Dear Doves,This is the first part of a series on Spiritual Things which will take a detailed look at the scripture concerning the new birth, baptism of the Holy Spirit, spiritual growth, gifts of the spirit, and being led by the spirit. I am not a novice in these things but have understood and walked in light of them for the past twenty years. I readily admit that I don’t know everything, and will restrict what I write to the things that I have seen clearly in the scriptures and experienced in my personal walk.
In 1987, as a Baptist pastor, I became a “duck out of water” when Jesus baptized me in the Holy Spirit. I had never been to a Pentecostal church but once in my life and had no knowledge of the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Through prayerfully seeking to know what was wrong in my church that we did not see God’s miracle working power in manifestation to heal the sick, God began to show me what was missing. He brought me to the knowledge that the church could only do the works of Jesus as the early church did, through receiving the same power in which they walked. Receiving the power, was easy once I got hungry, but learning how to walk and minister in that power was a whole new endeavor for me. I felt slighted by those who came before me in the church that they had settled for a “wilderness experience” when they could have crossed Jordan (keep reading and you’ll understand). I began a crash course to catch up on what I wished someone had taught me from my youth up. That is one reason that I want to plainly share these things so that others may read and understand.
The Bible proclaims that Jesus will baptize believers with the Holy Ghost without trying to explain it. This is not surprising since it also proclaims the new birth without trying to explain it either. T. L. Osborn, an international evangelist, one day explained the gospel to an assembly of Muslims and no one responded to his invitation for salvation. After praying about the lack of response, the Lord told him that the problem was that he had explained the gospel and said, “Go back and proclaim it the next time.” He did and saw a great response. The point being, that teaching, which explains, educates the soul, but preaching, which proclaims, inspires the spirit. It is then readily apparent why the Bible doesn’t try to explain these two events. Our spirits must be stirred by faith to receive them rather than it being simply an educated mental choice.
Based on the information that the scripture does give us and on personal experience, we can come to a reasonable understanding of both events. I use the word event because both the new birth and the baptism in the Holy Ghost are occurrences that take place in an individual’s life at a definable point in time. Even though a person might not be able to define the exact moment in time that either of these events occur, both events do take place in an instant of time. God has given us sufficient information to know that each event has occurred in a person’s life, with the second event even being a confirmation of the first. Let’s examine what the scripture does say about both of these events.
In order to understand the baptism in the Holy Spirit, one must first understand salvation. Salvation is known by several different terms, with different people preferring one term over another. These terms include: saved, redeemed, converted, born again, received Christ as savior, having a personal relationship with Christ, become a child of God, and others. Different terms are used because the scripture doesn’t use just one term. This is due to the fact that no one term can fully describe the significance of the event. I personally like the term “born again” because it calls attention to the fact that a person is a new creation with a new father.
Before we look at scripture references on salvation, I want to describe what being born again means to the best of my ability. We will then see how the scriptures support this definition. A human being is actually a spirit. He lives in a body and has a soul, which is his mental and emotional faculties. A person is born again when his spirit is regenerated. Prior to salvation he is a child of the devil, but at the moment of regeneration, he becomes a child of God, adopted into God’s family and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. His regenerated spirit becomes one spirit with Christ, and he is placed into the body of Christ as one of its members. At that point, he has passed from death unto life, and the righteousness of God is imputed unto him. He is then in fellowship with God, at peace with God, and has a home in heaven. Since he is one spirit with Christ, the fruit of the spirit should begin to be produced in his life.
In talking to Nicodemus, Jesus explained that to enter heaven, a person must be born again and that it was a spiritual birth rather than a physical one. St. John 3:7-8 “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Peter said that the seed which produces this new birth is the word of God. I Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
Jesus called attention to the fact that your spirit is either a child of Satan or a child of God in John 8:42-44, “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John called attention to the fact that we are sons of God in I John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
In Galatians 4:4-7, we see not only the redemption aspect, but also the adoption aspect of salvation: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Romans 8:14-17 echoes the same information concerning adoption and being a joint heir with Christ.
In Colossians 1:12-14, we see the emphasis on redemption from one kingdom and translation into a new one: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
In Titus 3:5, we see the regeneration aspect of salvation: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
The oneness of the regenerated spirit with Christ is declared in I Corinthians 6:17, “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” This is also indicated by Romans 8:9-10, “…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”
Being members of the Body of Christ is revealed in several passages: Romans 12:4-5, “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” I Corinthians 12:12-27, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. … Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Ephesians 5:30, “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”
Jesus spoke of the requirement to be converted in Matthew 18:3, “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” James 5:20 also brings out the conversion aspect of salvation: “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
In John 5:24, Jesus spoke of the believer passing from death unto life: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” In I John 3:14, we see that we can know that this event has taken place: “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
Jesus is called our Saviour in numerous verses in the scriptures. We receive Jesus as our saviour when we come to the point that we believe he is the Son of God and died for our sins, and put our trust in him as our personal saviour. John 1:11-12 speaks of becoming sons upon receiving him, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
The new creature aspect of salvation is mentioned in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The old creature was by nature a child of wrath. It was not subject to the laws of God and could not be. Its nature was that of a sinner and sinning was natural for it. It continually yielded to the lusts of the flesh and produced works that were corrupt. Spiritual things were of no concern and it could not understand spiritual things. The new creature, however, is created in righteousness and bears fruit unto righteousness. It can understand spiritual things and be led by the spirit of God. It has the power to crucify the flesh and its lusts and overcome all the evil works of the enemy. It is equipped with weapons that aren’t carnal, but are mighty through God. It has the mind of Christ to know good from evil and the power to choose the good.
I think the above references clearly show that although the new birth occurs in a moment of time, it is a very comprehensive event. Since it occurs in the person’s spirit at a point when the person is usually not even aware of the existence of his spirit, its immediate effects on his body (works) and soul (thinking) can vary widely from individual to individual. Before going on to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I need to expound on the saving of the soul and the crucifying of the flesh for you to understand the state of most Christians.
The difference between the man and animals is that man has (or is) a spirit and animals do (are) not. The spirit of man is that part that can commune with God. God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). The soul is that part of man which represents his life force, awareness of his surroundings, mind, emotions, and affections. Although it’s very limited, animals have souls and can show intelligence, emotions, and affections. However, they do not have spirits and do not have the capability to be in communion with God. The soul of an animal, which is the aspect of each animal that makes its behavior unique, simply vanishes when the animal dies. Man’s soul, however, remains with his spirit at death and will abide for eternity.
Our senses are filtered through our flesh, and some things feel good to the flesh and some things don’t. As such the flesh is spoken of as having a voice, mind, desires, and lusts (cravings). The power of the flesh’s influence on the soul is very great (see Eph. 2:1-3). Just try to stay on a diet and you quickly realize how strong the voice of the flesh actually is. The scripture tells us that there is no hope for this current fleshly body that we live in. It is tainted by sin and can not be changed or redeemed (Gal. 5:19-24). It must be crucified (brought into subjection) while we remain in it and then it will return to the dust at death. It is no more than a garment, which clothes or houses our soul and spirit, to be discarded when we are finished using it.
Due to the fact that the voice of the flesh is so strong and man’s unregenerate spirit sides with it, an unsaved person usually doesn’t even recognize that his spirit exists. When he becomes saved, he has no experience in listening to the spirit or being led of the spirit. In this respect, he is just like a newborn baby that has no knowledge of how to talk or walk. It must be learned through growth and maturity. Since the flesh and the reborn spirit are opponents (Gal. 5:16-17), overcoming the flesh and walking in the spirit is not an easy task.
The soul that is dominated by fleshly desires is called the carnal mind and is clearly described in Romans 8:5-8, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” We also see the carnal mind described in I Corinthians 3:1-4, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” Doesn’t this sound like most of the church today? So many are still carnal minded babes in Christ!
When a person is born again, his spirit is regenerated instantly, but it takes time for his mind to be transformed from carnal to spiritual. The process of feeding on the milk (and at some point meat) of the word and transforming our minds from carnal to spiritual is a continuing process. It is called “renewing the mind” in Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23, “putting on the new man” in Ephesians 4:24 and Colossians 3:10, and “saving the soul” in James 1:21. God does his part in regenerating the spirit instantly, but it is up to each individual to renew his mind (save his soul). It appears that each soul is going to have a “house cleaning” before it enters heaven and only that renewed part will enter heaven. As a result, many Christians will leave a large part of their memories and personalities at heaven’s gate. Two different people who have been given visions of heaven have said that the Lord shared that the leaves of the tree of life (Rev. 22:2) was to heal the souls that weren’t renewed during life. Some people will have an abundant entrance into heaven (II Pet. 2:8-11) while others will have to feed on the tree of life for a while when they enter.
So, we see every Christian with a hopeless flesh, a regenerated spirit, and a mind that is in some process of being renewed (or soul that is in some process of being saved). Some Christians do a good job of crucifying the flesh, renewing the mind, and walking in the spirit, while others remain babies and, except for their regenerated spirit, differ little from their unsaved state. Since each Christian is born again and God is his father, he will go to heaven, but some will have more rewards than others. Because each Christian’s spirit is one with Christ, he has the witness of the spirit and can commune with the Holy Spirit. As such, he should bear the fruit of the spirit and walk in the spirit, denying the lusts of the flesh. As his mind is renewed, he should become increasingly aware of the witness of the spirit and follow the spirit’s leadership.
I was born again at the age of 12, but I did not significantly begin the process of crucifying the flesh and renewing my mind until almost 20 years later. As a Christian, I was carnal minded and lived to please the flesh and self during this period. God got my attention concerning the poor example that I was setting for my children, and I repented of my worldliness. As I set my affections of things above, and began the process of renewing my mind, he began to open the scriptures up to me in a wonderful way. I immediately became like a kid in a candy store feasting on the word of God.
I read the scriptures not only to learn God’s word, but also to become a doer of the word. I recognized that true blessings came from knowing God and walking with him. Adam’s disobedience had caused enough problems, so why should I continue to add to them? As my mind was being renewed, I began to sense the witness of the Holy Spirit and follow his leadership. My life began to bear fruit and the peace and joy of fellowship with the Father was sweet indeed. Instead of being carnally minded, I became spiritually minded and began faithfully serving my Lord.
At this point, since we have looked at the new birth and the renewing of the mind, we can better understand the scripture concerning the baptism in the Holy Spirit. All four Gospels and the Book of Acts make mention of John the Baptist’s testimony that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost (Mat. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 11:16). The Jews of Jesus day were well aware the prophesy in Joel 2:28, that there was coming a time of restoration when God would pour out his spirit on all flesh. They had seen the prophet, priest, and king in the scriptures do great things when the Holy Spirit came upon them. No doubt, they longed to see the day when each person could have the Holy Spirit upon them. Peter declared that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
Like the new birth, there are several terms used to describe the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Whether you use the name Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, or Spirit, the event is usually referred to as “receiving the Holy Spirit”, “being baptized in the Holy Spirit”, or “being filled with the Holy Spirit”. Only the disciples had to tarry on this event until the Holy Ghost fell on the day of Pentecost. From that point on, any believer could receive the Holy Ghost without tarrying. It is also important to note that being filled with the Holy Spirit can refer to the initial event or any time afterward when the person is in a state of overflowing with the Holy Spirit. The initial reception (baptism or filling) of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event that occurs at a particular moment in time. Once a person has initially received the Holy Spirit, He abides in them and desires to fill them to an overflowing state time and time again.
Since Jesus said that he would send the Holy Spirit to abide in us (John 14:16-17), he does not go and come upon us as he did upon the OT prophet, priest, and king. The OT saints weren’t born again, so he couldn’t abide in them like he does NT believers. Jesus compared still water (a well) to the new birth in John 4:13-14, and flowing water (rivers) to the baptism in the Holy Spirit in John 7:37-39. The requirement to receive the well was “whosoever”, but the requirement to receive the river was “he that believeth”. He used two different types of water to picture the two different events. We also see a type and shadow of these two events using the same two types of water in the OT.
The crossing of the Red Sea by the children of Israel as they departed from Egypt was a type of salvation. Pharaoh who is a type of the devil that held them in bondage could not cross the Red Sea. Once across they were free from bondage and his captivity. Between the Red Sea and their destination was a wilderness where a generation died because they didn’t believe God to go into Canaan and possess their inheritance. The next generation crossed the Jordan River at Jericho to enter Canaan. Whereas the Red Sea was still water, the Jordan River was flowing water, and God supernaturally parted both bodies of water to complete the picture of the dual operations of the Holy Ghost. Crossing the Jordan River was a type of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Just as it was necessary for them to cross the Jordan River to enter Canaan and possess their inheritance, it is necessary for believers to be baptized in the Holy Ghost to possess their inheritance in this life.
God also gave us two other OT pictures associated with the dual works of the Holy Ghost. In each case, He performed two miracles with water. The rock gave water twice. The first time it had to be smitten and the second time it was supposed to have been spoken to. This pictures Christ being smitten to provide the new birth, and then asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit. Moses messed up the prophetic picture by striking the rock a second time and was punished for it. Elijah parted the Jordan River for Elisha and him to cross over. As he ascended into heaven, he dropped his mantle which Elisha picked up. Elisha, with Elijah’s mantle, then parted the Jordan River and crossed back over. This is a picture of Christ and his disciples. The mantle represented the Holy Ghost which was upon Christ without measure. Once he ascended, he sent the Holy Ghost back to earth to abide upon his disciples on the day of Pentecost. They then went forth in the power of the Holy Ghost, just as Elisha did with Elijah’s mantle.
It’s no coincidence that God performed these three dual miracles upon water. Each one clearly pictures information concerning the Holy Ghost and the NT church. How much clearer of a picture could he have painted that the new birth and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are two separate events than the supernatural parting of two separate bodies of water, a still one and a flowing one, in order to get the children from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land. In this case, the Promised Land does not represent heaven as many people have written in song, because it has battles to be fought and enemies to be defeated. It represents the victorious Christian life of walking in power and possessing the promises of God in this life. We have an inheritance in heaven for sure, but we also have one in this life that we can possess only through the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Before we examine New Testament scriptures on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I want to try to define what it is. As we have seen above, man is a spirit who lives in a body and possesses a soul. When he is born again, his spirit is regenerated, but he is still the only spirit abiding in his body. Just as more than one person can abide in a house, more than one spirit can abide in a body. We readily recognize demon spirits inhabiting people’s bodies during the ministry of Jesus. In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus told of a spirit being cast out and then returning with seven more spirits to take back his habitation. In Mark 5, Jesus cast so many demons out of Legion that they entered into 2000 pigs and destroyed them. Whereas Demons will try to force their way to possess (indwell) a person’s body, the Holy Spirit will only enter in when invited by faith.
When a spirit indwells a body, it can then manifest it’s presence through the body. It is obvious when a person is demon possessed because the demon will manifest his presence through the person’s body. It may be by speaking, by causing involuntary contortions, by supernatural strength, by levitation, or some other way, but it will be obvious that it is not the human spirit performing the actions. In each case in the scripture, the demon demonstrated his presence in some way that was contrary to the individual’s will and easily recognized.
Just as a person can communicate with you from outside your house, the Holy Spirit communicates with believers even before they receive him into their bodies. A believer’s body is called the temple of the Holy Ghost in I Corinthians 6:19, and he desires to indwell each temple. As I would open the door to my home and receive a guest into my house, you can open the door to your temple and receive the Holy Spirit to take up his abode within your body. If my guest was to become a resident, then he would be given all the privileges to use the house that a resident would expect. Likewise, when we receive the Holy Spirit he must be given the privilege to manifest his presence through our bodily temples. Two things are required for a believer to receive the Holy Ghost: In faith he must invite him in, and he must be willing to allow the Holy Ghost to manifest his presence.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6) and God has ordained that faith be required for both salvation and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If no faith were required, every believer would be filled with the Holy Ghost because every believer has asked at some point in some manner to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Many times they are wanting to experience the overflowing of the Holy Spirit without ever realizing that they must be initially filled with the Holy Spirit before they can experience the overflowing. How has the church gotten in such a state that some believers claim to be baptized in the spirit when they aren’t and other believers don’t know how to tell whether they are or not? If we examine the scriptures with an open mind (not blinded by our traditions), then we can see where the confusion lies.
The Holy Spirit is the person of the godhead that is the miracle worker. Jesus left his divine power and omniscience in heaven and became man with all his limitations (except for the carnal nature). This was necessary for him to become our near kinsman and a truly compassionate High Priest. Because of this, he had no power to perform miracles until he, himself received the Holy Spirit. Jesus first miracle is noted in John 2:11. According to Acts 10:38, Jesus had to be anointed with the Holy Ghost and power, in order to do the works that he did. This anointing occurred when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. John said that the Spirit descended from heaven like a dove and abode upon him (John 1:32). Just as he told his disciples not to begin their ministry until they were baptized in the Holy Ghost, he too waited until he received the Holy Ghost to being his ministry. It is not God’s will for anyone to minister without the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said in John 14:12 that believers would do the same works that he did. This is only possible through the power of the Spirit. Since the same Holy Ghost that did the works in Jesus’ life wants to indwell each believer, it is then possible for a believer to do the same works as Jesus. The only difference is that Jesus had the Spirit without measure (John 3:34) while spirit-filled believers vary anywhere from low to overflowing in the Spirit.
First of all let’s establish the fact that the new birth and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are two separate events that don’t necessarily occur at the same time. All we have to do is show one example where there was a significant time difference between the two events and that is sufficient to refute the doctrine that everyone receives the Holy Spirit when he gets saved. We have two clear examples in the Book of Acts of people being saved and then subsequently being baptized in the Holy Spirit. We have one clear example of people being filled with the Holy Spirit at the same time that they were saved, so it can happen either way, simultaneously or subsequently. However since it can happen either way, we can’t promote a doctrine that says that it must happen one way or the other.
In Acts 8, Philip went to Samaria and preached the gospel. Based on the description of the events, it is clear that many people were saved. We see from Acts 8:37 that Philip did not baptize unbelievers. We also see an indicator that the people were saved in Acts 8:14 because they received the word of God. Here we have born again believers who have been baptized in water, but haven’t received the Holy Ghost. The church at Jerusalem sent Peter and John to Samaria to lay hands on the Samaritan believers so that they would receive the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost obviously manifested his presence in such a way that they knew prior to that time that they hadn’t received him; and it was obvious when they did receive him, because Simon the Sorcerer wanted to buy the power to lay hands on people.
In Acts 19, we read about some disciples of John the Baptist who received the Holy Ghost subsequent to being born again. Upon meeting the disciples, Paul’s question to them reflects the fact that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is usually subsequent to salvation. He asked them, “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?” Their reply indicated that they didn’t know that he had been sent to indwell believers. Paul then explained the gospel to them and they were baptized in water. At this point they were born again believers baptized in water, but still not filled with the Holy Ghost. Notice that it was necessary for him to lay hands on them for them to receive the Holy Ghost. It was obvious when they received him, because they spake with tongues and prophesied.
We also see in Acts 9:17 that it was necessary for Ananias to lay hands on Paul for him to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Of the five times described in the Book of Acts when someone received the Holy Ghost, three times it was through the laying on of hands. Laying on of hands is a point of contact for the Holy Ghost to be transferred from one person to another. Since on the day of Pentecost, there was no one previously filled with the Holy Ghost to do the laying on of hands, it is obvious that laying on of hands couldn’t be practices on that day.
Acts 10 tells of Cornelius’ house receiving the Holy Ghost as Peter preached. Since Peter was still bound by Jewish tradition, he would not have even baptized them in water without them being circumcised because they were Gentiles. In order to show Peter and the other disciples that it wasn’t necessary to keep the law in order to be saved, God simultaneously saved Cornelius’ household and baptized them in the Holy Ghost. Then, Peter couldn’t refuse to baptize them in water since it was obvious that God had already received them into the body of Christ. Since this is the only case in the scriptures where people simultaneously received the Holy Ghost when they were born again, the clear pattern is that most people receive the Holy Ghost subsequent to salvation through the laying on of hands.
In each of the five cases, it was clear when people received the Holy Ghost. He initially manifested his presence through tongues and prophecy. You can study the OT and there is no doubt when the Holy Ghost came upon someone. Well, where did all the confusion come from today? It came from ministers similar to Philip who did not have an anointing or ministry to get people filled with the Holy Ghost. Out of pride, these ministers quit calling other ministers to come lay hands on their converts to get them filled with the Holy Ghost. It came from powerless ministers who began to tell people that they received the Holy Ghost when they got saved to keep from admitting their own powerlessness. It also came from people who got saved and didn't even know that the Holy Ghost was available subsequent to salvation. They read various scriptures written to the early spirit filled church and just assume that it applies to them also.
More to come!