Baptism by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament

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19. The "enlightenment" of the "faithful" occurs, with the entry of Christ, the Divine Logos in his "heart"


In the previous chapters we saw how, in his Epistle to Ephesians (5:7-20), the Apostle Paul was referring to the reborn charismatic faithful. However, in the same passage, and specifically in verse 14, the Apostle mentions the cause of that enlightenment:   Jesus Christ.

"...because everything that is revealed is light, which is why it says: 'get up, you who are sleeping, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shed His light upon you...."   [Ephesians 5:14]

In this verse, we can not only see that Jesus Christ is referred to as "the light that illuminates", but also that Christian rebirth is referred to as "resurrection".

But let us take things from the beginning:

"1. At the beginning the Logos was there, and the Logos was together with God, and the Logos was God... 4  In Him was Life; and Life was the light of men.... He was the true light, which illuminates every man that comes into the world....11 He came unto His like, and His like did not receive Him.  12 But whoever did receive Him, He gave them the power to become children of God; to those who believed in His name:  13 to those who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but who were born of God.  14 And the Logos became flesh and camped within us, and we beheld his glory - the glory of an only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth...."    [John 1:1, 4, 9-14]

According to these verses, God the Logos - the incarnate Jesus Christ - was (Himself) the "life" and the "light" of mankind. In the chapters above, we saw that the "life" of God is the "light" of God.

Verses 4 and 9 indicate that every living person is illuminated by the light of Christ. However, the Evangelist John in verses 11 to 14 shows us that Christian enlightenment is something far deeper. According to verses 11 and 12, the "children of God" who have been born "from above" (=born again), by water and the  Spirit, "receive" that "light" - that very "life" itself, Jesus Christ - INSIDE THEM. These verses do not say "only those who believed", but "whoever did receive Him". And according to verse 13, they are the "reborn Christians".

Verse 14 also summarizes the above, by saying that Christ "camped" (dwelled) - not merely "among" the Christians, but WITHIN THEM: "....and camped within us (åí çìßí)..." says the Apostle John.  And he also testifies that the ones in whom He "camped", actually "saw His glory" - that is, "His light".

So, what is the Apostle John teaching us here?

That during Baptism, Christians receive the Holy Spirit inside them so that, during their eventual enlightenment (that is, when the Holy Spirit becomes manifest after the cleansing of their heart), they might also receive Jesus Christ inside them. This is what the Lord Jesus was referring to, in John's Gospel:

"...Jesus replied, saying to him: 'if someone loves Me, he will abide by my words, and My Father shall love him, and we shall come to Him, and shall make an abode close to Him'...."   [John 14:23]

Jesus had therefore mentioned beforehand that He would dwell with each one who would keep His commandments; in other words, with the one who would have cleansed his heart.

But let us examine a few other verses of the Holy Bible, which speak of the entry of Jesus Christ as light in the hearts of the (already) enlightened sons of God:

"God… who has shone within our hearts for enlightenment in the knowledge of the glory of God, in the person of Jesus Christ..."   [2 Corinthians 4: 6]

And indeed, God was revealed "in the person of Jesus Christ", Who is the "radiance of His light" (Hebrews 1:3) and Who "shines within the heart" of Christians.

In 2 Peter 1:19, the Apostle Paul tells us that we need the prophetic word, which will shine like a lamp (=faintly) and will guide our path, "until the dawn of the day comes, and the morning star rises within our hearts".[2 Peter 1:19]

This is what the Old Testament also referred to, when saying:

"...the path of the righteous is like a shining light, which shines more and more, until it becomes the perfect day..."  [Proverbs 4:18] 

And of course, the "way (path) of the righteous" that leads to God is Jesus Christ:

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No-one comes to the Father, except through Me".   [John 14:6]

He, (the "morning star" - Jesus Christ), is that which shines like a bright sunny day inside the hearts of the sons of God...

Luke the Evangelist was well aware of this fact, when he wrote the following about Jesus Christ in his Gospel:

"…the dawn from on high has visited us, to shed light on those who are in darkness and the shadow of death, to direct our feet along the path of peace..."   [Luke 1: 78,79]

He who "dawned from on high" was of course Jesus Christ; He was the one who shed light upon the righteous, and became the way (path) towards the Father.  He is the morning star.

We believe that the preceding passages are sufficient evidence - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that: 

The "light-bringing" (morning star), Jesus Christ - being the Omnipresent Divine Logos - enters and "camps" within the "heart" of the "sons of God", rendering them "enlightened".  This is an enlightenment that  is superior to the one that is given "to every person that comes into the world."

 


 

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Article published in English on: 14-6-2010.

Last update: 14-6-2010.

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