광신자들의 성령에 대한 잘못된 관심

제9장 : 성경을 떠나 직접 계시로 비약하는 광신자들은 경건의 모든 원리를 파괴한다.

1. 광신자들의 성령에 대한 잘못된 관심

어떤 사람들은 성경을 떠나서도 하나님께 돌아 갈 수 있다고 하는데, 이들은 오도되었다기 보다는 광란에 사로잡혔다고 해야 한다. 아주 교만해지고 오만해진 사람들이 마치 성령의 가르침을 직접 받아서 성경 읽은 것을 전적으로 멸시하고, 그들의 표현대로 라면 죽이는 문자를 아직도 따르는 사람들의 그 단순성을 비웃고 있다. 그렇게 성경의 교리를 감히 유치하고 천박하다고 할만큼 그들을 높은 자리에 까지 오르게 한 그 영이 도대체 어떤 영인가를 묻고 싶다. 그것이 바로 그리스도의 영이라고 그들이 대답을 한다면, 그 확신은 참으로 조소 거리가 될 것이다. 그들도 사도들과 초대 교회의 신자들이 다른 영으로 조명되지 않았다고 그들도 생각할 것이다. 이들 중 한 사람도 그 영에 의해 하나님의 말씀을 멸시하도록 가르침을 받지 아니하고 오히려 그들의 저작에서 훌륭하게 증명된 대로 보다 더 높은 존경심으로 가득 차 있었던 것이다. 그리고 이 사실은 이미 이사야를 통해서 예언되었다.

그는 "내 위에 있는 나의 신과 내 입에 둔 나의 말이 이제부터 영영토록 내 입에서와 내 후손의 입에서와 네 후손의 후손의 입에서 떠나지 아니하리라"(사 59:21). 이 말씀에서 이사야는 구약 시대의 사람들을 마치 글을 처음 배우는 어린아이들처럼 외부적인 교리에만 묶여 두지 않고 있다. 오히려 그는 그리스도의 통치하에서 새 교회가 이 참되고 완전한 행복을 누릴 것이라고 말한다. 곧 성령에 의해서와 같이 하나님의 말씀에 의해서도 지배 받게 된다고 가르치고 있는 것이다. 여기서 우리가 결론지을 수 잇는 것은 예언자들이 침범할 수 없도록 결속시켜 놓은 것들을 이 악한 자들은 가증하고 참람되게 분리시켜 놓았다는 것이다.

그리고 바울은 삼층천 이끌려 다녀온 후에도 계속하여 율법과 선지자들의 교리를 연구를 게을리 하지 않았다. (고후 12:2). 또한 그는 훌륭한 교사 디모데에게도 읽은 것이 착념하라고 권했다(딤전 4:13). 그리고 다음과 같이 성경에 대한 찬사를 했다. "교훈과 책망과 바르게 함과 의로 교육하기에 유익하니 이는 하나님의 사람으로 온전케 하며"(딤후 3:16-17). 성경의 효용은 하나님의 자녀들을 궁극적인 목적지에 인도하는데도 불구하고 그것이 순간적인 거시라거나 일시적인 것이라고 하는 것은 관란이 아니고 무엇이겠는가?

그러므로 그들이 주님께서 제자들에게 약속한 영과는 전혀 다른 영을 받아들인 것이 아닌가 생각한다. 그들이 완전히 정신 착란증에 걸려 있다고 하더라도 이것을 자랑으로 여길 정도로 광신에 사로잡혀 있다고 생각하지는 않는다. 그러나 주님께서는 어떤 영을 약속하신다고 하셨는가?

성령으로 그 영은 "자의로 말하지 않는"영으로서 예수 님께서 친히 과거에 말씀하신 것들을 저들의 마음속에 넣어 주시며암시해 주시는 영인 것이다(요 16:13). 그러므로 우리들에게 약속된 성령의 임ㅂ무는 아직 들어 보지도 못한 새로운 계시를 만들어 내거나 어떤 새로운 교리 자체를 날조하여 용인된 복음의 교리에서 우리를 떠나게 하는 것이 아니라다만 복음이 말하는 바로 그 교리를 우리 마음에 인처 주는 데 있는 것이다.

칼빈의 '기독교 강요' 요약에서 /바요나

 

THE POWER SOURCE - BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier that I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11).

What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit? The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a second encounter with God (the first is conversion) in which the believer begins to receive the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit into his life. Jesus promised this power to his disciples when He said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the one hundred and twenty gathered in the upper room. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues., as the Spirit was giving them utterance" (Acts 2:4).

When do I have the Holy Spirit? Someone will say "don’t we have the Holy Spirit when we become Christians?" The answer is yes. The moment you accept Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up His residence in your heart (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19). We are born-again of the Spirit, transformed by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, strengthened by the Spirit, and we can be filled with the Spirit.

While the Holy Spirits indwells all believers, it does not follow that all believers are Spirit-filled. Peter’s sermon at Pentecost speaks of two separate events: (1) "Repent and be baptized..." (2) "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The converts at Samaria had believed and been baptized, but received the baptism of the Holy Spirit later (Acts 8:12,17). The same was true at Ephesus (Acts 19).

Three statements bring the matter of the Holy Spirit and the believer into focus.

First, the Holy Spirit is in every believer. Through the initial operation of the Spirit, the mysterious change, the new birth, takes place (John 3:5-7).

Second, the fullness of the Spirit is not experienced by every believer (Acts 8:12-17; 19:1-7).

Third, the fullness of the Spirit may be experienced by every believer (John 7:4=37-39), Jesus said, "If any man..." Obviously, He meant all when He said, "He that believeth on Me."

Is the baptism for me? If you are a Christian you are a candidate. And Christ’s promise is very personal; it is to you. "He that believeth...out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-39). "The Father...shall give you another comforter...He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16,17). "It is expedient for you...I will send him unto you...He will guide you...and show you" (John 16:7,13).

"I will send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye..until you be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). "For the promise is unto you and your children" (Acts 2:39).

Is the baptism necessary? For salvation? No, for we are justified by faith. For life and service? Yes! If you will search the Bible, you will find that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is God’s plan for a normal Christian experience from the day of Pentecost until Jesus comes again.

Jesus commanded the Disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they had been filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4,5). The Ephesians were told, "...be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). This is not an invitation; it was a clear directive, a command.

Jesus promised that I would receive power to witness for Him when the Holy Spirit comes (Acts 1:8). To fulfill God’s will in my life to the fullest, I must have the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

How do I receive? The experience is not earned or merited. As do all other gifts from God, the baptism comes by grace and faith.

But one thing is essential. Known sin must be confessed. At Pentecost, Peter exhorted his questioners to "repent". God gives the Holy Spirit to "Them that obey Him" (Acts 5:32). Associated with repentance is faith. Faith is the condition on which God bestows all His gifts.

Jesus promised to fill those who hunger and thirst after Him (Matthew 5:6) and "to them that ask Him" (Luke 11:13). The word translated "take" here is the same word translated "received" in the passages relating to receiving the Holy Spirit.

Scriptural prerequisites to receiving the Spirit may be covered by four words: saved, obey, ask, and believe.

First, one must be saved. "He shall give you another Comforter...whom the world cannot receive" (John 14:16,17).

Obedience is essential. "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey Him" (Acts 5:32).

The believer must ask the Father or the Holy Spirit according to Luke 11:13.

As in all spiritual matters, faith is required in receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 11:6).

How do I know I have received? There must be some evidence of the promised gift or else how ill you know that you have received this Baptism? For an answer let’s settle on some basic assumptions. First, the evidence must be a Bible sign. Second, the sign must be recognizable by both the receiver and others nearby.

For the Bible record of people being baptized in the Spirit we go to the Book of Acts. The fulfillment of John the Baptist’s statement and of Jesus’ promise took place on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). The same thing happened on four other occasions in the Acts (chapters 8,9,10,19), at four different places and four different times.

Speaking in tongues was a distinctly Pentecost and post-Pentecost experience. Speaking in tongues was prophesied by Isaiah some 700 years before the Day of Pentecost (Isaiah 28:11,12). Paul links this prophecy directly with the New Testament experience (1 Corinthians 14:21). Jesus Himself foretold "They shall speak with new tongues" (Mark 16:17).

The initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is "speaking in tongues."

We believe that it is the privilege of every believer to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit to endue them with power for living the Christian life.