You don't know how happy it makes me that you answered this post. Not because it provokes a battle, but because I know what you have
And I know that I can simply tell you something and you'll know how to go pray about it and actually let God answer you. (whenever he sees fit, rather than rushing it).
So, I'll share this with you, knowing that I'll still carry respect for you whether you are able to receive it now, or if instead it takes a while and you receive it later.
And of course, I intend to 'challenge' your ability to believe. Not towards overthrowing it, but rather like you are weightlifting to see if you can handle an extra plate on each side.
The thing is this:
The apostles didn't receive the Holy Ghost twice. It was impossible for them to receive the NT Holy Ghost until Jesus was glorified (John 7:39 (as you know)... but this does
not mean when he died on the cross....it means when he
ascended... because He said also "if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." John 16:7 KJV therefore it was impossible for them to have received the Promise/Comforter/HolyGhost until he departed (at his ascension Acts 1). Shortly afterwards they received the Holy Ghost.(Acts 2).
Here's the hard part....
Have you ever considered the reason people why want so badly to declare themselves or anyone else as "saved"?? <--really think about that.
SPOILER ALERT: ............. It's because of fear, not faith.
Men
love that word (and have nearly deified it and built a shrine to it, lol) because it gives the illusion that everything difficult is in the past. I call it an illusion because of the very first stipulation Jesus mentioned regarding how to be "saved". He said "he that
endureth to the end shall be
saved." <---doesn't sound much like the way men use it today, does it?
The word saved simply means "delivered" and/or "protected".
Do a bible search and check it out. See if those words (the definition of saved) give clarity pretty much everywhere the word "saved" is used.
And consider this.... if you "save" money, that means you "protect" and "deliver" it from things that would devour it. And if you "save" yourself until marriage, that means you "protect" and "deliver" yourself intact and undefiled all the way to the wedding.
God was "saving"....(protecting and delivering) the apostles since the day each was conceived. It doesn't make it anything more or less if we try to declare them "ultimately saved" at some point, just so we can feel good about it.
There's so much more to say on this topic but I think I'll wait to see what questions/comments you might have so far.
Love in Jesus,
Kelby