Ron Cosby
A respondent to an article on the gift of the Holy Spirit asserted,
Those who believe and obey Jesus are given/receive the Holy Spirit. He is the gift in Acts 2:38 but since that person doesn’t believe that scripture here are more from the Holy Spirit l (sic) John 7:37-39, Acts 5:32, & the nail in the coffin Rom 8:9-16. Conclusion All (sic) baptized believers who are saved who belong to God & are Gods (sic) children have the Indwelling (sic) of the Spirit. Case closed.
We emphasize these phrases from the writer: (1) “that person doesn’t believe that scripture here,” (2) “nail in the coffin,” and (3) “All baptized believers…have the Indwelling of the Spirit.”
If the writer, or anyone else, wants to believe in the personal indwelling of the Spirit, that is his business. However, when we point out that this indwelling is not a literal indwelling but a figure of speech or when we present a different view of a Personal Indweller’s favorite passage, more than once he has falsely accused us, like the writer did, of failing to believe. With the writer’s accusations in mind, we call attention to a few things.
First, (using the writer’s language) we ask: “Do you believe Acts 8:15-16?” It declares that the baptized Samaritans who belong to Christ did not have the Spirit. The two apostles “prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” Pretty clear. These were believers. These were baptized believers. These were baptized believers who did not have the Spirit.
Second, (using the writer’s language) we ask: “Do you believe Acts 10:45?” This verse gives the example of a non-Christian who received the Spirit before he believed and before he was baptized. “And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Actually, the example even more specifically says that this non-Christian received “the gift of the Holy Spirit.” However, according to the introduced writer’s presentation, this cannot happen. He teaches that the Spirit was given to “all baptized believers.” Cornelius was a non-believer in Jesus at the time he received the gift. He was a non-believer in Jesus who had not been baptized into Christ at the time he received the gift. How does a non-believer in Jesus who has not been baptized receive “the gift of the Holy Spirit?”
Third, (using the writer’s language) we ask the writer: “Do you believe Romans eight which says, if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”? The declarations by Luke in Acts eight and Acts 10 refute the introduced writer’s understanding of “the nail in the coffin Rom 8:9-16.” His “nail in the coffin” passage becomes “un-nailed” in Acts eight, because it shows that those who did belong to Christ did not have the Spirit Himself. How is that possible? Furthermore, our introduced writer’s “nail in the coffin” becomes “un-nailed” in Acts 10, because Luke’s words demonstrate that some who did not belong to Christ did indeed receive “the gift of the Holy Spirit.” How is that possible? It is not possible given the words of the text.
The words presented in Acts 8 and Acts 10, as read, disprove the introduced writer’s doctrine. Will our writer now accuse himself, as he did of us, of not even being a Christian? No. He will simply seek an explanation that will fit his view to the statements in the verses and continue to denounce us. If he has a right to explain, so do we. We shall continue to teach and explain and point out the distinctions we see.
