From Genesis to Revelation the Holy Spirit is given various descriptive titles, such as, "the Spirit of God" (Gen.1:2), "Spirit of the Lord" (Isa.11:2), "Spirit of Grace" (Zech.12:10), "Holy Spirit" (Luke 11:13), "Spirit of Truth" (Jn.14:17), "Comforter" (Jn.15:26), "Eternal Spirit" (Heb. 9:14), "Spirit of Adoption" (Rom.8:15), "Spirit of Life" (Rom.8:2), "Holy Ghost" (Mt.1:18), and many others too numerous to mention here.

Numerous also are the things we are told the Holy Ghost does, which in another place the Spirit is said to do. For examples: Sanctification: by the Holy Ghost (Rom.15:16); by the Spirit (2Thess. 2:13). Spiritual gifts given: by the Holy Ghost (Heb.2:4); by the Spirit (1Cor. 12:4). Believers taught: by the Holy Ghost (1Cor.2:13); by the Spirit (Jn.16:13). Believers pray: in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20); in the Spirit (1Cor.14:16). Dwelling in saints: the Holy Ghost (1Cor.6:19); the Spirit (Eph.2:2.)

There are many similar instances involving the use of various titles of the Spirit. In 1 Samuel 10:6, Samuel tells Saul that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon him, but when it happens (v.10), we read that "the Spirit of God came upon him". For another example, we find in Acts 5:3 that Ananias and his wife "lied to the Holy Ghost", but in verse 9 it was the Spirit of the Lord against which they had sinned. Again, using Joel's voice, God promised that He would "pour out my Spirit upon all flesh" (2:28). When this wonderful prophecy was fulfilled in Acts 2:4, the promised Spirit is called the Holy Ghost. And to confirm this, Peter says in verse 16, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel."

Time and space forbid the presentation of more examples, but the point is amply made: There is one Holy Spirit, called by many different names.

Consider carefully and prayerfully, please, the words of the gospel writers, as each describes the Spirit as it came upon Jesus, when he was "about 30 years of age":

• (3:16) - "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw THE SPIRIT OF GOD descending like a dove, and lighting upon him."

• (1:9-10) - "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and THE SPIRIT like a dove descended upon him."

• (3:21-22) - "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened. And THE HOLY GHOST descended in a bodily shape like a dove, and it abode on him."

• (1:32) - "And John bare record, saying, I saw THE SPIRIT descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him."

The application of various titles is actually intended for our benefit, for much can be learned about the Holy Spirit from its many titles. For example, when Jesus' disciples were saddened by the news that he would soon leave them, Jesus referred to the Spirit which would be sent to them as, "the Comforter". And when Paul spoke of our admission into the family of God, he referred to the Spirit as "the Spirit of Adoption". Jesus gives us an impression of the Holy Spirit as "the Spirit of Truth", saying, "He will guide you into all truth." And since Christ Jesus declared himself to be the truth (Jn.14:6), the Spirit of Truth is obviously the Spirit of Christ.

There seems to be widespread agreement that the Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit are the same. Only the willingly ignorant among us still teach that those titles refer to two different Spirits. Remarkably, however, there are some who think that the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost are different Spirits. Let's study this issue together.

Only twice in the Bible is the phrase the Spirit of Christ used (Rom.8:9 and 1Pet.1:11). In 1 Peter 1:11, Peter states that the Spirit of Christ was in the prophets of old, and "testified beforehand the suffering of Christ, and the glory that should follow."

But notice, now, that in his second Epistle (1:21), Peter writes, "prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost". Surely, the ancient prophets were not inspired by two different Holy Spirits.

King David's stunning prophecy from Psalm 22 graphically foretold the grue- some crucifixion of Jesus. This vivid prophecy was fulfilled a thousand years after it was written, during the days of Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea. Part of David's prophecy reads, "They pierced my hands and my feet. . . . They parted my garments among them, and cast lots for my vesture."

The word my in this prophecy refers not to David, but to Christ. David's hands and feet were never pierced, nor were his clothes ever parted among his enemies. The Spirit of Christ was in David, as Peter said, testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Jesus. But near the end of his life, David said, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (2Sam. 23:2). Are we to understand this to mean that the Spirit of the Lord spoke by him on one occasion, and the Spirit of Christ on another? Of course not. The Spirit of the Lord is the Spirit of Christ, for Peter preached, "God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).

Further, we hear these words coming from Peter, as he stood in the midst of the disciples in the upper room awaiting the descent of the Comforter, "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake...concerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus" (Acts 1:16).

David's prophecy to which Peter referred on this occasion is found in Psalm 41:9, and reads, "Yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." The me and the my of this prophecy from Psalm 41 is the same me and my of Psalm 22, which spoke of the crucifixion. In both cases, the Spirit of Christ was the speaker, for in both verses, events which happened to Christ were foretold, and in both verses the speaker says the events happened to "me". Yet, in his address to the disciples, Peter said the Holy Ghost inspired David's words. Clearly, then, when Peter said the Holy Ghost spoke through David, he was referring to the Spirit of Christ, or, we could say, the Spirit of the Lord.

The only other verse in which "Spirit of Christ" appears is in Paul's letter to the saints at Rome. It is an arresting, sobering statement. "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom 8:9). Paul is declaring in no uncertain terms that until one receives the Holy Ghost, he is not a member of the family of God, for as we have shown, the Spirit of Christ is the Holy Ghost. But we will speak more about that shortly.

The Apostle Paul, "as a wise master builder", laid the foundation of the body of Christ (1Cor.3:10), and one of the seven unshakable pillars of that foundation is that there is "ONE SPIRIT". (In Eph.4:4-6, the full list of these seven pillars is given). My friends, believe me when I tell you that it comes from evil, and leads to more evil, to teach that the Spirit of Christ is not the Holy Ghost. The intent of that doctrine is to provide a hiding place for souls unwilling to surrender completely to God. In other words, the intent of Satan is to embolden some to claim to have the Spirit, even if they have not been baptized with the Holy Ghost. Do not be deceived. The foundation of God is sure, though many have tried to subvert it.

We all should know that it is by being baptized with the Holy Ghost that one becomes a member of the body of Christ. As Paul wrote, "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body" (1Cor.12:13). Some feel that this is a hard saying, but it is filled with love from God. Is not the baptism of the Spirit for "whosoever will"? Is not the door open freely to all? Anyone without the Spirit can ask God for it, and "Every one that asketh, receiveth." It appears to me that sometimes we can seek to disguise our stubbornness by condemning the truth. But there is no need for anger or strife. Let us receive His mercy, not quarrel with it.

Despite what many, "for filthy lucre's sake", preach, there is no such thing as belonging to God's family, the body of Christ, without receiving the Holy Ghost baptism. One can join an organization of man's own contrivance without having the Holy Ghost, but, as Paul uncompromisingly taught, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." This is an unmovable rock. Get on it, and stand there. It is the prerogative of every child of God to free himself from every unclean thing.

Thousands have firmly set their minds to advance the theory that one receives the Spirit before being baptized with the Holy Ghost, though the Master himself plainly taught otherwise. To those who believed in him, yet had not received the baptism of the Spirit, Jesus said, "He [the Spirit of Truth] dwelleth WITH you, and shall be IN you" (Jn.14:17). This is the condition of every one today who has begun to follow Jesus, but who has not yet received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit may be with them, guiding them, convicting them, reassuring them, but until they experience the baptism of the Spirit, the Spirit is not in them. You should never allow any man to tell you that you have God's Spirit dwelling in you. Jesus told Nicodemus that God Himself bears verbal witness through the tongue of every person who receives the Holy Ghost: "so is every one that is born of the Spirit" Paul echoed this truth when he wrote, "For ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom.8:15-16). The Apostle John, walking in this same light, said, "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit [not every person!] that confesseth Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God" (1Jn.4:2). My friends, if you have been persuaded to claim to have the Holy Spirit, yet you have never spoken in tongues, please reconsider your position. Who is authorized to tell us that we have God's Spirit, but God? We can't even know it ourselves without the Spirit's witness. No one knows man's heart but God.

John gives this terrifying warning to all who claim the Spirit without having the Spirit's witness, "Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist." If you have received a spirit that claims to be divine, yet it was speechless when it entered, you are dangerously entangled with the spirit of antichrist, that pretender to the throne of God. Jesus, you remember, cast out dumb spirits; he did not give them. Read 1 Corinthians 12:2-3.

Another truth concerning the Spirit is that it is not a person. It is, as the Bible states, the Spirit of God. God's Spirit is not a person any more than your spirit is a person. God's Spirit is God's life. Jesus taught that he and his Father were one in spirit, and he prayed that we would know the unity which he and the Father enjoyed (Jn.17:21-23). This sweet unity came to his disciples the day the Holy Ghost entered into them. "At that day", Jesus had told them, "Ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (Jn.14:20). Yes, the Father gave the Spirit of life to His Son, and the Son gave it to his disciples on Pentecost morning, making them one with God in Christ (Jn.5:26; 6:57; Heb.2:11).

Paul enlightened many concerning the absolute necessity of receiving God's one Holy Spirit, and obeying it. To the saints at Rome he said, "To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded life and peace" (Rom.8:6). Why does the carnal mind bring damnation? "Because the carnal [worldly] mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh [carnally minded] cannot please God" (Rom.8:7-8). Paul further states, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, IF so be the Spirit of God be IN you."

Now, suppose the Spirit of God does not dwell in you, dear reader? Then, you are in the flesh; that is, you are carnally minded and cannot please God. As a result, you must repent or you will be damned (Lk.13:3,5). On the other hand, those in whom the Spirit of God dwells are not in the flesh to be condemned to eternal death, but are in the Spirit to receive everlasting life.