"IS THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN?"

“Now it came to pass, that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper parts, came to Ephesus: and finding there some disciples, he said to them, Have you, on your believing, received the Holy Spirit? And they replied to him, No; we have not so much as heard whether the Holy Spirit is received. And he said to them, Into what, then, were you immersed? And they said, Into John’s immersion. And Paul said John, indeed, administered the immersion of reformation, telling the people that they should believe in Him that was to come after him: that is, in Jesus. And hearing this, they were immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul, laying his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied. And they were, in all, about twelve men.” (Acts 19:1-7 Alexander Campbell N.T.)

“These men, disciples of John the Baptist, were deficient in personal spiritual experience. So obvious was this fact that when Paul came into contact with them, he asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. Their answer was that they had not so much as heard whether the Holy Spirit had come. (“We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” NKJV). In view of John’s prediction that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit, it seems inconceivable that they had never heard His name; but they might never have heard of the fulfillment at Pentecost and the promise by Peter of the coming of the indwelling Comforter as God’s gift to believers. The reply of Paul proves that the baptism of John was insufficient to produce a full Christian experience, for the believer must not only repent of sin, he must also be filled with the Spirit.”

(Merrill C. Tenney – Adapted).

When the Spirit of God is absent from the heart of a person there is a definite emptiness which is obvious both to self and others. And how remarkable that missing element when occurring in the life of one who otherwise professes to be a thoroughgoing Christian, one who is even believing, repentant, and baptized (immersed)!
God intended it to be so different! His purpose in bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit upon every Christian was to provide a superb inner resource to bless us in every way, to give us comfort when sad, courage when fearful, joy when grieving strength when weak, wisdom when confused, help when needed, deliverance when oppressed, understanding when studying, patience when on trial, skill when working and witnessing, power for growing, and hundreds of other aids in living for Christ and overcoming the world! We may not see the Spirit with our eyes, but His presence is unmistakable because of His activities in us and fellow Christians!
But what if the Spirit is missing in my life? What can a person do? He can do what the twelve disciples at Ephesus did—he can start over and do it right, by the grace of God! And if that is the case, why would we hesitate? The longer we wait the harder it will become.


“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” (II Corinthians 13:5).

Larry Atkin, Preacher