07/07/2026
I know this to be true from the Word and also my own experience. I was saved at six years old and received the Holy Spirit, but I did not receive His baptism until my mid twenties after becoming hungry for more of Him and asking.
The New Testament teaches two related but distinct works of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer:
1 The Holy Spirit comes to live in us when we believe in Christ (salvation).
2 The Holy Spirit comes upon us in power for ministry (the baptism of the Holy Spirit).
These are not competing doctrines—they complement one another.
1. Every believer receives the Holy Spirit at salvation.
When you trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit immediately comes to dwell within you.
• Romans 8:9 — "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him."
• Ephesians 1:13 — "Having believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise."
Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, you are not a Christian. The Spirit regenerates you, makes you a new creation, and seals you as God's child. This happens the moment you believe.
2. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is about empowerment, not salvation.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples and: "...He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" (John 20:22)
Yet these same disciples were later told:
"Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)
And:
"You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." (Acts 1:5, 8)
If receiving the Holy Spirit and being baptized in the Holy Spirit were always the exact same experience, there would have been nothing left for these disciples to wait for. Instead, Jesus distinguished between the Spirit's indwelling presence and the Spirit's empowering work.
3. The purpose is different.
The Holy Spirit within us:
• Gives us new birth.
• Makes us children of God.
• Produces the fruit of the Spirit.
• Assures us of salvation.
The Holy Spirit upon us:
• Empowers us to witness.
• Gives boldness.
• Distributes spiritual gifts.
• Enables effective ministry.
Jesus didn't tell the disciples to wait because they weren't saved. He told them to wait because they had not yet been clothed with power.
4. In Acts 8, the Samaritans had:
• believed the gospel,
• been baptized in water in the name of Jesus,
yet Peter and John came because: "...the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them." (Acts 8:16)
They then laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit in a way that was visibly evident (Acts 8:17–18). These passages show that, in Acts, there are instances where believing and the Spirit's empowering are distinguished.
5. It isn't just a one-time experience.
Even after Pentecost, the disciples were filled again.
"And when they had prayed... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31)
These were many of the same believers who had already been filled in Acts 2. Paul also commands believers: "Be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians 5:18) The Greek verb carries the idea of continually being filled. God's empowering isn't meant to be a one-time event but an ongoing reality.
6. Jesus encouraged believers to ask.
Jesus said: "How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:13)
This isn't about asking to become saved over and over. It's an invitation for God's children to seek the fullness of the Spirit's work in their lives.
Think of it this way:
• At salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live in you so you belong to Christ.
• In the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes upon you in power so you can effectively serve Christ.
One gives you life.
The other gives you power.
Both are gifts of God's grace, and both are found in the New Testament. The indwelling Spirit makes us God's children; the baptism and ongoing fillings of the Holy Spirit equip us to boldly carry out the mission Jesus gave His Church.
