SPELLING EDITED G-3. The POWER AND the AUTHORITY of the BELIEVER!
Here on my website at http://www.amatteroftruth.com/ and on my YouTube channel http://www.YouTube.com/AMATTEROFTRUTH my goal is to present to you, the reader and seeker of the truth, with all the evidence from the WHOLE word of God. So let us begin this study in God's word by reading a widely misunderstood passage of Scripture, as in, it is not fully understood as having a dual fulfillment like many of the prophecies in the Old Testament.
Jesus said in John 14:2,3.
“In my Father’s house are many MANSIONS, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself: that where I am there you may be also.”
Many of us have been taught that this Scripture means that Jesus has ascended to his heavenly Father where Jesus is preparing a mansion or some stately manor up in heaven for each believer where we will someday live forever. However, this is NOT all of what this passage of Scripture is saying. The church has missed a vital truth that has held some Christians back from abiding in our MANSION right now, right here on the earth in this present life. Let me explain what I mean. First of all, I am not saying that Jesus did not prepare us a place up in heaven in the city of God, the New Jerusalem. But rather, I am saying that Jesus is also teaching us that he went to the cross to lay down his life for us to prepare us a place of AUTHORITY and POWER in his NAME. The word “mansion” comes from the Greek root word “meno” which means to stay or remain in a given place, or to stay in a given state of expectancy. The word mansion in Greek means a staying, to abide, or a residence, as well as to continue, dwell, ENDURE, REMAIN, STEADFAST, TO STAND FIRM, WITHSTAND, and to tarry for. Now, the W.E. Vines expository dictionary of New Testament Greek words states that there is absolutely NOTHING in the word “MENO” which is translated as “MANSION” to indicate separate compartments up in heaven. In other words, there is absolutely nothing in the meaning of the word in the original language that even remotely hints at the idea of a stately home, or mansion up in heaven for each believer. So contrary to what we have been taught, the word mansion does NOT mean a stately manor up in heaven, but rather, it means an abiding or staying place. It literally means a place in which we remain steadfast in our FAITH. One of the most fundamental rules for interpreting Scripture is to keep the verse that is in question in the context from where it is found. And the second rule for interpreting Scripture correctly in light of the whole word of God is to compare Scripture with Scripture. We must look at what actually happened that the context is referring to. So let us begin a few verses before John 14:2,3 starting at John 13:36 and continuing through to John 14:4. John 13:36,38.
“Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither go you? Jesus answered him, Where I am going, you can NOT follow me NOW but you shall follow me AFTERWARDS. 37. Peter said unto him, Lord, WHY can NOT I follow you NOW? I will lay down my life for your sake. 38. Jesus answered him, will you lay down your life for my sake? Verily, Verily, I say unto you. The cock shall not crow, till you have denied me three times.”
Keep reading some more CONTEXT in John 14:1-4.
“1. Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. 2. In my Father’s house are many MANSIONS if it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. 3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4. And where I go you know and the way you know.”
Let’s stop here for a moment and go back and see what these verses of Scripture are actually saying in their FULL meaning. Again, Jesus did indeed prepare us a place for us who believe by his going to the Father but there is MORE to understand about the Father’s HOUSE and the many rooms in the Father’s HOUSE. For you see, it is Jesus who is BUILDING the Father’s HOUSE. Please read 1 Chronicles 22:10.
“He shall build a house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”
This is a prophecy speaking of Jesus as being the one who will build the HOUSE or the TEMPLE of Yahweh the Father. Please read a few more passages of Scripture that will tie everything together. First, we will read another prophecy from the Old Testament and then the beginning of the fulfillment in the New Testament.
Please read Zechariah 6:12-15.
“And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13. Even he shall build the temple of the LORD, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. 15. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”
We all know that the man whose name is the BRANCH is a prophecy of Jesus. And we all understand that WE who have been created IN Jesus Christ by God to become God’s NEW creation of righteousness are the TEMPLE of God and that God DWELLS IN us right now in this present world. Know you not that YOU ARE the TEMPLE of God? Each Christian is a building block i the TEMPLE of Yahweh. So now, let us read the “beginning” of the fulfillment of these prophecies in the Old Testament. I say “beginning” because the HOUSE of God will not be COMPLETELY FINISHED until the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. Remember that there are THREE harvests, according to 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Jesus the FIRSTFRUITS is the beginning of the creation of God, then WE who are IN Jesus Christ AT his COMING, and then the saints who will be saved DURING the Millennial reign of Jesus will be the final harvest of God’s children to complete the Temple of Yahweh.
Please read John 2:17-21.
“And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of your house has eaten me up. 18. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign show you unto us, seeing that you do these things? 19. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21. But he spake of the temple of his BODY.”
Not his physical body but his body, the CHURCH. The three days speak of the three thousand years from the resurrection to the end of the third day or the end of the third 1000 year-long days. For you see, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day. Now, both Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal Christians use this passage of Scripture to try and prove that Jesus is Almighty God Himself. But when we compare Scripture with Scripture, we can clearly see that the BODY being spoken of here in John 2:21 is the CHURCH. Jesus is the HEAD of the BODY, the church who was resurrected at the beginning of the FIRST 1000 year long day to become the firstborn from the dead among many brethren, Then we who are IN Jesus Christ during this present world will be resurrected at the end of the SECOND 1000 year long day. And then comes the end or the completion of the BODY of Jesus Christ. the TEMPLE of Yahweh, which will be those saved DURING the THIRD 1000 year long day who will be resurrected at the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus to complet the TEMPLE of Yahweh. And then God Himself will come down and DWELL with His New creation of righteous humans, according to Revelation 21:1-4.
Please read Matthew 26:61.
“And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.”
This is referring to Jesus being given the choice to lay down his own life of his own free will as a sacrificial OFFERING will THROUGH the POWER of the Eternal Spirit dwelling IN him, according to Hebrews 9:14 and John 10:17,18.
Now read Mark 14:58.
“We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made WITHOUT hands.”
Every Christian knows that they are a member of the BODY of Jesus Christ which IS the CHURCH and that we are the TEMPLE of God who dwells or ABIDES IN us who believe in God’s Son, Jesus. So here is a paraphrasing of John 13:36 in my own words to explain another way to interpret the phrase, “In my Father’s HOUSE are many ROOMS” or many dwelling places to dwell with Almighty God the Father and He with us.
A paraphrasing of John 13:36 in my own words.
“Simon Peter said unto Jesus, where are you going? And Jesus answered, what I am about to do you are NOT able to do NOW but later or AFTERWARDS you shall be empowered and enabled to follow in my footsteps.”
Now, the next two verses, John 13:37 and 38 make sense.
“Peter said unto him, Lord, what makes you say that I am not able to follow you NOW? I will SURELY lay down my life for your sake! Jesus answered him, are you sure about that Peter? Are you absolutely sure you are able to follow me now to lay down your own life for my sake before I go and prepare a place for you? Truly, truly, I say to you that you are NOT able to follow me to lay down your life for me in your OWN strength NOW, but before the sun comes up and the cock crows you will have denied me three times.”
Thanks be to God that Jesus did not stop at this verse but went on to say in the verses that follow in John 14:1-3. And again I paraphrase in my own words.
A paraphrase translation of John 14:1-3 in my own words.
“Do NOT let your heart be troubled about this that I have just spoken to you, Peter, that you are NOT able to follow me NOW to lay down your life for my sake, you believe in God, believe also in me, that is, believe in my NAME and the WORDS I speak to you, and in what I am telling you right now. In my Father’s household or family are many positions of authority and power. I am not just saying this to cheer you up, but rather, the very reason I have come into this world was to give my life as a ransom for many to redeem you to the Father. That is to say, my laying my life down to suffer and die on the cross is to cleanse you from all sin to place you back into the right relationship with God of being cleansed from all our unrighteousness. And this is so that the Holy Spirit of God can come and DWELL IN you so that you will also have power, and authority as I now have through the Holy Spirit dwelling in me. If I go and lay down my life, I shall surely rise again and come to you to receive you unto myself. You know that I must go to the cross and you also know that you must die to yourself, your flesh, and follow me in order to go to the Father.”
Now I know that this paraphrasing may seem a bit drastic to you at first but it will all fall into place as you keep reading. Skip down to verse 12 of John chapter 14 for a moment which is still yet a part of the CONTEXT of the verses in question concerning the true meaning of the word MANSIONS.
John 14:12.
“Verily, verily, (Or truly, truly) I say unto you. He that believes on me, the WORKS that I do (Or more specifically, the works that Almighty God the Father did THROUGH Jesus obeying what the Father DWELLING IN Jesus, instructed His human Son, Jesus, to do) he shall do also; (In other words, Jesus simply OBEYED what his God and Father INSTRUCTED him to do. And we will do the SAME works that Jesus did if we follow and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us) and greater works than these, (Why, or more importantly how? How will we be able to do the works that men saw Jesus do and even greater works than Jesus?) BECAUSE I go to my Father.”
Again, why is Jesus going to the Father? The answer is simple. Jesus went to the cross to prepare a place for us and then right after talking to Mary Magdalene, Jesus ascended to his God and Father to receive ALL power and authority to baptize EVERY believer in Jesus with the Holy Spirit of God who DWELT IN the Son of MAN, Jesus. The PLACE that Jesus prepared on the cross is our ABIDING place IN God so that, or in order that, we will be EMPOWERED or ENABLED to FOLLOW Jesus and do the WORKS that he did. Are you getting a hold of this yet? If not I will give you a HINT: The Holy Spirit CANNOT DWELL in an UNCLEAN vessel. Jesus said that you cannot put wine in old vessels lest they burst. The world can NOT receive the Holy Spirit because they are UNCLEAN vessels. Our TEMPLE needed to be CLEANSED first before God could come and DWELL IN us. Please UNDERSTAND that when Jesus said that BECAUSE I go to the Father that Jesus was meaning of his going to the CROSS first to shed his blood for the sins of the world so that WHOSOEVER BELIEVES might be CLEANSED from all their past sins in order that the Holy Spirit could then come and DWELL IN a CLEAN vessel the Jesus PREPARED for US who BELIEVE on Jesus the Son of the living God. Remember in verse 1 that Jesus said to Peter, “believe also in me.” Now put that with verse 12 where Jesus says again, “He that BELIEVES on me, the works that I do, he shall do also, and greater works shall he do....”
Think about that for a moment. Who is the he that Jesus is referring to here? Obviously, it is ALL believers that Jesus is talking about. So how is this going to happen that we are endued with POWER from on high? Finish reading verse 12.
John 14:12b.
“BECAUSE I go to my Father.”
Again, why is Jesus going to the Father? Go back to verse 2.
John 14:2.
“I go to prepare a PLACE for you.”
What place is Jesus referring to here in the whole CONTEXT of this passage of Scripture? Remember to keep the verse you are studying in the CONTEXT of the passage where it is found and also to compare Scripture with Scripture. The word “place” here in verse 2 means a spot, a space of territory, open space, room, chase, and gulf. In other words, space, or position that is not closed in, or confining. A place that is not oppressive. Again, W.E. Vine adds to the meaning of the word “place” as to license, or opportunity. And to license means to authorize, or to give legal permission to do a specific thing. In other words, our MANSION is a room, or a place of POSITION, power, and authority in which we ABIDE or remain steadfast. Opportunity means a favorable, or advantageous combination of circumstances. Being given opportunity carries the idea that adverse circumstances have become favorable. I like that! Paul said when I am weak, then I am strong. When Paul learned how to glory in his infirmities or weaknesses his adverse circumstances then became favorable. Paul grew strong in the Lord and in the power of his might by DWELLING IN his mansion that Jesus prepared for him and for all who BELIEVE in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Paul learned how to dwell in his mansion, his abiding PLACE of having AUTHORITY in the NAME of Jesus! Please read the study “WHAT WAS PAUL’S THORN IN THE FLESH?” God was teaching Paul to stand in the AUTHORITY in the NAME of Jesus that he had already been GIVEN the very moment Paul was saved. For now, let us continue with verses 13 and 14.
John 14:13,14.
“And whatsoever you shall ask in my NAME, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
Now, according to my older Strong’s concordance, the word “ask” here in the Greek language literally means to DEMAND or COMMAND. So actually, this verse should read,
“And whatsoever YOU shall DEMAND with COMMANDING AUTHORITY in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If YOU shall COMMAND anything in my NAME I will do it.”
Now, please keep in mind that we are NOT demanding or commanding Almighty God or His Son Jesus to do anything. But rather, we are ABIDING in our PLACE of AUTHORITY in the NAME of Jesus over the enemy, that old dragon called the devil and Satan who is the one who oppresses mankind with sickness and disease. Messengers of Satan can also buffet us in other ways such as using people to disrupt a church service. I have heard testimonies of people who practice witchcraft attending churches being led by Satan to disrupt the preaching and even to cast spells on the church service. Obviously, Satan cannot curse what God has blessed but he can deceive and disrupt the spreading of God’s word. And I believe that the messenger of Satan that buffeted the Apostle Paul was a person that was possessed with a familiar spirit being used by Satan. To me, that was Paul’s thorn in the flesh. My point right now is that Jesus went to the cross first, then God raised him from the dead, and then the resurrected Jesus ascended to his Father with the offering of his own blood which he shed for us in order to provide a place of AUTHORITY and POWER in his NAME by CLEANSING us from all our sins. Jesus then returned and appeared to his disciples for forty days before he ascended back to his God and Father after the forty days. But before he left or ascended into heaven the second time he told us he would come again. So you could say that the FIRST COMING of Jesus was when the now glorified Son of MAN desecended down from heaven after the cross to show himself alive for forty days as the firstborn or every new creature created to be made in the image of the invisible God. Jesus went to the cross to set us free from sin. And he did not pay such a great price to lay down his own life for us to set us free from sin for us to be entangled therein again! Jesus prepared us a place of POWER and authority to OVERCOME sin in our lives.
John 14:15.
“If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray to the Father and he will send you another COMFORTER, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and SHALL BE IN YOU.”
Who is this other Comforter? Skip down to verse 26.
John 14:26.
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, (Or which is the Holy Spirit) whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
The Comforter is the Holy Spirit. You see, Jesus had the Holy Spirit dwelling IN him, but Peter and the other disciples only had the Holy Spirit dwelling WITH them, UNTIL after Jesus went to the cross and ascended to his Father. This is why Jesus said to Peter you cannot follow me NOW, but you shall follow me afterward BECAUSE I go to the Father. What afterward? Again it was only AFTER Jesus went to the cross to redeem us and then ascended to the Father that the Holy Spirit could be given to dwell IN us so that we might receive POWER, and authority to follow Jesus' example that he set for us; To live our lives free from sin; To do the works that Jesus did, and yet even greater works. And even to lay down our lives for him if so be that we are faced with that trying of our faith. We CANNOT do these things in our OWN strength. Peter was extremely confident that he would not deny Jesus and even lay down his life for the Lord, but yet he denied him three times. This is why Jesus said I go to prepare a place for you. Again this place is NOT a “MANSION” up in heaven, but rather a dwelling place of authority and power in which we are to occupy here on earth until Jesus returns for us. Look at John 16:7 which is still yet part of the CONTEXT of John 14:2,3 the verses in question and the true meaning of the word mansions, according to the CONTEXT. The context of the word MANSIONS extends from John 13:36 to John 16:33. We will not need to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus during the 1000 year reign of Jesus. We will not have any weakness or infirmities in the world to come. The Comforter is for THIS present world. So the phrase “BECAUSE I go to the Father” is NOT speaking of the second time Jesus ascended into heaven just a few days before the Day of Pentecost. Jesus went to the father the same day that he was resurrected and then came back to show himself alive for forty days. So our MANSION is abiding in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit abiding or DWELLING IN us to EMPOWER us to do the same works that Jesus did through the Holy Spirit dwelling in him.
John 16:7.
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
Now let me tie everything together by paraphrasing these verses for you, again in my own words; “Nevertheless I tell you the truth: In my Father’s household or family are many MANSIONS or many positions of power. Now I know you do not want me to go, however, it is expedient that I go to the cross and lay down my life for your sins, in order to make you a CLEAN vessel for the Holy Spirit to dwell IN you. This is the only way that I can appropriate the Comforter for you that He may not only be with you as He is now but also dwell IN you as He dwells IN me, to EMPOWER you, as the Holy Spirit now empowers me. In other words, Jesus is saying, the Holy Spirit dwells IN YOU so that you will be able to be where I am and do the works that I do even to the laying down your lives for my sake to the glory of Almighty God the Father as I lay down my life for the sins of the world. That is to say, it is a must that I lay down my life for you as an atonement for your sins and the sins of the whole world once and for all so that the Holy Spirit will be able to dwell IN you as believers in me and empower you to walk in the anointing that I am walking in now. The Father wants His Holy Spirit to dwell IN you also so that you will be where I am, ANOINTED with the power of the Holy Spirit, and then you will be able to do the works that I have done, and even greater works. You will then be able to follow me, and live your life without sin as I have done. And if the time should come that you would have the need to lay down your life for my sake, the Holy Spirit will strengthen you, and enable you to stand firm, and you will not deny my name. BELIEVE what I am telling you”.
The last thing that Jesus spoke to his disciples before he ascended into heaven was for them to tarry or to WAIT in Jerusalem UNTIL they were ENDUED with POWER from on high with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Jesus was telling them do not go out into the world and try to testify of me, UNTIL you are FILLED with the Holy Spirit, and endued with POWER from on high.
There are some Christians who do not believe that they need the baptism of the Holy Spirit or to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but it seems pretty clear to me that if Peter and the other disciples needed the Holy Spirit, then ALL believers need to be baptized with Holy Spirit and to stay FULL of the Holy Ghost. Even Jesus was FILLED with the Holy Spirit of Almighty God and did all that he did THROUGH the eternal Spirit of God. Please read the study entitled “JESUS THE CHRIST” for a deeper understanding of this. Peter walked, and talked with Jesus, and was an eyewitness to the miracles that Jesus did, and believed with all his heart that if necessary he would lay down his life for Jesus, and yet Peter denied Jesus three times before Peter was baptized with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost along with all the followers of Jesus. But BEFORE Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost Peter was NOT able to follow Jesus in his own strength even though he boldly proclaimed to Jesus that he would lay down his life for Jesus. However, after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit Peter had great boldness to stand firm for Jesus and did eventually lay down his life for Jesus. This WHOLE passage of Scripture that we have been looking at is dealing with the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord, so that sin would be eradicated from our lives in order that our vessels would be cleansed, and made new temples for the Holy Spirit to dwell IN us to do the same WORKS that he did dwelling in Jesus. The WORKS that Jesus did he did THROUGH the Holy Spirit who DWELT IN him, the SAME Holy Spirit who DWELLS IN us as BELIEVERS. The WORKS of Jesus included healing the sick, casting out devils, living his life without sin, raising the dead, and laying down his life for God. The CONTEXT of this passage of Scripture, which continues through John chapter 16, is about receiving the Holy Spirit to DWELL IN us as BELIEVERS, and in order for that to happen our vessels needed to be made NEW.
Mathew 9:17.
“Neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.”
Now, look at John 14:20.
“AT THAT DAY you shall know that I am in my Father and my Father in me, and I in you.”
Every believer who has received the fullness of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues can bear witness to this KNOWING that Almighty God is IN them. Now skip down to verse 23.
John 14:23.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our ABODE with him.”
What day is verse 20 speaking of? It is referring to the day of Pentecost when all the disciples, about 120 in all, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is also referring to the DAY that each believer receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit and KNOWS that Almighty God the Father is DWELLING IN them. The word “abode” here is the SAME word “MENO” in Greek that is translated as “mansions” in verse 2. In other words, being FULL of the Holy Spirit IS our “MANSION”, or more precisely, the position or PLACE of power and authority that Jesus prepared for us, and NOT a stately manor up in heaven, as so many of us have been falsely taught. We are to abide in God by LIVING IN the Holy Spirit. The word abide means to live or to REMAIN in. Remember Jesus said in Acts 1:3-11 that John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. It is at this time that you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, then you shall be able to be witnesses unto me in both Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. In other words, the Holy Spirit shall not only be with you but at that day he shall be IN you. And when we are truly FULL of the Holy Spirit we have BOLDNESS, POWER, and authority to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is true that Peter denied Jesus three times even though he was thoroughly confident that he would lay down his life for Jesus. However, AFTER Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost he had great boldness and stood up against the mocking of the crowd.
Look at Acts 2:13-15.
“Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14. But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them. You men of Judea, and all you that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you and hearken to my words. 15. For these men are not drunken as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.”
Peter continued to witness Jesus to them until they were pricked in their hearts, and asked what shall we do? Notice what Peter told them in Acts 2:38 and 39.
Acts 2:38,39.
“Then Peter said unto them REPENT, and be baptized EVERYONE OF YOU in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and you SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST, (We all RECEIVE the INDWELLING of the Holy Spirit the very moment we believe and while SOME Christians are FILLED with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues the MAJORITY of Christians do NOT speak in other tongues until later in their walk with God. And a few Christians may never speak in other tongues but that does NOT mean that they are not truly saved and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them) 39. For the promise is unto you, and to your children (Everyone who BELIEVES), and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
Remember Jesuswill be allowed to receive the Holy Spirit. All of mankind has the Spirit of God drawing them to himself, but the world cannot receive the INDWELLING of the Holy Spirit UNTIL they yield themselves to the drawing of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Receiving the Holy Spirit means that the Spirit of the living God comes and dwells WITHIN you. After you receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God not only lives with you but now dwells IN you. Now verse 39 says that ALL who are saved are given the promise that they may receive the Holy Ghost. That is to say, if you are saved, then you are promised the baptism of the said the world cannot receive the Holy Ghost. In other words, you have to accept Jesus as your Lord, and Savior before you can receive the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is made available to the ENTIRE world BUT each individual person must come to the Father through His Son Jesus and be cleansed of their sins through repentance before they Holy Ghost. And just as you received salvation as an act of YOUR FAITH, so shall you also receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost as an act of YOUR FAITH. You see, you do not always receive FULLNESS of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the moment you are saved. I say always, because “some” have been baptized with the Holy Spirit the moment they are saved. However, this is generally not the norm, and there is no scriptural support for automatically being filled with the Holy Ghost the moment you are saved. On the contrary though, the Bible does tell us that one can be saved, but do NOT have the Holy Ghost dwelling IN them to the point of being BAPTIZED of completely SUBMERSED in the Holy Spirit. While it is true that as soon as one becomes a BELIEVER that the Holy Spirit DWELLS IN them, but there is a SEPARATE experience of being FILLED to overflowing with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Some verses in the Bible call this experience RECEIVING the Holy Spirit while other verses call it the BAPTISM of the Holy Spirit while yet other verses call it being FILLED with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:2 says.
“He said unto them, Have you RECEIVED the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost”.
Paul did not ask these disciples at Ephesus if they had received the Holy Ghost just idle curiosity, for he knew that it was God’s will for ALL believers to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit. Paul asked these BELIEVERS at Ephesus if they had received the Holy Spirit yet because he knew that everyone that accepts Jesus does NOT always receive the FULLNESS of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the same time that they receive Jesus as their Savior. Remember Jesus said, and I paraphrase in my own words, “wait until you are filled with the Holy Spirit for he will endue you with power from Almighty God on high, which you will need to be my witnesses.”
Notice in verse 6 of Acts 19.
“And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them: and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.”
It was ONLY AFTER Paul had laid hands on them that the Holy Spirit came upon them to dwell IN those disciples in Ephesus who were already saved and baptized in the name of Jesus. So they already had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, but they had not yet experienced IN them to the FULLNESS of overflowing where they spoke with other tongues as evidence of their being FILLED with the INDWELLING of the Holy Spirit. Almost all Christians have experienced the PRESENCE of God coming upon them. That experiencing the presence of God coming upon you is the INFILLING of the HolySpirit inside of you springing up as a well of water that wants to come OUT of you to express the love of God in you. And one of the BEST ways that we bless God is to yeild ourselves to praise God in other tongues. I have heqrd many testimonies of Christians saying that they can not adequitly express to joy and thnaksiving that the fell in their own words. THAT is when you need to pray in other tongues. Let the Holy Spirit flow OUT of you in words of magnifying God in other tongues. God want us to be continually filled over and over again with the Holy Spirit. Jesus paid a great price to prepare our MANSION for us, that is to say, Jesus has prepared for us to be clean vessels so that we can be FILLED with the Holy Spirit. So I exhort you with all my heart to begin to dwell in your mansion now. Your MANSION awaits you NOW. Do not wait any longer.
RECEIVE YOU THE HOLY GHOST! Be you FILLED with the Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus!
You cannot follow Jesus and live your life without sin in your own strength. You need to be endued with POWER from on high as Jesus instructed us. In other words, the power is already dwelling in you but YOU need to TURN ON the power by STIRRING UP the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. This power comes only through the infilling or INDWELLING of the Holy Spirit. We not only need to “initially” receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but we also need to be continually FULL of the Holy Spirit. Notice in verse 6 above that they spoke in TONGUES and prophesied. I will explain what I mean by remaining FULL of the Holy Spirit and SPEAKING IN TONGUES as we continue this study in the study that I have entitled “STIR UP THE GIFT THAT IS WITHIN YOU”. This study will empower you to live your life free from sin. I will share with you all the benefits of dwelling in your mansion here and now upon the earth as well as the consequences if you do not. Again, I strongly exhort you saying Be you FILLED with the Holy Spirit in the NAME of Jesus! For this is your “mansion” or abiding place where you are endued with power from on high which Jesus went to prepare for you. Please read all the studies under the heading >>>THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!<<< May God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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