Cornelius was a Gentile who came to believe in Jesus. It is recorded that the Holy Spirit fell on everybody who was with Cornelius as Peter began to preach the gospel (Acts 11:15). (Acts 10:45).
Peter and the Jews who were with him were surprised that God poured out the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles in the same way that he and his fellow Jews had received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4,11:17).
In Acts we are told that the Holy Spirit also was given to people when a spirit-filled person prayed for a person to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15, 9:17, 19:6).
The Holy Spirit is a gift that is promised to everyone who repents, believes and is baptised (Acts 2:38). Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17, 15:26-27) who would be with us instead of Jesus.
When a believer receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, they receive the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:14, Phil. 2:1-2, Rom. 8:26-27) and can approach God. The believer can communicate directly with the Almighty God and can hear directly from God. Paul, for instance, was told at one stage not to preach in Asia (Acts 16:6-7).
It is my prayer that you will be noted as a person filled with the Holy Spirit like Barnabas (Acts 11:24) and that you will live by the Holy Spirit and produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit in your lives:
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. (Gal. 5:22-26 NLT).
Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit since you believed in Jesus and repented of your old way of life? If you haven’t, why don’t you just ask God for the gift?
11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (Luke 11:11-13 NLT).
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