Holy Spirit: How does He enter our lives today?
Perhaps the first thing you need to know about the Holy Spirit is that He’s not a ghost. The word ghost as you’ll see the word used often in the King James Version of the Bible in connection with the third Person of the trinity is a mistranslation. In the original text the word ghost comes from the Greek word PNEUMA which means spirit, not ghost. You’ll find more about this in my article about it on this website. Here’s the link to it—
Holy Spirit: Is the Spirit of God a ghost?
The wonderful historical book of Acts is one of the most important but most misunderstood in the Bible. That’s because it is a transitional and historical book showing how God’s people went from being under the authority of the Mosaic Law to no longer being under it but under a set of new policies simply called grace.
Romans 6:13-15
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are NOT under the law, but under GRACE.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are NOT under the law, but under GRACE? God forbid. [Emphasis added]
These verses tell us that as believers we are no longer under the condemnation of the law and that we’re not under many of the directives of the Mosaic Law. Instead, we are now said to be under GRACE and the teachings of the apostle Paul. You’ll find articles about this on this website—
Paul: Who exactly is this man to us?
Peter & Paul: Did they proclaim the same message?
It is Paul, not Peter who is the apostle to us, the Gentiles. Peter’s ministry was all directed to Israel, what he calls the circumcision.
Romans 11:13
13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify MINE office: [Emphasis added]
Here again, I have an article that addresses this specifically about Paul and who he is to us as believers today—
Paul: Do we make too much of him?
We now even have a new and different gospel to proclaim.
Gospel: Is OUR gospel in “the four gospels?”
Gospel: Where did the apostle Paul get the one he preached?
Gospel: Which one is ours today?
It, therefore, should not be surprising at all that there have been changes regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. Today, a person’s body is indwelt by the Holy Spirit the moment they are saved.
1 Corinthians 1:1-2
1 Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be [“to be” is not in the original text] saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s: [Emphasis added]
So, what does Paul tell these Corinthian saints about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
1 Corinthians 6:19
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [Emphasis added]
If a person doesn’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit today, they’re not even saved.
Romans 8:9
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [Emphasis added]
While we can grieve the Holy Spirit by our foolishness, we can never lose Him.
Ephesians 4:30
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are SEALED unto the day of redemption. [Emphasis added]
The “day of redemption” is the day we get our new body, a resurrected body with all the wonderful attributes Christ has in His. Between now and then we cannot only grieve the Holy Spirit but we can even quench the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But the Spirit will always be with us and IN us.
1 Thessalonians 5:19
19 Quench not the Spirit. [Emphasis added]
There was a time when believers had special gifts of the Spirit but today we have God the Holy Spirit Himself residing IN us. If you want more information about spiritual gifts, please see my article about this—
Spiritual Gifts: Do they exist today?
The work of the Holy Spirit is certainly something every believer should know about. If you want a broad look at the Holy Spirit’s work today, please see my article about this.
Holy Spirit: What is His role in our life today?
All of this was quite different in the past from what it is today in this present Age of Grace. We should never try to run all this together as though it has always been the same. It hasn’t! All this falls under the principle of rightly dividing the Scriptures.
Bible: How should one study it?
So, why did Peter and John need to lay hands on the Samaritans for them to receive the Holy Ghost? Let’s note what is said about that incident—
Acts 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 THEN laid they their hands on them, and they RECEIVED the Holy Ghost. [Emphasis added]
As I mentioned earlier in this article, we must always bear in mind that the book of Acts is a transitional book. It is certainly one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. As the time frame of this book begins, Israel had been and was still under the divine authority of the Mosaic Law [Matthew 23:1-3]; they were offered the fulfillment of a kingdom they had been promised [Acts 3:19-21]; they rejected the King who would loved to have given them that kingdom [Acts 3:19-21]; and God then interrupted the prophetic program that was in place and saved Saul of Tarsus [Acts 9:3-6] who later came to be known as the apostle Paul who introduced this present Age of Grace that we’re still a part of today [Ephesians 3:1-3]. Again, at the beginning of Acts the focus is still on Israel and their promised earthly kingdom [Acts 1:6-7] but by the end of the book Israel had still rejected her Messiah and the focus is then turned to the Gentiles [Acts 28:27-28].
It is great to know that God knows our thoughts and our desires. If we long for an understanding of the Scriptures, He’ll provide that as we’re faithful to search the Scriptures. Such has always been the case. God never works to hide truths we need to know.
John 7:17
17 If any man will [THELO = desires] do his will [THELEMA = that which is willed of God], he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. [Emphasis added]
God always honors such wishes. If on the other hand we only want to defend and uphold some man-made theological system, God will give us over to that erroneous belief. As with so many things, it is the apostle Paul that tells us and warns us about this.
Romans 1:28
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate [ADOKIMOS = things not standing the test, consisting of things rejected] mind, to do those things which are not convenient [AUKAIROS = well-timed or needed]; [Emphasis added]
There should be no doubt about the book of Acts [and perhaps Revelation] being the most abused and most misunderstood part of our Bible. Over the last 2,000 years many false teachings have emerged from it. It is sad to see how so many things have come about that God never intended. The book of Acts has frequently been used to teach what denominationally minded people wanted instead of what the Holy Spirit intended. This next passage we’ll note is an excellent example of that.
Acts 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. [Emphasis added]
Is this an example for us today of how people receive the Holy Spirit? It is not! Today, every person who accepts the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as the sole basis for their salvation is indwelt by the Holy Spirit the moment they believe this gospel message. As we’ve already noted, if a believer doesn’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit today, they are still not saved no matter how “religious” they may think they are.
Again, Romans 8:9
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [Emphasis added]
Today, there’s no special anointing of the Holy Spirit that occurs at the time of one’s salvation or sometime afterward. There’s no special “feeling” or “experience” that occurs. If you didn’t know about this indwelling through the Scriptures, you wouldn’t even know it happened. Note what the apostle Paul once told the Corinthian believers of his day.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [Emphasis added]
Again, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit occurs the moment a believer first receives the gospel message for salvation—
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [Emphasis added]
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]
If we study Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, we learn there that there is absolutely nothing about laying hands on anyone to impart the Holy Spirit to them. That was Israel’s doctrine, not ours. If anyone wants the Holy Spirit today, they need to believe Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. As we’ve seen in this study, it is when this occurs that they are permanently indwelt with the Holy Spirit. That situation is then never subject to change. It is a permanent indwelling! Believers can quench or grieve Him in His work in our lives but never lose Him.
