Did You Receive When You Believed?

It seems there is almost a universal belief in Christian circles today that we automatically receive the Holy Spirit when we first believe in Jesus. To even raise the question may seem almost heretical, yet there are some very clear scriptures that would indicate otherwise. Jesus went to Calvary so that God could indwell each believer by the Holy Spirit, so it is vitally important to get this right. If we try to live the Christian life without the indwelling Holy Spirit, we will miss out on the basic source of grace, and our experience of God will be greatly diminished from what God has intended.

At the end of this article, we will look at some of the scriptures used to back the doctrine of automatically receiving the Spirit, but first let us explore the scriptures that show otherwise. It is not our purpose to deal with every possible argument, but to encourage those who are hungry for more of God to make sure they are living in the reality of the indwelling God. Let us look again at all the scriptures with an open mind and let God reveal where we are, both in our experience and in our understanding, that we may not miss what God has provided for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

"And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' So they said to him, 'We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit'" (Acts 19:1-2). When Paul came to Ephesus and found these believers, he evidently detected some lack that caused him to ask this question. Today I believe we can ask the same question. There is often a great lack of the presence and power of God. There is religious activity, but little manifestation of men dealing with the eternal God. Do we want the fullness of God that we read about in the scriptures, or are we content where we are? If we are content, this exhortation will have no meaning. But if we are thirsty for more than we are experiencing, it may be the door into a greater reality of fellowship with God.

Many have dismissed Paul's question because he next discovered that these disciples (believers) had only been baptized by John's baptism. That is true, but if a believer automatically receives the Holy Spirit when they first believe, why would he ask the question? If receiving accompanied believing, his question would be "Have you really believed in Jesus?" or something similar. In this situation, it appears that these disciples had responded to everything they knew (possibly from the ministry of Apollos). It is also significant that even after Paul explained the way more fully and they were baptized in the name of Jesus, they still did not receive the Holy Spirit until Paul laid his hands on them.

There is another case in scripture that is even more obvious. "Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:14-17). In this account Luke tells us that these believers had received the word with joy, they had been baptized in the name of Jesus, and there were great miracles worked in their midst. Yet they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, and the apostles were sent to correct the situation. If we automatically receive the Holy Spirit upon believing, how is this account possible?

I trust that these two examples are enough to show that we cannot assume that a person has received the Holy Spirit just because they have believed in Jesus Christ.

Next: The Baptism in the Holy Spirit