38 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.
39 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 din other words, those who are born again].
The Holy Spirit Is a Person
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a Person in John 14:16: ". . . I will pray the Father, and he
[the Father] shall give you another Comforter, that HE [the Comforter, the Holy Spirit] may
abide with you for ever."
The Holy Spirit is a Person. In other words, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive Him,
the third Person of the Godhead, not an "it." Jesus said, ". . . that HE may abide with you for
ever" (John 14:16).
Some people say it like this: "I received the baptism." But they didn't receive the baptism, they
received the Holy Spirit. Sometimes folks say, "I am filled with the baptism." But they are not
filled with the baptism; they are not even filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is not a
scriptural statement. No, they are filled with the Holy Spirit Himself— the third Person of the
Godhead.
Receiving the Holy Ghost is more than just an experience. When you receive the Holy Ghost,
a Divine Personality, He comes to live in you, to dwell in you, and to make His home in you.
Receiving the Holy Spirit Is Just the Beginning
Also, we must not be so concerned with the outward initial experience that we miss the reality
of the indwelling Presence of the Holy Ghost. If we have been filled with the Holy Ghost, we
should be conscious of His indwelling Presence at every waking moment. We shouldn't have
to look back to some experience that we had at an altar years ago as our only contact with this
Divine Person — the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit should become more real to us every single
day.
I received the infilling of the Holy Ghost more than fifty-five years ago. When I first received the
Holy Spirit, I spoke in tongues for an hour and a half, and I sang three songs in tongues. But
that experience was the least part of this fifty-five years of being filled with the Holy Spirit
because that initial experience was just the beginning.
But to hear some people talk, the initial experience of receiving the Holy Spirit was the greatest
thing that ever happened in their lives. Of course, in one sense that may be true, because that
was the beginning. But some people haven't experienced anything since then!
However, if the Holy Ghost is living in you, you can have scriptural experiences with God and
in His Word every day. You don't have just one experience and that's the end of it. No, when
you receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, a Divine Personality — the Holy Spirit — comes to
live within you! Every day you can experience His indwelling Presence.
The infilling of the Holy Ghost is not for sinners; it is for believers. Referring to the infilling of
the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, "Even the Spirit of truth; WHOM THE WORLD CANNOT RECEIVE.
. ."(John 14:17).