What does having the Holy Spirit mean?

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by Felicity

Mizpeh ....

Your views on this subject reminds me of what my very closest PW friend expressed to me once when we were talking about this. We worked closely together and were very close friends since Bible School. She's definitely PAJC in her views on salvation. She said that repentance resulted in a relationship with God akin to communication wires being strung between us and God.

Well .... lol .... I took her up on that at the time and asked the usual questions and the answers were very unsatisfactory. Communication enablement between me and God doesn't change a life from the inside out. The natural mind has to be transformed spiritually before it can understand or comprehend and desire spiritual things. That's what Scripture says.

So then in your view the Spirit of God transforms a life inwardly resulting in change from the inside out by being WITH them but not IN them?

Yes, that is my view from the word of God and my experience as I've already related to you. Your last two posts (124, 125) were very good and I agree with most of what you say. Repentance is an inner work of the heart but does not require the Spirit of God to be in a person for the work to be done.

.....and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the promise is unto you....

Receiving the Spirit is separate from repentance. From what I understand you believe there are two times a person receives the Spirit of God, once at belief and repentance and then again with the sign of tongues. I cannot find proof for that anywhere in the scriptures.

The first time the apostles received the Spirit was on the day of Pentecost. They had been given power and authority over devils and sickness before the day of Pentecost. They baptized believers in water unto repentance before the day of Pentecost, but they did not have the Holy Spirit IN them until Acts 2:4. Jesus said the Comforter was WITH them but would be in them. Jesus said He must go away to send the Comforter.... ... I can't find where the apostles had been given the Spirit twice.

After the discussions over the past few weeks, like Barb, I have been searching the scriptures to see if these things are so. I'm doing a inductive study on the book of Romans to help me understand justification among other things.