One Spirit Baptism Towards Many Spirit Fillings
There is only one time necessary to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and it is the only time a
believer will receive this initial baptism. Yes, initial! The word of God states that He baptizes us into the body ( I Cor. 12 :13 ). You may, or may not be able to observe a manifested gift of the Spirit, but, when one is filled with the Spirit, manifestations of a gift, or gifts will appear. Please be mindful that only one baptism will happen to you, but you are subject to be filled a number of times while you live a saved life. Notice the 4th and 5th chapters of Ephesians as to how the one baptism is mentioned in 4:5, and the filling is compared to being drunk with wine in 5:18. Many will have you to believe that all are to speak in an unknown tongue. But, true doctrine of the word declares in I Cor. 12:4-10 that the body of Christ will have different gifts manifested to us by the Lord's choosing by the selfsame Spirit, and tongues is no greater than the remaining eight. God has so perfected the purpose and ability of each born again member, and He does not have all of us doing the same thing. What if all of your body organs and parts did precisely the same identical thing? You would be a package of total human confusion. That is, if you lived. Therefore, as God has so created the human body, likewise He has done with the body of Christ. It is not true doctrine that states : ' You receive the Spirit and at a later date you are baptized with the Spirit ' . Receiving the Spirit and baptized by the Spirit are both one and the same, regardless as to whether you can recognize your gift, or not. But, Spirit fillings are subject to come and go. Conditions, or circumstances often cause Spirit fillings to come and go. Elijah was operating in a high level of Spirit control on Mt. Carmel and fire rained down from Heaven and the enemy was defeated ( I Kings 18:20-40). But, after a threatening message from Jezebel he flees for his life in fear and desired the Lord to take his life ( I Kings 19:1-18 ). This is an example of being filled one day and below par the next. Being filled with the Spirit doesn't have a thing to do with your human emotions, nor your cultural, or your human biological ethics. When one is Spirit filled, it simply means he is Spirit controlled and under the total influence of God's authority and submissive to Him. A Spirit filled life enhances an abundant life without fear, worry, anxiety, etc. ( John 10:10b ) .