“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
The Bible says; “They were all together at the same place in one accord” (Acts 2:1-4)
The Christian congregation began with about 120 disciples who were “all together at the same place”—an upper room—and who were anointed with Holy Spirit when He came upon them. (Acts 2:1). By the end of that day, baptized members of that congregation numbered into the thousands. That was the beginning of the growth of a Christian coalition / movement. Today, there are millions of Christian believers and still growing by the day.
In Acts chapter 2 and verses 12-14; Peter stood up to speak to the multinational crowd. He explained to all who would listen that the miraculous ability to speak in different languages had been granted by God in fulfillment of the prophecy which was spoken by prophet Joel: “I shall pour out my spirit upon all flesh…” (Joel 2:28). Prior to Jesus’s ascension to heaven, he told his disciples: “I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper,” which Jesus identified as “Holy spirit of Truth.”—John 16:13.
Purpose for Holy Spirit coming (empowering believers)
From that day, a community of God-fearing men and women—the modern-day Christian congregation was formed and empowered to do the work of God on the earth. This is the means by which the “good news of the kingdom” is being “preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations” before the end of the world. (coming of the Lord to get the church out of here) —Matt. 24:14.
The very last words Jesus spoke as He met with his disciples on the Mount of Olives only moments before He ascended into Heaven were very important after having commissioned them to go into all the world and preach the gospel and to make disciples of all nations. He had told them NOT to leave Jerusalem until they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). What He was telling them was that even though they had spent the past 3 years or so with Him, it was not enough for them to have heard Him preach or witness His many miracles or even see Him raise the dead. He was telling them that they needed to be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to be effective and fruitful in their endeavors for the Kingdom and in their own personal walk with God.
In the book of Acts, we see where the disciples waited in the upper room, as instructed by Jesus, and were then filled with the Holy Spirit. This indwelling gave them divine, supernatural power that changed the course of how they would go about fulfilling the Great Commission Jesus had entrusted to them. They were now able to do things in His strength, not in their own natural, human strength. They were used to do mighty works that they could not have done without the help of the Holy Spirit. And it also helped each one of them grow closer to their Lord.
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a believer
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the action by which God takes up permanent residence in the body of a believer upon one accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would come to the saints, particularly to leaders to empower them for service but not necessarily remain with them (see Judges 15:14; 1 Chronicles 12:18; Psalm 51:11; Ezekiel 11:5).
Jesus revealed to His disciples the new role the Spirit of Truth would play in their lives: “He lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).
These verses are telling us that the believer in Jesus Christ has the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, living in him. When an individual accepts Christ as personal Savior, the Holy Spirit gives the believer the life of God, eternal life, which is really His very nature (Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 1:4).
The word temple is used to describe the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum in the Old Testament tabernacle structure. There, God’s presence would appear in a cloud and meet the high priest, who came once a year into the Holy of Holies. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest brought the blood of a slain animal and sprinkled it on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. On this special day, God granted forgiveness to the priest and His people.
The fact that Jesus Christ lives in you and can operate through you is one of the awesome truths of the Scriptures. Holy Spirit indwells every believer. He wants you to live the same kind of supernatural and accomplish great things for His Kingdom.
Most Christians identify with God the Father (Jehovah or Yahweh) and his Son, Jesus Christ but NOT with Holy Spirit. Why? Holy Spirit, without a body and a personal name, seems distant to many, yet he came to dwell inside every true believer when they got saved. He is a constant companion in our walk of faith. (John 16:13).
Throughout the Bible, we see Holy Spirit pouring his power into followers of God. When we think of men of God as Joseph, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul, we may feel we have nothing in common with them, but the truth is that Holy Spirit within us whom we received when we got born again, is ready to help us change from the person we are today to the person God wants us to be – closer to the character of Christ. All He requires from us is to give Him permission in our lives. (Give Him full sway)
The key role of Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit serves as teacher, counselor, comforter, strengthener, inspiration, revealer of the Scriptures, convincer of sin, caller of ministers, and intercessor in prayer. (John 14, 15, and 16)
The first role of the Holy Spirit was to convict you of your sins and your need to repent and accept Christ when you were an unbeliever. When you became a believer your body literally became the temple of God. You are now separated from this world and have been restored to your rightful place as His child. After becoming a believer and disciple of Christ, Holy Spirit now wants to take on a different role in your life. Being filled with the Holy Spirit means that as a believer you are also to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do things on the Lord’s behalf. So, Holy Spirit not only transforms us into a new creation but gives us power to do God’s work on this earth.
In the Old Testament, and before Pentecost (as described in the Book of Acts), Holy Spirit was selective in whom He indwelt, and it was not meant to be permanent. He would work temporarily through people (i.e., Joshua, David and Daniel) so that the Lord’s work could be done. However, after Jesus came to earth to atone for mankind’s sins in order to close the gap between man and God, that all changed… Holy Spirit’s role in a born-again believer changed. Study John chapter 14,15 and 16.
The believer in Christ becomes the habitation of the Holy Spirit of God once they receive Jesus Christ as Lord and savior
Today, there is no Jewish temple in Jerusalem, and the animal sacrifices have ceased. The believer in Christ has become the inner sanctum of God the Holy Spirit, as the believer has been sanctified and forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7). The believer in Christ becomes the habitation of the Holy Spirit of God. In fact, Scripture also says that the believer is indwelt spiritually by Christ (Colossians 1:27) and by God the Father (1 John 4:15)—the Trinity is involved.
Why every believer in Christ needs to be filled with Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues
The Holy Spirit has several purposes in our lives
- He is to be our teacher and our guide. John 14:26 says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to you remembrance all things I said to you.”
- The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
- He gives us joy and peace. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
- He gives us boldness to witness. Acts 4: 31 tells of how “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
- He gives us power to rule. Ephesians 3:16 says, “…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the (your) inner man.”
- He gives us ability to live godly lives. Ezekiel 36:27 says, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
- He helps us to pray. Ephesians 6:18 says, “…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.”
- He gives us wisdom and revelation. Ephesians 1: 17-18 says, “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” God our Father speaks through us by the Spirit. Matthew 10:20 says, “…for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”
- He dwells within us to transform / helps us to conform to the image of Christ. Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” and to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). So we participate in this renewal or transforming of our minds into the mind of Christ by discerning what God’s …
- Holy Spirit gives us gifts for ministry. I Corinthians 12: 4-7 says, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestations of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”
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