Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Feb. 14, 2026
Update	: Feb. 14, 2026
Parts	: 04

Synopsis:



Continuing our discussion from part one, at this point, here is an important question that we need to ask ourselves: Do we need to verbally -- or at least mentally -- ask Jesus to come into our hearts? Is there any Scriptural precedent for such a thing occurring during the First Century? As we discovered in the first part of this series, there are certain very harsh Christians who adamantly condemn this practice, and who claim that it is a pointless and useless act which saves absolutely nobody. But what do the Holy Scriptures really say regarding this matter? Well, for those Christians who staunchly resist the necessity of any kind of Salvation prayer, the very first verse that I'm going to share with you may possibly shock you. Consider what it says:

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them THAT ASK HIM?"


Wait! What?! Jesus said that we need to actually ASK for the Holy Spirit?! You mean just as certain people in the Gospels also ASKED Jesus to heal them? Well, don't be too surprised. After all, the New Testament makes it very clear that if we desire anything from our Heavenly Father, we need to simply ASK for it in faith, believing that we have in fact received whatever we are asking Him for. Furthermore, as some of my readers will no doubt already know, this is precisely what Jesus instructed His followers to do. He told them to ask the Father for things in His name. Jesus likewise said that He would fulfill their petitions. If you doubt that this is so, then please consider the following group of sample Bible verses:

"ASK, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For EVERY ONE THAT ASKETH RECEIVETH; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."


"And all things, WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK IN PRAYER, believing, ye shall receive."


And WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. IF YE SHALL ASK ANY THING in my name, I will do it."


"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: THAT WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK of the Father in my name, he may give it you."


"And in that day YE SHALL ASK ME NOTHING. Verily, verily, I say unto you, WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have YE ASKED NOTHING IN MY NAME: ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE, that your joy may be full."


"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."


"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ASK OF GOD, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But LET HIM ASK IN FAITH, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."


"YE ASK, and receive not, because YE ASK AMISS, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."


"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, IF WE ASK ANY THING ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, WHATSOEVER WE ASK, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."


Based on the previous set of Bible verses, it is indeed very evident that Jesus encouraged His followers to petition or ask God the Father for things which they needed in order to fulfill their mission for the Lord. There's simply no other way to interpret the previous verses. Or do you disagree? Now, while it should be rather obvious to you, when people ask God for things, they usually do it by way of a prayer, right? As some of my readers will know, in the Gospels, the Lord would often get up very early in the morning in order to pray to His Father, and on other occasions as well. The Lord had a very active prayer life. For example, consider the following set of Bible verses which confirm this point:

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."


"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone."


"And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray."


"And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."


"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."


"And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering."


Furthermore, as many of you will know, when Jesus asked His Father to remove the cup of suffering from Him, He did so by way of a very desperate prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, as we likewise see by the following verses which are found in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:

"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."


"And he was withdrawn from them about a stones cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,"


Lastly, we all know that the Lord taught His followers to pray what is commonly referred to today as the Our Father, or the Lord's Prayer. So not only did Jesus himself engage in a significant amount of prayer, but He likewise often reminded the Apostles to pray as well, because that is how we ask and receive things from our Heavenly Father. That being the case, when Jesus said to ask for the Holy Spirit, does it not seem likely that He was saying to ask for it via a prayer? Please remember this thought, because I will be sharing a related incident with you in just a moment.

On a personal side note, concerning Luke 11:13, and asking for the Holy Spirit, this is precisely what I likewise did fifty-five years ago. After praying to receive Jesus into my heart in San Jose, California in July of 1971, a number of months later during that same year, I also learned about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and how it helps Christians to be a stronger witness for the Lord. So, exactly as Jesus said to do in the previous verse, that is what I did too.

My friends, this leads us to yet another rather interesting and related question. As I explain in a number of other BBB articles such as "Fifty Days Which Changed the World", after His resurrection from the dead, the Lord spent another forty days on the Earth, during which time He was seen by hundreds of His followers. Then, just prior to returning to Heaven on the Mount of Olives, Jesus instructed the Apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit, as we can easily determine by the following group of Bible verses:

"And, being assembled together with them, [Jesus] commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence . . . But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."


As I point out in the aforementioned article, it was exactly ten days later -- which completed an actual jubilee of fifty days from the Passover when the Lord was crucified, to the day of Pentecost -- when the miracle of the Holy Spirit did in fact occur at the beginning of Acts chapter two. But what I personally find rather interesting is what they were all doing BEFORE that day of Pentecost arrived. The writer Luke provides us with an answer in the following set of verses:

"Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord IN PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."


As you can plainly see, the Apostles, mother Mary and Jesus' biological brethren were gathered privately in that upper room, where they were all praying and making their requests known to God. Most of my readers will know what supplication means, right? It is simply the act of asking or begging for something in an earnest and humble manner. In fact, this is precisely what the Apostle Paul tells us in his Epistle to the brethren at Philippi, as we see by the following verse:

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."


Now, considering that only ten days earlier, Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit, does it not make a lot of sense that they were earnestly praying to receive the Holy Spirit in that upper room, exactly as Jesus had said in Luke 11:13, when He pretty much said that one receives the Holy Spirit by asking for it? Let me share that verse with you one more time to refresh your memory:

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them THAT ASK HIM?"


So in light of what Jesus said in the previous verse, and what He stated about asking our Heavenly Father for things in His name, and what He told the Apostles on the Mount of Olives just prior to His ascension, while I obviously cannot prove it fully, I believe that my conclusion holds a lot of merit. In other words, I think they were earnestly praying for the Holy Spirit in that upper room, and that is exactly what they got shortly thereafter at the beginning of Acts chapter two, right? In short, their prayers were answered, as we see by the following group of Bible verses:

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."


Now I am going to go out on the limb, and suggest something challenging to you. We have already seen how we are to ask our Heavenly Father for things in Jesus' name. We have also seen how different people of faith in the Gospels asked to be healed by the Lord. Along the same lines, even today, it is our Christian custom to ask God for His protection, for His divine healing, for His provision, and for other needs, either for others, or for ourselves. We do all these things via prayer. That being the case, is it really that strange, or that long of a stretch to consider that we must ask Jesus to dwell in our hearts by way of a prayer, so that Ephesians 3:17 can be fulfilled in our lives? Does that not fit right in with everything else we have discussed in this series?

Don't both praying for the Holy Spirit, as well as praying to receive Jesus into our hearts, fit the same Biblical pattern, contrary to what those naysayers and Salvation prayer critics like to scream at us? Now if you're one who disagrees, please explain exactly how it is really any different in your view. Think about it, my friends. If we have to pray and ask to be anointed -- or indwelled -- with the Holy Spirit as the Lord advised His followers to do, does it not make a lot of sense that we would likewise have to pray and ask Jesus to dwell in our hearts as well? How else can His spiritual presence fill our being unless we ask Him to do so?

For me personally, this is a very easy concept to grasp. If one of our friends comes to visit -- Jesus is obviously our friend as well -- he can stand outside knocking on our door all day long. However, unless we open the door and invite him into our home, he is never going to enter our abode, is he? Well, unless, of course, he is a thief and a robber as Jesus describes in John chapter ten in this verse:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."


So just as we have to ask our friend to enter our home, and in fact give him permission to enter our home, it seems to me that with regard to the Spirit of Christ dwelling in our hearts -- as per Ephesians 3:17 -- we must do the very same thing. We must ask or invite Him in, so that we can engage in spiritual communion and fellowship with Him. Personally, I do not believe that Christ is just going to pop into our lives, or into our heart, uninvited. In my experience, and based on my knowledge of the Scriptures, that is just not how the Spirit of God works. It is gentle and wooing, and it waits to be invited. In contrast, the spirit of Satan is very rude, very loud, very forceful and very aggressive.

My friends, this idea of voluntarily inviting Jesus into our hearts and lives by way of a prayer in order to engage in a more personal and intimate relationship with Him is in fact implied in the following well-known verse which is found in the Book of Revelation. Furthermore, when we view Revelation 3:20, Ephesians 3:17 and Luke 11:13 side-by-side, it seems to make a lot of sense. Consider for yourself:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."


"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,"


"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"


In my view, those three Scriptures carry a similar intention. The Apostle Paul desires that the Spirit of Christ dwells in our hearts, while Revelation 3:20 and Luke 11:13 inform us exactly how to accomplish it. We must simply and symbolically open the door of our heart by asking for it through a word of prayer. Taken together, that is what those three verses tell me personally. How about you?

So you see, it seems to me that Jesus dwells in our hearts because we personally ASK Him to do so, just as Jesus very clearly said that we must ASK for the Holy Spirit. However, that is not all, my friends. In my 1997 article called "Holy Ghost: The Spirit of Jesus Christ?", I wrestle with a rather difficult question regarding whether or not there is really that much of a difference between the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit of God, if any at all. Honestly speaking, I have not reviewed that particular article in many years, so I cannot remember everything that I state in it. However, please consider the following thoughts.

As we learned at the end of part one, God's desire is that His Spirit dwells in us. In some verses of Scripture, this indwelling is referred to as the Spirit of Christ, while in other verses it is referred to as the Spirit of God. What we see then is that these two phrases appear to be synonymous and interchangeable. In other words, they seem to hold the same meaning, and they are referring to the very self same Spirit. As proof that this is so, consider what the Apostle Paul wrote in the eight chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. Please notice how in the very first verse he refers to BOTH the Spirit of God AND the Spirit of Christ. However, then in the second verse he very explicitly refers to the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us, only to say that it is the Spirit of God that dwells in us in the third verse. After all, when he writes "But‭ if‭ the Spirit‭ of him that raised up‭‭ Jesus‭ from‭ the dead‭ dwell‭‭ in‭ you", we know that he is referring to the Father:

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."


I have already shared Ephesians 3:17 several times with you now. However, if we take the time to read the following two verses which come after it, what we really discover is that Paul is actually saying the very same thing that he says in the previous verses from the Book of Romans. In other words, Paul states that for Christ to dwell in us is to "be filled with all the fulness of God." Consider the three verses for yourself:

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."


To continue then, as I discuss in a number of other BBB articles -- including "Are You Saved and Sealed and Healed and Filled?" -- Jesus promised His followers that the time would arrive when they would eventually be filled with the Spirit, as we can easily determine by the following set of Bible verses:

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."


"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."


"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:"


"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment . . . Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."


While many Christians are familiar with the miraculous event which occurred at the beginning of Acts chapter two when the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, fewer people are are aware of the fact that following the Lord's resurrection from the dead when He appeared to His disciples, something else occurred, which at first glance seems mystifying to a certain degree. I'm referring to the following verses which are found in John chapter twenty:

"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"


Now wait a minute! What is going on here? If the Apostles did not receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit until Acts chapter two -- which as we have seen was fifty days into the future from the time of the Lord's Crucifixion on the day of Passover -- how can this event even be happening? Well, as I believe I may possibly explain in the article "A Treasure in Earthen Vessels: God's Promise of the Spirit", the only way in which I personally can reconcile this apparent difference in timing is by suggesting that what occurred here was NOT the full-blown indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we read about in Acts chapter two.

What do I mean by this? Well, maybe Jesus simply wanted to give the Apostles a type of preview, sampling or foretaste of what was going to occur in the days ahead in that upper room in Jerusalem following His ascension to Heaven. As I point out in the aforementioned article, what we see in the previous two verses was a type of down payment. Furthermore, in his second Epistle to the brethren at Corinth, believe it or not, but this is exactly what the Apostle Paul wrote with regard to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As you can see below, he refers to it as "the earnest of the Spirit":

"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."


So exactly what is meant by "earnest"? According to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, the word "earnest" is translated from the Koine Greek word "arrabon", which refers to the money which in purchases is given as a pledge or downpayment that the full amount will subsequently be paid‭". Please likewise notice where Paul explains this "earnest" is stored: IN OUR HEARTS! And in his Epistle to the Ephesians, where did Paul say the Spirit of Christ dwells? IN OUR HEARTS! Oh man! Are you starting to get the picture yet? Are the pieces starting to fall into place in your mind?

While I have stated that what occurred in John 20:21-22 was a preview of what would soon occur in Acts chapter two, my friends, it goes way beyond that. In other words, as I point out in articles such as "This Little Light, Glory of the Lord and Our Bright Future", even being fully filled with the Holy Spirit as the Apostles were on the day of Pentecost is really nothing compared to the glorious spiritual reality in which we will all live, once this earthly life has passed. If you doubt that this is so, consider the following set of verses and rejoice at what lies in your own future, if you remain faithful to the Lord to your last dying breath: ‭ "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."


"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."


"But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."


"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."


"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:"


"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."


Please go to part three for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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