Were all the followers of Christ indwelt by the Holy Spirit before the day of Pentecost?

THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE DISCIPLES AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
Were all the followers of Christ indwelt by the Holy Spirit before the day of Pentecost?

The true answer is, not one of them was. No doubt, as we shall see, the Spirit was with them in a sense, but the Lord distinguishes between this and His indwelling, in John 14:17" TARGET="_blank">John 14:17: “He dwelleth with you and shall be in you.” But earlier we read, “The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39)." TARGET="_blank">John 7:39).
Later the Lord said, “It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you, but if I depart I will send Him unto you” (John 16: 7)." TARGET="_blank">John 16: 7). Does this mean that the Spirit had never been working on the earth before? No, far from it—He had, as we have seen, been always with His people, for we read of His workings throughout the Old Testament. He it is “Who moved (or brooded) on the face of the waters,” preparatory to the renovation of the earth (Genesis 1:2);" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 1:2); “who strove with men” (Genesis 6:3);" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 6:3); who filled His servants and came mightily upon them for special service, e.g., Bezaleel, Joshua, Samson, etc.; who moved holy men of God in the Old Testament to speak, and to write, e.g., David: 2 Samuel 23:2" TARGET="_blank">2 Samuel 23:2(see 2 Peter 1:21);" TARGET="_blank">2 Peter 1:21); and who was vexed with the rebellion of Israel (Isaiah 63:10)." TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 63:10). These various actions He performed as an Omnipotent and Omnipresent Divine Person. But it was later at Pentecost that He came down, Personally to indwell His people and baptise them into “the One Body,” and thus unite them to the Risen Christ in glory, in answer to the request of the Lord Himself.

W.H.

Other pages in this section

About this site

Can Satan read the minds of people?

Be the first to give an answer to this question. Write an answer in the comment section below. Please provide your name and if you have a website or blog, be sure to include the URL in your answer. You may optionally include an email address. Answers will be reviewed.
Other pages in this section

About this site

Does God punish sin on earth? Does God punish sin only in Hell?

“Does God punish sin on earth? Does God punish sin only in Hell?”

Interesting question, and to answer it we need to clarify the terms we use. When it comes to an authority dealing with behavior that is undesired, there are two basic motivations called “punishment” and “vengeance”. Others use the terms “discipline” or “correction” for what I call “punishment”, and “punishment” for what I call “vengeance”, but I think my terms are more biblically accurate.

Whatever the words, God and earthly governments do both.

Using my terms, a “punishment” is like a “spanking”, something bad that is administered with the intent of changing the character of the one being punished. This is done so he may rejoin society as a disciplined, productive member. “Vengeance”, on the other hand, has no goal but to make an example of the punished one so others are afraid to try the same thing, and to protect society at large by removing the threat the lawbreaker represents. One looks to help the guilty one, the other looks primarily at minimizing losses to the whole and protecting the authority of the government. It may be argued that the consequences of law often may very well do both, but the motivation behind each remains distinctly different. And there are clear cases where there is no overlap.

God does both in this life as well. He clearly punishes people with the intent of driving them away from evil and toward Himself. We read He spanks His children in ways that seem “grievous” (Hebrews 12:6)," TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 12:6), and also read that He in a general way “chastiseth (spanks) the heathen” (Psalm 94:10)," TARGET="_blank">Psalm 94:10), the ones who do not yet know Him. “Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth” (Heb. 12:6)" TARGET="_blank">Heb. 12:6) . . . lots of love here.

But He also executes “vengeance” (Romans 12:19)" TARGET="_blank">Romans 12:19) in this life as a means of declaring and enforcing His governmental authority over mankind. He forcefully tells us to stay out of that business on a personal level when it comes to dealing with people who harm us. The phrase in that verse is this: “’Vengeance is mine, I will repay’, saith the Lord”. That phrase is found virtually the same in four different Bible verses, the only statement I can think of so honored.

So He really takes this seriously.

Deadly diseases associated with specific violations of His commandments are a clear example of this, as can be premature deaths by various tragedies. “The wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” (Colossians 3:6)" TARGET="_blank">Colossians 3:6) . . . no love here, just wrath.

Even righteous members of a society may suffer as He executes vengeance on the whole.

To get back to the question, when it comes to hell there is no punishment, there are no spankings, only the raw endless fury of vengeance to prove to the universe that He is God and what He says goes. Hear these solemn words spoken to Christians suffering at the hands of wicked people: “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to

recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)" TARGET="_blank">2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) Everlasting Fire – no purgatory, no hope, nothing but vengeance.

The time for corrective punishment is in this life. God is to be greatly feared, and those who refuse to do so in this life, refuse His “spankings” with the intent of driving them to the Savior, will have all of eternity to regret it.

Alfred Corduan

Other pages in this section

About this site

Seed Sowers Videos

SeedSowers Videos are memory books from the Mexican short missions trips by the Seed Sowers Organization.

There are two locations to find these videos online:

Yahoo videos for SeedSowers 2009 Veracruz and 2010 Obregón
YouTube videos for SeedSowers 2004 Chihuahua, 2005 Hermosillo, 2006 Hermosillo, 2007 Guadalajara .

You can see the detials about upcoming trips at www.seedsowersonline.com

Other pages in this section

About this site

What is our condemnation in Adam?

What is our condemnation in Adam?

Romans 5:15-19" TARGET="_blank">Romans 5:15-19 establishes a comparison and contrast between Adam and Christ. In verse 15, they are compared, since both act to bring a consequence to many. They are federal heads who act as representatives of all their "constituents." Verse 18 summarizes the contrast: one man, one act of trespass, condemnation to all in him versus one Man, one act of righteousness, justification to all in Him, resulting in life. One part of this contrast is missing regarding Adam, the result. That is given in verses 17 and 15, death. The condemnation is not Adams sin imputed to us; it is death.

In fact, verse 19 makes clear that Adams one act defined our standing as sinners, not our guilt through the imputing of his sin. Likewise, Christs one act that satisfies Gods righteousness defines our standing as righteous (not through the imputing of His righteousness).

No unbeliever will be condemned at the Great White Throne for Adams sin. The acts of these federal heads were not our acts, nor did we act in them; they aded as our representatives.

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

What does Jesus mean by saying we should "cut off our hand"?

In Matthew 18:18" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 18:18 are these verses to be understood as a warning against our “offending” others, as in Matthew 18:6-7" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 18:6-7?

The R.V. makes the meaning clear by its rendering, “If thy hand or thy foot CAUSETH THEE TO STUMBLE”, etc.. Verse 7 connects with the stumbling of others in v. 6, and then in vv. 8, 9 we are warned against cherishing anything which may be a cause of stumbling to ourselves.

It is interesting that the three members named, are those on which in our physical life we would rely to prevent us from stumbling—our feet to hold us up, our eyes to see anything in the way which might stumble us, and our hands in the last resort to grasp something if the feet should fail us. Yet in the spiritual realm, it is the faculties on which we trust that may prove our undoing. Eve’s feet carried her to the tree, her eyes saw that it was good for food, her hands took of it that she might eat. The man who has the best hands and feet and eyes is a man of ability, and such a one was the most likely to have caused the dispute as to who is greatest, which occasioned the Lord’s words in this chapter.

W.R.

Other pages in this section

About this site

How should 2 Thessalonians 2:2 be translated?

Which of the two readings of 2 Thessalonians 2:2" TARGET="_blank">2 Thessalonians 2:2 is correct?

The Authorized Version reads, "That ye be not soon shaken in mind,... as that the day of Christ is at hand." Darby's translation reads, "that ye be not soon shaken in mind, . . . as that the day of the Lord is present."

For some Bible students, this involves a very emotional issue. To them, suggesting a change in the King James Version is equivalent to changing the Bible. We must insist, with them, that the Word of God never changes (Psalm 119:89)." TARGET="_blank">Psalm 119:89). Nevertheless, the King James Version is a translation from handwritten documents, manuscripts, that are copies (more likely, copies of copies of copies...) of the original writings. Researchers have discovered more ancient copies, for instance a manuscript (C. Beatty's) containing most of the New Testament and dated toward the end of the first century (thus, perhaps copied within 30 years of the original writings) was found in the 1930s. These older manuscripts have some differences from the manuscripts used by the KJV translators. It is worth emphasizing that "not one fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith rests on a disputed reading" (P. W. Comfort, "The Complete Guide to Bible Versions").

Without attempting in this brief format to answer the objections raised by those who defend the AV readings, I accept the view of reliable scholarship that supports Mr. Darby's translation.

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

Bible Verse Finder

The Online Bible Verse Finder provides a free way to add the ability to your site visitors to find a Bible verse directly from your page. The Bible verse finder is available along with the dictionary under the link titled "Online Bible Search" or here.

Instructions for the Bible verse finder

1. Select this link Bible Verse Finder.

2. Choose a Bible version in which to find your verse (ASV -American Standard Version, BBE - Bible in Basic English, DBY - Darby "New Translation", GFR - God's Word for Readers, KJV - King James Version, WEB - World English Bible, YLT - Young's Literal Translation, or the ESV - English Standard Version)

3. Click "Go" to launch the Bible verse finder.

The results of your bible verse finder search will be different with each Bible version since the language in each Bible version is slightly different.

Other pages in this section

About this site

Should an elder leave his responsibilities when assembly problems overwhelm him?

Should an elder leave his responsibilities when assembly problems overwhelm him?

It is easier to make decisions for others than for ourselves. Decisions must, however, conform to spiritual principles. An overseer must answer one basic question: "Did the Lord give me this responsibility for His sheep?" The time to decide the answer to this is not when the pressure of difficulties sways his thinking. No matter who asks him to do so, no matter how often he receives a request to do so, no matter how necessary it appears for someone to assume the responsibility, a man should never take the place of an overseer unless he recognizes that God has given him this responsibility. Any who take the place of overseers and have not arrived at that conclusion should be assured that God holds them responsible to Him for the place they have assumed. They should leave that assumed responsibility immediately if they are not willing for the grace of God to bring them into conformity to the scriptural standard for overseers.

1 Timothy 4:10" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 4:10 provides an assuring principle for those who suffer physically and emotionally in fulfilling their charge in divine things. Paul assures Timothy that God is the preserver ("Savior") "of all men, specially of those that believe." Ultimately all depend on God for preservation and that is of special value to those who are his beloved children.

These principles seem to indicate that God is able to sustain those to whom He has given a responsibility. Therefore, no matter the difficulties, an overseer should never relinquish that responsibility. Like the Levites (Numbers 8:24-26)," TARGET="_blank">Numbers 8:24-26), he may be spared to the age when he should relinquish some of his activities and mentor others in doing the work. If an elder sins, he may be rebuked publicly (1 Timothy 5:19-21)." TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 5:19-21). If he is unwilling to conform to the standard for overseers, his peers may inevitably decide he must be removed from a place for which he is not fit. Otherwise, overseership is a lifelong commitment.

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

How should a man prepare for overseership?

How should a man prepare for overseership?

"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" is his concern. Love for Christ, His Word, and His people are his hallmarks. As God’s Spirit has His way in his life, His purpose and calling blends with the individual’s native capabilities. That man and his wife (or girlfriend, if he is courting) visit the sick or the widows, leaving some suitable Bible passage with them. He "naturally cares for" (Philippians 3:20)" TARGET="_blank">Philippians 3:20) the state of other believers. He prepares for and participates in the meetings, developing a deeper understanding of God’s Word. As he realizes how important the assembly and the spiritual welfare of the Lord’s people are to the Lord, a weight of responsibility settles in his soul. All of these interests integrate with his prayer life and he begins to ask the Lord specifically for the prosperity and preservation of the assembly. Overseers observe his consistency and encourage his interests. At some point, they may ask him to help them in their work.

Especially if he has a competitive spirit (is any man free of this?), he should confront this before the Lord and seek grace to be delivered from a desire for office, advancement, or recognition and to be motivated by a desire to serve.

When the overseers recognize that God has called this brother to the responsibilities of an overseer, he should be willing to serve with these overseers only if he is convinced that God has entrusted this work to him.

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

Main Menu

Yahoo videos for SeedSowers 2009 Veracruz and 2010 Obregón

YouTube videos for SeedSowers 2004 Chihuahua, 2005 Hermosillo, 2006 Hermosillo, 2007 Guadalajara .

Bible Verse Finder