Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:37-39)
The above passage of Scripture is understood by many thousands of people to be a promise to all believers that they will receive the Holy Spirit as an “indwelling presence” through a “baptism” of the Spirit. The well-known evangelist, Billy Graham, in writing of Pentecost in his book The Holy Spirit (pp. 66-67) says:
From that day onward, the Holy Spirit has lived in the hearts of all true believers, beginning with the 120 disciples who received Him at Pentecost. When they received the Holy Spirit, He united them by His indwelling presence into one body — the mystical body of Christ, which is the church ... The Holy Spirit came on 120 disciples. A little later when Peter was explaining it to a much larger crowd, he referred to the gift as “the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He urged his audience, “Repent, and be baptized ... and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”(Acts 2:38 K.J.V.).
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Author: Paul Billington
Keywords: Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit gifts, Gift of the spirit, Gift of the Holy Spirit, Spirit filled gifts, Speaking in tongues, Holy Spirit gifts, Holy Ghost gifts, Billy Graham, Forgiveness of sins, Baptism
Bible reference(s): Acts 2:37-39, Ephesians 2:8
Source: “The Promise of the Holy Spirit,” The Bible Magazine, vol. 1 no. 4, pp. 11-14.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.