Ten weeks ago, during our introduction, I used 2 Corinthians 5:17 as part of my opening lines. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Every week thereafter, I have opened up our time together by briefly expanding on each individual attribute of the fruit of the Spirit. Given the opening lines of our scripture reading today, I believe God desires we dig deeper into the subject. In today’s study, Acts chapter 19 begins with the Apostle Paul asking certain disciples, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Do you find this question odd? Does it make you wonder why it is that the apostle Paul asked the question in the first place. The more I thought about the reason why he would ask the question, the more I kept coming back to the thought that he would probably be equally aghast if he was to visit most congregations today!
In today’s study, let’s make sure we know who the Holy Spirit is, lest we be found guilty of the same indictment! As basic as this part of our doctrine is, I would not want to be held accountable for assuming everyone within the sound of my voice can answer the question properly, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
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