The Holy Spirit (8)
By Abraham Eli
This study was first taught on June 12, 2012
Topic: The Initial Evidence of Receiving the Holy Ghost
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Background
The last time we met on this subject, we resolved what Paul's question, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” was really addressing. We saw that the question of receiving the Holy Ghost may convey two possible meanings: the receiving of the Holy Spirit upon a person (Acts 1:8), as well as the receiving of the Holy Spirit within a person (John 20:22). We saw that the difference in the two is that with the former, the Holy Spirit cohabits with the person, whereas, with the latter, He inhabits the person. We noted that the Holy Spirit cohabits with a person, who has believed in the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, and has therefore, entrusted his life and well-being to Him. Upon such a believer, the Holy Spirit exerts an external influence which enables such a believer to do as Christ did in terms of working of miracles, healing, preaching, teaching, speaking with tongues, etc. And since we had studied extensively on the subject of the Holy Spirit upon a believer previously, we took a more detailed look at what happens when the Holy Spirit inhabits a person.
We saw that, when the Holy Spirit inhabits a person, it is first, to make that person to believe in the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, and then, to bring such a believer to the place where he can handover the control of his life unto the Holy Spirit. As such, when the Holy Spirit inhabits a person, he cleans out all the debris of sin that have accumulated over the years in his life; exerts influence on him from within, by leading him in the right way; and, enables him to easily overcome the flesh, do God's word, develop and manifest the nature of God even in trials and tribulations, develop a holy and godly nature, be sanctified daily through the word of God, and, manifest the fruit of the Spirit! We also saw that the inhabiting of the Holy Spirit enables Jesus to begin to live in a believer, thus making him a temple of the living God, and a Christian indeed! This implies that the believer's old sinful nature is crucified; he is able to live for God here on earth, thus secure his eternity with God; his mortal body receives every necessary repair work that will make it to glorify God in this world, as well as immortality in the world to come; he is free from fear, cries, “Abba Father” to God, and, comes to the convincing knowledge that he has become a son of God who is kept secure until the time of his full salvation. We observed that these things do not happen when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person, but they only happen when the Holy Spirit inhabits a person!
Having dealt with the two possible meanings of Paul's question: “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” we concluded that Paul could only have been referring to the Holy Spirit cohabiting with these disciples of John the Baptist's writings. Indeed, we can infer that when these men were introduced to Paul as “disciples”, it was only proper for him to inquire if they had received the Holy Spirit upon them, which would then have made it possible for him to co-opt them into the ministry. But when they gave their answer, he discovered that they were not disciples of Jesus at all, but of the writings of John! This then, must have necessitated Paul staying on in Ephesus to teach these disciples and others who would join them in the way of Christ (Acts 19:8-10).
Scripture Text(s)
Acts 19:1-6
Now that we know what Paul, the apostle, meant by his question, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?”, Let us now move on to see how we can tell if indeed, a believer has received the Holy Ghost, as was the experience of these disciples of John's writings, when Paul prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. May our experience of receiving the Holy Spirit be total and complete, in Jesus' name, Amen.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the twelve disciples of John's writings (after their conversion to Christ, and their baptism in His name), they spoke with tongues and prophesied. As we search the scriptures tonight, we shall see the initial evidence that shows the Holy Spirit has come upon a believer.
Acts 10:44-46; 8:14-17; 9:17-20; 1 Corinthians 14:15-19; Acts 2:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:2-4, 10-14, 22-25, 39; Acts 2:14ff; 1:8.
Conclusion
Whenever the Holy Spirit comes upon a believer, one common thread is that he initially speaks in a language he has never before learnt, also referred to as, “tongues” or “other tongues”. It is a 'tongue' as distributed to all believers by the will of the Holy Spirit, or, a language as the Holy Spirit gives utterance to the believer. We have seen that in addition to 'tongues' when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person that individual prophesies, magnifies God, or, speaks of the wonderful works of God. These additional experiences are really the same thing expressed in different ways; for, prophesying, which is speaking forth the word of God or speaking forth from the throne of God, can include magnifying God or telling of the wonderful works of God; and the wonderful works of God could be to magnify God, and it can be to prophesy. 'Tongues' becomes prophecy where there is interpretation! Thus, the additional observations made could be said to be the product of the 'tongues' as interpreted by the observers.
In some instances, the bible is silent about the initial evidence, when it documents the Holy Spirit coming upon some people. This is not to mean that the initial evidence did not take place, but rather, that there was no need to make such a declaration, since we all know what happens after the Holy Spirit comes upon a person. Thus, the bible selects the first time the Holy Spirit came upon the early disciples, the first time He came upon the Gentiles, and when He came upon the disciples of John's writings, to relate the initial evidence.
Furthermore, the 'tongues' that is spoken during the coming of the Holy Spirit may in fact be the tongues of men (human language never before learned), or, an unknown tongue (language which has yet to be identified as belonging to men), also known as “tongues of angels” or “speaking mysteries to God”. As those upon whom the Holy Spirit falls speak forth in 'tongues', they may in fact be communicating with God in prayer and worship ('tongues' without interpretation), or, be telling unbelievers about God in a way that will bring them to repentance and salvation, or, may be speaking a message to the church (both of which are 'tongues' with interpretation).
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