A bible study on receiving the Holy Spirit (getting the Holy Ghost) by Leanna Mae

Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? What it means to receive the Holy Spirit can be a controversy among different churches. Some say we receive it automatically when we believe. Others say we have to pray for it. Some say it’s essential. Others don’t. What does the bible say? We should be following the example the early church laid as the foundation for us. If they got the Holy Spirit then, we can have it today too. We must be sure to follow the bible and pursue the same things the early church did.
 
This is taken from the book, The Subject of Salvation. There is a slideshow and more content on the bible study page. You can also read my own story of receiving the Holy Spirit here.
 
Let’s look at the scriptures and then discuss what they mean.

Scriptures

I’ve chosen a few highlighted verses here. All of the scriptures on the topic are referenced in the image above.
 
(All verses in the text are taken from the American Standard Version.)

Ezekiel 36:27-28 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

John 3:3-8 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born anew. The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

John 7:37-39 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:38 And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Acts 8:12-17 But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. And Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, he continued with Philip; and beholding signs and great miracles wrought, he was amazed.
Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:44-48 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the word. And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid the water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Acts 19:1-7 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples: and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given. And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John’s baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And they were in all about twelve men.

Romans 8:5-17 For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: and 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 dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.

1 Corinthians 6:17-20 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.

Galatians 5:16-25 But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.

2 Timothy 1:13-14 Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee guard through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us.

Elucidation of this topic

To elucidate is to explain or make something clear. We are interpreting the scriptures here piece by piece.

• The Holy Spirit is a gift. (Acts 2:38)
  
• The Spirit is sent in the name of Jesus. (John 14:26)
• The Spirit resides with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)
  

• The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. It guides us. (John 14:16-17, 26)
  
• It is a helper. (John 14:16-17)
• God chose us to pour out his Spirit on. He is our God and we are his people. It is given to believers. We receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Ezekiel 36:27-28, Galatians 3:14)
  

• Some people say you receive the Spirit automatically when you believe, but in the bible they prayed to receive the Spirit. (Acts 8:12-17, Acts 19:1-7)
  
• God will give you the good gift of the Holy Spirit if you ask him. (Luke 11:9-13)
  

• People need to repent before baptism of both water and Spirit, but you can receive the Spirit before baptism (Acts 10:44-48) or after baptism (Acts 8:12-17, Acts 19:1-7).
  

• When people received the Holy Spirit, they had the evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 2:3-4, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-7). Without there being evidence of being born of the Spirit you wouldn’t know if somebody had received the Spirit. In Acts 8:12-17 Peter and John knew that they did not have the Spirit, then they prayed for them, and they knew they had received the Spirit. Also in Acts 19:1-7 Paul knew that the disciples in Ephesus had not received the Holy Spirit. They were baptized and it says the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues.
  

• You have to be born of the Spirit to enter heaven. (John 3:3-8)
  

• You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. (Acts 1:8)
  

• Don’t stop at receiving the Holy Spirit. Walk in the Spirit. Live by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-25)
  
• You can live according to the flesh or live according to the Spirit. People who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit and those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh. If you are in the flesh, you cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Romans 8:5-17)
  
• If you do not have the Spirit of Christ, you do not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9-11)

• You are a temple of God. His Spirit lives inside you. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
  
• We know that God abides in us by the Spirit that he has given us. (1 John 3:24)
  

• If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow and keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)
  
• Produce fruit by being filled with the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
  

Contemplation Questions

1. What does it mean to be born again?
   
2. How is a person born of the Spirit?
3. When did God pour out his Spirit?
4. Who receives the Spirit?
5. Do people receive the Spirit automatically or do they pray to receive it?
6. How do you know if you have received it? Is there any evidence?
7. What does it mean to live by the Spirit or walk in the Spirit?
8. What does it mean to focus on the things of the Spirit instead of the things of the flesh?
9. What kind of lifestyle/behaviors do you put down when you have the Spirit living in you?
10. What is the fruit of the Spirit?
11. Have you received the Holy Spirit?
12. How do you know that you have the Spirit of God living inside you?
    

Speaking in tongues

• Speaking in tongues is evidence of receiving the Spirit. (Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-7)
  

• Speaking in tongues is prayer. We speak to God when we speak in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:1-28)
  
• Our own spirit prays when we pray in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:14-15)
• It builds us up spiritually. It is edifying to the one speaking in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:4)
  

• We should pray to interpret what we are speaking in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:13)
  
• Sometimes it will be interpreted. (1 Corinthians 12:8-11 and 28-31, 1 Corinthians 14:27-28)
  

• It is not to be forbidden in the church (1 Corinthians 14:39), but there should be order in the church (1 Corinthians 14:27-28, 40).
  

• The Spirit makes intercession for us. (Romans 8:26-27)
  

• We are instructed to pray in the Spirit always. (Ephesians 6:18)
  

Contemplation Questions

1. What is speaking in tongues?
   
2. Why do people do it?
3. When do people speak in tongues?
4. When does somebody first speak in tongues?
5. Is speaking in tongues evidence of being born of the Spirit?
6. Is it necessary to have the evidence when you receive the Spirit?
7. How can it be interpreted?
   
8. What does the Holy Spirit do when you pray in tongues?
9. What do you feel it means when the bible talks about speaking in tongues?
10. Who should you pray in tongues in front of?
11. How often should you pray in tongues?
12. Have you received the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues?

Have you received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues since you started following Jesus? If not, seek after it today. If so, share the message. People need the Holy Ghost!