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David Shelby Corlett

David Shelby Corlett (November 17, 1890 – January 12, 1969) was an American preacher, educator, and author whose ministry profoundly shaped the Church of the Nazarene through his leadership and writings on holiness theology. Born in Chetopa, Kansas, to Henry W. Corlett and Mary Shelby, he graduated from Peniel College in 1916 with a B.A., earned an M.A. from Pasadena College in 1922, and completed a B.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1928, later receiving honorary D.D. degrees from Bethany-Peniel College (1930) and Northwest Nazarene College (1945). Converted in his youth, he was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene in 1915 and began preaching in Texas churches. Corlett’s preaching career included pastoring in Texas and serving as a revivalist before transitioning into education and leadership roles. He was president of Peniel College (1920–1927), dean at Arkansas Holiness College (1927–1928), president of Bethany-Peniel College (1930–1935), and dean at Nazarene Theological Seminary (1945–1952), where he also taught theology. From 1940 to 1965, he edited the Herald of Holiness, the denomination’s flagship publication, amplifying his influence. Author of books like The Baptism with the Holy Ghost (1945) and Forward with Christ (1935), he emphasized sanctification and practical Christian living. Married to Lillie Morgan in 1915, with whom he had two children, he died at age 78 in Kansas City, Missouri, leaving a legacy of holiness preaching and Nazarene scholarship.
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David Shelby Corlett preaches on the significance of being filled with the Spirit, emphasizing the need for a deep and precious relationship with God where our lives are entirely His and His Spirit fills us. This fullness is not a one-time event but a constant appropriation and perpetual reception, requiring a ceaseless thirst and dependence on God. Many Christians hunger for this experience but are hindered by prejudice or unwillingness to fully yield to the Lord. Corlett urges readers to seek the baptism with the Holy Spirit as a personal, inward dynamic encounter that purifies the heart and empowers victorious Christian living.
Filled With the Spirit
Another result of this baptism with the Spirit is the fullness of the Spirit. It is significant to note that after Pentecost the term "baptism with the Spirit" is seldom used, the new term is "filled with the Spirit." It is a climax in experience where we are entirely emptied of self, and filled with the Spirit. But this is not a mechanical fullness where we are assured of being always filled. We are brought into a deeper and more precious relationship with God until now our lives are entirely His and His Spirit fills us. To break that relationship is to disturb the fullness of the Spirit. To be unyielded in anything relative to the will of God will disturb that relationship. To be disobedient in any of the guidance or leadership of the Spirit affects that relationship. We keep this relationship by keeping a yielded heart to the will of God, by minding the things of the Spirit, by faithfully obeying His leadership and guidance, and by fully depending upon Him as our source of power and life. Dr. Daniel Steele says, "Turning to our Greek Testament we note that the command, 'Be filled with the Spirit' is in the present tense, denoting not a mechanical fullness once for all, but a vital fullness, a constant appropriation and a perpetual reception, a ceaseless drinking and a ceaseless thirst. Hence the paradox of Charles Wesley: Insatiate to this spring I fly; I drink, and yet am ever dry. This clearly states the basis of our relationship and how this relationship may be sustained. It is surprising to note how many Christians there are who are hungry for this baptism with the Holy Spirit. They have permitted prejudice or an unwillingness to be fully yielded to the Lord to rob them of this precious fullness. Others talk about it, are glad to support a program which emphasizes this experience but they do not obtain the baptism with the Spirit as a personal experience. We need to learn that the baptism with the Spirit is more than a theoretical statement, or a mere profession. It is an inward dynamic, a living divine presence. It is not merely a doctrine, it is an element of life. If you, dear reader, have not entered into this glorious experience of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you should do so at once. God is surely not pleased to share His temple with anything that is unholy. There is no other source from which you may have deliverance from "the flesh" which now deprives you of being the victorious Spirit-filled child of God you desire to be. You cannot hope to gain the victory over this inner foe, or to expel it from your heart without making a full consecration or abandonment of yourself to God that He may baptize you with the Holy Spirit and thus purify your heart. You must bring this matter to an issue. The Spirit and the flesh cannot permanently abide in the same heart. You will either yield yourself fully to God for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which gives deliverance from "the flesh," or eventually your life will drift to the low level of "walking after the flesh." What is there, my dear friend, that keeps you from this needful experience in your life? Whatever it is, turn from it. Yield your life completely to God. Take the way of death to the carnal self. Obediently follow Christ and earnestly and definitely seek this baptism with the Holy Spirit which will transform you from a weak and hesitant Christian into a fearless and powerful child of God. "Have you ever felt the power, Of the Pentecostal fire Burning up all carnal nature, Cleansing out all base desire, Going through and through your spirit, Cleansing all its stain away? He is waiting now to give it, It is for us all today."
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David Shelby Corlett (November 17, 1890 – January 12, 1969) was an American preacher, educator, and author whose ministry profoundly shaped the Church of the Nazarene through his leadership and writings on holiness theology. Born in Chetopa, Kansas, to Henry W. Corlett and Mary Shelby, he graduated from Peniel College in 1916 with a B.A., earned an M.A. from Pasadena College in 1922, and completed a B.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1928, later receiving honorary D.D. degrees from Bethany-Peniel College (1930) and Northwest Nazarene College (1945). Converted in his youth, he was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene in 1915 and began preaching in Texas churches. Corlett’s preaching career included pastoring in Texas and serving as a revivalist before transitioning into education and leadership roles. He was president of Peniel College (1920–1927), dean at Arkansas Holiness College (1927–1928), president of Bethany-Peniel College (1930–1935), and dean at Nazarene Theological Seminary (1945–1952), where he also taught theology. From 1940 to 1965, he edited the Herald of Holiness, the denomination’s flagship publication, amplifying his influence. Author of books like The Baptism with the Holy Ghost (1945) and Forward with Christ (1935), he emphasized sanctification and practical Christian living. Married to Lillie Morgan in 1915, with whom he had two children, he died at age 78 in Kansas City, Missouri, leaving a legacy of holiness preaching and Nazarene scholarship.