I have a Holy Spirit Question. I’m newly saved and have fallen in love with the Word Of God. Can a saved person today know if they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Can you help me to understand what the Lord is saying to us in Phil 2:6? The ESV renders it: “Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” yet the KJV renders it: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”

To me, the KJV rendering seems to suggest that Jesus had no problem with considering Himself (while as a man) to be equal with God. All the other versions I’ve read are similar to the ESV rendering in that He didn’t regard Himself that highly out of humility. Am I misreading something here? I honestly don’t know if He did or didn’t think this way of Himself. Thank you for your help. I am very thankful for the edifying ministry of this website!

I’ve been reading your “Ask a Bible Teacher” articles for a couple of months now and want to say thank you for all the time you put into this site. I have a question that has been on my heart and mind for a while now. I’ve understood ‘Praying in the Spirit’ to be following the leading of the Holy Spirit when we pray. (I’ve heard it said that praying in the Spirit is also speaking in tongues, but I’m not sure that’s entirely correct.) In Revelation 1:10. John says he was “in the Spirit” before hearing the loud, booming voice. Is this the same thing as praying in the Spirit? If not, what exactly does John mean when he says he was “in the Spirit”?

I had a discussion with one of my friends about angels. He was basically arguing that everything created by God is a child of God, including Satan and all the angels. I know that God loves all his creations, but do you think that God considers all his creations his children (including believers, unbelievers, animals, and angels)?

In Matthew 12:22-37 I know the context is about the Pharisees saying Jesus casts out devils with help of Beelzebub. In verses 36-37 Jesus says “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (NIV)

I don’t understand this to a degree. If we are saved by grace through faith, then by what merit of words will we be acquitted and by what merit words will we be condemned? Will all our words be brought before us at the Judgement Seat to give an account for? I’m struggling with this, and would appreciate any help regarding this. Thank you for your time.

Isaiah 45 says: I make peace, and create evil.  Please explain this verse to me. Thanks.

What is the meaning of Yahweh or where does it come from?

Where do I find the verses that tell us that the faith for salvation is a special gift from God? The faith for the rest of our Christian life comes from reading the bible and hearing the word preached.

I do not have understanding on 1 Corinthians 5:5. In my bible the heading for vs. 3-5 is “method of judgement for sin in the local church.” Even while I incorporate the literal, historical, grammatical, contextual method, I still cannot reason the meaning of this verse. How does one go about “turning or delivering” one over to Satan? How does one know when to enact such a seemingly cruel action? It doesn’t sound like grace but more like judgement.

The church that our family attends is a typical Baptist church. We have attended for several years and even teach Sunday school there, but the people of the church are just going through the traditional motions. There is no excitement, no anticipation of Christ’s return, and the children’s ministry consists of coloring pictures and eating snacks. There’s a larger Baptist church down the road. We would love to go there instead because there’s excitement, anticipation, and great teaching for adults and children both. The problem is that we feel an obligation to teach our class (high school & college age), and feel like we’re abandoning them by leaving. How should we handle this?