Bible Questions and Answers

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 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.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, 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.

John 15:26 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: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

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. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, 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. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.

Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

The twelve apostles were baptised with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

1. This gave them total recall of all that Christ had taught them during his ministry.

2. It guided them into truth, so that they all preached the same gospel.

3. It allowed them to preach the gospel in languages that they had never learned.

4. It gave them the power to perform miracles of healing and raise the dead.

5. It gave them power to survive poison and bites from poisonous animals.

6. It gave them power to bestow gifts of the Holy Spirit on baptised believers.

Clearly those to whom the apostles preached did not receive the same Holy Spirit powers that the apostles had.

Holy Spirit gifts were not received at baptism.

This is clear from Philip’s conversion of the Samaritans in Acts chapter 8.

What is also clear in Chapter 8 is that Philip, although able to perform miracles by the Holy Spirit, did not have the power to bestow Holy Spirit gifts on the baptised Samaritans.

For the Samaritans to receive Holy Spirit gifts, it was necessary for the apostles Peter and John to travel from Jerusalem and lay hands on them. This is where we learn that Holy Spirit gifts were given by the laying on of the apostles’ hands.

Acts 8:18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us that different people received different gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant… 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

Other than Cornelius’ household who were a special case, receiving Holy Spirit gifts before baptism, there is no evidence that anyone else received Holy Spirit gifts other than by the laying on of the apostles’ hands.

Those who received gifts by the laying on of the apostles’ hands couldn’t bestow gifts upon others.

This means that the Holy Spirit gifts given to first century believers ceased to be available when the apostles died.

This loss of Holy Spirit guidance is seen in the history of the Church.

By the fourth century AD it had slid into apostasy, adopted false doctrines, and become the State Church of the Roman Empire.

The trinity, transubstantiation, immortal souls, heaven-going, hell as a place of eternal torment, purgatory, division into clergy and laity, ‘just’ wars, persecution of ‘heretics’, are all false doctrines which demonstrate the lack of Holy Spirit guidance.

Holy Spirit gifts are not available today for there are no apostles to lay hands on those who are baptised.

Holy Spirit gifts are not necessary for salvation and would cease as Paul points out:

1 Corinthians 13:1 NKJV Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Once the scriptures were complete, all we need to know for salvation was available in written form.

It is the scriptures, not Holy Spirit gifts, which are able to make us wise unto salvation.

Salvation is by the foolishness of preaching not by supernatural intervention.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

It is by our response to the Spirit-inspired word of God that we are saved.

1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

I hope you find this helpful.

God bless,
Glenn