How the Holy Spirit is given to believers
A good friend and I were discussing how the Holy Spirit (HS) is given to believers recently. He had been invited to a Mormon baptism and had the opportunity to learn some of their beliefs and the scripture that they are based upon.
Let me pause here for a second. If you are Mormon and I get something wrong please comment as I want to make sure I have everything correct.
They believe that the baptism is in place to cleanse the person of sin prior to a laying on of hands by the elders in the church in order to pass the HS to the person. This laying on of hands to pass the HS is based on Acts 8:14-17.
14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,
15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
This is the first place that we see the HS being passed by a set of believers to other believers. Prior to this we see the HS being sent by God in Acts 2:2-4
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled he whole house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
and Acts 4:31
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Additionally to support the Mormon's belief we see that in Acts 19:2-6 Paul passes the HS by laying on of hands.
2 He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
3 And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism."
4 Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus."
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.
All this to say that I think the Mormon's have a good beginning for the basis of their doctrine, however one should look at the whole body of scripture to see what else it says about a specific subject, one should not take one or two sections of scripture out of context (not to say this is taken out of context), and one must be aware of the historical context of the scripture.
I believe that the HS is no longer passed by the laying on of hands, but rather It is received when one becomes a Christian, professing to God and Jesus their faith and supplication.
The bible shows a progression of the HS being received by believers as they accept Christ. See Acts 10:44 & 45, Acts 11:14-17, 1 Cor 6:19, 2 Cor: 13:14 and Ephesians 1:13-14.
Acts 10:44 & 45
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
Acts 11:14-17 describes Peter speaking to the council at Jerusalem about Acts 10:44 &45
14 and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.'
15 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.
16 "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
17 "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"
Paul is speaking to the entire Corinthian church in 1 Cor 6:19
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
Paul, again is speaking to the Corinthian church in 2 Cor: 13:14
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
I believe Ephesians 1:13-14 is the passage that truely signals a change in the manner in which we receive the HS.
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
We see in the early history of the church many examples if miraculous activities that are not seen today or in later historical times. It is a common belief that there was a strong need for these early miracles and spectacles to show both the Jews of the time and the gentiles that God was indeed speaking through and using these apostles to spread the Word.
The HS is indeed given directly to each new believer when they accept Christ.