Receive the Holy Spirit
Biblical references
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This step is, to some, the hardest to understand, probably because it is the least well-taught. We have already looked at water baptism and in that step we deliberately missed out the references to spirit baptism so that we would concentrate on one without worrying about the other.
However, it was hinted at and had you checked
out the Bible references you cannot have missed reading about it. Let us go back to some of those references again and deliberately include the references to spirit baptism or the receiving of the spirit.
We start with Jesus's conversation with Nicodemus the Pharisee:
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born
of the Spirit."
[John 3 vs 5-8]
Here is John the Baptist's prophetic statement about Jesus' form of baptism:
"I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more
powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you
with the Holy Spirit and with fire"
[Matt 3 v 11]
Read what happened at Jesus' baptism:
As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven
was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting
on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
[Matt 3 vs 16-17]
And finally we shall re-read again what Peter said to the crowd after Pentecost:
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit." [Acts 2 v 38]
So who is He?
As you have read in our last biblical reference the Holy Spirit is a gift from God freely given
to you to confirm your acceptance by God. Baptism of spirit
is clearly and distinctly different
from baptism of water. John the Baptist could not offer it, only Jesus. As a gift, you thus, receive it.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not
leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard
me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised
with the Holy Spirit."
[Acts 1 vs 4-5]
On one occasion when Jesus was talking privately to his disciples he predicted his
death and told the disciples about the Holy Spirit that he would send. In this passage
in John's gospel we get one of the best descriptions of who the Holy Spirit is
and what his purpose is:
"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'
Because I have said these things, you
are filled with grief. But I tell you
the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor
will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
in regard to sin, because men do not
believe in me; in regard to righteousness,
because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world
now stands condemned.
"I have much more to say to you,
more than you can now bear. But when
he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak
on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to
come. He will bring glory to me by
taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit
will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
[John 16 vs 5-15]
Notice how the Holy Spirit is regarded as "Him", thus the Spirit is a person like
God and Jesus, together making up what is known as the Trinity (Godhead of three
persons). That is why I titled
this section "So who is He?" rather than "So what is it?". The Holy Spirit is also
called a counsellor and a convictor. If you have believed and repented then the
Holy Spirit has already been at work in you convicting you of your guilt in regard
to sin because you would not have believed otherwise. Now you can receive him as
a counsellor, an aid and a comfort in your life to come.
Do I need the Holy Spirit?
Oh yes. Baptism of water is for forgiveness from past sins and thus deals with the
past. Baptism of the Holy Spirit equips us for our future life in Christ. Once we
have been forgiven of our sins and had them "washed away" we need to fill the vacuum
with the Holy Spirit lest we slide back to our old ways.
[Matt 12 vs 43-45]
The Holy Spirit gives to the body of Christ (the church) gifts of the spirit used
to help the church in its job of seeking the lost and bringing people to a faith
in Jesus Christ. As we have already seen it is the job of the Spirit to convict
people of their sins. We deliver the good news but we need the Spirit to do the
convicting otherwise no-one would believe us.
How do I get the Holy Spirit?
You have to ask for it through prayer. Of course, you must have already believed,
repented and gone through water baptism first. For some people the receiving of
the Holy Spirit was very soon after baptism in water (immediately or at least on
the same day) for others it
is received some time afterwards. Interestingly Jesus encourages us to ask persistently
until we receive it in this little parable:
Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at
midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine
on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked,
and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell
you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend,
yet because of the man's boldness (or persistence) he will get up and give him as
much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you. For
everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door
will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
[Luke 11 vs 5-13]
Not only can you ask for the gift of the Spirit but others can also ask for you
as happened in the early church
[Acts 8 vs 15-17].
All evidence suggests that the Holy Spirit was usually received
after the laying on of hands (that is, physically touching) often by placing a hand on the head or shoulders
of the person to "receive" from other Christians.
How do I know that I have the power of the Holy Spirit?
Those that received the Holy Spirit usually showed some visible evidence of the
fact, although not always in the same way. On several occasions we read Paul verifying
if believers have received the Holy Spirit yet:
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived
at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and
asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a
Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism
did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was
a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him,
that is, in Jesus." On hearing this,
they were baptised into
the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul
placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.
[Acts 19 vs 1-7]
Notice how sometimes the answer was no and that there were many who had not even
heard of the Holy Spirit. No wonder it is the least well-taught subject today. However,
Paul soon put the record straight. Notice, again the laying on of hands but most
importantly of all with respect to the "how do we know?" issue is that they started
doing something they could not do before, speaking in tongues (meaning different languages)
and prophesying. In all cases where this is reported in the New Testament, people
seemed to be able to say whether they had or had not received the Spirit implying
that something happened to confirm the fact.
Conclusion - now what?
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We have arrived at the end of our adventure. If you have followed what we have said
this
far and carried out all the actions with true repentance and sincerity then welcome
brother or sister, you can now call yourself a Christian (a follower of
Christ) and have started down the path of salvation. However, if we equate this adventure to natural childbirth you
have now got to the equivalent of leaving the Maternity ward with your parents.
There is a whole new life ahead of you. Salvation
is a continual process of faith and righteousness until
you die and finally meet up with the Lord, only then are you saved (past tense).
In the meantime you cannot go back to the way you were, you are a new person now,
your old self has died and you are now born again to a new life with Jesus. Jesus
has provided everything we need to resist sin and to "walk" in a way pleasing to
God.
So about your "parents" then? We are
not meant to be alone but a part of the body of Christ. That body on earth is represented
by the church.
Find yourself a good Bible believing church family to join in fellowship with. If
you live in Stevenage why not try us out? Click here for contact details.
Get a Bible as soon as you can. I recommend the New International Version for new
converts at least. All the
quotations on this site come from that version. If you cannot afford one, download
the free electronic one from our Literature section on Bibles. Read your Bible every
day if you can, it is your divine authority now and contains everything you need
to know about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and your responsibilities as a Christian
for a Holy life pleasing to God.
Warning
I have a warning for you so that it does not come as a surprise if it happens. Jesus
never said that our lives on Earth would necessarily be a "bed of roses" now that
we are Christians. In fact quite the opposite. Jesus talks about the world not liking Christians because it did not like him and that we may face persecution [John 15 vs 17-20].
In this country, at the moment, persecution rarely amounts to more than ridicule,
however, sinister laws are being passed separating the state from God's laws and
a time is coming when Christians are going to have to stand up and be counted for
what we believe in even under threat of prosecution.
Final Instructions
Finally, I will leave you with Jesus's great commission to us. Now that you have
found a new life in Jesus and know what to do to assure your place in heaven then it is only
right that you should tell others as we have done for you:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told
them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus
came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything
I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
[Matt 28 vs 16-20]
God Bless you...