Galatians 3:1-5 · Romans 8:9 · Psalm 51:11 · Acts 2:38 · 1 Corinthians 12:13 · Titus 3:4-7 · Acts 19 — Holy Spirit
How Do We Receive the Spirit?
The Spirit is received by faith at baptism, not through works or special spiritual attainment. All Christians possess the same Spirit equally, with no distinctions of spirituality among believers.
Introduction
This is the fourth of five lessons on the Holy Spirit. We have seen that the Spirit is a distinct person of the Godhead. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit—distinct but just as much God as the other two persons in the Godhead. We can have a personal relationship with the Spirit just as we can with the Father and the Son. We have seen that ultimately the Spirit’s desire is to help all to focus on Jesus. The Spirit does not focus on himself. Those who claim that they are particularly close to God because of the Spirit’s presence have violated the intent and attitude of the Spirit himself. He points all to Jesus, not to himself.
Tonight we are going to review how we receive the Spirit. Can one be a Christian and not have the Spirit? How do we seek the Spirit? How do we receive the Spirit? Does the Spirit come to all who ask? What must I do to receive the Spirit? What do I do if I don’t have the Spirit? We will look at these questions tonight.
Who Belongs to Christ?
Look at Romans 8:9. The “Spirit of Christ” does not mean the attitude of Christ. It parallels “Spirit of God” in the prior phrase. It is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Paul affirms that one is controlled by the Spirit if the Spirit lives in you. The opposite is also stated. If one does not have the Spirit of Christ, then he does not belong to Christ. Paul’s point is that one who does not have the Spirit does not belong to Christ. Those in whom the Spirit lives belong to Christ. If you are a Christian, the Spirit of God lives in you, not because you have done something special, but because you are a Christian. If the Spirit does not dwell in you, then you are not a Christian. To be a Christian means to have the Spirit of Christ or the Holy Spirit living in you.
In Psalm 51:11, after David’s sin with Bathsheba, David pleads for God not to leave him. Paralleled with God’s leaving David is that the Holy Spirit would be taken away as well. David was concerned that his sin would cause God to discard David and to take his Spirit away. For David, God’s presence and the Holy Spirit are the same thing. To say that the Spirit lives in us is to confess that we are in fellowship with God. It simply means that we are Christians.
Receiving the Spirit
So how do we receive the Spirit? Because of Romans 8, having the Spirit and being a Christian is the same thing. Thus, we should be concerned with how we receive the Spirit. Paul concerns himself with such a question in Galatians 3. Paul was concerned that the Galatians were leaving behind the true gospel for some non-gospel. He proposes that someone may have put a spell on them to make them think in such unchristian ways. So Paul asks one question to clarify: “Did they receive the Spirit by works of law or by hearing of faith?”
Some in the religious world would have us believe that there is no uniformity in the giving of the Spirit. The Spirit comes to different ones in different ways and times. Paul dispenses with that idea. There are only two ways to receive the Spirit—by heroic deeds or by faith. One receives the Spirit by his or her own strength or by believing the gospel. For Paul, “hearing” means to hear, believe, and live differently because of that belief. “Did you receive the Spirit by working for him or by hearing the gospel and believing it?” Notice verse 3. The Galatians began with the Spirit. When did this beginning start?
Paul has in mind when they become Christians. The Spirit comes at the beginning of the Christian life. He isn’t given before one becomes a Christian. One doesn’t become a Christian and then begin asking for the Spirit to come. One doesn’t, as a Christian, ask for the Spirit to come more fully. According to Paul, the Spirit comes at the beginning of one’s Christian life. We need the Spirit to help us from the beginning, not after we have everything together. Receiving the Spirit then is really very simple. This gift requires nothing heroic on our part. The gift does not require us to purge ourselves of all that is evil and then to plead for the Spirit to come upon us. According to Paul, God freely gives his Spirit to all who become Christians.
So the question is “how does one become a Christian?” According to Acts 2:38, all who in faith believe that Jesus is the answer to the sin that is in their life and who express that faith in repentance and baptism are assured that God will do two things. First, he will forgive all sins. Whatever we have done in the past is completely and totally forgiven. Second, God gives us his Spirit to live within us. The Spirit is received at our baptism. The Spirit is not given when we admit sin. The Spirit is not given when we repent. The Spirit is not given when we ask for him to come. The Spirit is given when we repent and are baptized as a demonstration of our faith in what Jesus has done at the cross. Baptism is faith in Christ. Baptism is a confession of faith in Christ. It is not something other than faith. The Spirit comes by faith, and his coming is precisely at the point of baptism.
First Corinthians 12:13 speaks to the fact that there is no difference in the giving of the Spirit to each Christian. The church is one body composed of many members. When did we become members of the body? When we, by one Spirit, were baptized into the one body. And at our baptism we all drank of the one Spirit. Notice the number of ones or singulars in this verse. Just as there is one body, there is one Spirit. And just as there is one Spirit, we all drink from that one Spirit. There is no distinction.
Finally, look at Titus 3:4-7. According to this text, there are two elements in the new birth—water and the Spirit. This salvation came about at the “bath” of regeneration and at the renewal by the Spirit. The washing and the renewal occur simultaneously. Our salvation was given at our spiritual birth, and with that birth the Spirit was generously poured out on us.
Application
So what does all this mean? First, as Christians, we should not doubt the Spirit’s presence in our lives. God has generously given us of his Spirit to assist us in living for him. We are empowered with the Spirit of God.
Second, there are no distinctions between us. While there are levels of maturity among Christians, the presence of the Spirit brings us together. There is no room for boastfulness that one is more spiritual than another. Such a claim certainly is not from the Spirit. We are a body. Each of us has freely drunk from the same Spirit.
Third, there is only one way to have the Spirit. At baptism, the Spirit is given. Notice Acts 19. In the New Testament, faith and baptism are so closely tied together that a category “unbaptized believer” is unknown. Paul’s question in Acts 19 is not “have you been baptized?” but “what kind of baptism did you receive?” Believers in Jesus were baptized at once. These believers received a baptism which pointed forward but did not announce faith in the Son of God. Paul’s words convinced them that they needed to be baptized because of faith in Christ, and it was then that they received the Holy Spirit.
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