This bloglet started out as a reply to the writings of a person who was stating the specific evidences both he and his particular denominational church think are required in order to prove that a person has "received the Holy Spirit". In my lifetime I myself have been all across the board on this one. But in the last few years I think I have begun to rely a lot less on my own ability to figure out the Scriptures, preferring instead to humbly ask the Lord to show me the truths of His Word. I greatly enjoyed this study, and I hope you will enjoy reading the fruits of it. Feel free to post your comments, whether you agree or disagree, by clicking through on the "Post a comment" line at the bottom of the entry.

Before I address the claims of specific evidences required to prove someone has "received the Holy Spirit", I'd like to reference the following Scriptures.


John 20:19-22
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.


Acts 1:1-9
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.


Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.


The passage in John 20 references a time during the forty days of Jesus' "seminars for the saints" before His ascension. We must be assured that when He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost", they most assuredly received the Holy Ghost. But then in Acts chapter 1, as He was about to be taken up into heaven to take His place at the right hand of Glory, He told these same disciples (to whom He had already given the Spirit) to remain in Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the Father; being baptized with the Holy Ghost. In Acts chapter 2 we see the fulfillment of this promise, along with certain signs that indicated another event of truly biblical proportions was taking place just as the Lord had said it would.


This is where so many well-intentioned Christians find themselves at odds with their brothers and sisters in Christ. We seem to have divided ourselves into two camps which for the most part cling to either the earliest event or the latter event. There are even some who claim that both events are just one big event that represents some spiritual something-or-other that takes place in the heart of every believer once he does in fact believe. But the Scriptures make it clear that these two events were unique and separate. So where can we go from here?


In order to understand these things, we have to first come to a clear understanding that throughout the Scriptures there are two completely different levels on which God is dealing with His people. The first is their redemption and reconciliation to their Creator. The second is the believers' walk with their Creator once that redemption and reconciliation has taken place. Now with those two things in mind, we can look back at the Scriptures we referenced above and see if perhaps they might each actually refer to a different level of God's dealings.


We know from the Scriptures that in order to be redeemed from our sinful nature and reconciled to God we must be born again. We should also understand that during the entirety of the Gospels, where we read of the disciples following Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, none of them even could have been born again since Jesus had not yet He died to provide the propitiation for their sins. But then in John 20, after the resurrection, we see Jesus giving His followers the Holy Spirit. It seems clear that this giving of the Spirit must have been the seal of redemption from the resurrected Christ; the same Christ Who then later told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Father.


This brings us to the second chapter of Acts, where on the day of Pentecost the believers had all gathered together in an upper room behind closed doors, for fear of the Jewish leaders mind you, and with their fear mixed together with expectation "they were all with one accord in one place". And then, suddenly, the promise of the Father came and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and the event was accompanied by signs and wonders that clearly got the attention of those in the city who were no part of the company of believers. And it is at this point that we begin to see the fulfillment of Jesus' earlier promise that, though they had clearly already been redeemed through the resurrection of Christ, they would now receive power to become His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.


Obviously the second event had nothing to do with their salvation, into which Jesus had already sealed them with His own giving of the Holy Spirit as referenced in John 20. But prior to this second event, not one of them had had the power to do much more than go fishing and huddle together behind locked doors in the upper room. Immediately after this second event, though, we see Peter preaching to those who came rushing to the area to see what was happening, and on that day some 3000 people were added to the Kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ.


From this point on, through the remainder of the Scriptures, we see accounts of some on whom the Holy Spirit fell immediately when they believed on the Lord Jesus, and others who were later filled with the Spirit after having already believed. This fact behooves us to clearly see that today we must not be about the business of making new rules and regulations regarding the timings and evidences of spiritual events in the lives of our fellow believers. We should not be making great doctrinal statements surrounding an idea that you "get it all at conversion" any more than we should formulate any other doctrinal thesis stating that the two events must be separate and evidenced by specific proofs as related on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.


To claim the first doctrine is to say that once we are saved we have no further need of the Father's promise which was clearly delivered subsequent to the seal of redemption by Christ in the lives of the believers we have just read about. And any attempt to make hard and fast rules regarding the second event being always separate, as well as any specific evidences we think are required in order to prove that it has indeed happened, are simply not justifiable when measured against the whole of the New Testament.


As an example - for us to say that "speaking in tongues" must be in evidence to prove the receipt of the empowering promise of the Father, it would also seem to follow that we would have to require that "a sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind" and "cloven tongues of fire" also be present to validate the event. And yet the single most significant thing that happened as a result of that Day of Pentecost was Peter receiving the power of the Holy Spirit to become so clear a witness for Jesus Christ that on the first day of his newly empowered life three thousand souls stepped into the eternal Kingdom of our Almighty God Who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.


So what is the bottom line in all of this?


On the first level, God has made the provision through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ - His only begotten Son - for any and all who will call on His name to be redeemed and reconciled to their Creator. That must be the first and foremost event in the life of anyone who would seek to keep eternal company with their Maker, just as it was with the disciples in John 20. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) There is nothing we can do to save ourselves other than simply putting our full faith and trust in the regenerating power of Christ's resurrection. We must be born again, whereupon Jesus will give us the Holy Spirit as the seal of our reconciliation to the Father.


On the second level, God has given us the promise that we will be empowered to live our lives as witnesses for Jesus Christ in this world no matter where we may go or what may come our way while we are there. All of the writings throughout the Scriptures that tell us how we should live our lives (for example "love your neighbor as yourself") are commands given to those who are already believers in Jesus Christ the Messiah. These commands can only truly be lived out by us as we continually receive the Holy Spirit to empower us to do so. It is also very important for us to understand that our own salvation cannot be gained by the keeping of any of the commands we find anywhere in the Scriptures from Genesis to the Revelation. These commands are given to those who are already believers and they tell us how we should walk with God in this present life. The promise of the Holy Spirit is the only way we will be empowered to walk in those statutes.


In John 7:37-39, we read:


In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)


Well Jesus has now been glorified, so let those of us who believe also receive!


For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:10-13)


If you need a sign to prove to that you have received the promise of the Father, you need look no further than your own witness for the Lord Jesus. If you have the power of the witness, you have the Spirit. And if you speak with the tongues of angels, let it be with love and not judgment. In closing, let me give you the following from James 1:16-22 & 25.


Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.


… whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.


Grace & Peace,

Rod

Romans 1:16