Gift of the Holy Spirit

Simple questions can have complex answers.  The Gospel is simple enough for a child to understand, yet walking according to the truth of the Gospel every day is hard.  It is easy to become a Christian, and it is hard to be one at the same time.  Yet in all these difficulties we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ Who loves us.  The yoke of Jesus is easy and His burden is light, yet we can struggle to even stand because of our human weakness, to remain alert to resist the devil and to flee from temptation to sin.

We did not likely come to faith in Jesus at the first because He answered all our deep musings and theological queries:  we came to Him because He drew us to Himself by grace, opened our eyes to our sinfulness and that He is the Son of God and Saviour of the world.  As helpless, lost and desperate people we trusted in Him, asked for forgiveness and salvation.  We might wonder, how can I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit?  The simple answer is the same way you know you are saved:  by Who Jesus is as revealed in scripture, what He has accomplished through His death and resurrection and our receiving of Him by faith as an undeserved, free gift.  Only those who are born again can see the kingdom of God, and by faith in Jesus is the Way we enter.

Being born again is a new spiritual birth by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Romans 8:9 says, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His."  If we do not have the Holy Spirit within us, we are not born again.  He is the One who spiritually regenerates us and guides us into all truth.  As a tree is known by its fruit, so we are known by the fruit of our lips that reveal the heart in truth.  Rather than the works of the flesh, the lives of born again followers of Jesus are adorned by the fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-26 reads, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."  The manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit is not passive or "just happens" but is combined with conscious choices to crucify the flesh with its sinful passions and desires:  a dying to self that chooses God's way rather than our own selfish, sinful way.

In Acts 8, many people of Samaria (likely Gentiles) came to faith in Jesus Christ through the word of God preached there.  There was great joy in that city from this revelation of Jesus Christ, accompanied by physical healing and deliverance from evil spirits.  Yet Luke pointed out they had not received the Holy Spirit (as the apostles and disciples had on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem) because they had only been baptised in the name of Jesus Christ.  Rather than baptising them in water again, the apostles Peter and John came and prayed for believers with laying on of hands, so they too might receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Simon's amazed reaction suggests there was evidence they in fact did receive the Holy Spirit, for he foolishly offered money for the power to do so himself.  The Bible lists many gifts of the Holy Spirit given according to His will so believers in Jesus can be His witnesses, edify the church and glorify God.  The scripture makes it clear there is a distinction between having the Holy Spirit and being filled with Him.

How can a person have confidence they have been born again and have received the Holy Spirit as the believers in Jerusalem and Samaria did?  Hint:  it isn't by speaking in tongues.  There is no formula for predicting wind patterns, and one cannot dictate the way the Holy Spirit must move.  Jesus said in Luke 11:13, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  Having received the truth of God's word, we are to ask believing the Father will give the Holy Spirit to us in fullness.  As Peter said in Acts 2:38-39, "...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. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."  You have received Christ by faith, and we receive the Holy Spirit by faith as well.  Having presented ourselves as living sacrifices, obedient to do His will (Acts 5:32), by faith in Jesus we ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

If you are a believer who is unsure you are filled with the Holy Spirit, today is the day to be filled!  R.A. Torrey's observations are true to my experience, for he said everyone filled with the Holy Spirit knows they are filled, when it happened and that it was not a gradual filling--for God gives the Holy Spirit beyond measure.  Many have stumbled on this point because they have sought an experience or gifting of their choosing rather than fully submitting themselves to the will of God and waiting on Him.  They have sought the gift of tongues or heightened spiritual status among their peers rather than seeking and presenting themselves to Jesus Christ.  They have been unwilling to repent of sin or crucify the passions of the flesh and thus avoided walking in the Spirit.  Simon the sorcerer wanted power for himself, and this same lure attracts many today.  Paul wrote in Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."  Let us prize the Giver over all His good gifts, choosing the most excellent way to walk in love towards all, having and being filled with the Holy Spirit. :)