When do people receive the Holy Spirit?

If you go to school, college, or a university, when do you gain your qualification, diploma, or degree? You get them after you have completed your studies and passed your tests.

But in Christ, it’s the exact opposite.

In Christ, we do not have to complete rigorous tests and studies to be saved. We simply repent, believe, and accept Christ as our Savior. At that point, we have salvation. Even though we may still suffer from sin, temptations, and the weaknesses of human nature.

God gives us all we need at the beginning of our walk with Him. Christ gives us freedom, righteousness by faith, and entry into the kingdom of God as new creations when we first come to Him and are baptized in His name. He does this to set us up for the journey that is our walk with Christ.

The next step we need to take is to receive the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, correct, counsel, protect, and more as we walk with Christ. The Holy Spirit is given to us for the work of transformation that must take place in every Christian.

And that needs to happen early when we first come to Christ.

Some Christians believe that they receive the Holy Spirit when they are baptized in water or when they first believe in Christ.

But that is not what the scripture says.

One thing that is common in examples from the Bible is that people received the Holy Spirit very early or at the beginning of their conversion. For example:

• Jesus received the Spirit shortly after His baptism
• Paul received the Holy Spirit a few days after his conversion on the road to Damascus
• The disciples at Ephesus received the Holy Spirit after Paul baptized and laid hands on them.
• Disciples in Samaria received the Holy Spirit after Phillip preached the gospel, and Peter and John came down to lay hands on them.
• The first Gentiles received the Holy Spirit as Peter preached the Gospel to them.
• The crowds at Pentecost were baptized and received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day when Peter preached to them.

In every case, the people received the Holy Spirit within days (normally) of their conversion so that the work of transformation could begin immediately. It was not automatic and usually occurred through the laying on of hands, but it was always very early in their walk.

Call to Action

If you are unsure whether you have received the Holy Spirit, seek and ask God for this gift. I will cover this more in the section on how to receive the Holy Spirit.