This study was first taught on May 15, 2012

Topic: Have Ye Received the Holy Ghost? (3): What It Really Means (1)

No audio available for this study.

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Background
The last time we met, we considered the issue of the timing of receiving the Holy Spirit. We saw that the Holy Spirit can be received any time from the instant a person believes (puts his trust) in Jesus as Christ (for his eternal salvation) to shortly afterwards. However, it is expected that before a person gets involved in the work of ministry in any form or shape, he would first have received the Holy Spirit. It was never intended that it would take forever for the Holy Spirit to be received by a person who has believed in Jesus Christ for his salvation.

We saw that receiving the Holy Spirit was a major focus for the early Church, and, should be of primary concern to the Church today. The power that the Church on earth manifests is through the Holy Spirit, and His absence in the Church renders it powerless, and, makes the church an aberration! The power to cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up serpents and drink deadly things without being hurt, minister healing to the sick with full recovery, and, spread the message of salvation through Jesus Christ with conviction, are some of the manifestations of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the Church of God on earth. The promise of the Lord is that all those who believe in Him (those who entrust their lives to Jesus, for deliverance from sin, the flesh, and the devil, as well as for their spiritual well-being and eternal life), shall surely receive the Holy Spirit.

Since we are not seeing the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit in today’s Church, we were compelled to proffer possible reasons as follows:
(a) Many of those in churches today are yet to fully trust Jesus for their eternal salvation;
(b) Many of those in churches today are not hungry for God;
(c) Many of those in churches today do not glorify Jesus in their lives; and,
(d) Many of those in churches today are living for self, rather than for God,

Scripture Text(s)
Acts 19:1-6
Tonight, we move on to the main part of the question, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost …?” We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to be able to answer the question affirmatively, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
In order to receive something it has to be given, and this is especially true of the Holy Spirit. There is also the matter of the manner in which He is given. These (the giving and the manner of the giving) will help us understand Paul’s question, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” a lot better.
John 3:27; 1 Corinthians 4:7; John 7:39; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7; Matthew 10:8; Acts 8:18-23; 9:10-12, 17; Mark 1:8; Luke 1:35; 24:49; Acts 1:8; 8:14-16; 10:44-45; 2:16-18; 10:44-45; 2:1-4; 9:17; 4:31; Luke 11:9-13; James 1:17; Acts 8:17; 19:6; 10:44; 19:2-6.

Conclusion
When Paul, the apostle, asked the disciples of John’s writings, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?”, he was in effect asking whether the Holy Spirit had been given to them when they believed in Jesus as the Messiah. The import of the question is that, when a person believes in Jesus, or entrusts his life to Jesus for his well-being here on earth and for his eternity, he in turn is given the Holy Spirit, which he must then receive. For, it is one thing to be given the Holy Spirit, and, it is another thing to receive or accept Him. Please note that the Holy Spirit is freely given by the Lord, and cannot be acquired by offering monetary gifts to the ‘man of God’ or giving an offering to the church.

Receiving the Holy Spirit has been variously implied in Scripture, to mean that:
(a) A person is baptized with, immersed in, dipped into, totally covered with, the Holy Spirit;
(b) A person is endued, clothed, invested, armed with, overshadowed by, power from God (above);
(c) The Holy Spirit has come upon a person;
(d) The Holy Spirit has fallen upon a person;
(e) The Holy Spirit has been poured on a person; and,
(f) A person has been filled with the Holy Spirit. It is instructive to note that the expression “filled with the Holy Spirit” can also be used to describe what happens when a person is re-energized with the Holy Spirit, after the initial filling.

If you have not received the Holy Spirit in any of the forms described above, then, you can ask God to freely give you the Holy Spirit (for everyone that asketh receiveth). The manner in which the Holy Spirit will be given to you may be by the laying on of the hands of someone who has been authorised by God to do so, or the Holy Spirit can come upon you without the laying on of hands. The manner of His being given is not for us to determine. One thing is for sure though, when a person has entrusted his life into the Hands of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is given to Him. Thus, the critical factor in receiving the Holy Spirit is not necessarily the asking for Him, but rather, it is the entrusting of one’s life in its entirety unto Jesus, the Saviour of the world, the Son of God on the one hand, and his willingness to accept the Holy Spirit upon him, on the other hand!

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