Water, Wind, & Fire
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW BIRTH AND THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRITBy Mac HammondHARRISON HOUSE
Copyright © 2001 Mac Hammond
All right reserved.ISBN: 1-57794-441-0Chapter One
You Must Be Born Again "Opinions are like noses. Everybody has one."Or so the old saying goes. And it's true. Regardlessof the topic (sports, politics, even the weather),everyone seems more than willing to offer his or herpersonal wisdom and insight on the subject.
This holds true in spiritual things as well. Varyingopinions about heaven, hell, and salvation abound.
Now, adopting someone else's opinion onwho's going to the Super Bowl is generallyharmless. But when it comes to matters of life,death, and eternity, you'd better have somethingmore substantial than some mere mortal's opinion.Tragically, many people don't.
Far too many individuals are staking theireternal destiny on what their parents, professors, ordenomination told them was necessary to enter heaven.
Others aren't quite sure how they came to theirconclusions about God and His kingdom. They justshrug their shoulders and say, "I've always believedthis way."
The truth is, there exists only one reliablesource of truth concerning matters of the soul andspirit-the Bible.
The Holy Bible is the divinely inspired Word ofGod. Yet millions of people today assume that theirill-founded opinions are good enough to answereternal questions.
The tragic result in each case is an unfulfilledlife here on earth and an awful eternity in hell.
Going to the Source
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16,17
The Greek word translated "inspiration" in thispassage of Scripture literally means "God-breathed."All Scripture is breathed from the very mouth ofGod Himself: God cannot lie. Therefore, you callrely on the Bible as an infallible source.
Notice what else this passage says about Scripture.
l. It is profitable for doctrine-meaning it provides the basic tenets of the Christian faith.
2. It is profitable for reproof and correction-meaning it tells us what we should not do.
3. It is profitable for instruction in righteousness-meaning it tells us what we should do to live a godly life.
Finally, verse 17 tells us the end result of allthese things. "That the man of God may be perfect(mature, complete), thoroughly furnished unto allgood works."
In the next few pages we'll open the Word ofGod and see what this trustworthy source has to sayabout the most important question you'll ever face.Namely, what does it mean to be born again andfilled with God's Spirit?
These are the most basic of life-and-deathissues. Yet your human mind alone will nevercomprehend the secret of life. And try as they might,scientists will never unlock the mystery of the sparkof life or see beyond the veil of death.
Only the Word of God penetrates the cloak ofmystery that envelops these questions.
Chapter Two
The Second Birth To truly understand what it means to be bornagain, you must understand the nature andcomposition of who you are.
According to the Bible, the real you is not whatyou see looking back at you in a mirror. That bodyis merely a vessel-a container for the real you.
The Word teaches that you are a three-partbeing. The real you is a spirit. You have a soul. Andyou live in a body.
We see this division in 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These are the three realms of humanexistence: the spirit realm, the soulish realm, andthe physical realm.
The new birth and the baptism of the HolyGhost impact each of these realms in different ways.To understand either of these things, you must firstrecognize the three-part nature of who you are.
The Reality of Heaven and Hell
One of the most widely held beliefs today isthat death means annihilation. In other words, whenyou die, that's it. It's over.
Please don't fall for that lie. Death does notmean a termination of existence.
In the Bible, the word death is translated fromGreek and Hebrew words meaning "separation."Physical death is simply the separation of the spiritand soul from the body.
No, death is not the end. On the contrary, deathis merely a door that leads to one of two possibleeternal homes: one in heaven, the other in hell.
Spiritual death results when you are separatedfrom God, the source of all life. Spiritual life, onthe other hand, results from oneness with the Giverof Life.
One of the most vivid scriptural pictures of whathappens after death was painted by Jesus Himself.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:19-24
Did either of the men in Jesus' account cease toexist when they died? No, they both continued aconscious existence even while separated from theirphysical bodies.
The beggar was carried by angels into"Abraham's bosom" (also referred to as paradise).This was the place where the saints of God werehoused prior to Jesus' resurrection.
The rich man, who was not saved, went to hellwhere he continued to feel pain, sorrow, and anguish.
You are an eternal being. Death means only achange of residence from this earth to either heavenor hell.
What determines your destination? One thingand one thing only-your relationship with JesusChrist. Why is that so important? You'll find theanswer back in the Garden of Eden.
Adam's Double Defeat
The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7
When God first created mankind, He breathedinto his nostrils the breath of life. That included lifefor his spirit, life for his soul, and life for his body.That very same word "life" is used in Genesis 2:8,9.
The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The phrase "tree of life" should actually betranslated "tree of lives." It was specially created tosupply life to the spirit, soul, and body of Adam.
That's why God commanded Adam to eat of itand every other tree in the garden except for one.
The...
