The Holy Spirit

Question:



So I am looking for verses about when the Holy Spirit indwells somebody. Thanks!




Answer:



That’s a good question. What we have to understand first is when the Holy Spirit came down to us. He came down in a somewhat different pattern with the Apostles on Pentecost because the Lord had not yet been fully glorified until that point. Jesus said in John 16:7 that if He didn’t leave earth, the Comforter couldn’t come. In Scripture, the Holy Spirit was not able to permanently indwell believers in the Old Testament because Christ had not yet come. He would come on people to help them perform the work of God but then would leave. When Jesus died and rose again, the veil was torn in the temple and we have direct access to the Father through the Holy Spirit. After the 40 days of completion of Jesus' ascension the Holy Spirit came and indwelt those who believed in Christ. That passage is found in Acts 2. Read Acts 8:36-40, 10:44, 19:5-6, and you will see that whenever Christ was preached, what He did to make us right with the Father, and the people responded and believed, the Holy Spirit came on them. The Apostle John said in 1 John 4:13 that proof we belong to Him is His indwelling Spirit. He confirms in our hearts that we belong to Him. Some people have the gift of tongues, others do not. The gift of tongues was given in Scripture as a sign to the Jews that Gentiles could be brought into the Kingdom (Acts 10:44-45, 1 Cor. 1:22). People will have different answers to your question, and my personal opinion wouldn’t hold any more water than anyone else’s. We have to see from Scripture what the Lord has shown for ourselves.


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