davo said
Let me try to explain. you said
So in my disturbed thought process I was thinking of:
Act 8:14 The apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had received the word of God, so they sent Peter and John to them.
Act 8:15 When they arrived, they prayed for the believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:16 For the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:18 Simon saw that the Spirit had been given to the believers when the apostles placed their hands on them.
and:
Act 10:45 The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were amazed that God had poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also.
Act 10:46 For they heard them speaking in strange tongues and praising God’s greatness. Peter spoke up:
Act 10:47 “These people have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also did. Can anyone, then, stop them from being baptized with water?”
Also:
Act 19:1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the province and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples
Act 19:2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit,” they answered.
Act 19:3 “Well, then, what kind of baptism did you receive?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they answered.
Act 19:4 Paul said, “The baptism of John was for those who turned from their sins; and he told the people of Israel to believe in the one who was coming after him—that is, in Jesus.”
Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God’s message.
Act 19:7 They were about twelve men in all.
All this to say that the holy spirit seems (at least to me) to be the key to service and during the time of acts it was plain that someone* receiving *said spirit was changed. Obviously as in others could see them changed. We also are led to believe that in at least one instance, until an apostle intervened, some were ‘believers’ and yet had not received the holy spirit.
I’ll re ask, Can you give your take on the ‘holy spirit’ as it was in a historical sense compared to the ‘holy spirit’ in todays context… If it even exists