The Gift of the Holy Spirit
By Terry Simpson
“And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts2:38-39)
We have come to one of the most controversial verses in the entire Bible, and thus one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted verses. And yet we should not be surprised, because it is one of the most important verses in the Bible. Whole denominations base their doctrine of salvation almost exclusively on this one verse. I will not try to add to the controversy. I am not going to approach this verse with the idea of addressing controversial matters or clearing up misunderstandings and misinterpretations. It is a very positive verse that gives some vital information about our relationship with God.
After Peter preached the first full-gospel message, the people who heard him were cut to the heart with conviction and asked, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37) Peter gives the divinely inspired answer in this amazing verse. He tells them (and us) what they must do to be saved (this answers their conviction of sin) AND what they must do to have the baptism with the Holy Spirit (which answers their amazement and interest in what was happening then and there concerning the Holy Spirit being poured out). This IS a verse on salvation, but it is also a verse on receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and they are not the same. You cannot receive the infilling with the Spirit without being saved, but you can be saved with ever experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Get saved and then receive the gift of the Spirit. They are two different things. This verse talks about both.
I. The Gift of the Holy Spirit is PRECIOUS.
We all love to receive gifts. Christmas is one of our favorite times of the years and one of the reasons (let’s face it) is because we get gifts then. Birthdays rank right up there for this very reason. As you get older, one of the things that makes each birthday palatable is the fact that you get birthday gifts from those who love you. What has been your favorite Christmas or birthday gift you have ever received? A doll, a gun, a car, a vacuum cleaner!, Caribbean cruise? What? Some gifts are better than others to be sure, but there is no gift on earth (or heaven for that matter) that is better than this one. It is the gift of God Himself, given by God Himself. God, being good and perfect, gives nothing but good and perfect gifts (Jas.1:17). And this is His best gift – Himself. And not just His quiet, unseen, mysterious presence. Peter is talking about what the apostles had experienced and the people had witnessed that day of Pentecost. He’s talking about the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), the manifest presence of the God coming upon His people. Oh, what a gift! Being baptized, covered, inundated and clothed with the power and presence of God. This is what is to be received. Nothing less than this is the gift mentioned here. This is not a gift of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is the gift.
Would you like this gift? It is free to God’s children. All they have to do is receive this precious gift. But don’t think that because it is free for the taking that it is cheap. In fact, it is not free at all!
II. The Gift of the Holy Spirit is PURCHASED.
Just because a gift is free to the recipient doesn’t mean it is free to the giver. Somebody has to pay for that gift! Every gift you have ever received has been paid for by somebody. The gift of the Holy Spirit is no exception. The good news is it’s not something we pay for. God pays for it. More specifically, Jesus Christ paid for it by His death on the cross. The outpouring and anointing of the Spirit is the great throne gift of the Son of God. It comes free to us, but it cost God the death of His Son. Jesus had to pay for it with His own life’s blood. This gift is so precious that only the blood of Christ could pay for it. This is a dear cost, for a precious gift. When you receive this gift you receive it from nail-scarred hands. Do not take this gift lightly. Neither ignore this gift as though it is something you can take or leave as you desire. No! Some don’t even seem to be interested in the power of the Holy Spirit at all. They don’t seek for it, pray for it, or even ask for it. They profane this birthright and that, as Esau can tell you, is not something that God takes lightly. This precious gift cost God dearly. Let us attribute to it the value it deserves, having been purchased at such a staggering cost. Oh what a precious gift, because it was purchased by the death of the Savior.
III. The Gift of the Holy Spirit has a PREREQUISITE.
This gift is not for everyone. It has a requirement, a prerequisite. Something comes before it. Actually, this gift is exclusively for God’s own children. Only those who are saved may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Only those who have repented and been forgiven may partake of this precious, purchased gift. God does not cast His pearls before swine, and He does not give His Holy Spirit to those who chose to live in sin. “The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey.” (Acts 5:32) He does not throw Himself at any passerby.
This gift is not regeneration. Peter is not talking about being born again by the Spirit of God. He’s talking about the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Let me explain.
There are at least two different aspects of salvation in which man plays no part whatsoever, even though he experiences them. In these two things He is acted upon by God. The reason this is necessary is because he is dead. Look atthe three different aspects of salvation: regeneration, sanctification and glorification. The first and third ones are done by God exclusively. He has to birth people into His family and raise their bodies without their cooperation because for the simple reason they are at those two junctures – dead. No human every gave birth to himself or raised himself from the dead by making a quality decision. We “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn.;1:13) In regeneration (the new birth) the Holy Spirit raises the dead spirit and makes him alive to God. In glorification (resurrection) the Lord Jesus shouts and by His power raises the dead body from the grave. When Nicodemus asked Jesus how he could be born again (from above, by the Spirit, Jn.3:4) Jesus did not tell him anything to do. That’s because you can’t dosomething to make yourself born! It’s not something you do. It’s something God does. Listen to Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (Jn.3:8) THAT was His answer to how to be born again! You can’t give birth to yourself anymore than you can resurrect your body. You don’t receive the Holy Spirit at regeneration. “The wind blows where it wishes…”.There is never a command to be born again (of the Spirit). Why? Because that is not something man can do. There is a command to repent and be baptized, but repenting, believing and obedience always come after the birth (and before the resurrection!). And there is a command to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph.5:18).The fullness of the Holy Spirit is something we receive.
Now there is some thing one must do to be forgiven, which is the prerequisite Peter mentions in this verse. They asked, “What shall we do?” and although Peter does not tell them to be born again, nor how to be born again, he does tell them what their (and our) responsibility is toward meeting the requirement for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. He basically says that they must be saved. Only saved people can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Well, how does one get saved? Peter tells us. He simply says, “Repent and be baptized.” Those who repent and express that repentance in the obedience of baptism may receive the precious gift. Let’s look at these prerequisites, so we can have the experience of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1. Repent – This means to turn to God in such a way that you necessarily turn your back on sin. None can ever be saved apart from repentance. “Repent or perish,” Jesus said (Lk.13:3). And the whole Bible backs this up. We must repent to be forgiven and to be right with God. Repentance is pictured for us in the story of the Prodigal Son. He got up out of the hog pen, went back home and confessed his sin. Everybody must walk away from the hog pen of their rebellion and sin against God. What a privilege to be given the grace to turn from our sins to the living, gracious, merciful and loving God!
2. Be Baptized – This is water baptism; baptism by immersion in water as a believer and repenter. This pictures the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and our participation with Him in His gospel. By water baptism we are giving testimony that we too have died to our sins and have been raised to walk in newness of life.
Here’s where it gets controversial. Denominations teach that a person must be baptized in water in order to be forgiven (saved) and to have the Holy Spirit. They say that water baptism washes away your sins and gives you the Holy Spirit (baptismal regeneration).
I want to be very clear on this. The Bible does not teach such a thing. This erroneous teaching of water baptism washing away your sins and giving you the Holy Spirit flies in the face of “the just shall live by faith,” and “by grace are you saved through faith, not of works lest any man should boast,” and JOHN 3:16. It teaches a salvation by works.And it teaches that God has had different ways of saving people at different times (dispensations) in history. Neither of theseis true. This teaching only replaces Old Testament salvation by worksof circumcision and offering animal sacrifices (which in itself was false) and replaces it with the New Testament work of baptism. Nobody in the Old Testament was saved any other way than the way Abraham was saved and that was by faith. “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Rm.4:1-5) Nobody in the New Testament is saved except the same way; else why bring Abraham up in Romans as the proof-text of how a New Testament person was to be saved? Salvation is a gift – to us. Received by faith. It was obtained by works, but not our works! Jesus did all the work! To Him belongs all the glory.
“So how do we explain the words of Peter in Acts 2:38?” Easily. The “for the remission of sins” does not have baptism for its antecedent. It does not refer back to baptism but to repentance. “Repent” is the antecedent of “forthe remission of sins.” Repent for the forgiveness of sins. You might also translate this verse “be baptized because of the remission of sins.” Forgiveness coming with repentance is not only the teaching of this verse; it is the teaching of the entire Bible, cover to cover.
Acts is a continuation of Luke’s gospel. Peter had just heard Jesus give the Great Commission before He went to heaven in these words, “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations.” (Lk.24:47) Jesus didn’t mention baptism along with the remission of sins. He put repentance with forgiveness. And so did Peter. And so must we.
Some think you must be baptized in the name of Jesus(only) or your baptism isn’t valid. But particular words spoken by the mouth of man in a ceremony doesn’t make it valid or invalid. You could be baptized by a mute and it would still be valid. Jesus had just commissioned the apostles to baptize believers in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Mt.28:19). So what’s up with that? Is Peter contradicting Jesus? No. He would never do that. The name is simply expressing the authority under which you are doing a thing. If you are baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are baptizing in the name of Jesus. He’s the Son! Baptizing in the name of Jesus is just recognizing who the Son is. Personally, I baptize with the words, “Upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” What’s wrong with that?
IV. The Gift of the Holy Spirit has a PROMISE.
The promise is to all… as the Lord our God will call – to you and your children, even if they are afar off, geographically or chronologically. The promise is to all the many who are called by God. Peter cannot preach without giving the glory to God by expressing His sovereignty (See 1Cor.12:11). Who are these who are the called but those who have repented and been baptized?So, if you are saved, “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit shall be given to all those who have repented and are walking in obedience, as evidenced by their baptism. But you must receive this gift. Why don’t you do that right now? You’ve received the forgiveness but you’ve never received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do that now.
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