Baptism of the Holy Spirit - Part 1 Acts 11:15-18

What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? 

Part 1 Acts 11:15-18

     Another wrong teaching related to the receiving of the Holy Spirit is that to be effective for the Lord it is necessary to receive the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’, which is said to be different from having received the Holy Spirit. Once again, this concept is based on taking the phrase of the Bible out of its context, and interpreting it without paying any attention to other related teachings, simply in an attempt to prove right a pre-determined idea, and has no Biblical basis or support. Take a look at the incidence of the ministry of Peter resulting in the family members of Cornelius coming into Jesus Faith and receiving the Holy Spirit, and then Peter giving an explanation about this to the members of the Believer’s Assembly and the Elders, in Acts 11:15-18 : “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Jesus, who was I that I could withstand God?” When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life” From what Peter is saying here it is unambiguously clear that the giving of the Holy Spirit to the gentiles immediately on their coming into Jesus Faith, that in itself is the fulfillment and affirmation of what the Lord Jesus had said about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

     It is also apparent from Peter’s answer that this was only a fulfillment of the Lord’s words, and not an establishment of a practice or doctrine to be followed by others later on – he neither says nor implies that the other Jesus Believers too will require this ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ – it is a way of expressing self-accomplished and completed thing, rather than the setting up of a practice to be followed by others. Another important thing to be noted here is that neither here or anywhere else in the New Testament has it ever been stated or even hinted that the members of the family of Cornelius who came into the Jesus Faith and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, started to, or, sometime later ever did anything special or extra-ordinary for the Lord under the effect of this ‘Baptism’; let alone anything special or extra-ordinary. There is no record of them ever being involved even in activities of the Jesus Assembly or in the ‘routine’ ministry like everyone else. In other words, neither is the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ a so-called separate event nor is it anything special from the Lord, and neither does this ‘baptism’ give any special power, or ability, or any prompting to anybody to do anything special or extra-ordinary. 

     Contrary to what is often said and taught for it to be, actually speaking, there is nothing perplexing in it as per the Bible; receiving the Holy Spirit the very moment one comes into the Jesus Faith and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit are one and the same thing, both of these are different phrases to state one and the same thing. Therefore to build up and teach some wrong doctrinal concepts about this, that are not in the least in accordance with God’s Word, and then teach them to people, is absolutely wrong, and unacceptable; it is speaking and teaching lies in the name of God and His Word.

- To Be Continued

 Next: Baptism of the Holy Spirit – Part 2 – 1 Corinthians 12:13

Receiving The Holy Spirit (5) – Special Efforts – Tarrying (2); Inference

4. Is Tarrying required to receive the Holy Spirit? Part (2)

On the day of Pentecost when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, and then Peter preached with the power of the Holy Spirit, then the devout Jews present there asked Peter what should they do to be saved (Acts 2:37); then “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit ” (Acts 2:38). Take note, Peter said to them that on believing they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; he did not ask them to wait for the Holy Spirit after having believed. Peter’s preaching was immediately after his receiving the Holy Spirit and with the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, by the effect of his preaching, through repentance and believing, the first assembly of Christian Believers was going to come into existence. The incidences and things related to his preaching and its consequences were going to form the fundamental doctrinal practices of the assemblies of Christian Believers world-wide in the days to come, as the teachings of Acts 2 are for us today. Therefore if tarrying to receive the Holy Spirit was necessary, then its explaining through the living and evident example of Peter and the other disciples assembled there, and by having that explanation too recorded along with the other teachings given by Peter, would have been the best possible opportunity to have this established as a doctrine or rule for the assemblies of Christian Believers. But this was not done; not then, and not later on in any epistle or in any teaching in the New Testament. But what was always said was that by true repentance and actually coming into faith in the Lord the Holy Spirit too would be given spontaneously. If the above three examples are considered once again in this context, then too it becomes apparent that as soon as they came to the Christian Faith the Holy Spirit was given to them immediately, without any mention of any tarrying for it. This is an open and evident truth of the Bible that never, in the whole of the New Testament, has it ever been said to any one that they need to wait for receiving the Holy Spirit after their repenting and coming to faith in the Lord.

Today some people, by wrongfully taking these verses related to waiting as their basis, have contrived their doctrine of waiting or tarrying to deliver themselves from their predicament. Because, as we have seen in the discussion on Luke 11:13, there are some people in the Christian assemblies, who appear to be the believers and followers of Lord Jesus, but have not truly submitted themselves to Him and are not factually in the Christian Faith, therefore they never receive the Holy Spirit. To such people, either because of having no other explanation or answer, or because of not having the courage to speak up the truth, the Pastors and Elders of the Church often say that on the basis of Luke 24:49, and Acts 1:4, 8 they need to tarry for receiving the Holy Spirit and according to Luke 11:13 they need to pray to the Lord for it. Whereas what they actually need to do is to truly repent, to really completely submit themselves to the Lord, and to actually become obedient to Him and His Word, instead of getting entangled in these unbiblical teachings contrary to God’s Word, and wasting their time in them.

5. Doing something special to receive the Holy Spirit – Inference

In our discussion on receiving the Holy Spirit, in relation to the three examples discussed above and their related incidences, the point to be paid attention to, is that these incidences too do not prove that to receive the Holy Spirit any special or extra efforts, or mediation by anyone is required – as is often quite emphatically but absolutely falsely stressed upon and taught by some. There is no example in the Bible which can be used as the basis to substantiate the claim that to receive the Holy Spirit one has to pray and to plead before the Lord, or to make any other efforts, or require the help of anyone special in the ministry of the Lord, or to spend some time waiting to eventually receive the Holy Spirit. Just as it is with salvation, similarly with the receiving of the Holy Spirit – neither of them is in any way under the direction or control of any person, nor of any man made rules, rituals, or practices, or of any works of any kind. If the Believer is okay in the sight of the Lord, then the moment he comes to the Christian Faith and is saved, he is also given the Holy Spirit by the Lord for his spiritual security and guidance in the Christian life, for directing him in his day-to-day life and for spiritually nurturing him.

- To Be Continued

Next: What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? (1)

Receiving The Holy Spirit (5) – Special Efforts – Tarrying (1)

4. Is Tarrying required to receive the Holy Spirit? Part (1)

On the basis of Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4, 8 it is said that the Lord Jesus Himself has said to the disciples to wait to receive the Holy Spirit. Therefore to teach that waiting for the Lord’s opportune time for receiving the Holy Spirit is consistent with God’s Word, and should be done. But in drawing this conclusion those two mistakes are being repeated once again – taking out of context, and not keeping in mind the related other teachings. No doubt that the Lord had asked His initial disciples to tarry or wait to receive the Holy Spirit, but the main purpose of that tarrying was for those disciples to prepare themselves for the Great Commission entrusted to them by the Lord, for which they required the power of the Holy Spirit; it was not simply for the sake of receiving the Holy Spirit without having any God ordained purpose for their Christian lives. It is very clearly seen here that the Lord first gave those disciples His ministry that He wanted them to do, He then commissioned them for that ministry, and after that came the empowering for that stated ministry – every related thing and every step decided and directed by the Lord, according to His will. What people want to do and teach today would is nowhere, not in the least, like what the Lord had said and done at that time. 

Today, all that people like to say and preach is that once they have the power then they will see how they can use it. God never does anything without any purpose or merely for the sake of somebody’s ‘enjoying the experience.’ Today people are asked and taught to pray and tarry for receiving the Holy Spirit, just for the thrill of it; for the exhilarating experiences that would come along with that! Those who want to have the Holy Spirit in such manner, have no understanding or idea of what God has called them for; and neither do they have any idea of the cost that they may have to pay to serve the Lord; they are just told and taught to ask for the Holy Spirit and have the wonderful experience, the exhilaration of receiving Him and His gifts. This is absolutely unlike the tarrying that the Lord had asked His initial disciples for. The Lord had never stated this as a doctrine or teaching applicable for the disciples in the days to come. If it is said that this was a doctrine or rule given by the Lord, then this too will have to be accepted that in the very first preaching of the gospel, for the very first Christian disciples, in Acts 2:38 Peter immediately broke this rule, ignored this doctrine, and he was un-hesitantly disobedient to it – if this is true then how come the Lord’s blessings and support was there for an act of disobeying the Lord, how is it that the Lord allowed disobedient people to work in His Church? On the other hand, if the Lord’s blessing and acceptance were there – as is quite apparent, then this too is apparent that it was not disobedience; meaning there was no such rule or doctrine laid down by the Lord, and to tarry was an instruction meant only for those initial disciples of the Lord – and that is what the truth is.

- To Be Continued

Next:: Is Tarrying required to receive the Holy Spirit? Part (2); Inference

Receiving The Holy Spirit (4) – Special Efforts – Laying Hands

3. Is the Holy Spirit received by the Laying of Hands by the Apostles or the Church Elders?

In the afore-mentioned incidences one of the things mentioned is the laying of hands by the Apostles, after which the Holy Spirit was received; therefore it is also said, once again wrongly, that the Holy Spirit is received through the laying of hands by the Apostles or the Elders of the Church. This related fact of the Bible, ‘laying of hands,’ has many meanings. In context of our discussion the important thing is that except for the above three examples, it has never been associated with the receiving or giving of the Holy Spirit. Therefore to ascribe this as being the one and only meaning to it and teach this as the sole meaning is incorrect in light of God’s Word. ‘Laying of hands’ is a big topic in itself, that has different applications in the Old and the New Testaments. In the New Testament it has been used for blessing (Matthew 19:13, 15), providing healing (Matthew 9:18; Luke 13:13; Acts 9:12, 17), being commissioned for a special God ordained responsibility (Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6), and it also shows conveying solidarity by making the person a co-worker in the ministry and of accepting the person (1 Timothy 4:14; 5:22).

In context of the receiving of the Holy Spirit in the above three incidences, the implication of ‘laying hands’ is to convey to those people that they were accepted as one in the Lord, i.e., by the laying of hands those Jewish Believers and Apostles conveyed to those people, that they too are one in the Lord along with the Apostles and Elders in the assemblies of the Christian Believers; by virtue of being in the Lord they are now just like everyone else (Acts 15:7-9). Take note, Peter did not even have to lay hands on anyone in the house of Cornelius; as soon as they believed the gospel given to them by Peter, the Holy Spirit spontaneously came upon them (Acts 10:44; 11:15). An interesting fact is that later on the brother of the Lord, James, speaks of asking the Church Elders to apply oil and pray for the healing of physical illnesses (James 5:14-15), and writes that the prayer of faith would bring healing as well as forgiveness of sins. But neither James, nor anyone else at any other place in the New Testament, has ever said that the Christian Believers should ask the Church Elders to lay hands and pray and they will receive the Holy Spirit. This teaching too is nowhere in the Bible, and those who give this teaching misinterpret and misuse the teachings of the Bible.

- To Be Continued

Next:: Is Tarrying required to receive the Holy Spirit? Part (1)

Receiving the Holy Spirit Part 3 – Special Efforts – Through the help of Apostles and Elders (3)

2. Is the Holy Spirit received through the help of Apostles or Elders of the Church?

(Part 3 – Understanding the three examples)

Now, in the light of the above let us understand the three examples: The First thing, that has already been stated, is that – in none of these examples did anyone ever express any desire, or pray, or ask or do anything special to receive the Holy Spirit; when they received the Holy Spirit, they received it in God’s time and through God’s way. Only one had wanted to have the ability to be able to give the Holy Spirit to others, Simon the sorcerer, and he was not really saved;  he was severely condemned for asking this, and was asked to repent! The Second thing, these three categories, different from the Jews – Samaritans, Gentiles, and followers of John the Baptist, their coming into the Christian Faith and receiving the Holy Spirit is only mentioned in the Book of Acts – which is the historical record of the initial deeds and practices of the first Church. Once, when people had come and become one by faith in the Church of the Lord, joined into His body, then never again in any of the Epistles (which are a record of the instructions given by the Holy Spirit to discard, correct and set right, or take up and apply many teachings, beliefs, practices and rituals etc. in the Churches), has it ever been stated or taught that after having come into the Christian Faith any Believer has to ever do anything else to receive the Holy Spirit, and neither has any significance of the different social backgrounds of any of the believers ever been stated. The Third thing, never ever have these three categories of non-Jewish people used as an example in God’s Word, to give the teaching, that like them, to receive the Holy Spirit the mediation or help of an Apostle or Elder, or any special person is required. In the Epistles the responsibilities of the Church Elders and leaders are stated, but it is never stated that they should help the people to receive the Holy Spirit. The Fourth thing on the basis of these incidents, let alone any doctrine or teachings, not even the slightest of hints has ever been given, that these incidents are examples that to receive the Holy Spirit one has to wait for some time, or to do something special, and that the Holy Spirit is not given spontaneously on its own on coming into the Christian Faith.

In other words, the incidences given in the Book of Acts, were only examples to illustrate the merger of all the non-Jewish background Believers along with the Jewish background into one Church. Once the Church was formed as one through the assimilation of all the various categories of people, there remained no reason to look at them as different from one-another in any way. In the third of these incidences, the question asked by Paul to the followers of John the Baptist is very important, in context of the initial reasoning – that the Holy Spirit, is received immediately on coming into the Christian Faith, and is another of its affirmation. Paul asked, “...Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So they said to him, We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit ” (Acts 19:2). In other words, it was the natural expectation of Paul that when they had come into the Christian Faith, they would have received the Holy Spirit at that time itself. But it becomes apparent from the rest of the conversation (verses 3-7) that they had not actually come into the Christian Faith, therefore there was no question of their receiving the Holy Spirit. And at the very moment they actually came into the Christian Faith, they received the Holy Spirit as well.

So, to use these examples to say and teach that the Holy Spirit is received separately is to misunderstand and misinterpret the facts related to this matter. Doing this is to draw and teach wrong conclusions that have no support from the Word of God. When these incidences are seen in their proper context and along with other related teachings from the Word of God, the truth becomes apparent.

- To Be Continued

Next: Is the Holy Spirit received by the Laying of Hands by the Apostles or the Church Elders?

Receiving the Holy Spirit Part 3 – Special Efforts – Through the help of Apostles and Elders (2)

2. Is the Holy Spirit received through the help of Apostles or Elders of the Church?

(Part 2 – Some other teachings to be kept in mind here)

 Before looking further at this point in detail, it is necessary to take note of some related things:

The Unity of the whole Church: For this please read Ephesians 2:12-22 attentively, prayerfully, and repeatedly. The summary of this passage from Ephesians is that before the salvation and reconciliation with God made available for the whole world through the Lord Jesus, amongst the people of the world the Law of the Lord, His teachings and instructions, and the methodology of the way to approaching God was available only with the Jews. This was a matter of great pride for the Jews, and because of this they considered themselves over and above every other nation and people of the world. But now, after being brought together into one by the Lord Jesus, all of these things have been made available to every person in the whole world, no longer are they the monopoly of the Jews – now all the Christian Believers on coming into faith in the Lord Jesus have been made one, after becoming one in the Lord Jesus there remains no differentiation between the Jews and gentiles, and all are together being made the one dwelling place of God by the Holy Spirit, by being built on the foundation of the teachings of the Prophets and Apostles (Ephesians 2:20-22) – on one teaching, through one Spirit, for one God, as one kind of people, joined together, made effective, and all being used together (Ephesians 4:4-6), without any distinctions of any kind whatsoever.

The social categorization prior to unification: At the time of the establishment of the first Christian Believer’s Assembly, from the point of view of the Israelites, the society had four broad categories of people – (1) Jews, the chosen people of God; they had with them God’s Law, His rituals, and His Word; they had with them God’s Temple and the responsibility of worshipping Him and praying to Him; therefore they considered themselves to be of the highest order amongst all of mankind, they felt that there is no one like them and neither ever can be. (2) The Samaritans, who were not fully Jews, and not entirely gentiles, but somewhere in between the two. The Jews did not consider them as equivalent to them, but the Samaritans believed themselves to be the descendants of Jacob, and followed the Jewish Law, worship, and rituals (John 4:9, 12, 20, 25), and therefore like the Jews, they felt themselves superior to the gentiles. (3) The gentiles, who were not even considered worthy of being God’s mercy or His favor; the Jews considered it abhorrent and blasphemous to have anything to do with them (Acts 10:28). (4) The disciples of John the Baptist, from whom Peter and Andrew etc. had come to the Lord Jesus (John 1:35-42); the disciples of John the Baptist were Jews, but because of having become his followers, they were seen as somewhat different from the rest of the Jews. To all of these categories of people God sent the Christian Believers who had come from the Jews, i.e. Phillip, Peter, John, and Paul with the Gospel. Through the ministry of those Christian Believers who came from the Jews, all those others too received the Holy Spirit, same as the initial Jewish Christian Believers had received, and this, in the Word of God was stated as an affirmation of the Lord’s teaching and as something according to the will of God  (Acts 11:15-18).

The point to be understood is that God used the Jews, to unite in Him, all the other people considered different or sub-standard to the Jews – which is a practical application of Ephesians 2:20-22 – bringing everyone together into one body, to be the one temple of God. It was essential to do this, so that those who had become the Christian disciples form the Jews would see for themselves and then understand as well as accept that once in the Lord they are not special, and neither are the non-Jews in any way inferior to them (Acts 10:28, 35; 11:1-4, 18). If this had not been done through the Jewish Christian Believers, and had the understanding and concepts of those initial Jewish Believers, Apostles and Elders of the Church, and other Christian Believers not been corrected and changed, then it would have become very difficult for the Jewish Believers to accept and believe that in the Lord Jesus the non-Jews too have become the same as them, and they too have the same Holy Spirit as them, and they too have the honor of being the children of God, just like them. If this had not been done, then in that condition from the very beginning there would have been a great divide and segregation within the Church, which would have been extremely difficult to overcome later on. In this context, it is important to note that despite so many proofs and explanations, this differentiation and divisiveness did not immediately go out from the initial Church, discrimination continued to occur (Acts 6:1); Satan misses no opportunity to sow divisiveness amongst the people of God.

- To Be Continued

Next: Understanding the three examples

Receiving the Holy Spirit Part 3 – Special Efforts – Through the help of Apostles and Elders (1)

2. Is the Holy Spirit received through the help of Apostles or Elders of the Church?

(Part 1 – Three Examples)

Some other examples that are misinterpreted and misused to try to prove that the Holy Spirit is received separately, and not immediately on believing on the Lord Jesus, are:

·         The people of Samaria receiving the Holy Spirit through Peter and John (Acts 8:14-17);

·         Peter going and preaching in the house of Cornelius – a gentile, and those gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts chapters 10, 11);

·         The disciples of John the Baptist receiving the Holy Spirit through Paul (Acts 19:1-7)।

Here too, if we be careful to not fall into the same two errors in interpretation, then it becomes clear that these examples too are not in any manner teaching that the Holy Spirit is received separately, or by some efforts, or by the mediation of some servant of God – do take note that in each of these three situations not even one single person receiving the Holy Spirit had ever made any request or prayer to receive the Holy Spirit, nor did they make any special effort or say some special prayers for it; and neither did any of the Apostles or disciples of the Lord ask them to express any desire to receive the Holy Spirit। They all received the Holy Spirit from God spontaneously; and not because of any pleadings by them.

There was only one person who had asked this special gift of giving the Holy Spirit to people be given to him – Simon the sorcerer of Samaria, although he too had allegedly believed and taken baptism, so to say, (Acts 8:13) but he had not actually received salvation! And Peter severely condemned this desire of his, saying that his heart was not right on this, and asked him to repent and ask God to forgive him (Acts 8:18-23). Other than this one person there is no other person who has ever made a special request to receive the Holy Spirit, and neither has there been any Apostle or disciple who has ever given this teaching or instruction to make some special efforts, or special prayers, or to tarry to receive the Holy Spirit! This simply is not a teaching of the Bible.

- To Be Continued

Next: Some other teachings to be kept in mind here

Receiving the Holy Spirit – 2 – Special Efforts – On Asking – Luke 11:13 (Part 3)

Is doing something special required for receiving the Holy Spirit?

1. Is the Holy Spirit received on asking the Lord for it? – (Luke 11:13)

(The Related Fourth Thing and Conclusion)

(4) On the basis of the above stated things the Fourth and very important thing that we need to very carefully understand and then practically apply or follow in our lives is, amongst all those who claim to be the followers of the Lord there surely will be those who do not measure up to the standard of the Lord and His Word, therefore there is no possibility of the Holy Spirit being present in them. The Lord has already cautioned that in these ‘End times’ there will be many so called “Believers” who will be “having a form of godliness but denying its power!” (2 Timothy 3:5). Now no matter how much these people may claim to have faith and reverence in the Lord, no matter for how long they have been a part of the Assembly, no matter how active they may be in the Assembly; no matter how many wonderful works and preaching they may have done (Matthew 7:21-23), in reality they are not the true disciples of the Lord and His factually committed and obedient people. No matter how intensely and for how long they may ask, but there is no way these people will receive the Holy Spirit unless they actually become the disciples of the Lord through true repentance, confession of sins and asking forgiveness for them, surrendering their lives and living in obedience to the Lord. In contrast there will be those also who have truly repented from the very beginning, have really become obedient to the Lord, and have factually surrendered their lives to the Lord; and therefore the Holy Spirit has come to reside in them from the very moment they came to faith in the Lord Jesus, and has become active in their lives.

Now, without paying attention to the related teachings and facts of the Word, simply on the basis of their apparent appearance and works, they are told this as a ‘fact’ that the Holy Spirit is given immediately or soon to some, but the giving is delayed for some others; therefore those who have not received Him should pray, fast, or do certain other things, plead and ask the Lord for the Holy Spirit, is speaking lies to them in the name of the Lord and presenting an absolutely false meaning of the Lord’s statement to them. It is giving them a patently wrong teaching about receiving the Holy Spirit, which is not in the least consistent with the Word of God, and is deceiving them. Instead of helping them to see and face the reality and really be saved, it is pushing them into hell. And God will take an account from all those preachers, teachers, Pastors and Church elders who do this, they will not escape (Ezekiel 33:1-9).

Instead, on the basis of God’s Word, all the preachers, teachers, Pastors and Church elders should explain and tell to everyone in the Church that since the Holy Spirit comes in the very moment a person comes to faith in the Lord, without any extra or special effort, on His own, and always remains within, never leaving or gong away, therefore if it seems to them that they do not have the Holy Spirit, then it can only mean either of two things – either they have not received Him at all; i.e. their claim of being in the Christian faith is incorrect, and they should actually repent and surrender to the Lord. Or, they are not living in obedience and surrender to the Lord, therefore He is unable to work in their lives. Therefore either they should ascertain their being Born Again or saved, else, if their salvation is factual then they should stop doing according to their will, and start living according to the Word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25), so that He can be active and effective in their lives. The necessity is not of asking for the Holy Spirit, but the necessity is of really being saved and then being obedient and surrendered to Him.

 Therefore to say on the basis of Luke 11:13 that the Holy Spirit is received by asking for Him, hence we should pray and ask the Lord for the Holy Spirit, is having a wrong understanding and interpretation of the Lord’s statement. It is wrong to give this teaching on the basis of this verse. On examining this verse in its true context and along with related verses the truth of the matter can be seen and understood.

- To Be Continued

Next Topic: Special Efforts - Help of Apostles or Elders Part 1

Receiving the Holy Spirit – 2 – Special Efforts – On Asking – Luke 11:13 (Part 2)

Is doing something special required for receiving the Holy Spirit?

1. Is the Holy Spirit received on asking the Lord for it? – (Luke 11:13)

(The Related Third Thing)

(3) Third Thing, understand this giving and receiving by an example; when a patient goes to a doctor and asks for healing, then is the ‘healing’ some object on the table of the doctor or a toffee in his pocket that he can pick up and hand over to the patient and say, “here, take; given you the healing you asked?” Surely the doctor wants to give healing to the patient who has come to him for help,he is willing to do it, but there is a method, a process by which the patient receives the healing form the doctor, and without following it, it is not possible for the doctor to give or for the patient to receive the healing – in this process the doctor asks the patients to undergo some tests, prescribes appropriate medicines, tells of certain things to abstain from, the patient has to take the medicines and abstain from some things for a prescribed period of time – i.e. he has to diligently follow the instructions given for the process only then does he receive the healing. Similarly, the Lord too wants to give and certainly gives the Holy Spirit to His disciples for their help, because that is the ministry for mankind ordained by the Lord for the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-15). Now take note again, as in Luke 11 में, similarly here in John 14 and 16 as well this is said only for the disciples.

In other words, receiving the Holy Spirit is only possible for those who really are the disciples of the Lord, not through or because of their having been being born in a particular family or having fulfilled and followed certain rituals and practices ordained by man in the name of God, but through an honest heartfelt repentance from their sins, having asked the Lord’s forgiveness for their sins, having completely submitted their lives to the Lord, and made the commitment to live in obedience to His Word, have made their decision to follow Him, to be His disciples.

This is also a fact that everyone who claims to be a disciple is not actually a disciple. Many associate with the Lord for their physical needs (John 6:26-27); and many have made the Christian Ministry a means of temporal earnings, to gather worldly wealth in the name of the Lord (Romans 16:18; 1 Timothy 6:5; 2 Timothy 3:4; Titus 1:11; 2 Peter 2:3, 13; Jude 1:12, 16). Many join themselves to the Lord but do not actually believe in the Lord (John 6:36, 64; 8:30-31); and many are not willing to accept and obey every teaching of the Lord (John 6:66). Many stay in the gatherings of Christian Believers as people of the Lord, but actually are Satan’s people (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), and are the cause of divisions, strife and troubles in the Assemblies (Acts 20:29-31; 1 John 2:18-19; 2 Timothy 3:5, 8; 4:14; 3 John 1:9-11). The Lord has very clearly said who actually is His disciple (John 8:31-32; 14:21, 23), and from these verses it is clear that the true disciple or Believer is one who lives in obedience to the Word of God, does according to the will of the Lord, and is committed to live a life fully surrendered to the Lord; and not one who although takes the name of the Lord but lives and does according to his own desires.

The Lord knows the actual state of every person (John 2:25; 2 Timothy 2:19). Now naturally the question arises that will the Lord give the Holy Spirit to anyone like the above mentioned people, who put up a pretense of being the people of God but actually are not, will He give the Holy Spirit so casually? Those who have no place for the Word of God or of His obedience in their lives, how can they receive the Holy Spirit? Will these people also not have to become an actually Born Again, saved, obedient, and committed disciple of the Lord to receive the Holy Spirit? And the process for this to happen is only one, that which has been given above to be saved or be Born Again. What it means is that the Lord surely does give the Holy Spirit to His Believers, but only to those who have actually been saved, who have really been Born Again, those who in realty are the true disciples of the Lord – only as per His assessment; not otherwise.

- To Be Continued

Next: The Related Fourth Thing and Conclusion

Receiving the Holy Spirit – 2 – Special Efforts – On Asking – Luke 11:13 (Part 1)

Is doing something special required for receiving the Holy Spirit?

1. Is the Holy Spirit received on asking the Lord for it? – (Luke 11:13)

(The First Two Related Things)

There is no such teaching in the Bible that a Christian Believer needs to make any special efforts, to tarry, or pray, or qualify, or wait for an opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit. Often on the basis of Luke 11:13 it is claimed that the Lord Jesus Himself has said that the Holy Spirit is given on asking for it. But saying this is making the same two mistakes in interpreting this text, as is commonly done in nearly every misinterpretation and misapplication of the Bible – the first mistake, taking the text out of its context and selectively using part of the text for the interpretation; and the second mistake, without taking into consideration the other related teachings and texts of the Bible, without incorporating those teachings into the interpretation, using only some chosen words, phrases, and verses to support a particular concept.

Let us look at the statement in Luke 11:13 of having to ask the Lord for the Holy Spirit, in its context and along with some related teachings, and then draw conclusions from it: 

(1) On reading Luke 11:13 in its context, i.e. on reading Luke 11:1-13, the First Thing that comes before us is, that what the Lord Jesus has said in this passage is a part of the conversation that the Lord is having with His disciples (Luke 11:1) – the implication is that the Lord has not spoken of the Holy Spirit being received by everyone, neither has He said it is for anyone who claims to be a follower of the Lord, or claims to believe on Him; rather, it is only for them who really are His disciples. It is very important to understand this fact and its implications. If we look at it along with John 7:37-39 then it becomes very clear that the Holy Spirit was to be given only to those who believed on the Lord Jesus, i.e. to the disciples of the Lord Jesus, that too at some time in the future; and not at the time the Lord was speaking about it. Later on, before being delivered for crucifixion once again the Lord had promised the Holy Spirit as their promised Helper only to His disciples; in the days to come, (John chapters 14, 16). And eventually when the Holy Spirit was given, it was given only to the Believers in the Lord Jesus i.e. His disciples (Acts 2:1-4), although many “devout men” (Acts 2:5) were present there. (Further affirmation that this was meant to be only for the disciples of the Lord is given in the other sections below).

(2) The Second Thing that we see is, that the Lord is explaining to the disciples that if human fathers can give good things to their children, then why can’t the Father God, give the best, even the Holy Spirit? The Lord is here in Luke 11:5-13 explaining to His disciples that they need not worry about their physical needs, but always to trust God that as per the needs of the time and the situation, the Father God will keep on fulfilling their needs. This He clarifies even further in verses 10-13 in a special way that just as the earthly fathers give as best as they can to their children, similarly the Father God will also always give the best possible to His children. God has no limits on giving good things to His people, so much so that for those who have the courage to ask, He can give even the Holy Spirit i.e. even give Himself, to them.

Take note, in this whole conversation there is not even a suggestion that the Lord is giving an instruction or commandment to His disciples that “in future those of my disciples who ask God for it only they will receive the Holy Spirit; or, only those who ask for it will receive the Holy Spirit.” Just before His ascension when the Lord asked these disciples to wait till they received the Holy Spirit before they went out for their ministries, then at that time none of the disciples expressed any confusion about it, citing the Lord’s statement in Luke 11:13, nor on the basis of that statement did they immediately claim receiving the Holy Spirit, so that they could get on with their ministries. This makes it clear that what the Lord had said did not have the meaning being given to it by some preachers today, that the Holy Spirit is received by asking for it Therefore to give it this form and meaning that “the Lord has said that the Holy Spirit will be given on asking for it” is a misuse of the Lord’s Word, is giving wrong interpretations and false teachings from it; it is falsifying God’s Word in the garb of devotion and reverence.

This verse is an example of the use of a comparative statement, that like the earthly fathers can give their best similarly it is natural that the heavenly Father God will give His best too; He is willing to give even the Holy Spirit – there is no limit to His love and giving, He is willing to make Himself available to mankind, if somebody is willing to receive Him.

- To Be Continued

Next Topic: The Related Third Thing

Receiving the Holy Spirit - 1 - Introduction; Who, When, and How

RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT - Introduction

This write-up is neither based on the teachings of any Christian sect or denomination, nor is it to promote the teachings of any sect or denomination, nor is it to preach those teachings for them. The purpose of this write-up is to analyze some common and prevalent wrong teachings about God the Holy Spirit, solely on the basis of the Bible and its teachings, and to thereby bring out what is true and what is false in them.

As you will understand on your own while you read what is stated here, there is a very important role of God the Holy Spirit in the life of every Christian Believer; the Lord Jesus Christ has assigned a very major and a mandatory role for the Holy Spirit in the life of every Christian Believer (John 16:7-13). Without the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit a Christian Believer can neither properly and really understand the teachings of the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:11-14), nor can they be firmly rooted and established in them (John 14:26), nor can they be useful and effective for the Lord (Galatians 5:22-23 – the fruits of the Spirit will only be found where the Holy Spirit actually is present). Since often people do not understand or accept the power and necessity of the Holy Spirit in their lives, therefore their Christian lives are spiritually stagnant and ineffective, and they remain useless for the Lord. Because of continually living this spiritually stagnant and ineffective Christian life, they are also unable to gather any spiritual blessings for themselves for their eternal life.

This is because there are many false concepts that are commonly seen and taught regarding God the Holy Spirit, because of which much confusion prevails amongst the Christian Believers. Unfortunately, because of the misconceptions and wrong teachings very often given in the name of the Holy Spirit, because of inordinately pressurizing people about those wrong teachings, and because of the strange behavior, absolutely inconsistent with the Word of God, of those people, the feeling of antagonism and alienation towards the Holy Spirit continues to increase, and the people remain want to remain aloof from the true teachings and Biblical concepts about the Holy Spirit. Because of these wrong teachings many Christians do not even want to hear, consider, or talk about the importance of the things related to the Holy Spirit, because to them it seems that this is a teaching that belongs to a particular sect or denomination, and for those that are not associated with that sect or denomination, there is no need to get involved in it – but this is also wrong. Just as it is wrong to instruct and believe in the wrong teachings about the Holy Spirit, similarly, it is equally wrong to disregard and not pay any attention to God the Holy Spirit.

This write-up is not about everything related to the Holy Spirit, but only about the fundamental teachings related to the receiving of the Holy Spirit; and we will consider them under the following headings:

Receiving the Holy Spirit: Who, When, and How?

Is doing something special required for receiving the Holy Spirit?

1. Is the Holy Spirit received on asking the Lord for it? – (Luke 11:13); four related things

2. Is the Holy Spirit received with the aid of the Apostles or the Church Elders?

(Part 1 – Three Examples - Acts 8:14-17; chapters 10, 11; 19:1-7)

(Part 2 – Some related teachings to be kept in mind here)

(Part 3 – Understanding the Three Examples)

3. Is the Holy Spirit received by the Laying of Hands by the Apostles or the Church Elders?

4. Is Tarrying required to receive the Holy Spirit?

5. Doing something special to receive the Holy Spirit – Inference

What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

What is the filling of the Holy Spirit?

Conclusion

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Receiving the Holy Spirit: Who, When, and How?

It is the clear teaching of God’s Word the Bible that as soon as a person comes to faith in Christ Jesus, i.e. as soon as a person repents of his sins, asks the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus for them, surrenders his life to the Lord Jesus, receives salvation by the grace of God, then from that very moment he becomes a child of God (John 1:12-13), and at that very moment not only does he receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2; Ephesians 1:13-14), but simultaneously he also becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit and God the Holy Spirit comes to reside in him for ever (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19) – without any discrimination, in every actually saved Christian Believer. Along with this, on the basis of the teachings of the Bible please also note that ‘speaking in tongues’ is not a proof of having received the Holy Spirit – because ‘speaking in tongues’ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit is a big topic in itself, we will not be discussing it here presently, therefore nothing further is said in this write-up about this. If it is in the Lord’s will, and He leads and guides about it, then we will discuss this at some later time.

From the moment a person is saved, he becomes a possession of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:15, 17). Because no one can factually call Jesus as Lord without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3), therefore according to the Word of God it is impossible for someone to be saved, to have truly become a  Christian Believer, to factually mean and address Jesus as his Lord (Luke 6:46), but yet not have the Holy Spirit in him. Whosoever will truly be in faith in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit too will be in him to guide and safeguard him (Romans 8:1-2, 9). If this does not happen, the Word of God will become false – an impossibility.

The Holy Spirit is God and therefore He can in no way ever be brought under the control of any human ritual, ceremony, device, or activity, and neither can He ever be controlled or directed by any of these. The Holy Spirit cannot be divided into parts, His quantitative availability can never be increased or decreased in any manner, nor can He ever be given out in installments. Hence if He is present – then He is present in His fullness, in His entirety; else He is just not present at all! Therefore He is always the same in every true Christian Believer, He is never less in some and more in others; God never gives the Holy Spirit by measure (John 3:34). But, as we will see ahead, although the Holy Spirit is present within every true Christian Believer, the effective manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the practical Christian life of the Believer is in proportion to the spiritual maturity of that Christian Believer, and therefore He appears to be less or more in one or the other. Actually the Holy Spirit is never less or more in His power or in His quality and quantity, but what is less or more is the practical living and working of the person in the obedience and submission to the Holy Spirit.

To summarize, the Holy Spirit is given by God to each true Christian Believer the moment he is saved, to help him, safeguard him, and empower him in living his life of Christian faith, and remains with him throughout his life.

This is a very important fact that the Holy Spirit is always present in a true Christian Believer; but an even more important fact which we need to very carefully understand, and unhesitatingly apply its implications in the practical Christian life is, stating the above fact conversely – that, if a person is not a true Christian Believer, then the Holy Spirit is not present in him, and never ever will be, not by any means or efforts, whatsoever.

 The more mature the Christian Believer is in obedience to the Word of God, in living by the Christian Faith, and in submission to the Holy Spirit, the more evident will the power, fruits and works of the Holy Spirit be in his life.