How 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…

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The 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…

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Does 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…

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My 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…

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You 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…

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Spiritual 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…

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Can 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…

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Can 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…

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Can 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…

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If the Holy Spirit Operated Directly on Mankind …

by Douglas Hoff Many people’s concept of Christianity includes some mysterious work of the Holy Spirit to change one’s life. The Bible does teach the Spirit operates upon man to create faith, convict of sin, and covert the soul. Does he operate directly on man or does he work through the Word of God? The…

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The Work of the Holy Spirit in Teaching

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton The teaching in the Bible about the work of the Holy Spirit is plain, but many in today’s religious society confuse the issue. Part of the confusion is the mysticism that made to surround the Holy Spirit and his work. We are not satisfied with simple answers, we want something more.…

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By One Spirit (Hamilton)

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ByOneSpirit.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 12:1-13   I.         How does one become a Christian?             A.        You’ll find a wide variety of answers in the world. You could even be left with the impression that there isn’t really a single way at all.             B.        John 14:6 – There is only one way to God the Father…

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Direct Operation of the Holy Spirit

by Bryan Sharp In Acts 16, Luke relates what happened when he, Paul, and Silas arrived at Philippi on Paul’s second preaching trip. Beginning in verse 13 he writes: “And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down…

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Does the Spirit of God come upon all men?

Question: Someone showed me a verse in the Bible saying the Spirit of God is in all men. How can this be? Answer: The passage you are referring to is: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons…

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Did Paul really receive the Holy Spirit before his baptism?

I was just reading your answer to 1/24/2008’s question about Paul receiving the spirit before he was baptized. I could be mistaken, but I have never gotten from that passage that Paul received the Spirit before baptism.  Ananias told Paul that he would receive his sight and then be filled with the spirit.  Then, his sight was…

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Must everything we do be in God’s name and a benefit to His kingdom?

Question: I’m really grateful to you for leading me so far. There’s just a really big problem in my life right now and I know you already answered many aspects of it. It just seems like it’s crushing me with its weight. When I work in school, it stills feels like I’m going further away…

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The spirit cannot be God

Question: [Note: This has been severely reduced from the original because it was too long and filled with twisted usage of the Scriptures. I am only presenting a summary so you can get the gist of the arguments made.] The spirit cannot be God. If your congregation is singing praises to the holy spirit, you…

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How does God influence us?

Question: A while back I was looking through Scripture and discussing with a friend about the influence of the Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus. I don’t remember where the Scriptures are at. I should make a list of subjects and put down Scriptures in the list when I find one that goes along with the…

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Do you have pictures of the eight symbols of the Holy Spirit?

Question: Do you have pictures of the eight symbols of the Holy Spirit? Answer: The Bible does symbolically represent the Holy Spirit at times. For example, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove at Jesus’ baptism. “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to…

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The Baptism of Cornelius

Text: Acts 10:34-48   I.         Groups who believe in the direct operation of the Holy Spirit in their lives today will cite the conversion of Cornelius and his household as proof             A.        Some will go so far as to state that a person is not really saved unless they experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit.             B.        It…

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Why aren’t we following the Holy Spirit?

Question: I believe that the word of God is truly inspired and is the divine authority in every aspect of our lives today. The one problem I see in this answer to this question is that you seem to assume that everyone who believes that God speaks today does not read and study the Scripture…

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Was the spirit of Christ the Holy Spirit?

Question: Was the spirit of Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit? We say the Jesus is God. Jesus said that God is Spirit. This implies that the Spirit also has a sub-spirit. The spirit of Jesus was certainly not the Holy Spirit because while dying on the cross he uttered: “Father into thy hands I give…

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The Work of the Holy Spirit

  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 our lack of understanding. Perhaps due to…

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What is the role of the Holy Spirit today?

Question: What is the role of the Holy Spirit today? What does it really mean by “indwell’ vs “live in us” vs “body is the temple of God”? Do they mean the same thing? Is there a complete list of gifts that we can get from the Holy Spirit today? Upon water baptism, what does…

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The Holy Spirit’s Work

I.         We have noted that the third person in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is often misunderstood.             A.        People have let the imaginations run wild in regard to who the Spirit is and especially in how He operates.             B.        Many of the incorrect beliefs are based on phrases found in the Bible, taken out of context of the…

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Where Do You Live?

  I.         Where a person spends his time reveals a lot about their character             A.        Which country or region a person comes from             B.        The kind of home they select or the people they live with             C.        But we are interested in spiritual things here. Where can I find your tent, among God’s people or Satan’s followers?             D.        The Bible…

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What are the seven spirits of God in Revelation?

Question: What are the seven spirits of God in the book of Revelation? Answer: The book of Revelation is written in symbolic or figurative terms according to its author. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants–things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His…

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Why haven’t you written about the Comforter?

Question: I noticed your article on the Azusa street revival…very interesting. However, I looked in the topical index and I see no articles on the Holy Spirit as spoken of by Jesus in the book of John (the comforter, leader, and guider into all truth), nor any reflections on the baptism of the Holy Spirit…

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