DID YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN YOU BELIEVED?

“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all “(Acts 19:1-2, 6-7 NKJV).

There is a refreshing coming from the Presence of the Lord and all who are thirsty are invited to come and drink to their full without price. Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a key Messianic promise every believer must go after if the person desires to enjoy the abundant life Jesus guaranteed for us through His death and resurrection.   Jesus is not only our Saviour and Healer, but also our Baptizer with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist prophesied of Him as One who “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16). Baptism with the Holy Spirit is so sacred that our Lord never delegated its administration to any person. He does it Himself. In the Old Testament prototype of that experience, God told Moses to select seventy elders from among the people He would empower to share the burden of the work with him. “So Moses went out to the people and told them what the LORD had said. He gathered seventy of the older leaders together and had them stand around the Tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. The LORD took some of the Spirit Moses had, and he gave it to the seventy leaders. With the Spirit in them, they prophesied, but just that one time. Two men named Eldad and Medad were also listed as leaders, but they did not go to the Tent. They stayed in the camp, but the Spirit was also given to them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran to Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”(Numbers 11:24-26 NKJV). It is clear from the narrative that the whole incidence was by divine orchestration. Moses had no hand in it. God sovereignly put His Spirit upon people who were presented to Him, including those who for whatever reason could not join others in the tabernacle.  

Similarly, on day of the Pentecost, the entire 120 disciples who gathered in the Upper room were sovereignly filled with the Holy Spirit without any form of discrimination. “When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV).  The apostles had no hand in it at all. Peter explained that what happened was in fulfilment of the promise of the Father and that Jesus was the Person who poured out the Holy Spirit upon them. “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33 NKJV). Right from this first occasion of baptism with the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, it became the normal experience of believers to be so baptised subsequent to conversion to Christ. It was abnormal to be a believer and not be baptised with the Holy Spirit.  This explained the surprise Paul expressed in our text.

Paul had expected that if the Ephesian brethren were truly believers, they should be baptised with the Holy Spirit; but it was not so.  He quickly presented a condensed version of the gospel to them and when they believed, he laid hands on them and they became baptised with Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues and prophecy. To be a true believer in Christ and not be baptised with the Holy Spirit is abnormal in the New Testament time.  It is still so now.  Here then is a question each of us must answer as we celebrate the feast of the Pentecost today. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” If you did, what gifts of the Holy Spirit did you manifest to authenticate that experience? On the first Pentecost, those who were baptised spoke in tongues. In Ephesus, those who were baptised spoke in tongues and prophesied. What was your experience? Our Lord Jesus, the Baptiser with Holy Spirit is here today to baptise you if you will step out in faith and ask Him to do so. Fix your faith and expectation on Christ and expect Him to grant you the fullness of the Spirit. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13 NKJV).

Let us stand and pray together: “Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.”