42; Daniel 5). The Holy Spirit works in the believer to purify and set aside a person for God's use. (See 1 Peter 1:13–16; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8; Hebrews 2:11; 10:10.)
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