Auckland Park Theological Seminary hosted a one-day seminar on the Holy Spirit on the 9th of October 2013.

In Acts 19:2 Paul asked newly converted Christians in Ephesus if they have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit when they became born again. They replied that they have not even heard of the baptism in the Holy Sprit. This was only a few years after the coming of the Holy Spirit as described in Acts 2. The baptism in the Holy Spirit was such an extraordinary event and was an integral part of the great mission to evangelise to the whole world; yet only a few years later Paul found newly converted Christians who had not even heard of the Holy Spirit. It seems unbelievable that such an important truth of the gospel could be excluded?

When looking at the history of the church we see that for more than 1700 years there was almost no recording of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In modern times, the first recording of a person baptised in the Holy Spirit was in the early 1900’s, resulting in the 1906 Azusa Street revival under the preaching of an African American preacher, William Seymour. Christians from different ethnical groups, economic status, ages and gender, worshipped the Lord together. By 1980, Pentecostals had grown to be the largest and fastest growing family of congregations in the world.

What is the present situation regarding the Holy Spirit in Pentecostal theology?

Do Pentecostals have a different experience with God that influences their perception about God?

Downloads

The speakers’ presentations are available in both text and audio formats for your convenience:

Prof K de Smidt:
The Holy Spirit empowers God’s community to be people of God’s new world – a New Testament study.
Prof WJ Hattingh:
Ministry of the Holy Spirit: God’s truth exceedingly great and exceedingly close.
Dr A Khathide:
The Holy Spirit versus the spirits in Africa.
Prof FP Möller:
The manifestation and operation of God’s Spirit in regeneration and baptism in the Holy Spirit.