Importance Of Receiving The Holy Spirit

Believing that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is the prerequisite for entering heaven; and that speaking in tongues is the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit.
1. Receiving of the Holy Spirit is the prerequisite for entering heaven.
a. To enter the kingdom of God one must be reborn through the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:5; Tit 3:5).
b. The Holy Spirit will give us eternal life (Rev 22:17; Jn 4:14).
c. The Holy Spirit testifies that we are the sons of God (Rom 8:16; Gal 4:6, 7).
d. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance of the heavenly kingdom (Eph 1:13, 14: 2 Cor 1:20-22).
2. Speaking in spiritual tongues is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit.
a. It is not true that a person receives the Holy Spirit the moment he believes in Christ (Acts 19:1-7).
b. It is not true that a person automatically receives the Holy Spirit when he is baptized (Acts 8:15, 16).
c. It is also not true that a person with good deeds has received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:2, 22, 44).
d. It is wrong to think that every person who serves the Lord fervently has received the Holy Spirit. (Mt 19:27; Acts 1:4, 5).
e. The apostles reckoned speaking in spiritual tongues as the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit.
(a) The personal experience of the apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
(b) The experience of Cornelius and others (Acts 10:44-46, 11:15-18).
(c) The experience of the believers in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7).
When one is speaking in tongues, he is speaking to God,normally it is not understood by men (1 Cor 14:2, 14, 16).
The tongues have their meanings. Whenever it is necessary God, will move a person to interpret them (1 Cor 12:10; 14:26-28; Acts 2:5-11).
 
John 3 (NLT)
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
(The Message)
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
Where does it say we must receive the Spirit?
 
John 3:5: 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

Matthew 7:21-23: 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth, and one cannot understand God's words without it: John 16:13 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Titus 3:4-5: 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

John 3:3: 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

John 20:21: 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Romans 8:9: 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

Eph 4:30: 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.- day of redemption means the last day when Jesus comes again

We need to look at the bible as a whole and see the whole message of salvation. There are many things one must do after they have faith in order to be saved. Faith without deeds is dead James 2:26.
 
John 3:5: 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

Acts 2:3-4
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 10: 45-47
45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues[a] and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

When people receive the Holy Spirit, they will speak in tongue

 
and that speaking in tongues is the evidence

From TestTakingTips.com:

True-False Test Tips-Help
  • Usually there are more true answers than false on most tests.
· If there is no guessing penalty, then guess. You have a 50% chance of getting the right answer.

· Read through each statement carefully, and pay attention to the qualifiersand keywords.

· Qualifiers like "never, always, and every mean that the statement must be true all of the time. Usually these type of qualifiers lead to a false answer.

· Qualifiers like "usually, sometimes, and generally" mean that the statement can be considered true or false depending on the circumstances. Usually these type of qualifiers lead to an answer of true.

· If any part of the question is false, then the entire statement is false but just because part of a statement is true doesn't necessarily make the entire statement true.

http://www.testtakingtips.com/test/true.htm
 
Believing that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is the prerequisite for entering heaven; and that speaking in tongues is the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit.

When we get saved we receive the fullness of the Godhead (Col 2:9). That includes the Holy Spirit. No scripture says we receive Him when we speak in tongues. Rather we operate in a gift when we speak in tongues.

Any abnormal praise for the Holy Spirit is worrying. I don't know the scriptures off hand, but I know that we are only to glorify, worship and pray to Jesus and God.
 
Then the answer according to the bible is yes.

As for receiving the Holy Spirit, you have to pray for it, you do not receive it when you first believe or when you baptize. Because:

In acts 8 15-17 it says: 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The believers here have already believed, and baptized, but did not receive the Holy Spirit until they pray for it.

As well as in Acts 19: 5-6: 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[a] and prophesied.

They baptized, then prayed, then the Holy Spirit came.

The bible records numerous recordings of people receiving the Holy Spirit and then they start to speak in tongue. How else would the apostles know if someone receive the Holy Spirit? There must be an evidence, which is to speak in tongue as it is recorded in many places.
Jesus Himself have clearly told us to ask for the Holy Spirit

Luke 11:13: 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Also in John 14: 15-18: 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him,because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
My friends, I hope that by showing you all these verses, we can understand the will of God. We need to ask for the Holy Spirit, and let it dwell in us so we can understand the truth. According to all the verses I have shown, we need to have the Holy Spirit to enter Heaven. John 3:5, Titus 3:5.
 
Believing that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is the prerequisite for entering heaven; and that speaking in tongues is the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit.
True.


Where does it say we must receive the Spirit?
It is from the Bible that receiving the Holy Spirit is the prerequisite for entering heaven from the following verses:
  1. To enter the heavenly kingdom, one must be born again of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5; Titus 3:5)
  2. The Holy witnesses and proves that we are the son of God (Romans 8:16)
  3. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our heavenly inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Please read all the referred verses. According to the Bible, Holy Spirit is needed for entering heaven. Speaking in tongues is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. HISMANYSONGS, please take a look at the following passage in the book of Acts:
"And Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit" (NKJV Acts 8:18-19)
  • In the context of this chapter, the people in Samaria believed because of Philip's preaching. And when the apostles at Jerusalem received word about Samaria they sent Peter and John to them. None of them had received the Holy Spirit until the apostles laid hands on them. And at that moment, Simon who practised sorcery SAW the evidence. That is why he offered money.
  • If receiving the Holy Spirit can be seen, there must be outward evidence - and that evidence is speaking in tongues. Agree?

So, anyone who does not speak in tongues will not enter Heaven?
  • To HISMANYSONGS: It is not the act of speaking in tongues that saves us, but rather when a person receives the Holy Spirit, they will naturally be able to speak in tongues in prayer. And the Holy Spirit is needed to enter into heaven. Read above.
When we get saved we receive the fullness of the Godhead (Col 2:9). That includes the Holy Spirit. No scripture says we receive Him when we speak in tongues. Rather we operate in a gift when we speak in tongues.
  • KINGJ, the purpose of the Epistle of Colossians is to address the conflict of heresy in the church. The Church in Colosse was a relatively young church, and it was located in a Gentile land in the midst of the Romans, so it is subject to heretical attacks. Nowhere in the vicinity of chapter 2 or even the whole epistle of Colossians talk about receiving the Godhead. To understand this verse you must read the previous verse which was Paul trying to warn against philosophy, empty deceit, traditions of men...(NKJV Colossians 2:8)
  • When you said, "No Scripture says we receive Him when we speak in tongues" I disagree, because speaking in tongues is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit, please read the following verses:
  1. The apostle's experience on the day of Pentecost shows us that when they receive the Holy Spirit they began to speak with tongues (Acts 2:1-4)
  2. Simon saw an outward sign of receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18)
  3. The experience of the believers in Ephesus when they received Paul's laying of hands (Acts 19:6)
KINGJ, my question to you is: Do we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief?
 
Question:
Per your opinion : "is the evidence" or "is one of the evidences"?


To AHA: Sorry, perhaps let me make it a little more clearer. Speaking in tongues is the only evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit according to the Bible. And this is not my opinion, it is from the Bible. And let me repeat, here are the incidences in the Acts of Apostles where it records receiving of the Holy Spirit:
  • The experience of the apostles (Acts 2:1-4)
  • Philip's preaching at Samaria and the apostles' encounter with Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:14-17)
  • The experience of Cornelius, his household, and the Gentiles (Acts 10:46)
  • The experience of the disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19:6)
Now my question to you is that if you say speaking in tongues is one of the evidences, what other evidences can you find in the Bible?


Qualifiers like "never, always, and every mean that the statement must be true all of the time. Usually these type of qualifiers lead to a false answer

Sure this might be helpful for a true/false, multiple test or exam. But you are basing the validity of a statement according to test taking tips from a website. To test the validity of the statement, we look at the Bible.
 
Now my question to you is that if you say speaking in tongues is one of the evidences, what other evidences can you find in the Bible?

I will quote the verses later which most like you already knew as well…. but a question first to clarify:

Would you agree that evidence means a manifestation?
 
Evidence:
Noun:
The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.

Verb:
Be or show evidence of.

Manifestation:

  1. An event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something, esp. a theory or an abstract idea: "manifestations of global warming".
  2. The action or fact of showing something in such a way: "the manifestation of anxiety
 
I will quote the verses later which most like you already knew as well…. but a question first to clarify:

Would you agree that evidence means a manifestation?

[If you want just a quick answer, scroll to bottom of the reply]
Friend, you post an interesting question. Manifestation and evidence are two very similar things. I think according to context you must be referring to 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 where it records "manifestation of the Spirit" in verse 7 (It's my assumption that you are referring to this, please correct me if I'm wrong). Well in this context, I would have to disagree. Here is why:

Note the word "gift" there are many meanings in Greek, but the English renders it to the same word. But first lets talk about context. Paul makes a clear distinction between the gift of the Holy Spirit (evidenced by speaking in tongues) and the special gift of different kinds of tongues. The "different kinds of tongues" is referring to preaching in tongues which must be interpreted (1 Corinthians 14:26-28). These different gifts are mentioned for the edification of the church.

In the same chapter, Paul asks: "Do all speak with tongues?" (1 Corinthians 12:30) refers to preaching in tongues because it is followed by "Do all interpret?"

Furthermore, the Corinthian church members abused their spiritual gifts and used them to parade themselves before others. That is why Paul gave them the following protocol for the use of spiritual tongues during services to maintain order (1 Corinthians 14:27-28).

Thus, the different kinds of tongues does not refer to the indwelling Holy Spirit, but rather it is referring to preaching in tongues.

In the Greek gifts are translated in dorea and charisma throughout the Bible, and they are used with different contexts:
Dōrea (δωρεά)
  • 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. (Act 2:38)
  • But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! (Act 8:20)
  • And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. (Act 10:45)
  • If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" (Act 11:17)
Charisma (χάρισμα)
  • For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. ( 1Corinthians 7:7)
  • There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ( 1Corinthians 12:4)
  • to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit (1Corinthians 12:9)
  • And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. (1Corinthians 12:28)
  • Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (1Corinthians 12:30)
We can see here that in the Bible when the gift of the Holy Spirit evidenced by praying in tongues, dorea is used. This refers to the promised Holy Spirit in which everyone receives, it is a free gift given by God. And in the times Dorea is used in the book of Acts, the evidence follows which is speaking in tongues. Now another word for gift is charisma and it is used in an entirely different context. Every time when charisma is used it refers to the special gifts not everyone receives, but distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ. (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/charisma.html)

Evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit and the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are different according to the Bible.
 
In the Greek gifts are translated in dorea and charisma throughout the Bible, and they are used with different contexts:
Dōrea (δωρεά)
Charisma (χάρισμα)

Thanks for the explanation, to summarize my understanding of what you explained:

Dōrea (δωρεά) = evidence = the incidences in the Acts of Apostles where it records.
· speaking in tongues
· praying in tongues

Charisma (χάρισμα) = manifestation = for the edification of the church.
· different kinds of tongues
· referring to preaching in tongues

Another question, if you don't mind, it looks obvious but to double check my understanding : )

So in Christian Charismatic services I have seen before: they are actually doing “charisma” and not “dorea”?
 
Then the answer according to the bible is yes.
As for receiving the Holy Spirit, you have to pray for it, you do not receive it when you first believe or when you baptize. Because:
In acts 8 15-17 it says: 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The believers here have already believed, and baptized, but did not receive the Holy Spirit until they pray for it.

As well as in Acts 19: 5-6: 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[a] and prophesied.

The scriptures you quote are out of context when you exclude scriptures explaining the trinity. It was the first time their FLESH manifested the Holy Spirit. Not the first time they received Him as He is PART of the God head. The first time the Holy Spirit came down that our FLESH could operate in gifts of the Spirit and PHYSICALLY / CARNALLY experience / receive Him are the scriptures you quote.

I have to conclude that you don't believe in the trinity.
 
  • To HISMANYSONGS: It is not the act of speaking in tongues that saves us, but rather when a person receives the Holy Spirit, they will naturally be able to speak in tongues in prayer. And the Holy Spirit is needed to enter into heaven. Read above.
I understand speaking in tongues doesn't save a person, but if they can't speak in tongues they won't be going to Heaven?

And there are things we need to add to John 3:16?
John 3 (NLT)
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
 
KINGJ, the purpose of the Epistle of Colossians is to address the conflict of heresy in the church. The Church in Colosse was a relatively young church, and it was located in a Gentile land in the midst of the Romans, so it is subject to heretical attacks. Nowhere in the vicinity of chapter 2 or even the whole epistle of Colossians talk about receiving the Godhead. To understand this verse you must read the previous verse which was Paul trying to warn against philosophy, empty deceit, traditions of men...(NKJV Colossians 2:8)
  • When you said, "No Scripture says we receive Him when we speak in tongues" I disagree, because speaking in tongues is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit, please read the following verses:
  1. The apostle's experience on the day of Pentecost shows us that when they receive the Holy Spirit they began to speak with tongues (Acts 2:1-4)
  2. Simon saw an outward sign of receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18)
  3. The experience of the believers in Ephesus when they received Paul's laying of hands (Acts 19:6)
KINGJ, my question to you is: Do we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief?

This is actually difficult to write down :confused: . Perhaps someone else can do it better.

We receive Jesus, God and Holy Spirit when saved (Col 2:9).
We then are fully entitled to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-39)

The gift is the physical presence of the Holy Spirit.This has nothing to do with our salvation and is up to us and our desire to accept it. Praying in tongues is obviously evidence that you have chosen to accept the gift.

Do you believe in the trinity?
 
1 Corinthians 12 (NLT)
Spiritual Gifts

12 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
my emphasis

Still another would indicate not all.

The ability to speak in tongues is one of many gifts from the Spirit and, as stated in v 7,' is given to each of us so we can help each other.'
 
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