Jesus prophesied several times about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus made the Holy Spirit known to His disciples and promised His disciples the Holy Spirit. But when do you receive the Holy Spirit from God? What is the requirement for receiving the Holy Spirit?
God gives the Holy Spirit to them that obey Him
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him (行為 5:30-32)
In Acts 5:32 それは書かれている, that God has given the Holy Spirit to them that obey Him. And that’s still the case. God gives the Holy Spirit to them that obey Him. Obedience to God and His Word is a requirement to receive the Holy Spirit. (こちらもお読みください: なぜ服従が犠牲よりも優れているのか?).
それらの, who rebel against God and don’t do what God says in His Word and don’t walk in the will of God, shall not receive the Holy Spirit.
Because why do you need the Holy Spirit if you won’t submit to God and refuse to do what the Word says?
Many times Christians consider the Holy Spirit as some kind of energy or a power, manifested in a feeling or emotion.
But God the Holy Spirit is not an emotion or feeling.
The Holy Spirit is a Person. The Holy Spirit is the other Comforter, Jesus spoke about. The other Comforter, Whom the Father would send in the Name of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ. Just like those, who belong to Jesus Christ and are His witnesses
If you love Jesus, you obey Him and do what the Word says
If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (ジョン 14:15-17)
イエスは言いました。, that if you love Him, you will keep His commandments. This means that you do what He says. And if you love Jesus and obey Him, by keeping His commandments, Jesus promised He would pray to the Father and the Father shall give you another Comforter,
This other Comforter is the Holy Spirit. If you love Jesus and do what He says, you shall receive the other Comforter. And He shall be with you forever.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and shall be in those, who obey the Truth
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning (ジョン 15:26-27)
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, 真理の霊, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you (ジョン 16:12-15)
The world doesn’t see the Holy Spirit. The world doesn’t know the Holy Spirit. Therefore those, who belong to the world can’t receive the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of truth.
But those, who believe in Jesus the Christ and are saved through Him and have laid down their own lives and through regeneration in Christ are reconciled with God and have become a new creation, and submit themselves to Jesus Christ and follow Jesus and obey Him, they shall receive the Holy Spirit; 真理の霊.
They shall see the Holy Spirit and they shall know the Holy Spirit personally. And together with the Holy Spirit, they shall testify of the Truth and preach the truth of God.
The Holy Spirit shall be with them and shall be in them. And as long as they stay faithful to Him and obey Him, the Holy Spirit shall abide in them forever.
When do you receive the Holy Spirit?
And so those, who believe in Jesus Christ and become born again in Christ and become a new creation and follow Jesus and obey Him, shall receive the Holy Spirit from God.
Obedience to God and His Word is a requirement to receive the Holy Spirit. That is how you recognize the sons of God and the sons of the devil. (こちらもお読みください: ‘The commandments of God and the commandments of the devil「, ‘Obedience to God‘ そして ‘神への不従順「).
When people say that they have the Holy Spirit abiding in them, but they refuse to submit to God and don’t do what Jesus; the Word says and don’t confess Jesus the Christ and are no witness of Him, but they walk after the flesh and live like the world, doing the works of the flesh (which are written in the Bible), you might ask yourself whether they have the Holy Spirit or the new age spirit? (こちらもお読みください: ‘聖霊 vs 新時代の霊, which spirit dwells in you?「)
Because those, who are born again in Christ are reconciled with God. They are sons of God (both males and females) and belong to God. They shall walk after the Spirit and be continuously led by the Spirit. Because they obey God and do what the Word tells them to do.
「地の塩となれ」’
