A Good, Classic Read on the Holy Spirit...

Can you link to it? I keep finding Baptism of the Holy spirit which I believe is a different book.

 

I have the book and was rather astounded in the chapter where he talks about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

If you have it go back and read that section again, it might be a little more interesting than before

 

Torrey's book is excellent. On our first term after I graduated from language school and we moved to Yokohama to start chuch planting, I realized I knew almost nothing about what I was supposed to be doing. I began going to the park, sitting and alternately reading Torrey's book and praying. God brought me through what could have been clinical depression and began using us in Yokohama.

Torrey was a major influence on John R. Rice's view of the Holy Spirit. Thus The Power of Pentecost by Rice follows along the same line, only with much more depth in 431 pages (as opposed to 201 in Torrey's book).

Torrey wrote another excellent book along the same line, How to Obtain Fullness of Power. It talks about the power of the Bible, the blood of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of prayer, and the power of a surrendered life. Both this book and Rice's book may be found at:
http://www.swordofthelord.com/osb/showitem.cfm?Category=149

My uncle wrote Torrey's biography for his Ph. D. thesis at BJU, after which John R. Rice published it. The title is, R. A. Torrey, Apostle of Certainty, by Roger Martin. An excellent read, and it is still available at:
http://www.swordofthelord.com/osb/showitem.cfm?Category=126

 

Just curious John but do you agree with him in regard to the baptism of the Holy Spirit (primarily the same aspects of modern charismatics slain in the spirit)

It is a great book! I lost my copy in one of our moves and since I thought or heard it was no longer in print I gave up looking, so thanks for the link!

 

I agree with Torrey that (1) the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit are one and the same. (2) The purpose of the baptism is not holiness but power for serving God. (3) The baptism of the Spirit is a separate event from salvation.

Other than that you'd have to be more specific. To my understanding being "slain in the Spirit" is a physical event to the Charismatics, and I don't believe in that and Torrey did not teach that. Also, contrary to the Charismatics Torrey did not teach that the baptism of the Spirit is to receive the gifts of the Spirit, or that the Spirit does not indwell you at the moment of salvation.


Edited:
P. S. Hmm. I take that back about Torrey and receiving the gifts of the Spirit at the baptism of the Spirit. Starting on p. 129 he does seem to teach that. I disagree at that point. I also believe that the tongues of the Bible are actual languages, never "unknown tongues" or a "prayer language," and Torrey doesn't seem to deal with that other than a brief mention on p. 129. Rice on the other hand is clear that tongues are actual languages.

 

Torrey has been a great blessing to me over the years. I've used some of his material to teach nationals, too. How to Work for Christ and What the Bible Teaches are excellent for this, simple and practical.

It was during Torrey's ministry that the "Azuza Street Revival" (kicking off Pentecostalism) occurred in 1906, so his book The Holy Spirit (1926) really doesn't deal with that. The phenomenon was too new. And of course the modern Charismatic movement with it's ecumenicalism and "manifest sons of God" theology (and all the junk that came with it) didn't come around until the 1960's, long after Torrey's death.

 

Exactly. He did his graduate work in Germany, at the time the Mecca of theology. But he chose the path of an evangelist. So he had a wonderful balance of zeal and knowledge, which is a rare combination.

No doubt about it! :thumbs: