Posts Tagged ‘Holy Spirit’
If the Lord only speaks through the Bible, why was the Spirit promised in John 16:13?
Question: So the Lord only speaks through the Bible and not through the Spirit? I’m kind of confused now. Just wanted to see if you could clear this up for me: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he…
Read MoreDoes Inspiration Change a Man?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DoesInspirationChangeAMan.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Samuel 6:1-12 I. A common teaching among the denominations is that a person cannot come to know God unless the Spirit of God enters in to change his outlook. A. It comes from a basic belief that man is born corrupt from the sin of Adam. He needs God…
Read MoreMy relationship with God has always been a roller coaster
Question: Hello and thank you for reading, I am a 25-year-old man. I was born in a Christian family, my father being a pastor. My relationship with God has always been a roller coaster. There have been times when my faith has been strong and my will was aligned with God’s. I would even speak…
Read MoreDo born-again and non-believers have the same Holy Spirit?
Question: I have three questions I would like to ask. In Job 34:14-15, does it mean born again believers and non-believers have the same Holy Spirit? If one can lose his salvation, does it mean sin still has a chance to overpower the gift of eternal life Christ freely gives? How many times can a…
Read MoreHow does someone know if they have the Holy Spirit?
Question: I always wondered this, but how does someone know if they have the Holy Spirit or they don’t? Answer: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in…
Read MoreWhat does “praying in the Spirit” mean?
Question: Can you please explain to me Jude 20 when it said “praying in the Spirit”? Answer: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also…
Read MoreGoing to the Source (The Anointing of the Spirit)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GoingToTheSource.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 2:18-29 I. The other day, one of my boys needed help with a math problem, so I asked him to show me the problem. He brought in his paper on which he was working. A. “No,” I said, “I need to see the original problem in the book.”…
Read MoreLed by the Spirit
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/LedByTheSpirit.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 8:1-17 I. We have spoken at length in the past about the exactly who is the Holy Spirit A. We have shown that he is a being who is a part of the Godhead, just as the Father and the Son. B. He is made more mysterious by men because of…
Read MoreMisapplying Scriptures
by Terry W. Benton A common mistake we run into today is taking a promise made to the apostles, commandeering it as a promise to us, and then imagining that the promise applies equally to us. For example, when Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13),…
Read MoreSubjective Spirit Leading
by Terry Benton Subjective “Spirit Leading” is when one is moved by imagined nudging and impulses, then attributes that imagination to the “leading of the Spirit”. It often never is in complete harmony with Spirit “revelation” in the Bible. It is sometimes outright contrary to Spirit guidance through “revelation” (Ephesians 3:3-5). It is completely subjective…
Read MoreWhat is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
Question: I don’t understand this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I know it’s not hating or cursing God. I know that in Bible we have examples like when Jesus healed a man and the Pharisees claimed that he use the devil’s power. Still, 2000 years later, people still fear this sin, and no one claims…
Read MoreI think the Holy Spirit may have told me I am condemned
Question: I have recently been filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of tongues. But before I received him, and now after, I have feared committing the unpardonable sin. I have thoughts that constantly plague me and the Bible said we should cast down everything that exalts itself above the knowledge of God, so…
Read MoreI didn’t answer the altar call when I should have. Have I offended God?
Question: I think I messed up big time this past Sunday. During a song, my pastor stepped to the pulpit and gave an invitation to the lost. The Spirit moved so powerfully during the song that the preacher didn’t get to preach that morning. I’m saved, but during this invitation, God was convicting me to…
Read MoreDoes the Holy Spirit come to us at our baptism?
Question: Jeffrey, Thank you for your wonderful work in teaching the Bible and for your web site. I have become much stronger in the faith as a result of your help. I have come upon a statement that I am not sure is correct: “At baptism God sends His Spirit to dwell in us. He…
Read MoreDoes the Holy Spirit come to us at our baptism?
Question: Jeffrey, Thank you for your wonderful work in teaching the Bible and for your website. I have become much stronger in the faith as a result of your help. I have come upon a statement that I am not sure is correct: “At baptism, God sends His Spirit to dwell in us. He marks…
Read MoreHow Does the Holy Spirit Lead?
by Herschel E. Patton via Guardian of Truth XXXV: 8, pp. 237, 239, April 14, 1991 Obviously, the Holy Spirit does lead certain ones. “Sons of God” are thus led. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Jesus was “led up of the Spirit” into…
Read MoreHow does the Holy Spirit testify to people today?
Question: Hello, I was reading your page and I was wondering if you thought that the Holy Spirit testifies with people today. I can see what you mean by churches making a following off these emotional responses but are you saying that God doesn’t have a way of testifying with us to let us know…
Read MoreBy One Spirit … Baptized Into One Body
by Terry W. Benton “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (I Corinthains 12:13). What does “by one Spirit” mean? The Holy Spirit is the element we are immersed in? Holy Spirit is the agency…
Read MoreWhy don’t you believe that the Spirit actively dwells in the believer today?
Question: In my seeking to find “Christian only” groups, I have visited several “churches of Christ,” which came out of the restoration movement in the 1800s. My question is, though I deeply appreciate the non-denominational and back to the Bible emphasis, why is it that many reject any direct involvement of the Holy Spirit today?…
Read MoreDoes the Spirit indwell only through the word without any supernatural means?
Question: I have enjoyed several of the articles listed on your website. One I have a question about is regarding your article on the “Indwelling of the Holy Spirit.” Is your church one who believes that the Holy Spirit indwells a Christian by way of the “word only” and that there is no supernatural indwelling?…
Read MoreHow can you know you are filled with the Spirit?
Question: How does a person become filled with the Holy Spirit and know they are filled? Does everyone who is filled with the Holy Spirit have the gifts that Acts speaks about? Answer: A Christian receives the Spirit by the hearing of faith. “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the…
Read MoreIf the Holy Spirit is a part of the Godhead, then why isn’t He on the throne in Revelation 22:1?
Question: Hi, If God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are co-equal, can you explain the reason why the Holy Spirit doesn’t occupy a throne in Revelation 22:1? Answer: “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). People…
Read MoreHow can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?
Question: When I got saved I always wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I have received two times in my life the touch of God and when He touched me some power went from my head and through all my body, but I wasn’t aware that it was the Holy Spirit who touched…
Read MoreIs it a contradiction that Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit, but he also said some would see him coming in his kingdom?
Question: Dear Preacher, In Matthew 16:28 Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” My question is did Jesus came on the day of Pentecost when the church was established? Because this contradicts with…
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit’s Intercessory Prayer
by Tanner Campbell In this article, we will put Romans 8:26 under a full investigation. The text explains that “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.” This difficult…
Read MoreIsn’t it a miracle when a person sees an angel or receives the Holy Spirit?
Question: What about people who see angels these days? Is that not a miracle or are you teaching that is of the devil? What about receiving the Holy Spirit is that not a miracle? Answer: Miracles are alterations of natural events. The birth of a baby is a wondrous event, but it is not a…
Read MoreDoes receiving the Holy Spirit mean baptism in water is unnecessary?
Question: I have another friend that believes you don’t need water baptism because once you believe that’s when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and that’s when you’re baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. She gave me theses Scriptures: Acts 11:14-16, Acts 11:47-48, Matthew 3:11-15, Acts 10:44-48, Titus 3:5, John 3:1-5. If you don’t…
Read MoreHow do I correct a misunderstanding that the Holy Spirit is the Bible?
Question: Hello. I just wanted to let you know that I think the new web site looks really nice and express my gratitude for the work you do. I do have a question that has been bothering me for a while, and although I’ve searched your archives for a response, I’m hoping you can help…
Read MoreMy girlfriend thinks she blasphemed the Holy Spirit and can’t be forgiven
Question: My girlfriend some time ago after reading a Benny Hinn book about the Holy Spirit, whom she heavily disagree with, found herself unable to resist thinking against the Holy Spirit. I’m not sure what she thought, but she assures me that it was terrible. Since then she has had other thoughts while praying and…
Read MoreThe Working of the Holy Spirit
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/WorkingOfTheHolySpirit.mp3 by Bruce Irwin
Read MoreMy research says that Matthew mistranslated “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
Question: I am sorry I am going to have to agree with the guy who questioned you on “Could Jesus have said “My God, my God, for this I was kept?”. Yeshua, the Son of God, AKA Jesus Christos, Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic and while Matthew was a Greek scholar, he merely recorded the words of…
Read MoreYou make no attempt to understand the Salvation Army
Question: I just read with much displeasure the article, “Can Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?” I am admittedly somewhat biased as a third-generation Salvationist, but I found your posting quite misleading. It makes no attempt to understand the Salvation Army doctrines and looks simply to highlight doctrinal differences with other denominations. A few points…
Read MoreSpiritual Illumination
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/SpiritualIllumination.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 3 I. What does it take to understand the Bible? A. I had one woman object to an article stating that the Ten Commandments were not directly in effect because they were a part of the Old Law. 1. She told me to read several verses which stated not…
Read MoreCan a person understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit’s help?
Question: Regarding the Ten Commandments: Hi there. My advice is that you take and read the Bible. Do not put your ideas into it. There are other people who do understand the Bible. Therefore, read Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32. This is exactly what you do on your web site. I am sorry. I do not try…
Read MoreCan one receive the Holy Spirit without baptism?
Question: Can one receive the Holy Spirit without baptism? Answer: The clear answer to this is “yes.” Baptism is a command found in the New Testament, yet people had received the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. In addition: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard…
Read MoreWhy did Jesus say that unless he went away, the Comforter could not come?
Question: Why did Jesus say that unless he went away, the Comforter could not come? Answer: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you”…
Read MoreWhen Paul asked the Ephesians if they had received the Holy Spirit, what was he referring to?
Question: When Paul asked the Ephesians, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” in Acts 19:2, was he referring to the gift of Acts 2:38? And is that the same as the Spirit given in Acts 5:32. Thanks. Answer: “And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper…
Read MoreAre people who rejected the ministry of the Holy Spirit not Christians in actual fact?
Question: The article on the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as a sin that cannot be forgiven did not really explain why those people accused Jesus of casting the demons by the power of Beelzebub. In reality, there are people who professed to be Christians but reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues,…
Read MoreCan we worship and praise the Holy Spirit?
Question: A question was raised in class about worship and praise to the Holy Spirit. Can you give any passages that say we are to do so? I couldn’t find any that give a specific yes or no. There are some that infer it and we can be condemned by blaspheming Him. Answer: Worship is…
Read MoreI want to see a girl, but I think God wants me here. What should I do?
Question: I have liked, probably loved, a girl for going on seven years, and never really tried to pursue her. There is a problem, she is definitely a desire of my heart, I do desire her, not in a lustful way, I just want to be around her. The problem is she is two hours…
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