Expert: Tom Smith - 1/12/2006

Question
Are you familiar with the predominately African American Assembly "The Church Of God In Christ"? If so, can you explain to me the differences between the terminologies used in their doctrine relating to Holy Ghost Baptism and getting/being filled with the Holy Ghost, indwellment of the Spirit and why they "tarry" (vigorously clap and call on Jesus' name) on the alter in order to be baptized in/by the Holy Ghost? I thought that baptism of the Holy Ghost is simultaneous with salvation, occuring at the point of regeneration of the human spirit. Please give scriptual support for your answer. Thank you and God bless!   
Ron

Answer
I cannot say that I am familiar with this specific denomination, but I am familair with the doctrine that you refer to.

Many Pentecostal denominations hold to what is called the second blessing. This doctrine suggests that there is a difference between the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is received at the time of salvation and the filling of the Holy Spirit received at a later date. The claim is that salvation is the first blessing but that to be empowered for ministry (to receive your Holy Spirit gifting), it is necessary to have the "second blessing" which is referred to as being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Here is one explanation of this doctrine:

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Perhaps the most important immediate precursor to Pentecostalism was the Holiness movement which issued from the heart of Methodism at the end of the Nineteenth Century. From John Wesley, the Pentecostals inherited the idea of a subsequent crisis experience variously called "entire sanctification,"" perfect love," "Christian perfection," or "heart purity." It was John Wesley who posited such a possibility in his influential tract, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1766). It was from Wesley that the Holiness Movement developed the theology of a "second blessing." It was Wesley's colleague, John Fletcher, however, who first called this second blessing a "baptism in the Holy Spirit," an experience which brought spiritual power to the recipient as well as inner cleansing. This was explained in his major work, Checks to Antinominianism (1771). During the Nineteenth Century, thousands of Methodists claimed to receive this experience, although no one at the time saw any connection with this spirituality and speaking in tongues or any of the other charisms.
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Source: http://www.oru.edu/university/library/holyspirit/pentorg1.html

From my observation, many people use the tarrying as relationg to the disciples in the upper room awaiting the appearance of the empowerment of the Holy Sirit. There is a critical difference though, and that is that the Holy Spirit in OT times did not indwell the believer - this only happened after the death and resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Therefore when they tarried, they did so at the command of Christ who told them to wait until they received the Holy Spirit. Since that time, we have been promised that those who are saved will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and therefore to tarry for the Holy Spirit is unBiblical.

Now though each of us does received tghe indwelling of the Holy Spirit at salvation, there are times during which God will ask us to do something for which we are, in the flesh, ill equipped and will provide special empowerment for that task. This is found in scripture, but such empoweremnt is not said in scripture to be for all Christians, nor is this empowerment permanent, but rather is for the task which has been assigned.

One mistake often made when speaking of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is the asumption that the empowerment must be supernatural appearing or accompanied with tongues.  Scripture tells us that not alkl speak in tongues and when scripture lists the gifts of the Holy Spirit, many of them are quite natural appearing, and yet are nonetheless supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit for ministry.

I hope that this helps.