Does the Holy Spirit dwell within every person, since everyone can carry out acts of kindness even if they don’t believe? Or is the Holy Spirit only in believers?
The Holy Spirit dwells in everyone who is in a state of grace. We ordinarily enter a state of grace when we are baptized but there are extraordinary ways to enter a state of grace that do not require an explicit belief in Jesus, the Catholic Church, etc… Such extraordinary ways usually fall under the heading “baptism by desire” and involve “invincible ignorance.”
2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech. 2:5 Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, 2:6 and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. (Acts)
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit is different than hearing/acting according to the Holy Spirit.
Though there were thousands of devout people living in Jerusalem (and many more who had come for the religious celebrations) only the 200 that were gathered with the Apostles Received the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The difference is also manifested in Jesus’ Revelation of His Return to the Father:
14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever. 14:17 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you. (St. John)
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