A. The common understanding is that during the Church age the Holy Spirit is sealed within believers as a guarantee of our inheritance (Epes. 1:13-14). If that’s not the case, and He’s really everywhere all the time then that wouldn’t be much of a guarantee would it? Also, there’s precedent for the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from Earth before a judgment.  It appears to have happened before the Great flood as well. (Genesis 6:3)

A. I believe when Jesus agreed to become a man, He voluntarily set aside His Godly powers and limited Himself the the powers available to mankind.  This is why He attributed His ability to perform miracles to the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:28), was in daily prayer with the Father, claimed not to know certain things (Matt. 24:36), and promised us we could do even greater things than he had done (John 14:12).

There are at least 3 reasons why we know this is true.  First, God can’t be tempted (James 1:13), but Jesus was tempted in every way and yet was without sin.  (Hebr. 4:15)  Second, according to the Law of Redemption He had to become a man to redeem what Adam had lost (Lev. 25:25) and save us, and third He had to become a man so He could be put to death.  It’s impossible to kill God.

A. The Greek word translated fill is used in a variety of ways in the Bible. For instance it can mean to physically fill something like a jar or the hold of a ship.  Or it can mean to fill a predetermined span of time, as in Luke 1:57 referring to Elizabeth having reached the time for John’s birth.

It’s used most often to refer to a person’s dominant feeling at a given point of time.  In Luke 4:28 people were filled with wrath. They were filled with fear in Luke 5:26, with madness in Luke 6:11, with wonder in Acts 3:10, indignation in Acts 5:17, envy in Acts 13:45, confusion in Acts 19:29, etc.

The point is the same Greek word is used every time, so being filled is not something that’s unique to the Holy Spirit.  He was sealed within us when we first believed,  so we have the potential to be filled with Him just as we have the potential to be filled with love, wonder, awe etc. Your own experiences demonstrate this. This doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit is just another emotion, but that for a believer the potential to be filled with the Holy Spirit is similar to the potential to be filled with love. It doesn’t require a special ritual or ceremony, it just happens. Reviewing the 8 instances of people being filled with the Holy Spirit in the New Testament will confirm this.

In 1 Cor. 12:7-11 Paul explained that the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in every believer through certain gifts He gives us.  We don’t choose these gifts, He does, and He does so for the common good.  You didn’t mention whether you’ve identified the gifts He’s given you, only that you’ve prayed for certain ones.  Be advised that the gift of tongues was never intended as evidence of the Holy Spirit residing in a believer.  The Holy Spirit automatically resides in every believer.  If you want proof that the Holy Spirit resides within you,  pray that the Lord would help you discover the gifts He’s selected for you so you can make the contribution to the Body of Christ He intends for you to make.

A. The Hebrew word translated distressing in your Bible means evil.  James 1:17 doesn’t say “only good and perfect gifts are from above”, it says “every good and perfect gift is from above”.  There’s a big difference.

As for Saul, he had disobeyed the Lord and was being disciplined. The Lord had removed the Holy Spirit from Saul and sent an evil spirit to torment him.  He did this by granting Satan access to Saul.

It’s important to remember that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us and can’t be removed (Ephes 1:13-14).  That wasn’t true in Saul’s time, and it will no longer be true after the rapture. It’s a special blessing given only to the Church.

A. In Biblical times the laying on of hands was done as a sign of acceptance or approval, or to commission someone into ministry (1 Tim 4:14).  But it was not done to convey an anointing or cause someone to faint, nor was it to be done casually (1 Tim 5:22).  We see examples in Acts of the Holy Spirit coming on people spontaneously (Acts 2) through preaching (Acts 10:44) and through laying on of hands (Acts 19:6) Healing and other miracles were often performed from a distance as well.

There’s no Biblical basis for a transferable anointing.  One person can not “give” the Holy Spirit’s power to another, who conveys these things upon believers just as He determines, for the common good. (1 Cor. 12:7-11)

I think that baptism is very important and we should do it because it is commanded and it is a public display of our choice to be a follower of Christ, but I disagree with my pastor on this issue.  I have studied at length and hoped you might help?

A. I disagree with your pastor’s interpretation on several counts.  There’s no reason to believe Jesus was only prophesying about the Holy Spirit in John 20:22.   It’s reasonable to assume that having first been followers of John, several of the Lord’s disciples had been baptized.  But there’s nothing in the Biblical record indicating that they all were, and even those who were did not receive the Holy Spirit at the time.  Neither did a baptism precede either the event in the Upper Room or the Day of Pentecost.   A literal reading of Ephesians 1:13-14 clearly says the Holy Spirit was sealed within us at the moment of belief.  Paul repeated this promise in 2 Cor. 1:21-22 and 2 Cor. 5:5 without mentioning baptism.  Saying he thought it would be redundant to mention baptism is putting words in his mouth.

It’s important to remember that in Acts 2 Peter was speaking in the Temple to a Jewish audience who had a different understanding of baptism than we do.  They had used baptism (they called it a Mikvah) for centuries as a rite of purification before the Sabbath or a marriage or some other important undertaking.  The Church uses baptism as a public declaration of having been born again.  So for them it preceded an important change, while for us it follows it.

Also, to say that Jesus did not possess the Holy Spirit before His baptism is tantamount to denying His deity from birth.  It would mean that before the baptism He was just an ordinary man.  Remember John, who had known Jesus all His life, questioned His need for one.  I believe He was being obedient to the Law by taking a mikvah at the outset of His ministry. The sign of the Holy Spirit descending upon Him was to show He was being equipped for ministry and to give an indication of His Father’s pleasure (Matt. 3:13-17).

The Holy Spirit dwells within us from the moment of belief to guide and direct us.  But once in a while, He may come upon us in power to equip us for a special task or challenge.  This is what happened with Jesus, it’s what happened with the disciples, and it’s what happens with us.

You and your pastor agree that this is not a salvation issue. Personally, I think if this is all you can find to disagree about, you should consider yourself blessed.

A. In John 20:17, on Resurrection morning, Jesus had Mary go and tell the disciples He was returning to the Father.  That night, He appeared to them in the Upper Room and invested them with the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22) During the day He had been to Heaven and returned. I believe He was sprinkling His blood on the altar in Heaven in His final act of atonement as our High Priest (Hebr. 9:11-12) . During the next 40 days He taught them about God’s Kingdom. Then, as He was leaving Earth,  He told them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them in power. (Acts 1:8)  This was a special manifestation of the Holy Spirit that resulted in the birth of the Church, but  the Holy Spirit had dwelt within them since the night of the Resurrection.

A. For the most part decisions on capitalizing words are made by the translators and are often not specified in the original language. Different translations will vary on this.  For instance, the NIV does not normally capitalize pronouns even when they refer to God. The Amplified Bible doesn’t use caps in the text of 2 Thes. 2:7 but does in its foot note on the verse.  The general lack of capitals in translations of this verse may be due to the fact that many theologians still believe the verse is referring to the principles of law and government as embodied in the Roman Empire or its successors.

I understand that the Scripture says that all of Israel that survives the Trib. will be saved thanks to the preaching of the sealed 144,000, but is there Biblical proof that gentiles will be saved after the Rapture of the church?  If it is true that the Holy Spirit will be removed from the earth at the Rapture, how could more Gentiles be saved? And where does the Bible say that Gentiles will be saved?

A. Let’s clarify a few things to make sure we’re on the same page. When the Bible says that all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26), it doesn’t necessarily mean every Jewish person. More likely it means that there will be representatives from every tribe in the new Kingdom.

Indications that Gentiles will be saved after the Rapture can be found in the Sheep and Goat judgment, which is specifically a judgment of Gentiles immediately following the 2nd Coming (Matt. 25:31-46).  Some are welcomed into the Kingdom, which means they’re saved, while others are banished from the planet, which means they’re not.

After the rapture, the Holy Spirit will no longer be needed as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, since we will have received it.  At that time, the Holy Spirit will revert to a ministry more like His role in the Old Testament, being in the world but not sealed within believers, and no longer restraining the power of evil.  Otherwise no one, Jew or Gentile, could be saved after the Rapture.

A. According to 1 Samuel 16:14 the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, most likely because of his disobedience. I take this to mean that if he had been saved, he lost his salvation at that time.  Remember, the Holy Spirit was not sealed within believers before the Church Age, nor will He be afterward.  It’s a promise given exclusively to the Church.  There is no mention of Saul in the Psalms.