Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser
At what point have I received the Holy Spirit. Is it when I first received Jesus or is there another time? I have been asked this question a few times and it’s a very relevant question. The Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. We are born again by the Spirit of God. Jesus speaks about this in John chapter 3 that we must be born of the Spirit. In fact, there were three times in John chapter 3 where Jesus said you have to be born of the Spirit.
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.”
So, if the Holy Spirit had not come, you could not be born again. When we make Jesus our Lord and receive salvation, we are born of the Holy Spirit. There couldn’t be being born again until the Holy Spirit came. Jesus said this a number of times. In John chapter 7, He says, 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
He is talking about what the Holy Spirit would produce in us when we believe in Him, and that will be like rivers of water flowing out of us. But it couldn’t happen until after the resurrection. So again, the Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. The Bible says in first Corinthians 12:12 that the Holy Spirit baptises us into the body of Christ. You couldn’t be a part of the body of Christ without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is involved in us being born again and putting us into the body of Christ.
Therefore, being born again, we receive the Spirit of God in the sense of being activated or reborn a new creation by the Spirit of God. That rebirth is to reproduce the nature of Christ in us. We then have the fruit of the Spirit because we have been born of the Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 8:9 that but you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. So, this is very clear that we must be born again by the Spirit. And if we are born again, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. The Spirit of God dwelling in us is reproducing His nature, character, and fruit in us. We find the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5.
But there’s another subsequent experience. It can be simultaneous but many times it’s after this born-again experience. We are then baptised in the Spirit. There are other phrases used. For example, we are baptised with the Spirit or in the Spirit, or we are endued with power from on high. There are many different types of descriptive words used. The power from on high comes upon us to reproduce the ministry of Jesus. The Spirit who is inside of us when we are born again is producing His nature, character and fruit. One of the reason the Spirit comes upon us is for the purpose of ministry and we find that in Luke 24:49.
It says; behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” See what Jesus is saying: Tarry until you are endued with power. We may well ask, why were the disciples asked to tarry? What was it that these men lacked? What could the Holy Spirit supply that they were missing? They were asked to tarry because they needed power. They wanted the kingdom to be advanced, but they lacked divine power.
" One of the reason the Spirit comes upon us is for the purpose of ministry. "
Christ has risen from the dead. This is the greatest news that the world has to know. The resurrection of Jesus is the most powerful thing the world must know. What a great example of the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead. Jesus had passion for the world. He wanted the unsaved to be saved else He wouldn’t have come from heaven to die for the world. He wanted the disciples to go and tell the world this important story.
“The sheep are scattered. I want you to go; it is important, but before you go to preach, tarry to be endued with power. Before you go to talk about the risen Christ, tarry until you are baptised with the Holy Spirit. Before you go to win others, tarry until you receive power from on high.” The disciples had a tremendous task to accomplish. They had a message for the world. There were only a handful of Christians to give this great message. The harvest is great, but the labourers are few.
They saw the risen Jesus and yet Jesus said don’t tell anybody. Don’t let anybody know about this until you receive power from on high. Imagine you saw Jesus raised from the dead after three days, and you had this news to tell everyone, but He said don’t tell anybody. Don’t go anywhere, don’t do anything until you receive power from on high. That experience of the power many times is subsequent to the initial rebirth. And so, depending on how you’ve been taught or who’s been teaching you, you have to understand that you can have both of those experiences simultaneously or the second one could follow based upon your understand, knowledge and believe.
They had a great message to deliver, but He said don’t go anywhere until you are endued with power. We must be careful, however, not to misinterpret this scripture. Some ministers have used Luke 24:49 to teach that people must “tarry” in order to receive the Holy Spirit. As a result, many people have become passive in seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and they wait for years in some cases, for God to give them the Spirit. But this shouldn’t be the case today. Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 11:13, “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?”
These disciples had to wait because the Holy Spirit wasn’t given until the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). That is not the case with us. The Holy Spirit has now been given and is immediately available to all believers (John 14:17) who ask in faith (James 1:6-7). We have the Spirit inside of us reproducing His nature when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and this is the same as being baptised with the Holy Spirit. We have the Spirit upon us reproducing His ministry. We receive miracle working power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. In Acts chapter 1 verse 8, Jesus told his disciples the last thing right before he went into heaven. He said; But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
That word, power, is Dunamis; where we get our word dynamite or dynamo from. You will receive miracle working power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you can contrast the disciple’s behaviour before and after they received the Holy Spirit. Before they received the Holy Spirit, they were fearful men. They ran away when Jesus was arrested. They denied the Lord, and not only Peter but all of them. But after they received the Holy Spirit, they were bold. The Bible says that when they stood before the Sanhedrin, they took note of them that they had been with Jesus, and that was because of the Holy Spirit. I tell you; we need some boldness today with all the ‘political correctness’ stuff and the spirit of antichrist going around. People are just timid and shy. Thank God the Holy Spirit will give you supernatural power.
