Holy Spirit - Ask Greg! Questions

(CLICK on the Q/A: for full question and answer)


Q/A: Who is the Holy Spirit?  What is your teaching on the existence of hell? - Erin

Q/A: When do we get the Holy Spirit?  Do we get it when we’re baptized or when hands are laid upon us and then we’re prayed over?  Do you need to be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit? - Ken

Q/A: I am a little confused—which is normal for me.  Before Christ’s crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, when the Apostles and other early Christians made a conscious decision to become followers of Christ, did they not receive the Holy Spirit? - Dave

Q/A: Matthew 3:16 states that the Spirit of God descended like a dove on Jesus after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.  Why did the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) descend on Jesus when he was the Son of God and was already filled with the Holy Spirit? - Rich

Q/A: In Acts 8:14-17, “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.  When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” How come the people of Samaria can be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus but not receive the Holy Spirit?  What about today?  How do we know we have received the Holy Spirit? - Kahing

Q/A: My question is about how and when a Christian receives the Holy Spirit.  Some teach it comes with water baptism, either as an infant or later in life.  The Bible tells of it coming with water baptism and sometimes at other times.  It also comes by the laying on of hands by apostles or elders.  Some people today say they feel the Spirit entering them and know the exact time it happened.  I feel I do have the Holy Spirit because I know that God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die for us so that we could have everlasting life with him.  But I do not know how or when I received the Holy Spirit. - John

Q/A: I have been reading Edward Gibbon’s, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I remembered reading about the schism in the 12th century, chapter LX, years ago and wanted to check it out again. It seems that the Catholic Latins believed that the third person of the Trinity (Holy Spirit) comes from or proceeds from the Father and the Son. That the birth of Jesus was less analogous to the Holy Spirit, who, instead of a divine gift or attribute, was considered like a substance (force), a person, a god. The Holy Spirit was not begotten but in the orthodox style proceeds from both the Father and the Son. What do you think? I thought that the Holy Spirit is a divine person just like God the Father and Jesus? - Dennis

Q/A: This may seem like a silly question.  Is there any tangible evidence that one can be assured of that he or she has received the Holy Spirit? - Nick

Q/A: I have been studying the intimate relationship that God the Father requires of his children with him and Jesus Christ.  Particularly one’s relationship with God’s Holy Spirit and our human spirit. Are we becoming one with God and Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit, but yet not losing our individual identity? - Fred

Q/A: My question deals with blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. I have heard several pastors/teachers say that you cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. They say that that was applied to the lawyers/scribes of the day. I use Matthew 12:31-33 as my base text and I see no time stamp on these verses. What I do see is a warning against doubts of miracles performed by the Spirit of God. I am concerned with the doubts and verbal attacks by certain pastors concerning certain "faith" healings..... Is it possible to still blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? If so, are the pastors of today who denounce present day healings and miracles in danger of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit? - Rodney

Q/A: Could you please explain what 1 Thess. 5:19 means about quenching the spirit? (KJV) Some other versions don't use "quench", and seem to give it a different meaning. I'm not really sure if I understand it correctly to begin with. - Wayne