John 14:16-17 NKJV
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [a]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Jesus said that the word cannot receive the Holy Spirit because those in the world neither see him nor know him. It is those who believe in Jesus and have accepted his Lordship over their life that receive the Holy Spirit. At what point then does one receive the Holy Spirit?
Acts 2:38 NKJV
“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the [a]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter told the people that if they repented and believed in Jesus then they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is at the point of salvation that we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to cry out “Abba Father” according to Galatians 4:6.
Paul puts it so well in the book of Romans;
Romans 8:9 NKJV
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
If we do not have his Spirit then we are not His meaning that when we become his at the point of salvation, then we receive his Spirit who comes in us to dwell with us forever. He comes in as a preserving seal to lock our faith, an authenticating seal to validate our sonship and also as a protecting seal to keep out destructive forces of the enemy.
He is the seal that guarantees our inheritance!
Are you born again? Then you have the Holy Spirit, recognize him and his role in your life, fellowship with him and allow him to transform you from the inside out.
As a believer do you have the assurance that you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you? How has having the Holy Spirit abiding in you forever changed your life? What do you need to do to allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish what he needs to accomplish in your life?
