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ADEYEYE OLUSEGUN:: Why Did the Holy Spirit Work Differently with Four Particular Groups in Acts?
Why Did the Holy Spirit Work Differently with Four Particular Groups in Acts?
Baptism with the Holy Spirit – Question 23

The Book of Acts represents a transitional time during which the Old Testament age was ending and the New Testament church age was beginning. It describes certain events that happened but does not explain their significance. This is important for us to understand.

The Holy Spirit Indwells All Believers
Throughout the New Testament, however, we learn certain things about the Holy Spirit. For example, He indwells every believer at the moment of salvation. Paul wrote the following to the church at Ephesus.

And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)–when you believed in Christ–you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13, 14 NET).
By definition, a believer is one who has been indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Indeed, anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit cannot be considered a Christian.

What about These Instances?
Yet, in the Book of Acts, there are four instances of believers who received the Holy Spirit in a unique way. These were the disciples of Jesus, the Samaritans, the Gentiles, and the disciples of John the Baptist. These groups, received the Holy Spirit in varying ways because of the transitional nature of the church and because the four groups represented all of humanity.

This Was a Transitional Period
The people living at the time of Christ were in a transitional period. The Old Testament age of adherence to the law of Moses was ending, and the New Testament age of grace was beginning. God was now dealing in a different way with those who believed in Him. Although in every age people have been saved by the grace of God through faith in His promises, there were different methods God used in testifying to Himself.

These four groups in the Book of Acts represent all of humanity. They were moving from the age of law to the age of grace.

The Disciples of Jesus
The disciples of Jesus were one such group. They may have received the Holy Spirit in the upper room on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. We read the following in John’s gospel.

And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22 NET).
However, is not at all clear that they received the Holy Spirit at that time. Yet, even if they had received the Holy Spirit then, it was not what Jesus called, “the promise of the Father.” They were still living in the Old Testament age.

At Pentecost, the disciples received the promise of the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. These disciples represented those people who believed in Jesus Christ while He was here upon the earth.

The Samaritans
The Samaritans were half-Jewish, half-Gentile. They had their own religion, which was in conflict with Judaism. The reason they experienced the reception of the Holy Spirit apart from their initial salvation was to identify them with the Jews. Indeed, it was important that both Jews and Samaritans be united in the new faith, Christianity. When they received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the hands of Peter and John, it demonstrated to everyone that Jews and Samaritans were now united in Jesus Christ.

The Gentiles
A third class of humanity was the Gentiles (non-Jews). There was much racial prejudice between the Jews and Gentiles. By receiving the Holy Spirit with the disciples of Jesus present, including Simon Peter, it showed the unity between the two groups. The Apostle Paul would later write about the unity we all have in Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28 NKJV).
There is now no distinction between Jews and Greeks “in Christ.” Indeed, we are now all part of the same body of believers.

The Old Testament Believers
The last group was the believers who lived during the Old Testament period, waiting for the coming Messiah. They were represented by those who were disciples of John the Baptist. These people also received the Holy Spirit when they believed in Jesus as their Messiah.

This Fulfilled Jesus’ Promise
The record of these four groups receiving salvation through Jesus Christ fulfills the prophecy made by Jesus shortly before He ascended into heaven. The Book of Acts records Him giving the following promise.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth (Acts 1:8 NET).
Throughout Scripture we see that the New Testament pattern is for every believer to receive the Holy Spirit immediately upon conversion. But because of the transitional nature of the time, these four groups of humanity each received the Holy Spirit in a unique way. They were once–and–for–all happenings which cannot be repeated.

Thus, these four groups set no pattern for believers today. Indeed, each of us receives the Spirit of God into our lives the moment we trust Christ as Savior.

Summary –

The Book of Acts records that there were four distinct groups of people that received the Holy Spirit in a unique way – the disciples of Jesus, Samaritans, Gentiles, and Old Testament believers. They are representative of the gospel reaching all of the humanity.

The disciples of Jesus represent those who believed in Him while He was here upon the earth. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down to them in a unique way. The Samaritans, who were half-Jews and half-Gentiles, also received the Spirit of God in an extraordinary way. This was necessary because of the historical situation. They had their own temple and their own system of worship. It was necessary for the apostles Peter and John to identify with them when they received the Holy Spirit. This left no doubt that the Samaritans and Jews were now one in Jesus Christ.

The Gentiles received the Holy Spirit when the message of Jesus’ Apostle, Simon Peter, preached to them. The fact that they spoke in tongues, languages which they had not previously learned, convinced Peter that they too had received the Holy Spirit. Gentiles were now welcomed into the church, the body of Christ. The last group represented those people in the Old Testament era who were waiting for the coming of the Messiah. They had heard the promises of God but they had not heard of Christ.
HAPPY EASTER and WELCOME to the FIRST DAY of the SECOND QUARTER of the YEAR!
Follow me at my page *IMPACT*

Hello uncle Tinubu,
I am obliged to write this letter to you as a concerned citizen of Nigeria, the giant of Africa in deceit, a nation of great people - bad leaders, perhaps, bad rulers as their attributes and qualities are in sharp contrast to what leadership stands for. The idea of writing this letter came to my mind when the thought of how we have failed as a nation continue to torment my mind. God has chosen you above every other person to control the affairs of our country; there is definitely an invisible hand that influences the affairs of men. This further explains why the likes of Awolowo and Ojukwu labored so hard to have this privilege, but their dream was never actualized.
Less than 44years ago, you were like every other struggling and helpless Nigerian, crying for good governance. Together, we cursed those in position of authority because of their failure to give us hope; today, we are feeling the same way about you, because you have in no way demonstrated that with you as our ruler, our future and that of our children are secured. Some might argue that four months is too short to achieve any meaningful thing in Nigeria, we are definitely not expecting a miracle, but we want to see you take bold steps; give us a ray of hope. It is said that the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, we want to see those first steps; we have been patient enough. These charade needs to stop.
While I was in secondary school, teachers like you enshrined certain doctrines into our brains, doctrines like “good names are better than riches”, you taught us to strive hard as youths so that we can become future leaders. As a former teacher Sir, what legacy do you want to leave behind, what kinds of names do you want us to adore? Patience Tinubu? - Definitely not a name we would like to emulate, not with her shopping sprees around the world with citizen’s money and abuse of power that the Nigerian constitution never sanctioned! It seems the legacies we have right now are those of failures, and the names that our youths adore today are those of Babangida, Sani Abacha, Obasanjo, Yara’dua e.t.c and their cronies. These are failures that looted the country dry and turned our government to a tool for stealing. They refused to alleviate our poverty stricken lives with vast opportunities presented to them; instead, they made abundant fortunes out of our national resources. Where do you belong? In the last 8months, Nigerians are not convinced that this government is not a continuation of what those looters left behind.
Of what benefit will it be for you, if you gain all the presidential privileges, immense wealth, all at the expense of helpless Nigerians for eight years and regret the rest of your life like Obasanjo who realized after 8 years that there is need for a third term to find the solution to the perennial problems of the nation, or Babangida who is struggling hard to redeem his battered image, because he lost the opportunity to make his name great when he had the greatest opportunity.
I know you can't find something to tell when your tenure is gone.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
For i know many might think both are one, but let me show out one example:Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.
Greetings from me to you all
I remain blessed (Omo Adeyeye)

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Happy Sunday to you all!
PLEASE!
Is it legal or optimal for marry cousins in "Christianity"?

Addressing corruption and curtailing excessive elements were pivotal for the administration ' stability.
What president Tinubu has done is very timely.But the president should not stop there.There is an emerging political cartel within the corridors of power.I want to advice the Mr.president to further deal with the suspended minister,Betta Edu , and others in her circle.

Anger is known to be a strong feeling of displeasure or antagonism towards someone, or something usually combined with an urge to harm. Anger always has a message; it reveals one’s dissatisfaction on certain issues. It arises when one is blocked from pursuing a goal or treated unfairly. And it is one of the most dangerous emotions because of its potential connection to violence.

MY TRIBE, MY HONOUR

Years before, the first language of instruction in school was the mother tongue of the child or the language of the child's immediate environment. And at least one indigenous language was compulsory for a child up to the they final examinations in the secondary school. But this is no longer the situation, as everyone wants their children speak English by fire, by force, and not minding the proficiency of the child in any of the indigenous language, including the parent's language.

The indigenous languages are no longer compulsory, so only very few schools teach them, those few schools are mostly secondary schools. Therefore, most Nigerian school children rarely have interest in learning the native languages, let alone using as they consider them inferior and the language of the 'unlearned’.

Language spreads through interactions. However, a society which plays host to people are more likely to have its language spread than the visiting societies. This illustration is very applicable to the present day Nigeria.

Of the three most most dominant, Igbo is probably the least on the list. The reasons are not far-fetched. Igbo people are the most migrating group in the country, consequently they acquire the languages of various parts of the country to which they migrate or settle often for commercial purposes. Though, they may communicate to fellow Igbo people in their native language, but they will inevitably learn the language of their host communities for various reasons. Moreover, non-Igbo people of Nigeria rarely settle in the Igbo regions, this therefore, limits the extent to which Igbo language could have impacted non-Igbo settlers.

Also, with high literacy rate, a good number of Igbos tend to use English more especially when they are outside their regions or communicating with non-Igbos.

The main competition will therefore be between Hausa and Yorùbá. Hausa regions of the northern Nigeria are the largest in the country. Apart from the natives, millions of non-Hausas settle therein, hence the settlers cannot do without acquiring the language.

Furthermore, the regions are ultraconservative, and literacy rate is very low there. Therefore, the language is used virtually exclusively. And unlike in the southern Nigeria, Hausa is the most used language of instruction at least at the primary and secondary school levels. It is the language of commerce and even in official gatherings. This favours the popularity of the language.

Though Hausa and Fulani rarely leave their regions to settle elsewhere, when they do they hold tightly to their native language, and tend to be very friendly to other people who can speak their language. This therefore encourages some non-Hausas to acquire the language so as to attract some advantage from Hausa traders.

However, with gradual pe*******on of western education, the rate, though yet to be very significant, at which the language is used may reduce. Moreover, the insecurity ravaging most parts of the northern Nigeria has forced many people, both natives and settlers, to move southwards, and discourage many visitors and tourists from visiting. This therefore hampers the possibility of attracting more people who could have developed interests in acquiring the language.

There are whole of lot of campaigns towards encouragement of the use of language among Yorùbá people as western education negatively impact the rate of its usage among the people. However, a number of things stand out about the use of Yorùbá language worldwide, and this greatly helps the spread of the language worldwide.

In education sector, probably there are more Professors of Yorùbá than any other language in Nigeria, and expectedly, these scholars continue to write extensively on the language in various media and journals all over the world. This further attracts various researchers and language enthusiasts across the world to the language. Apart from the pure Yorùbá scholars, there are some other scholars of Yorùbá extraction who also champion the cause of propagating the language. Professor Toyin Fálọlá is an example.

Entertainment industry is another major factor for the spread of the language of the language. Yorùbá artistes popularize the film industries in the country, and till now Yorùbá movies take a significant portion of the nollywood, which is now a top rated in the world, among the first four globally. The history of the film industries in Nigeria cannot be completed without mentioning of Hubert Ogunde, Mainframe Productions, Wale Adenuga Productions.

The Bible's Message is Good News:
Eternal Life is an Absolutely Free Gift
Jesus's Promise of Eternal Life
Jesus says in John chapter 6:

John 6:47
47 Verily, verily, (truly, truly) I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

In no uncertain terms, he says that if you "believe on" (trust) him, you have - present tense - everlasting life.

Why? How can he make that promise? How does that affect you, right now reading this, and where will go when you die as a result?

This article will answer those questions definitively by taking a look at a few very clear, very important verses from the Bible.

God allows bad things to happen for a reason
God chose to give human beings free will. In light of this, if God is a just creator, it's undeniable that he will judge his creation based on their decisions according to a law.

If he doesn't judge his creation, then it's true that he lets murderers, dictators, and terrorists get away with things when he could stop them. Not all criminals get caught or brought to justice. A God who would let abuse and injustice happen when he could prevent it, and never bring those responsible into judgement, is an incompetent, wicked God.

So there must be a judgement. And if you're going to judge someone by a law, you have to make that standard available to them, and tell them what the consequences will be for falling short of the standard. And that brings us to the statement in scripture:

Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

In the Bible, sin is defined as the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4). The clear statement is that every single person has transgressed the law that God has established, by which He will judge his creation. As a result of this, he looks over us and declares:

Romans 3:10
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Neither you nor I are righteous in the sight of God. This puts us in a bad position because he also says:

1 Corinthians 6:9
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

And another statement of scripture clearly condemns everyone:

Revelation 21:8
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

There are only two places that the Bible mentions in the afterlife - Heaven and Hell, and according to this, none of us are fit to enter Heaven. Also note that a single lie is enough to make you a liar, and what is the fate of a liar according to the verse above?

But how is that possible? How can the standard of judgement be so high that even a lie will send a person to hell?

The Standard - Jesus Christ
The standard is so high because we will be judged against the life of Jesus Christ:

Acts 17:31
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained (Referring to Jesus); whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

The Bible teaches that the second member of the Godhead came down to earth and took on a human body (John 1:14). The Bible teaches that he had no human father, he was born of a virgin. He allowed himself to be tempted in all points like we are, yet he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). Thus, he did what no human being could do: He kept the law perfectly, and was completely blameless. Why is this significant?

The Payment
As you probably know, Jesus was delivered to the Roman government by the Jewish leaders, and was beaten, scourged, spat upon, and crucified. Of His death, the Bible says:

Romans 5:8
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus's death was an act of love from God to us. How does that demonstrate his love? What happened when Jesus died?

1 Peter 2:24
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (referring to the cross), that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Because Jesus Christ had never sinned, he was able to literally bear the sins of every human being in his own body, and God's wrath was poured out on him for our sins when he was on the cross. In other words, God took upon himself the sins of us all in order to offer us a chance to be completely forgiven.

This is stated again in the Bible:

2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he (referring to God) hath made him (referring to Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Jesus Christ bled and died to pay for your sins, and only through that payment can you become righteous, spotless, and blameless before God. After Jesus was dead for three days, he rose from the dead, proving that the payment for every last one of your sins was completed. Now that the payment is made, does everyone automatically go to Heaven?

No, everyone does not automatically go to Heaven. God leaves you the choice of whether to accept his payment for your sins, or to reject it and try to be righteous on your own.

Accepting the Payment
The Bible says clearly that there is something that you have to do to accept the payment that Jesus Christ made for your sins:

Acts 16:30-31
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

When the Bible says "saved" here, it is referring to being saved from the punishment for your sins, saved from Hell (Matthew 1:21). And what do you have to do? Be baptized? Reform your life? Go to church and pray and read the Bible and help others? None of that is required.

All that someone needs to do to accept the payment of Jesus Christ on their behalf is - forsake trusting in their own righteousness to justify themselves before God, and place all of their trust in Jesus Christ as their only hope of getting to Heaven.

All that he requires of you for you to enter Heaven is to acknowledge that you are sinner, that you can't pay for sins yourself without going to Hell to pay for them, and believe that Jesus Christ has paid for all of your sins.

"Surely, it can't be that simple. There must be more to it than that, we have to do something." No, that's really it. There are no works involved on your end, it's a free gift from God to you, accepted by simply humbling yourself by trusting in Christ alone to save you.

Remember how God views mankind on the basis of their own righteousness?

Romans 3:10
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Well, Romans 4:5 below shows how the unrighteous man can become righteous: by putting their faith in the only truly righteous being to ever walk the earth, humbly accepting the payment he made on your behalf. If you do so, God looks at you and sees a sinless, righteous man, as all of your sins have been paid for:

Romans 4:5
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Notice, the verse specifically excludes good works as the basis to becoming righteous. Good works cannot pay for or cancel out sin. The only thing that God accepts for payment for sin is blood atonement (Hebrews 9:22), and that blood is Jesus Christ's (Revelation 1:5, Hebrews 9:12).

An Absolutely Free Gift
The scripture is clear on this point - no effort whatsoever will be accepted as payment for sin. Eternal life is offered as a completely free gift only:

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

If our effort and obedience had a role in paying for our sin, we could boast about it. The Bible says that none can boast about getting to heaven because those who got there realized that it was either a free gift or an impossible task.

Here are some beautiful summary verses of God's entire operation:

John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

So we see that God made it so easy to be saved. Based on the payment of Jesus Christ, we can have eternal life for free by simple faith in Him.

Also notice that baptism, good works, going to church, keeping the Law, living a good life - none of it is mentioned. All that is required is forsaking whatever junk you are trusting to justify you and instead trusting Jesus as your only hope of Heaven, the only payment for your sin.

Again, what does the Lord Jesus say?

John 6:47
47 Verily, verily, (truly, truly) I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

He says in so many words, "If you trust in me, you will have everlasting life, period." And that's where the sentence ends. Can he get any clearer? If there was even a single person who placed their trust in Jesus and didn't have everlasting life, this verse would make the Lord Jesus a liar. He is not a liar, and the only criteria he gives for receiving everlasting life is belief in Him.

Can this everlasting life ever be lost?

John 10:28
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Once you have eternal life, you can never lose it, otherwise it could not be called eternal life. If I had everlasting life at one point, and then lost it, then it wasn't everlasting because it didn't last forever. Once you are saved, you are always saved, because every single last one of your sins is paid for, past, present, and future.

If eternal life is called a gift (Romans 6:23), and in case there's any doubt, it's even called a free gift (Romans 5:15-16, 18), then it cannot have any strings attached. It's not a commitment or a contract or an exchange. It's a free gift paid for on the cross by Jesus Christ.

Adding to this, the Bible is clear in stating the once someone believes, they are sealed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit until the day of the resurrection:

Ephesians 1:12-14
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Every believer is sealed and kept by God until a fixed point in time. There are many such proofs that a believer can never be lost.

What if a Christian lives a wicked life?
So, what happens if a Christian decides to live a very wicked life? They're obviously still going to Heaven, as eternal life can never be lost. But you should know:

Hebrews 12:6
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Remember, you're a child of God if you are saved (John 1:12), and if you decide to live a bad life, God will not cease to be a righteous judge.

Galatians 6:7
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

This is why it's ridiculous to claim that a Christian can lose their salvation by sinning. There's many things that can happen to a sinning Christian in scripture, including sickness and death (1 Corinthians 11:30), but going to Hell is never one of them. If Jesus Christ has already paid for my sins, and given me eternal life, how can I commit a sin that he didn't already pay for?

Also know, that at the end of our lives, we'll be judged at a different judgement from the unsaved, and it will be based on how we lived after we are saved, and the work that we did for the Lord. But this judgement, referred to as "the Judgement Seat of Christ", determines rewards, not salvation.

2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we (believers) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

1 Corinthians 3:14-15
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward .
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Welcome to the Family
If you've decided to trust Jesus as your savior, I'd be genuinely thrilled to hear about it, so feel free to contact me using the About & Contact tab. You should get baptized as a public symbol of your salvation, even though this has absolutely nothing to do with actually saving your soul.

There should be plenty of resources for you to grow on the site, but primarily you should start reading the King James Bible. Please see the Topical Articles tab for the reason that this is important as well as for other important doctrine. May God bless you and have a great day!