Have You Received the Holy Spirit?

He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. Acts 19:2-6

Here we see Paul giving the formula for receiving the Holy Ghost. First he comes across people believing the message of John that Jesus was the one to come. However, they did not know anything else besides that. It was not enough for them to merely believe in Jesus. They had to receive the Holy Ghost. They had to be born again to experience salvation from sin.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13

Sure, you can grow up in a Christian home. You can have parents that drag you to church kicking and screaming every week. You can look the part or you can be very bitter against church, but once you come in to the body this way you will be different. You won’t care about anything but loving Jesus because he first loved you and gave himself as a ransom for you so that you would have eternal life in his presence. You may even still believe in Jesus yet still walking in sin. Or you may be a believer, but have not went on to receive this. Paul asks you, “have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?”

These men heard these and had never heard of receiving the Holy Spirit. So Paul then asked them unto what they were baptized. They were baptized, but by John the Baptist. He then explained that was not sufficient. They needed to be baptized in water the name of the Lord Jesus and then they would receive the Holy Ghost.

When the Holy Spirit came upon them they spoke in other languages and prophesied. This is the same formula that Peter gave on the day of Pentecost. Repent, believe on Christ Jesus, be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Speaking in tongues is not the evidence of the Holy Ghost, you may or may not do so. However when you receive it you will know that you have received it because it is an experience with God. We will cover this later, but every instance that someone received the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts they knew it happened even to where the people around them knew. It’s a sovereign work of God not something you can work yourself into. Just go in obedience to water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and you will receive the Holy Ghost, it’s a promise. Expect to receive the Spirit when you rise out of the water.

If you should desire to receive the Holy Ghost please let me know and I will make sure to find someone who can give you instructions. God bless you richly