Chapter 2 - I've Got the Holy Spirit, But I Don't Speak in Tongues - Don't Bug Me!

 Chapter 2

In John chapter 3 verse 5, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again." Notice from these verses that Jesus calls being “born again,” being born of the spirit. When you become a Christian – which is the same as being born again – you are born of the spirit. At the point where you become a Christian the Holy Spirit enters into your heart – enters into your life, and give you New life and a new heart. The way that you become born again, or become a Christian, which we have already discussed from Romans chapter 10:9, 10, is to believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with your mouth that; Jesus is your Lord. Romans 10:10 says, that "confession is made unto salvation." The way in to being born again, is confessing Jesus as your Lord and believing it in your heart. At this point; at the point of conversion or becoming “saved” you are actually born of the spirit. So we become saved by believing in Jesus as Lord – or our personal Savior, and when we become saved, we are born of the spirit – so why then does Jesus tell his people who are both saved and born of the spirit, to “Wait in Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father?” SO, what is the promise of the father? For the answer to that question, we must go back to the book of Acts chapter 1 verse 8, “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." We can see from this verse, that the “promise of the Father” which Jesus refers to in verse four is the Holy Spirit coming upon them. But wait, I thought they had already received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them 40 says earlier? They did!

Is it possible to receive the Holy Spirit twice? Holy Spirit is a person, Jesus referred to him as "he" or “Him” on many occasions. The Holy Spirit is not sectioned into pieces so that you can receive them in parts, and at different times. However, Jesus does speak of a second experience of receiving the Holy Spirit. And, not only Jesus, but the apostle Paul  spoke about a second experience of receiving the Holy Spirit as well.

First, let's look at what happened in Jerusalem after Jesus told his disciples to wait there until they had received the “promise of the Father.” Acts chapter 2:1 – 4, "when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one that upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." The Bible says they were filled with the Holy Spirit; but isn't this a second time? Yes it is. So, Jesus himself commanded two separate experiences: when he gave them the Holy Spirit the day that they were born again or became Christians, and then again, when He commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for, and receive the Holy Spirit - after they have become Christians.

As I said before, the apostle Paul also teaches this same second experience of receiving the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 19; 1,2 read, "and it happened while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some of the disciples he said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So they said to him we have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." Notice that Paul assumed that they were believers already, but went on to ask them if they had received the Holy Spirit since that time. Paul was asking them, not if they are Christians – and Born of the Spirit - but if since they have become Christians, if they have had this second experience with the Holy Spirit.

Let's look one more place, let's go to the book of Acts chapter 8. This is the story of Philip; not Philip the apostle, but Philip the deacon, who went down the Samaria and preached Christ to the Samaritans. Notice verse 12, "but when they believed Phillip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized." They listen to Philip and believed his preaching about Jesus, and became Christians. This is evidenced by the fact that Philip baptized them. So from all we've learned so far, at that point (where they believed and were baptized) they were born of the spirit, for they had become Christians. If that was all that was needed, then that should have been the end of the story. But, it was not, for we read starting in verse 14 of the same chapter, "now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them who, when they had come down prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they receive the Holy Spirit." This is the fourth time now from scriptures, that we see a secondary experience of people receiving the Holy Spirit AFTER they were born again. So in summary when you are born again, when you become a Christian – you are born of the spirit – but both Jesus and the apostles taught and commanded a secondary experience which is titled by many today as, "the baptism in the Holy Spirit.”