Daily Word

"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit."

(1 Corinthians 12:13);

"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love remains in death."

(1 John 3:14)

What really happened on the day of Pentecost?

We are fascinated by the external phenomena that took place: the storm wind, the tongues of fire, the speaking in tongues.

The Book of Acts emphasizes the unprecedented fellowship of love that was born that day: the Church!

On that day, Christ, as "head over all things," was united with the Church, "His body," and invaded it with all His divine fullness and all-encompassing authority. The fullness of Christ is therefore found in the Church and this means that it is not possible to partake of his fullness outside of/except in the Church.

Paul prays in Ephesians one that our spiritual eyes be opened so that we see and understand what incredible powers God has invested in those who are born again to belong to His Church.

What happens when we are baptized by the Holy Spirit?

We have limited it to a personal, individual experience, where we are filled with the Spirit and begin to speak in tongues.

Paul points out that it concerns something infinitely greater and more significant: we are baptized into the body of Christ, the Church, to become functioning members of it with the purpose of building one another up in love, so that the Church becomes the powerful instrument in this age that God from eternity intended and determined it to be.

John even says that if we do not love the Church, it is doubtful whether we have been born again at all, since all preaching and teaching has the goal of us being incorporated into this supernatural fellowship of love.

Perhaps we need to adjust a great deal of our preaching so that it better matches the New Testament revelation of the Church?