Dr Paul Allen

Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 21) If you are a Christian, God “keeps” you (see Jude 1, 24). He preserves you in his love so that nothing can separate you from him (John 6:37–40; 17:11–12; Rom. 8:28–39; 1 Thess. 5:23; 1 Pet. 1:3–5; 1 John 5:18). And you are responsible to continue in the faith. Not only does God keep you; God commands you, in community with the other believers in your church, to “keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21; see John 15:9–10). He tells you to do this in three ways: 1 . Keep yourselves in God’s love by “building yourselves up in your most holy faith.” What is this “faith”? It is “the faith” that verse 3 says you must “contend for.” The faith is the content of Christian belief as Christ and his apostles handed it down. It includes foundational teachings such as Christ’s atoning death in the place of sinners, his resurrection, salvation by grace alone through faith alo...

The 120 disciples, including the apostles, obeyed Jesus’ command to wait until they received. Jesus promised they would receive the Promise of the Father, the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  They had heard all these descriptive statements, and yet the apostles did not know if they were different experiences to be received at different times or various names describing the same experience that would be received during one event. It proved to be one experience received at one time when they all began to speak in tongues.  From then on the apostles prayed for people to receive the gift of their own spirit languages and established speaking in tongues as proof that a person had received the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:16–17, 26; 16:7; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4).

English: Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, stained glass, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) While a great deal is said in these days concerning the Baptism with the Holy Spirit , it is to be feared that there are many who talk about it and pray for it, who have no clear and definite idea of what it is. But the Bible, if carefully studied, will give us a view of this wondrous blessing that is perfectly clear and remarkably definite. 1. We find first of all, that there are a number of designations in the Bible for this one experience. In Acts 1:5, Jesus said, “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” In Acts 2:4, when this promise was fulfilled, we read, “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” In Acts 1:4, the same experience is spoken of as “the promise of the Father” and in Luke 24:49 as “the promise of my Father,” and “endued power from on high.” By a comparison of Acts 10:44, 45...