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NASB | 2 Timothy 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Timothy 1:14 Guard [with greatest care] and keep unchanged, the treasure [that precious truth] which has been entrusted to you [that is, the good news about salvation through personal faith in Christ Jesus], through [the help of] the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. |
Subject: Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? |
Bible Note: Hello, my name is Eli and I am fellow believer in Jesus Christ! I'm 18 years old and I was looking for an internet bible forum and that's why I'm here. I was just looking through the posts on my first day here and I fell upon this thread. I do have something to add here if you don't mind... please don't look down on me because of my age, for it is the spirit within a man that speaks! I apologize because I don't know your names... but I noticed that you mentioned that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is automatic when a person becomes a Christian. I have to raise the point that in the Bible this is not true, because if you read in Acts the apostles were laying their hands on Christians in order for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Jesus himself breathed the Holy Spirit UPON his disciples in John 20:22. And in Acts 8:14-17 we see probably the most clearest picture of the Holy Spirit being received through the laying on of the hands. Also in Acts 9:17-19 Paul himself receives the Holy Spirit when Ananias lays his hands on him via instruction of Jesus Christ! And later Paul lays his hands on a group of Christians he meets on the road and they are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-6) Even as far back as Deuteronomy 34:9 we see the Holy Spirit being received when Moses lays his hands on Joshua. This process was specifically instructed by God if you read Numbers 27:18-22. But we must understand that it is not necessarily the Holy Spirit that is being received in all these verses but the "Empowerment" of the Spirit. As it says in Romans 8:9-11, it says that if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Christ... so we do receive the Spirit upon our salvation, but it goes on to speak of another spirit... "the Spirit that raises Christ from the dead". NOW we are not talking about the Spirit of Christ but the Spirit of Power! The same Spirit that was prayed into Joshua by Moses and Paul by Ananias! (Read Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8) This is called the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit!" And if you would like more clarity, even Jesus received the empowerment of Spirit when the dove came upon him! For he was God in the flesh, and even in the womb he was full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41)! Once Jesus was baptized and the dove descended we see he now has the power to begin his ministry which he didn't have before. Now full of the Spirit, he can fully operate in the Spirit, being empowered and guided by the Spirit. See Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1, and Luke 4:14. The exact same thing happens to the apostles in Acts, after Pentecost are not "full of the Spirit" and are supernaturally empowered to do the work of the Lord! (Acts 4:8, Acts 7:55, Acts 13:9, Acts 20:22) So it is clear that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the empowerment of the Spirit, are vital in the role of our Christian lives, for then we are able to live according to the Spirit, and walk in Spirit and in truth, being empowered to do the work of the Lord! And as shown in the Bible, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is received through the laying on of hands! It is even listed as an elementary teaching alongside salvation in Hewbrews 6:1-2! But why? Because the Lord loves to use PEOPLE to do his work. Yes the Lord could pour the Spirit of Power on us without the laying on of hands, but throughout the Bible we see that God uses people to carry out the work. God could easily have slain Goliath but instead he chose to use David to do it, and he could easily have brought the walls of Jericho down with one word, but he chose to use His people to do the task. And the reason is to show his people his awesome power, to build our faith, and to get us involved! Isn't it exciting that the Lord wants to empower us to do even greater things than He did?! (John 14:12, Mark 16:15-18) THIS is exciting Christianity! THIS is what we all are called to! I hope this was helpful and encouraging to everyone who reads it! I was brief and there are much more verses I could have given but I feel that the Lord has told me what to say and nothing more. If you want to continue to talk about this feel free to email me at e_brayley@hotmail.com! I would love to talk and go more indepth on this subject! Your brother in Christ, Eli |