Originally Posted by
"Capt. Midnight"
To be a Christian was a risky thing, and back to Saint Paul, a man who KILLED Christians for a vocation, besides it being that he lost his status, IMAGINE that asked of the Church, to no only accept without question one who had pursued them, killed many of their Friends and Family, as a man reborn, but to quickly herald him as a Bishop! there was a LOT asked of them all.
Besides becoming a great Second Generation Apostle, and the builder of the Pauline structure, and being the universalist, the hand to the Gentile, he could summon the Holy Spirit at will,
A couple of things I disagree with you here, Capt. Midnight . . .
I never read in the New Testament where Paul killed any Christians. I don't think it made any difference in Paul's mind, because he considered persecuting Christians to be a horrific sin, making him the "least of all" Christ's men. But nowhere in scripture does it say he killed anyone. He was there when Stephen was stoned, but he held the garments of the ones who killed Stephen.
Second, Paul never "summoned" the Holy Spirit, as a medium would summon a demon. You don't "summon" the Holy Spirit. When a person is completely emptied of himself, his own ambition and desires, and lays down his life at Jesus' feet, seeking only the will of the Father, the Holy Spirit enters in and fills him up! This is what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. It's the turning point in a person's life -- peace enters in, joy enters in, it becomes possible to truly love, and it becomes possible to hear God's voice and understand God's word. These things are not possible without the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is the indwelling presence of God himself, and is not "summoned" by anyone. He comes to a willing heart, and stays as long as that person eschews sin and seeks the face of God.
IF you are willing & obedient , you shall eat the good of the land: But if you refuse & rebel, You shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Isaiah 1:19, 20