How do we receive the Holy Spirit-

1. How do we receive the Holy Spirit- 28th
April 2016
“You,however, are controllednot by the sinful nature butby the Spirit,if the Spiritof Godlivesin you.
And ifanyone doesnot have the Spiritof Christ,he does not belongto Christ.” (Romans8:9).
The apostle Paul clearlytaughtthatwe receive the HolySpiritthe momentwe receiveJesusChristas
our Savior. We can learnthisfrom 1 Corinthians12:13, “For we were all baptizedby one Spiritinto one
body—whetherJews or Greeks, slave or free—andwe were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Furthermore we canalsolearnfrom Romans8 tellsusthatif a persondoesnotpossessthe HolySpirit,
he or she doesnotbelongtoChrist: “You,however, are controllednot by the sinful nature butby the
Spirit,if the Spiritof Godlives inyou. And ifanyone doesnot have the Spirit of Christ,he does not
belongto Christ.” (Romans8:9). Againwe can learnfrom Ephesians1teachesus that the HolySpiritis
the seal of salvationforall those whobelieve: “Havingbelieved,youwere marked inhim with a seal,
the promisedHoly Spirit,who is a depositguaranteeingour inheritanceuntil the redemptionof those
who are God'spossession—tothepraiseofhis glory.” (Ephesians1:13-14).
The above stated three passagesmake itclearthat the Holy Spiritisreceivedatthe momentof
salvation. Inthe firstpassage in 1 Corinthians12:13, it states “Forwe were all baptizedby one Spirit
intoone body…” Here Paul couldnot have said that we all were baptizedbyone Spirit “andwe were all
giventhe one Spiritto drink”.We alsoreadin Romans 8:9 is evenstronger,statingthat ifa persondoes
not have the Spirit,he doesnot belongto Christ. Therefore,the possessionof the Spiritisanidentifying
factor of the possessionof salvation.Further, itiscleartous as Christiansthat the HolySpiritcouldnot
be the “seal of salvation”asstatedin Ephesians1:13-14 if He is notreceivedatthe momentof one’s
salvation. Asstatedinthe above passages,manyscripturesmake itabundantlyclearthatoursalvationis
securedthe momentwe receive Christas one’sSavior.
Thisdiscussioniscontroversialbecause the ministriesof the HolySpiritare oftenconfused.The
receiving/indwellingof the Spiritoccursat the momentof salvation.The fillingof the Spirit isanongoing
processinthe Christianlife.Whilewe holdthatthe baptismof the Spirit alsooccursat the momentof
salvation,some Christiansdonot.Thissometimesresultsinthe baptismof the Spiritbeingconfused
with“receivingthe Spirit”asanact subsequenttosalvation.
In conclusion,howdowe receive the HolySpirit?We receive the HolySpiritbysimplyreceivingthe Lord
JesusChristas ourSavioras we can learnfrom John3:5-16. Thispassage providesuswitha clear
understandingastowhenwe receive the HolySpirit…AsChristianswe mustknow thatthe HolySpirit
becomesourpermanentpossessionthe momentwe believe andthroughfaithreceive the LordJesus
Christas our Savior.We can learnthis fromthe above passage inJohn3:5-8 “Jesus answered, “Very
truly I tell you,no one can enter the kingdomofGod unlessthey are born of water and the Spirit.
6
Fleshgives birthto flesh,but the Spiritgivesbirthto spirit. 7
Youshouldnotbe surprisedat my saying,
‘Youmust be born again.’ 8
The windblowswherever it pleases.You hear its sound,but youcannot tell
where it comesfrom or where it is going.Soit is with everyone born ofthe Spirit.”