Have Ye Received The Holy Ghost Since Ye Believed

Acts 19:2 (KJV)

2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

The question “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” was originally asked by the Apostle Paul after meeting some of John the Baptist’s disciples. As you can see they had not even heard of the Holy Ghost at that time. Amazingly many today still have not heard of the Holy Ghost. And those that have, may still not be sure whether they have received it or not.

Sadly many people ignore the importance of the Holy Ghost in their lives. Some tend to teach about the Holy Ghost in a way that is contrary to what is found in the Bible. It is important that every Christain understands that to properly fulfill all God has called us to do and be we must be filled with His spirit. 

What Is The Holy Ghost

Before we can get into why it is so important that the spirit of God lives in us. We must first understand what we mean when we say the Holy Ghost. To put it simply the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. Which is able to move and flow freely. The Holy Spirit also dwells inside of God’s people. Which we can see from what happened the first time the Holy Ghost fell on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:1-4 (KJV)

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Holy Ghost is mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament and is primarily associated with God working through the prophets. In the New Testament Jesus foretells of the Holy Spirit and how it will come to all those who follow Him. Explaining that it would come a short time after His ascension into Heaven. 

John 14:15-16 (ESV)

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

John 16:7 (ESV)

7 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 go, I will send him to you.

Acts 1:4-5 (ESV)

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

It is common to hear people make a statement referring to Christians as the temple of God. Yet few seem to mention that to be considered the temple of God the Spirit must live inside you. Paul explains this in his writing to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV)

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV)

16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

    and I will be their God,

    and they shall be my people.

What Receiving The Holy Ghost Brings

Many people come to Christianity with the hope of feeling true joy and experiencing peace. Yet, few realize that those things and much more are associated with the Holy Ghost living inside of believers. The Bible is full of verses that show how the Holy Spirit brings peace and joy into the lives of those who believe. Galatians even expands this and tells of all the good fruit the Spirit produces in our lives.

Romans 14:17 (ESV)

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:5-6 (ESV)

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Not only does the Holy Spirit bring into our lives what can only be described as true happiness. But it does other things in our lives as well. For instance, the Bible says the Holy Spirit will teach us. That it will help us to better understand God and His ways. Which in turn helps us to better understand scripture and be a better witness to others.

John 14:26 (ESV)

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you

1 Corinthians 2:13 (ESV)

13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual..

If all this was not enough the Spirit living in us will lead us throughout our lives. Not just in what decisions we should make or where we should go, even though we do read about that happening in the scripture. The Bible actually says if we submit to the Spirit it will help us stay away from sinning once again.

Galatians 5:16-18

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

How You Receive the Holy Ghost

Before discussing how to receive the Holy Ghost. It is important that you understand receiving the Holy Ghost is a part of the plan of salvation. Jesus taught that we must be born of the water and of the spirit to be saved. The water, of course, is in reference to baptism and being born of the spirit refers to us receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 

John 3:5 (ESV)

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

The Apostle Paul also says that if you do not have the Spirit in you then you do not actually belong to Christ. Which enforces the fact that to be saved we must receive the Holy Ghost.

Romans 8:9 (ESV)

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is a very straightforward process. The scripture shows that It happens in about three different ways. We see the most common and easiest way in Acts chapter two when Peter tells a group of people to repent and be baptized in Jesus and they would receive the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:38 (ESV)

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Another way we see people receive the Holy Ghost is by other believers laying hands on an individual and praying for them. This can happen before or after baptism. But as we see in the account from Acts chapter eight it normally happened after baptism.

Acts 8:14-17 (ESV)

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

What amazing is that at times those who receive the Holy Ghost don’t have to do anything except being seeking the Lord. When people are in that mindset of just wanting more of God oftentimes God will give them exactly what they are seeking. Which is exactly what happened to those gathered together in Acts chapter ten.

Acts 10:44-45 (ESV)

44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

Knowing For Sure

So by now, you are probably wondering how do you know if you or someone else has received the Holy Ghost. Because there has to be some way to tell whether someone has truly been filled with God’s spirit or not. Otherwise, anyone could claim to have the Holy Spirit when in actuality they don’t.

Thankfully the scripture answers that question for us. God has given us a sign to show that one has been filled with His spirit and that sign is speaking in unknown tongues. Which we are able to see in the account of those who received the Holy Spirit at Cornelius’s house.

Acts 10:46 (ESV)

46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,

They knew that the Gentiles received the Holy Ghost, not because of something they could see happen. But because of the outward sign of speaking in tongues. Similarly, when the disciples of John the Baptist received the Holy Ghost after being baptized in Jesus name by the Apostle Paul. They too spoke in tongues as a sign of the Spirit filling them. 

Acts 19:6 (ESV)

6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Please do not allow the idea of speaking in tongues worry you or even freak you out. Speaking in tongues is actually a crucial part of the Christian faith that many have tried to remove because of our modern culture. In doing this though they fail to realize that it if it wasn’t for the Holy Ghost falling and the act of speaking in tongues that took place at Cornelius’s house most people would not be able to become Christians today.

Because up until that time the Church was still only considered to be for the Jews. It was not until after Peter’s dream and him witnessing what happened at Cornelius’s house that they realized that God had also made a way for the gentiles to be saved.

Acts 11:17-18 (ESV)

17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Not only did speaking in tongues show that God had made a way for all people to be saved. But it was just a normal part of the church. The Apostle Paul spoke in tongues and was proud enough to write about in 1 Corinthians. 

1 Corinthians 14:18 (ESV)

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

Paul also wrote most of the content we have on the purpose of the Holy Ghost. And even said that the Spirit prays for us in groanings that we would not be able to express on our own. Which we must assume is referring to the act of speaking in tongues.

Romans 8:26 (ESV)

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Please understand that speaking in tongues is not something demonic or crazy. It is actually as Biblical as anything else can be. 

So Have Ye Received The Holy Ghost?

Now that you have read all this about the Holy Ghost how do you answer the question Paul poses in Acts nineteen? Do you feel as though you are reaping the benefits that the Holy Ghost is supposed to bring into your life? Have you had the experience of speaking in a Heavenly language that you were unable to understand?

If you are not able to answer those questions or you answered no to any of them then please pray. Seek God and ask Him to give you understanding. Also, take the time to study your Bible. Read the book of Acts and see how the Holy Ghost worked in the early church for yourself. As always if you have any questions please feel free to email us at [email protected].

If you found this article to be informative and helpful please share it. Maybe you know someone who needs to receive the Holy Ghost, if so please share it with them. Our goal is to reach as many people with the truth of the Gospel as possible and we would greatly appreciate your help in this effort. God Bless!

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