In the current age, the Post-Pentecost Age of the indwelling Holy Spirit, you receive the Holy Spirit at conversion:
- "In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13).
Please observe the order of events. One hears the truth, believes, and is then sealed with the Holy Spirit. So, the answer to your question is this: To receive the Holy Spirit in the current age, one must believe the Good News of salvation (be born again). Click here to learn how to be born again, from the scriptures.
In the present age, the Post-Pentecost Age of the indwelling Holy Spirit, all believers are permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit at conversion. In the previous age, under Law, this was not the case. Under Law, the Holy Spirit was "in" selected believers and "with" believers who were in fellowship with God. I believe that these two intimacies of the Holy Spirit under Law did not occur with all believers and were not permanent. Under Law, the Holy Spirit was "given" to those who asked for Him.
The Law was in effect for roughly 1500 years, from the giving of the Law in Exodus 20, until the age of the indwelling Holy Spirit began at Pentecost in roughly 33 AD (Acts 2). The age of the indwelling Holy Spirit has continued since then for nearly 2000 years so far. Mankind also existed for about 2500 years before the law was given in Exodus 20. Click here to read a detailed explanation about the transition from Law to Spirit in the appendix, A3.
Now, let me restate what I believe, from the scriptures:
In the present age, the Post-Pentecost Age of the indwelling Holy Spirit, all believers are permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit at conversion. In the previous age, under Law, this was not the case. Under Law, the Holy Spirit was "in" selected persons and "with" believers who were walking in fellowship with God. Under Law, the Holy Spirit was "given" to those who asked for Him.
Below, I will present scriptural authority for these four truths:
1) All believers are permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit:
"Or don't you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God" (1 Corinthians 6:19).
In this letter to the church at Corinth, Paul is saying that all of the intended recipients of his letter were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And who were the intended recipients of his letter?
Those words were addressed as follows:
"To the assembly of God which is in Corinth, those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints" (1 Corinthians 1:2).
Three phrases are used to describe the recipients of the letter:
- "the assembly of God which is at Corinth"
- "those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus"
- "called saints"
Each of the three phrases describe the recipients of the letter, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
Please prayerfully focus on the third description of the recipients, "called saints". A saint does not indicate a person who is exceptionally good. It is just another word for one who is born again. If you read the book of 1 Corinthians, you will see that the Corinthians were far from good. They were unspiritual, fleshly, babies in the faith, incapable of comprehending mature doctrine (1Corinthians 3:1-3) and one was even guilty of incestuous fornication (1 Corinthians 5:1). But, Paul called them saints. When you see "saints", think "born again". Well, the saints are recipients of the letter. So, saints are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
Please remember 1 Corinthians 6:19... "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you".
1 Corinthians was written to saints. The recipients of the letter had the Holy Spirit within them. So, if you are a saint, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
But, can you stop being a saint and thereby lose the Holy Spirit?
According to the scriptures, the answer is no. You can't stop being a saint. So, you can't lose the Holy Spirit. Please click here to read about the once saved, always saved doctrine, from the scriptures.
One last point...
In the book of Acts, after Pentecost (chapter 2), the Holy Spirit was given to some by the laying on of hands by the apostles (Acts 8:18). This was obviously a supernatural, miraculous event... so much so that Simon the sorcerer offered money to Peter to buy this spectacular ability to give the Holy Spirit by laying on of hands (Acts 8:18-20). It makes sense for the granting of the Holy Spirit to be spectacular and supernatural, because miraculous signs were given to authenticate the message of the Gospel (Mark 16:15-20, micro-subchapter 4.6i). My point is this. There is a record of a very few, who believed and converted (Acts 8:12) but had not yet received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17). This appears to contradict the point I made from 1 Corinthians.
Here is the distinction: 1 Corinthians was written roughly 23 years after Pentecost, near 56 AD, close to the same time when the book of Romans was written... a time at which the whole Roman world had already heard the gospel (Romans 1:8). Possibly God provided that particular miraculous sign, the granting of the Holy Spirit through the hands of an apostle, for a limited time, in limited locations, to authenticate the gospel presented by apostles as new authorities in the New Covenant (in the new Age of the indwelling Holy Spirit).
Perhaps Christianity was not so new by 56 AD, when 1 Corinthians was written, so that God was no longer granting this particular sign in this area... It actually would be very difficult, with millions of converts and only thirteen apostles (including Paul). Converts would have to wait a long time to receive the Holy Spirit if everyone had to wait for an apostle to receive the Holy Spirit.
Does God still provide miraculous signs in non-Christian lands when the gospel is introduced. From the scriptures, I know of no reason to say that He does or doesn't. But from my experience, I know that miraculous signs still occur.
2) In the age under Law, the Holy Spirit indwelt some:
- "So the Lord said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him" (Numbers 27:18).
The events of the book of Numbers occurred at a time when Israel was under Law. The Spirit was in Joshua. God Himself said that Joshua had the Spirit in him.
- "Behold, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all kinds of workmanship, to devise skillful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze" (Exodus 3:2,3).
Here is the filling of Bezalel, by the Spirit of God, as a divine craftsman, to make holy implements for worship in the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. This event also occurred at a time when the people involved were under law.
3) In the age under Law, the Holy Spirit was "with" believers who were in fellowship with God:
"16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever: 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can't receive; for it doesn't see him and doesn't know him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you... 25 I have said these things to you while still living with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you" (John 14:16-25).
Please prayerfully observe that the Counselor and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. The Counselor / Holy Spirit was "with" them in their present tense, but in their future would be "in" them. Jesus was speaking to his disciples (but not Judas). And, this took place while Israel was still under law. The four gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, are in the New Testament... but the events therein took place under Law, under the Old Covenant. The New age, the New Covenant began at Pentecost in Acts 2. Click here to read more about the transition from the Old to the New Covenant. But, since the discussion of John 14:16-25 took place at a time when the participants were under Law, His comments describe the present relationship of the Holy Spirit to those believers of that age, to those who were under law. So, in the age under Law, the Holy Spirit could be "with" believers. Notice that I said "could be". In 1 Samuel 18:12, while Israel under Law, we see the following: "Saul was afraid of David, because the Yahweh was with him, but had departed from Saul." Saul was refusing to obey God and had therefore broken fellowship with Him, so Yahweh was no longer "with him". From these passages I conclude that one is in fellowship with God when the Holy Spirit is "with" him.
Under Law, to "walk with God" was the closest thing to the Post-Pentecost "walk by the Spirit". To walk with God was the most intimate fellowship available in the Old Covenant:
- "He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).
One other point:
Some may wonder if the comments of Jesus in John 14:16-25 apply only to the eleven disciples rather than believers in the age under Law in general. I looked to the Lord to answer this question. In John 14:19 Jesus said, "Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me." When Jesus said that "Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more" He referred to his crucifixion. But after the crucifixion, the risen Christ appeared to more than just the eleven. He was seen by many believers, over five hundred brothers and sisters at just one particular time (1 Corinthians 15:6). So, it is clear that when Jesus said "you will see me", he meant believers in general, not just the eleven. So, in 14:17, when he said that the Holy Spirit lives "with you, and will be in you"... "you" pertains to the eleven in particular and also to believers in general. The eleven were in fellowship with God. Then in John 14:22, one of the disciples says to Jesus "Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world." The disciple is making it abundantly clear that the conversation related to believers (us) in contrast with unbelievers. And what did Jesus mean by "the world"? "The world" in the gospel of John clearly indicates unbelievers. For proof that "the world" indicates unbelievers in John's gospel, see John 18:36, 12:31, 12:47, 14:17, 14:21-24, 15:19, 17:11, 17:14, 7:7. In those verses you will see that "the world" is ruled by Satan, hates Christ, does not know the Holy Spirit, that Christ came to save it, etc.
4) In the age under Law, the Holy Spirit was given to those who asked:
- "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).
This verse is from the book of Luke. Please remember that Luke is one of the four gospels. All events which took place in the gospel of Luke took place while Israel was under Law. Those under Law, could enjoy fellowship with God by asking for it. They could ask God to give them the Holy Spirit as a companion. To ask for the presence of God's Holy Spirit was like saying "let me walk with You".
If you have ANY other questions, please contact me again!
My Prayer:
Lord of Heaven and Earth, I pray for all who read this page. Please multiply their faith, draw them into intimacy with You, in Your word and in Your work... all for Your glory, that Your name may be lifted higher and higher and higher! Amen.
God Bless
Jim