When a person makes a decision to turn from their sins (repent) and to put their faith in God (believe) they are born again and receive the gift of eternal life. The Holy Spirit then comes to dwell in the life of that person and they become a temple of the Holy Spirit.
The apostles received the Holy Spirit and experienced the new birth. After appearing to the disciples on resurrection Sunday, Jesus said to them: “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them; “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22)
“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49). “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me.” (Acts 1:8)
The Feast of Tabernacles was a joyous celebration which was observed by the priests who brought water (which was symbolic of the water supplied from the rock in Exodus 17) to the temple from the pool of Siloam in a gold pitcher
The Promise of the Spirit
“But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39)
On resurrection Sunday the apostles received the Holy Spirit and experienced the new birth experience. The term “to receive the holy spirit” from Pentecost Sunday onwards only ever refers to the baptism in the Holy Spirit experience
“And being assembled together with them, He (Jesus) commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;” “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5)
This Happened On Pentecost Sunday
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)
The baptism of the Holy Spirit empowers a believer to witness for the lord and makes their experience with the Holy Spirit complete
A study of the book of acts clearly shows that there is a clear distinction between the born again experience and receiving the Holy Spirit (being baptized in the Holy Spirit)
The Soul and Spirit
It is believed that the living possess an immortal soul that survives the death of the body. If a person lives a good life, the soul is said to go to heaven, or paradise, but if a person lives a bad life, the soul is supposedly condemned to hell. Often people combine this idea with traditional beliefs. For example, when people are announcing a person who had died they will sometimes also say that the person has “crossed over” or “gone home” or “gone to live with the creator” or “gone to the ancestors.” These beliefs are all based on the idea that the soul, or spirit, survives the death of the body.
What does the bible say about the Soul and Spirit
According to the Bible, what is the soul?
The Bible shows that the soul is not something inside a person; the soul is the very person himself. For example, when God created Adam, “the man came to be a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) Adam was not given a soul; he was a soul, a complete person.
Consequently, we read that souls are born. (Genesis 46:18) They can eat or fast. (Leviticus 7:20; Psalm 35:13) They weep and faint away. (Jeremiah 13:17; Jonah 2:7) Souls can be kidnapped, pursued, and put in irons. (Deuteronomy 24:7; Psalm 7:5; 105:18) Some Bibles render the original-language word as “soul” in those verses, while others use the words “being,” “creature,” or “person.” All mean the same thing.
What Bible verses show that the soul can die?
Since the soul is the person, when a person dies, the soul dies. Ezekiel 18:4 says: “The soul that is sinning, itself will die.” Also, Acts 3:23 says: “Any soul [or, person] that does not listen to that Prophet will be completely destroyed from among the people.” So the soul is not something that survives the death of the body.
What is the spirit in humans?
The spirit is not the same as the soul. In humans, the spirit is the life-force that enables them to perform the activities of life. The spirit is like electricity. Electricity can run a fan or a refrigerator but cannot by itself move the air or make things cold. In the same way, our spirit enables us to see, hear, and think. But the spirit itself can do none of those things without the eyes, ears, or brain. That is why the Bible says of man: “His spirit goes out; he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”—Psalm 146:4
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