Bible Truths Concerning the Holy Ghost
TRUTH #1 – THE HOLY GHOST DWELLS IN EVERY INDIVIDUAL THAT IS SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD.
Before we dig into this truth, I will begin by saying that the third person of the Godhead can be referenced by several names and titles. You can call Him “the Holy Ghost” (which I prefer, because the King James Version translates it this way most often when referring to Him as a personal entity within the Godhead); you can call Him “the Holy Spirit;” you can call Him “the Spirit of God;” you can call Him “the Spirit of Christ;” you can call Him “the Spirit of His Son;” you can call Him “the Spirit of truth;” you can call Him simply “the Spirit.” There is nothing wrong with any of these titles; they all make reference to the third person of the Godhead.
In the previous post, I stated the need of those who are saved to be filled with the Holy Ghost. When I say to a saved person, “You need to be filled with the Holy Ghost,” I am not teaching that the Holy Ghost does not live within that person already. When a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, they are saved. When a person is saved, the Holy Ghost dwells within that person. Some call this the INDWELLING of the Holy Ghost. He dwells within us, and He moves in the moment we are saved by believing on Jesus Christ. When I say that those who are saved need to be FILLED WITH the Holy Ghost, I am not at all implying that the Spirit of God does not DWELL in them. He most certainly lives in every believer. It is very important that the reader understands this.
There is a lot of false doctrine that stands in opposition to this Bible truth. There are those who call themselves “oneness” or “Jesus only,” and they teach contrary to this. They teach that when you repent, or believe on Christ, you are not yet saved. You must be baptized in water (and the preacher who baptizes you must say the words, “in the name of Jesus”) and you must be filled with the Holy Ghost and speak and tongues, and then you are saved. This is a lie, and it is not Bible. This doctrine contradicts a myriad of scriptures. You can go to January’s blog posts, and then go to my post entitled, “Blessed Assurance – Part 2.” There you will find a long list of scriptures that state plainly that a person receives eternal life immediately upon receiving Jesus Christ by believing on Him. When you teach that you must be baptized, or speak in tongues, in order to be saved, you contradict every single one of those verses. Let us look at a couple scriptures. Read John 1:12 slowly –
John 1:12 – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
This verse very clearly states that a person becomes a son (or daughter) of God simply by BELIEVING. There is a vast number of other scriptures that teach this same truth, but I will use this one. When you receive Christ by believing on His name, you receive power immediately to become a child of God. Baptism does not make you a child of God; speaking in tongues does not make you a child of God; keeping commandments and laws will not make you a child of God; going to church does not make you a child of God; only one thing makes us sons of God, and that is believing on Jesus Christ.
Now, let us look at another very clear verse of scripture.
Galatians 4:6 – “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Paul plainly states that God “sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts.” The question then is WHY did God send forth the Spirit of His Son into my heart? Was it because I was obedient? NO. Is it because I tarried? NO. Is it because I have been faithful? NO. Is it because I spoke in tongues? NO. Is it because I was baptized? NO. The Bible gives us the reason plainly. Galatians 4:6 begins with the reason we have the Spirit of His Son in our hearts – BECAUSE YE ARE SONS. And we have already seen plainly that we become sons by believing, and by nothing else.
So, the Bible is plain. We become sons of God by believing, and we receive the Spirit of Christ because we are sons.
Let us look at some other verses.
I John 3:23, 24 – “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, BY THE SPIRIT WHICH HE HATH GIVEN US.”
Here, we are told that we know we belong to Him by the Spirit which He hath given us, which He gave to us BECAUSE WE ARE SONS, having believed on Christ.
I John 4:13 – “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”
Paul sums it up best in Romans 8:9 – “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.”
How much plainer can one get??? If you do not have the Holy Ghost dwelling within you, you do not belong to Him! And we have already seen that you belong to Him when you believe on Him! So, when I talk about “being filled with the Holy Ghost,” I am not talking about the Spirit of God DWELLING in you; He already dwells within you if you are saved.
So, this idea of being “filled with the Holy Ghost” is not the Spirit dwelling within you. Every Christian needs to know that the Spirit that LIVES WITHIN you does not merely want to live there; He wants to FILL you. He wants to CONTROL you. He wants you to yield and completely submit to His leading and guidance on a daily basis. There is a difference between the Holy Ghost indwelling you, and the Holy Ghost filling you. Just because He lives within does not mean that He is filling your thoughts, motives, desires, and everything else about you. The Holy Ghost moves into your heart at the time of salvation, but He wants now to fill you with His anointing to work for the kingdom of God. I do not want merely to have the Holy Ghost within; I want to be filled with His presence and power for service in this present world. This is what the Bible means by being “filled with the Holy Ghost.”
TRUTH #1 – THE HOLY GHOST DWELLS IN EVERY INDIVIDUAL THAT IS SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD.
Before we dig into this truth, I will begin by saying that the third person of the Godhead can be referenced by several names and titles. You can call Him “the Holy Ghost” (which I prefer, because the King James Version translates it this way most often when referring to Him as a personal entity within the Godhead); you can call Him “the Holy Spirit;” you can call Him “the Spirit of God;” you can call Him “the Spirit of Christ;” you can call Him “the Spirit of His Son;” you can call Him “the Spirit of truth;” you can call Him simply “the Spirit.” There is nothing wrong with any of these titles; they all make reference to the third person of the Godhead.
In the previous post, I stated the need of those who are saved to be filled with the Holy Ghost. When I say to a saved person, “You need to be filled with the Holy Ghost,” I am not teaching that the Holy Ghost does not live within that person already. When a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, they are saved. When a person is saved, the Holy Ghost dwells within that person. Some call this the INDWELLING of the Holy Ghost. He dwells within us, and He moves in the moment we are saved by believing on Jesus Christ. When I say that those who are saved need to be FILLED WITH the Holy Ghost, I am not at all implying that the Spirit of God does not DWELL in them. He most certainly lives in every believer. It is very important that the reader understands this.
There is a lot of false doctrine that stands in opposition to this Bible truth. There are those who call themselves “oneness” or “Jesus only,” and they teach contrary to this. They teach that when you repent, or believe on Christ, you are not yet saved. You must be baptized in water (and the preacher who baptizes you must say the words, “in the name of Jesus”) and you must be filled with the Holy Ghost and speak and tongues, and then you are saved. This is a lie, and it is not Bible. This doctrine contradicts a myriad of scriptures. You can go to January’s blog posts, and then go to my post entitled, “Blessed Assurance – Part 2.” There you will find a long list of scriptures that state plainly that a person receives eternal life immediately upon receiving Jesus Christ by believing on Him. When you teach that you must be baptized, or speak in tongues, in order to be saved, you contradict every single one of those verses. Let us look at a couple scriptures. Read John 1:12 slowly –
John 1:12 – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
This verse very clearly states that a person becomes a son (or daughter) of God simply by BELIEVING. There is a vast number of other scriptures that teach this same truth, but I will use this one. When you receive Christ by believing on His name, you receive power immediately to become a child of God. Baptism does not make you a child of God; speaking in tongues does not make you a child of God; keeping commandments and laws will not make you a child of God; going to church does not make you a child of God; only one thing makes us sons of God, and that is believing on Jesus Christ.
Now, let us look at another very clear verse of scripture.
Galatians 4:6 – “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Paul plainly states that God “sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts.” The question then is WHY did God send forth the Spirit of His Son into my heart? Was it because I was obedient? NO. Is it because I tarried? NO. Is it because I have been faithful? NO. Is it because I spoke in tongues? NO. Is it because I was baptized? NO. The Bible gives us the reason plainly. Galatians 4:6 begins with the reason we have the Spirit of His Son in our hearts – BECAUSE YE ARE SONS. And we have already seen plainly that we become sons by believing, and by nothing else.
So, the Bible is plain. We become sons of God by believing, and we receive the Spirit of Christ because we are sons.
Let us look at some other verses.
I John 3:23, 24 – “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, BY THE SPIRIT WHICH HE HATH GIVEN US.”
Here, we are told that we know we belong to Him by the Spirit which He hath given us, which He gave to us BECAUSE WE ARE SONS, having believed on Christ.
I John 4:13 – “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”
Paul sums it up best in Romans 8:9 – “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.”
How much plainer can one get??? If you do not have the Holy Ghost dwelling within you, you do not belong to Him! And we have already seen that you belong to Him when you believe on Him! So, when I talk about “being filled with the Holy Ghost,” I am not talking about the Spirit of God DWELLING in you; He already dwells within you if you are saved.
So, this idea of being “filled with the Holy Ghost” is not the Spirit dwelling within you. Every Christian needs to know that the Spirit that LIVES WITHIN you does not merely want to live there; He wants to FILL you. He wants to CONTROL you. He wants you to yield and completely submit to His leading and guidance on a daily basis. There is a difference between the Holy Ghost indwelling you, and the Holy Ghost filling you. Just because He lives within does not mean that He is filling your thoughts, motives, desires, and everything else about you. The Holy Ghost moves into your heart at the time of salvation, but He wants now to fill you with His anointing to work for the kingdom of God. I do not want merely to have the Holy Ghost within; I want to be filled with His presence and power for service in this present world. This is what the Bible means by being “filled with the Holy Ghost.”
