The Holy Spirit

Question

My question is do we receive the Holy Spirit of God today? If so, what is its operation in our lives?

Answer

To answer this question it is helpful to review what the Holy Spirit was to accomplish. Jesus, when speaking of the comforter "which is the spirit of truth" (John 14:17), taught the disciples:

• that it would abide in them (John 14:16-17)
• it would teach them all things (John 14:26)
• it would witness to the Lord (John 15:26-27)
• it would convict the world of sin (John 16:7-11)
• it would guide them into all truth (John 16:13)

The gifts of the spirit were for a limited time (John 14:16; Acts 2:39; 1 Corinthians 13:8-13) which ended with the death of the apostles, who were only ones who could pass on the spirit (Acts 8:12-19; 19:6). That was all before the Bible was complete.

Now we have the complete Bible and it is the complete revelation of God to us (2 Timothy 3:16-17), written under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). When the Bible is read and applied in our daily lives:

• it is what gives us faith (Romans 10:17)
• it gives us comfort (Romans 15:4)
• it brings salvation (Romans 1:16; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17)
• it abides in us (Colossians 3:16; 1 John 2:14; 2 John 2)
• it teaches us all things (2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 15:4)
• it witnesses to the Lord (1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
• it convicts the world (and us) of sin (Hebrews 4:12-13; James 1:18-21)
• it guides us into all truth (Ephesians 1:13; 2 Timothy 3:15)
• it brings (eternal) life (John 6:63)

To sum up the answer, we do not receive the Holy Spirit gifts today, though we have God's word which was written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and it is what we should put into operation in our daily lives.

Written by Matthew Smith