We must be filled with the Holy Spirit, just like the disciples of Jesus were in the book of Acts.

What took place on the Day of Pentecost was not some one-off experience. But rather is the same experience that is available to all of us today. Jesus promised this to all of us!

To bring more clarity and assurance to all of us, that this experience that the disciples had on the Day of Pentecost was not just a one-off moment, but an experience to be had for all people.

Let’s take a look at Acts 10, where the Holy Spirit is poured out upon a man named Cornelius, a Gentile. At this moment, the Jews thought that this new covenant that God had made, and this experience that they had in Acts 2, was only for the Jews.

But God sent an angel to Cornelius, telling him to send for Peter, who was presently located in Joppa. And when this angel visited Peter, who was coming out of prayer, having just seen a vision from God that related closely to this task, Peter complied to go to  Cornelius’s house.

When Peter arrived at Cornelius’s home, he began preaching the gospel message, just like he did on the Day of Pentecost. And here is what the Bible says happened next…

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days” (Acts 10:44–48).

Notice a few key things.

Firstly, while Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on all of them who heard the word. This is indicative of the state of their openness and reception of the word that Peter was preaching. Essentially, the Holy Spirit fell on them as they believed.

Secondly, the Jews that were with Peter were astonished because Jesus had poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also. But, notice, how was it that they knew that the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon them? “For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God” (Acts 10:46).

That was the sign. It was how they knew.

And to double down on that truth, thirdly, Peter went ahead and began asking if anyone could forbid water to these Gentiles to be baptized, “who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

Well, how did they?

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).

From here, Peter commands those who have believed and received the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus said, and just like they did, to be baptized in the name of the Lord. That’s Jesus.

In Acts 19, Luke details an encounter that Paul has with a certain group of disciples. In this encounter, Paul asks them quite the question: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2).

Imagine that for a conversation starter.

“Hey, my name is Paul. Nice to meet you. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

But this is important for us to make note of, being that these disciples were indeed believers… but they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. In a follow-up question, Paul asks them, “Into what then were you baptized?”to which they replied that they had been baptized into John’s baptism, which was preceding the gospel and void of the name of Jesus that saves. So what does Paul do? He re-baptizes them in Jesus’ name. Why? Because they needed to be baptized like Jesus taught, and the rest of the disciples were modeling… “in the name of Jesus.”

We all need to be baptized in the name of Jesus, but we also all need to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

“But don’t I receive that when I confess and believe?”

While there are many who teach that today, the Bible does not teach it. Let’s reflect back on Paul’s first question to these disciples for just a moment.

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2)

If the answer to this question was an unequivocal “yes” that receiving the Spirit of God came at the moment of belief in Jesus and His gospel, if mere mental assent was the means of transmitting the divine Holy Spirit of our great and powerful God into our hearts, then why would Paul ask such a thing? Unless… we do not receive the Holy Spirit instantaneously by belief alone.

We see this same scenario in Acts 8:14–16:

“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” (Acts 8:14–15).

Samaria had received the word of God. They had believed. But they sent the apostles to them, that they might pray for them so that they would 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” (Acts 8:16).

They had believed. They had even been baptized. But they had not received the Holy Spirit.

The Bible provides no conclusive evidence that the mere act of mental assent is what draws the Holy Spirit into our innermost being. In fact, it provides more evidence that this is not the case. Belief is essential to receiving salvation by grace, through faith, but the act of mentally fixing ourselves on a truth is not what saves us in and of itself. We are not saved by the act of our belief in Jesus; we are saved by the Jesus that we believe in. We believe in Him, and in saving faith, by His grace alone, we obey Him as we respond to His gospel message. That is not works; that is saving faith.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is essential, and it is a promise for all of those who believe. But we can’t fill ourselves with the Holy Ghost. None of our actions, not even the most great and noble of them, can procure this holy moment in our lives. It is only by His grace alone that Jesus fills us with the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to work for this promise; all we have to do is simply receive it by faith.

Through the enabling of His grace, I can believe, repent, and even be baptized in His name, but I cannot fill myself with the Holy Spirit. Only He can do that. And He has promised us that He will.

I would encourage you to go read through the Book of Acts for yourself, as you begin to see all of the realities of Jesus’ experience that He has available for all of us who will believe.

And don’t forget what Jesus said in Mark 16:

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;” (Mark 16:16–17).

It is important for me to say this here, as to break through any confusion that you may have about this subject, and that my words are not misconstrued… tongues is not the Holy Spirit. Tongues is the evidence of the Holy Spirit. Tongues, simply, is the biblically normative initial evidence and sign that the Holy Spirit, which Jesus has indeed poured out upon you, is now living within you.

As He fills you with His Spirit, tongues will come as a sign, as Jesus said, “they will speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17). And while tongues may be the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit filling you, don’t forget that the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) is the evidence that the Holy Spirit remains at work in you.

There are far too many tongue talkers who have no fruit. This only proves that while they may have the Holy Spirit… the Holy Spirit does not have them.

Many people today teach that the proper response to the gospel of Jesus Christ is to accept Jesus into their hearts by praying what is commonly referred to as a “sinner’s prayer” or making a “decision for Jesus.” And while this act of praying to accept Jesus into one’s life should be celebrated as an act of faith and a response to the gospel of Jesus through repentance, this is not the method or means by which people in the Bible received salvation. Please know that by no means do I desire to demean or invalidate any experience that you may have had with Jesus up to this point in your life. But as we have already said chapters ago, we cannot, and must not, settle for an experience with God that is not completely validated by and modeled in Scripture.

We are not advocating here for tradition… we are advocating for fidelity to the Scriptures.

I pray that my comments here will be received by you, the reader, as ones that are only filled with passion, love, and fidelity to the Scriptures. As you have heard me say leading up to this, my desire is to see you and I have an experience with God that is biblical and matches the one that we observe in the Scriptures. If you have prayed a sinner’s prayer or made a decision for Jesus, I commend you. I commend each and every step of faith that you have taken toward Jesus. But I also must tell you that this is not all that is needed when responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ by faith.

The act of a sinner’s prayer is not one that is found in the Scriptures but rather is of new-ish origin. In early evangelical movements in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, preachers would often lead seekers of Jesus in prayers of repentance. This continued in the nineteenth century, gaining popularity into the twentieth century, where many churches, denominations, movements, and preachers began to adopt the method of a repeat-after-me prayer that would procure salvation. And while again, I do not seek to demean anyone who has done this in good faith, I must tell you that this is not what Jesus instructed us to do, nor is it what His disciples did in confirming Jesus’ words through their own preaching.

While some may say that once you have prayed a sinner’s prayer or made a decision for Jesus, you are saved. Jesus does not say that; His disciples do not say that; and we have no biblical account of such activity.

What am I trying to say?

Simply, if you have given your life to Jesus and have repented… amazing! But you are only standing in ankle-deep water and have not fully experienced all that Jesus and those who heard Him said and modeled about salvation. It is time to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and to receive the promise of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

The Bible is clear on the subject that we must be filled with the Holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of Christ:

“…if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8:9).

The Bible is also clear to show us that we do not receive the Holy Spirit when we make a decision to believe:

“For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:16).

Jesus is clear that baptism is a response of true belief, and just a few verses prior to this one, Luke records that these believers who had been baptized had “received the word” (Acts 8:14).

All of this to say: You and I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that does not happen when we merely make the decision to believe.

If you have at some previous time in your life accepted Christ into your heart by making a decision for Jesus or praying a “sinner’s prayer,” I want to celebrate with you the step of faith that you made toward God. Thank you for taking what you know and putting it to use! But as we have learned in the contents of this book, we must do things the way of the Scriptures, and there is always deeper for us to walk in God’s truth, no matter where we find ourselves in life. And sometimes that means allowing the truth to confront our present experience with God and lead us to a more aligned, deeper connection to the truths of God’s Word.

That isn’t condemnation or judgment, but a hope-filled opportunity to step deeper into the water, one of which we all should be joyful about.

We aren’t saved by our motives or our efforts; we are saved by following Jesus’ instructions. And we confirm what those instructions were by observing the actions of His church that He started in the first century in the Book of Acts.

This reminds me of a man named Apollos in Acts 18. Here is what Luke writes of Apollos:

“Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:24–26).

Notice, Luke portrays Apollos as “an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures.” Now, the “Scriptures” that Luke makes reference to is a reference made prior to the formation of what we know now as the composition of the Christian Bible, as many of the books within it were either being or still yet to even be written (aka, Luke’s account of Acts that we are reading right now). This reference of Scriptures was to the TaNaK, the Jewish composition of the Scriptures, what we know as the Old Testament, which would have been the received “Scriptures” of the era in which Apollos was living.

Luke is very complimentary of Apollos. I think that this is important for us to recognize. It is not Christlike to make a mockery of or demean anyone who is doing their best to follow Jesus with what they know. Apollos was learned in the way of the Lord (which is Jesus), was fervent in spirit, and also spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord. Luke made sure to point all of this out, but there were things that he was lacking, both in his experience and in his knowledge, which Luke also made sure to underscore.

Luke’s inclusion of these details helps us tremendously. Apollos was learned, fervent, and accurate with the Scriptures, having a significant lack in his knowledge, and a humble, hungry heart that responded positively to someone pointing out that while he had quite a bit, Apollos didn’t have it all.

If you are someone reading this book who has yet to have repented, been baptized in Jesus’ name or received the Holy Spirit like the disciples did in the Book of Acts, Luke’s comments reveal to you that you are an Apollos. And Apollos needs to be challenged and provoked to take another step deeper into the waters of truth with joy. My prayer is that this book can help serve you, like Aquila and Priscilla served Apollos, humbly, yet with the confidence of the Scriptures alone, explaining to you “the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26).

I pray that as you read this, you respond like Apollos. There is no record of Apollos getting mad. There is no account of Apollos rising up in offense saying, “Are you saying I am not saved?” There seem to be, at least according to scriptural record, no “you’re not the judge” comments or any other comments from a place of defense coming from Apollos. Instead, there is nothing. Nothing except the disciples receiving Apollos and the continuation of his ministry, indicating that he was humble, hungry, and receptive to the words Aquila and Priscilla had given him to more accurately lead him in the way of Jesus.

This should be the posture of all  our hearts. If someone shows us something in the Word of God that is true, even if it runs completely contrary to our experience and tradition, we ought to receive it with joy and gladness. We ought to say “yes,” because anything that leads me further into the river of God, any truth that aligns me further with Jesus and His kingdom, is something that is good for me—even essential.

Only those who possess pride are unable to depart from their traditions to fully receive all that God has for them. And the sad thing is, for those in this position, they truly have become their own God, and the limiter of what God can be, do, and even say in their lives.

May I make a brief plea to us all? Let’s not let that be our story. Let’s be like Apollos.

How do we truly accept Jesus? Just like Jesus said and His disciples confirmed.

Encounter His presence, hear His gospel, and respond to it, being born again of the water and the Spirit, which Jesus said is a “must” (John 3:8).