LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
When / how do we receive the Holy Spirit?
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
The apostle Paul clearly taught that we receive the Holy Spirit the moment we receive
Jesus Christ as our Savior. First Corinthians 12:13 declares, “For we were all baptized by one
Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one
Spirit to drink.” Romans 8:9 tells us that if a person does not possess the Holy Spirit, he or she
does not belong to Christ: “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the
Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does
not belong to Christ.” Ephesians 1:13-14 teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the seal of salvation
for all those who believe: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who
are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
These three passages make it clear that the Holy Spirit is received at the moment of
salvation. Paul could not say that we all were baptized by one Spirit and all given one Spirit to
drink if not all of the Corinthian believers possessed the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 is even
stronger, stating that if a person does not have the Spirit, he does not belong to Christ.
Therefore, the possession of the Spirit is an identifying factor of the possession of salvation.
Further, the Holy Spirit could not be the “seal of salvation” (Ephesians 1:13-14) if He is not
received at the moment of salvation. Many passages make it abundantly clear that our
salvation is secured the moment we receive Christ as Savior.
The ministries of the Holy Spirit are often confused. The receiving/indwelling of the Spirit occurs
at the moment of salvation. The filling of the Spirit is an ongoing process in the Christian life.
We hold that the baptism of the Spirit also occurs at the moment of salvation. Some other
Christians do not, believing that the baptism of the Spirit comes subsequent to salvation.
In conclusion, how do we receive the Holy Spirit? We receive the Holy Spirit by simply receiving
the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior (John 3:5-16). When do we receive the Holy Spirit? The Holy
Spirit becomes our permanent possession the moment we believe.
