Who is the Holy Spirit?
Growing up I was raised
in a church that really didn't talk about or teach on the Holy Spirit. The only
time I would ever hear the name Holy Spirit mentioned would be during a water
baptism service in the context of "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit." Who the Holy Spirit was remained a mystery to me.
The church as a whole has really not emphasized enough the importance and the
function of the Holy Spirit. Some people simply think that the Holy Spirit is
some mysterious force and referred to a lot of times as an "it." However, the
Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The definition of the word
person is "one who possesses intelligence, emotion or feeling, and a will."
Throughout the Word of God, personal pronouns such as He and Him are used to
refer to the Holy Spirit, which also emphasizes to us that He is a person and
not an impersonal force. We as Christians can have a relationship with Him (2
Corinthians 13:14).
I came to a point in my life where I had a hunger to walk in the power of God
and to be used by Him. I began calling out to God, "Why does this Christian life
seem so boring? There has to be more to it than this." As a result of heartfelt
prayer and study of God's Word, I realized that I was missing an experience that
God intends for all believers to have. When a person is born again, the Holy
Spirit comes and lives on the inside of that person, however, there is another
experience known as the Holy Spirit baptism. This is when you receive the Holy
Spirit to come upon you to be a powerful witness for the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts
1:8).
In Acts 8:14-17, the Apostles heard that many in Samaria had accepted Jesus as
their Lord and Savior. The Apostles then called for Peter and John to come pray
and lay hands on the people that they would receive the Holy Spirit. Notice the
salvation experience was separate from their receiving the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. We also see in Acts 19:1-6, Paul asking certain believers, "Did you
receive the Holy Spirit SINCE you believed," and they replied, "We have not so
much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." However, once they were informed
that the Holy Spirit baptism was available, they were baptized in water and then
Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke
with tongues and prophesied. Did you know that Jesus did not perform any
miracles in His ministry until the Holy Spirit came upon Him? Jesus was setting
an example for believers to receive the same Holy Spirit that empowered Him on
this earth (Acts 10:38).
I now ask you, "Have you received the Holy Spirit SINCE you believed?" Why wait?
You can invite the Holy Spirit to baptize you right now!
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