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“lives with you and will be in you,” Jesus said (John 14:17). This was a prophecy of the indwelling of the
Spirit, another distinctive of the church age. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 marked the
fulfillment of Jesus’ words, too, as the Holy Spirit came upon all believers in a powerful, visible (and
audible) way according to Luke’s description (Acts 2:2–4). Immediately, the Spirit-filled believers went
into the streets of Jerusalem and preached Christ. Three thousand people were saved and baptized that
day; the church had begun (Acts 2:41). This outpouring was the inauguration of the New Covenant,
which had been ratified by Jesus’ blood (Luke 22:20). According to the terms of the New Covenant,
every believer is given the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). Ever since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has baptized every
believer into Christ at the moment of salvation (1 Cor. 2:13), as He comes to permanently indwell God’s
children.

In the book of Acts, there are three “outpourings” of the Holy Spirit, to three different people groups at
three different times. The first was to Jews and proselytes in Jerusalem (Acts 2). The second was to a
group of believing Samaritans (Acts 8). The third was to a group of believing Gentiles (Acts 10).
Significantly, Peter was present at all three outpourings, probably in fulfillment of Jesus’ words
in Matthew 16:17–19. Three times, God sent the Holy Spirit with demonstrable signs, as the Great
Commission was being fulfilled. The same Holy Spirit coming upon Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles in the
same manner in the presence of the same apostle kept the early church unified. There was not a
“Jewish” church, a “Samaritan” church, and a “Roman” church—there was one church, “one Lord, one
faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5).

The outpouring of the Spirit is different from the filling of the Spirit. The outpouring was a unique
coming of the Holy Spirit to earth; the filling happens whenever our lives are surrendered to God’s
control. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). In this regard, it is possible for the
believer either to be “filled with the Spirit” or to “quench” the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19). In either case, the
Holy Spirit remains with the believer (as opposed to the Old Testament era, when the Holy Spirit would
come and go). The filling of the Spirit comes as a direct result of submission to God’s will, and the
quenching is a direct result of rebelling against God’s will.

Some still look for an “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit on a specific group of people in a specific place or
time, but there is no biblical support for the repeat of such a Pentecost-style event. The church has
already begun; the apostles have already laid that foundation (Eph. 2:20). Sometimes we sing songs that
ask the Holy Spirit to “come”; the reality is that He has already come to us—at the moment of
salvation—and, once He comes, He doesn’t leave. The outpouring of the Spirit is a completed prophecy
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that ushered in the church age and the New Covenant in which all believers are given the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit’s Roles Today.

Receiving the Holy Spirit at Salvation
The apostle Paul clearly taught that we receive the Holy Spirit the moment we receive Jesus Christ as
our Savior (1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14). These three passages make it clear that the Holy Spirit
is received at the moment of salvation. Paul could not say that we all were baptized by one Spirit and all
given one Spirit to drink if not all of the Corinthian believers possessed the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the
possession of the Spirit is an identifying factor of the possession of salvation. Further, the Holy Spirit
could not be the “seal of salvation” (Eph. 1:13-14) if He is not received at the moment of salvation.
Many scriptures make it abundantly clear that our salvation is secured the moment we receive Christ as
Savior. So, we receive the Holy Spirit by simply receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior (John 3:5-
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16). When? The moment we believe.
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