Building up believers and the New Testament church
Did You Receive When You Believed?
Comment on Acts 2:38
When Peter said "you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit," some have taken this to mean that when we are water baptized, we "have" the Holy Spirit. If this were the case, Peter should have said something like this: "Repent, be baptized, and then rejoice for the Holy Spirit now dwells in you." But all he said was that these steps would lead to receiving the Holy Spirit. This verse does not expand on how this was to take place. The International Standard Version translates this verse as follows: "Peter answered them, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift'" (Acts 2:38, ISV).