HOLY
Strong’s gives “apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.” God is praised as “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3; see also Revelation 4:8). We are commanded, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16). God is love, but there are many more times where the Bible says that God is holy, and hundreds of times the Spirit of God is called the “Holy Spirit” but never the “love Spirit” (Cupid). God’s love found the way for us to be saved by sending His only begotten Son to suffer and pay for sins, but this was because God’s holiness demanded our sins be paid for. If God were not holy, we could have gone to heaven without Christ’s sacrificial death in our place (see GOD; PURITY).
HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit, also called the Holy Ghost, is God (Acts 5:3–4) and has the attributes or character qualities of God (see TRINITY). He is sometimes referred to as the silent person of the Trinity. His name is not always mentioned alongside those of the Father and the Son because the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible (2 Peter 1:21), and He does not speak of Himself: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself” (John 16:13). He is given the male pronoun “he,” as in the last verse and many other passages, for He is a person, a living being, not an impersonal force, as some have taught. He speaks (Acts 13:2); He comforts (John 15:26); He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30); He has love, joy, peace, longsuffering (Galatians 5:22); none of these things could an impersonal force have.
His work is to “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). We are to pray in the Spirit but not to the Holy Spirit (see PRAYER). Pray that God’s Spirit will convict the lost of their sins and need of a savior. God’s Spirit was given to us to be witnesses for Christ: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). As Christians, our bodies are the temple of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). In the Old Testament, only a few people were anointed with the Holy Spirit, and He came and went as He chose. But from the time Christ was glorified, all believers have received the Holy Spirit: “He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:38–39, the Bible’s parentheses).
People are saved or born again by the Spirit (John 3:6; Acts 10:43–44), and we are “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). So a believer does not need to ask to receive the Holy Spirit, because he already has the Spirit of God. For if someone does not have the Spirit of God, he is not saved: “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” (Romans 8:9). We can, however, “quench” His Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and therefore have been given a commandment to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). I could have a glass with a little water in it, or I could have one that is filled with water. But in both cases, I would still have water; so with the Spirit of God, for we are not always filled with God’s Spirit. One might be filled with jealousy, anger, or alcohol (Ephesians 5:18), and what he is filled with will control him. To have the fruits of the Spirit, you will have to be filled with the Spirit. And this we should pray for. “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). In all we do, we should pray to be filled with God’s Spirit. For someone to serve God in his own power (called the “flesh” in the Bible) would be like a woodsman who tries to chop down a tree with an ax, but his ax has no metal head to it. All he would do is make a lot of noise and tire himself out. “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 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” (Romans 8:8–9). This verse shows the close workings of the “Spirit” with the “Spirit of God” and with the “Spirit of Christ.” And without the Spirit working in us, we cannot accomplish the work of God, which is why Christ said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).
“I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Mark 1:8). Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at the moment of salvation; the exception to this was during the time of Acts, when there was a transition from law to grace. Jesus told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem till they received the power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Luke 24:49). There were, however, many more people in Israel that were saved at that time than just those who were told to wait at Jerusalem, but only those at Jerusalem received the Holy Spirit. And so they were baptized in the Spirit and also filled with (controlled by) the Spirit at the same time. However, baptism of the Spirit is a onetime event at salvation, but being filled with the spirit could happen many times in a believer’s life.
Those saved before the day of Pentecost would have to have the apostles lay hands on them to receive the Spirit of God, and in a few cases, those who were saved after the day of Pentecost by someone who knew only John’s baptism, such as Apollos (Acts 18:24–25), but would not have had the Holy Spirit yet. Again, it is a transition period from when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the day of Pentecost but at that time only on those at Jerusalem. And so, those saved before Pentecost who lived outside of Jerusalem would need an apostle to lay his hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit, as the “disciples” who “believed” and had “John’s baptism” had to have in Acts 19:1–6. Some believe that because those in Acts 19 did not have the Holy Spirit, they were not saved, but they did not have the Holy Spirit even when they were baptized the second time. Follow on!
The same occurs in Acts 8:12–17—we have people who believed the preaching of Philip as those of Acts 19 believed the preaching of Paul, and in both cases these people were baptized in the name of Jesus, and in both cases they had to have the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit. Those in Acts 19 were believers from the baptism of John (v. 3), or before Pentecost, and did not even know about the Holy Spirit (v. 2). And most likely this was true of those in Samaria in Acts 8, for we know that “many of the Samaritans” believed on Jesus (John 4:39) before the day of Pentecost and before Philip went there. But those saved after the day of Pentecost received the Holy Spirit the moment they were saved, as in Acts 10:44 and 11:15–16, where those who listened to Peter preach believed and were filled with the Spirit even while Peter was still preaching (see TONGUES).
Strong’s gives “apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.” God is praised as “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3; see also Revelation 4:8). We are commanded, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16). God is love, but there are many more times where the Bible says that God is holy, and hundreds of times the Spirit of God is called the “Holy Spirit” but never the “love Spirit” (Cupid). God’s love found the way for us to be saved by sending His only begotten Son to suffer and pay for sins, but this was because God’s holiness demanded our sins be paid for. If God were not holy, we could have gone to heaven without Christ’s sacrificial death in our place (see GOD; PURITY).
HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit, also called the Holy Ghost, is God (Acts 5:3–4) and has the attributes or character qualities of God (see TRINITY). He is sometimes referred to as the silent person of the Trinity. His name is not always mentioned alongside those of the Father and the Son because the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible (2 Peter 1:21), and He does not speak of Himself: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself” (John 16:13). He is given the male pronoun “he,” as in the last verse and many other passages, for He is a person, a living being, not an impersonal force, as some have taught. He speaks (Acts 13:2); He comforts (John 15:26); He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30); He has love, joy, peace, longsuffering (Galatians 5:22); none of these things could an impersonal force have.
His work is to “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). We are to pray in the Spirit but not to the Holy Spirit (see PRAYER). Pray that God’s Spirit will convict the lost of their sins and need of a savior. God’s Spirit was given to us to be witnesses for Christ: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). As Christians, our bodies are the temple of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). In the Old Testament, only a few people were anointed with the Holy Spirit, and He came and went as He chose. But from the time Christ was glorified, all believers have received the Holy Spirit: “He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:38–39, the Bible’s parentheses).
People are saved or born again by the Spirit (John 3:6; Acts 10:43–44), and we are “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). So a believer does not need to ask to receive the Holy Spirit, because he already has the Spirit of God. For if someone does not have the Spirit of God, he is not saved: “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” (Romans 8:9). We can, however, “quench” His Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and therefore have been given a commandment to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). I could have a glass with a little water in it, or I could have one that is filled with water. But in both cases, I would still have water; so with the Spirit of God, for we are not always filled with God’s Spirit. One might be filled with jealousy, anger, or alcohol (Ephesians 5:18), and what he is filled with will control him. To have the fruits of the Spirit, you will have to be filled with the Spirit. And this we should pray for. “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). In all we do, we should pray to be filled with God’s Spirit. For someone to serve God in his own power (called the “flesh” in the Bible) would be like a woodsman who tries to chop down a tree with an ax, but his ax has no metal head to it. All he would do is make a lot of noise and tire himself out. “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 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” (Romans 8:8–9). This verse shows the close workings of the “Spirit” with the “Spirit of God” and with the “Spirit of Christ.” And without the Spirit working in us, we cannot accomplish the work of God, which is why Christ said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).
“I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Mark 1:8). Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at the moment of salvation; the exception to this was during the time of Acts, when there was a transition from law to grace. Jesus told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem till they received the power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Luke 24:49). There were, however, many more people in Israel that were saved at that time than just those who were told to wait at Jerusalem, but only those at Jerusalem received the Holy Spirit. And so they were baptized in the Spirit and also filled with (controlled by) the Spirit at the same time. However, baptism of the Spirit is a onetime event at salvation, but being filled with the spirit could happen many times in a believer’s life.
Those saved before the day of Pentecost would have to have the apostles lay hands on them to receive the Spirit of God, and in a few cases, those who were saved after the day of Pentecost by someone who knew only John’s baptism, such as Apollos (Acts 18:24–25), but would not have had the Holy Spirit yet. Again, it is a transition period from when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the day of Pentecost but at that time only on those at Jerusalem. And so, those saved before Pentecost who lived outside of Jerusalem would need an apostle to lay his hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit, as the “disciples” who “believed” and had “John’s baptism” had to have in Acts 19:1–6. Some believe that because those in Acts 19 did not have the Holy Spirit, they were not saved, but they did not have the Holy Spirit even when they were baptized the second time. Follow on!
The same occurs in Acts 8:12–17—we have people who believed the preaching of Philip as those of Acts 19 believed the preaching of Paul, and in both cases these people were baptized in the name of Jesus, and in both cases they had to have the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit. Those in Acts 19 were believers from the baptism of John (v. 3), or before Pentecost, and did not even know about the Holy Spirit (v. 2). And most likely this was true of those in Samaria in Acts 8, for we know that “many of the Samaritans” believed on Jesus (John 4:39) before the day of Pentecost and before Philip went there. But those saved after the day of Pentecost received the Holy Spirit the moment they were saved, as in Acts 10:44 and 11:15–16, where those who listened to Peter preach believed and were filled with the Spirit even while Peter was still preaching (see TONGUES).
