Dr Paul Allen

The Holy Spirit is not distributed by lottery, with a few people selected to receive it. It is not a game of chance. There are no winners or losers. Those whom God calls, He equips. There is more than enough power to go around. No one is left out, and no one gets leftovers. Don’t disqualify yourself when you are already accepted. The Scriptures are clear and without Vagueness. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not just for a few of “God’s favourites.” No, God has no “favourites.” In fact, we are all His favourites. On the Day of Pentecost, 120 men and women were in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, and we read in Acts 2:3 and 4, “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...” It was no coincidence and NO LOTTERY! “Each” of the 120 received and “all” was filled. Their gender was not a consideration; neither was their age nor race or status in life.  Somebody in heaven must have counted the heads since

When we focus all of our attention on the flesh of Jesus either by a statue etc, then the real significance of Jesus is missed, and the kinds of objections raised both by ‘the Jews’ and by ostensible disciples quickly surface - namely eat my body and drink my blood when misunderstood becomes a misdirection. But if flesh does not give life, what does? One of the clearest characteristics of the Spirit in the Old Testament is the giving of life (e.g. Gn. 1:2; Ezk. 37:1ff.; cf. Barrett, HSGT, pp. 18–23).  The Spirit gives life.  Jesus says in John 6:63 - the words I have spoken to you are spirit (i.e. they are the product of the life-giving Spirit ) and they are life (i.e. Jesus’ words, rightly understood and absorbed, generate life —5:24). To feed on Christ is to feed on Christ’s words, enabled by the Holy Spirit.  Before I was unregenerate unable to hear or understand jesus words and the Spirit gave me life now I can understand and consume Jesus word giving me life Carson, D. A. (1991)

This subject is one of great controversy because of extreme positions and emotions. We need to develop biblical balance on this issue in order to escape all the false teaching of our day. I.      The Person of the Holy Spirit       A.      The Deity of the Spirit: He is God.  He is called “God” (Acts 5:3, 4; 2 Cor. 3:17). He has the attributes of God (Heb. 9:14).       B.      He is a “Person” and not an impersonal force. He has the attributes and the names of a person (John 14:16–17; 15:26; 16:7–15). He can be lied to (Acts 5:3–4). He has a “will” (1 Cor. 12:7–11). He can be grieved and quenched (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).       C.      He is distinct from the Father and the Son . We must reject two growing heresies:Sabellianism: The “Jesus Only” cult and heresy. Modalism: One God in three forms or faces. II. The Work of the Holy Spirit       A.      In the Old Testament and New Testament (before Pentecost) He was with / beside the saints (Gen. 41:38; Num. 27:18;