We have received the Holy Spirit if we have received Christ as Savior (John 1:12). By trusting in the Lord Jesus to forgive our sins, we are cleansed (Rom. 5:1; 1 John 1:7-9). Along with this cleansing, the Holy Spirit lives in us (Rom. 8:11) just as the Father and...
A lot of people don't know that when the Bible lists the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Gal. 5:22-23, it's only one fruit, not fruits. So, when we ask how many fruits of the Holy Spirit are there, the answer is one. This is because in Greek, the word fruit is in the...
All four gospels report that, when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the visible form of a dove, (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22, John 1:32). This event is so familiar to most Christians that the dove has become a...
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity. Along with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is the one true and living God. The Bible has a great deal to say about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Here we will summarize just some...
It is common among evangelicals in general, and those of Charismatic or Pentecostal leanings in particular, to interpret the "baptism of fire" as another term for the "baptism of the Holy Spirit." Thus, when John the Baptist says "I baptize you with water for...
There is no place in Scripture that says an unbeliever has the Holy Spirit. Only believers have the Holy Spirit. However, an unbeliever can receive the Holy Spirit if he becomes a believer. When we speak this way, we are talking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit...
You don't have to speak in tongues if you receive the Holy Spirit. God gives different spiritual gifts to different believers so that we will be able to bless and edify one another. As Paul explained to the Corinthians: "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same...
We need the Bible because we are sinners, and we need to have things written down. The Holy Spirit indwells believers and works in them to point us to Christ. However, the Holy Spirit does not dominate our will, our mind, and our thoughts as to change us into robots....
Yes, a person can be anointed without experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit. People were anointed for healing (Mark 6:13; James 5:14), and Christians are anointed by the Holy Spirit to have discernment and understanding of God's Word (1 John 2:27). God can...
No, you do not have to be baptized to be filled with the Holy Spirit. To prove this, all we have to do is look at the Scriptures where the phrase "filled with the Spirit" is used. Luke 1:15, “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or...