Articles
Do I Have the Holy Spirit?
There are many misconceptions out there about the Holy Spirit. People even question if they
have the Holy Spirit or not. There are several passages in the New Testament that tell us that the
Holy Spirit is received at the moment of salvation. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as
to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit
to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). 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.
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed
the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong
to Christ” (Romans 8:9). This verse seems to state the case even stronger, stating that if a person
does not have the Spirit, he does not belong to Christ. Therefore, the possession of the Spirit is
an identifying factor of the possession of salvation.
We see further that the Holy Spirit could not be the “seal of salvation” if He is not received
at the moment of salvation. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message
of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of
those who are God's possession —to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). Our bodies
are not our own. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
We are even told specifically when we receive the Holy Spirit. “Peter replied, ‘Repent and
be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And
you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Do you have the Holy Spirit? ~B
Tolbert
