When is the Holy Spirit received? And if the Holy Spirit lives in all believers, why does the Bible teach that we also need to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit? Do we need to receive the Holy Spirit more than once?
Well, it’s true that believers receive the Holy Spirit once they are born again. All believers belong to God, and all who belong to God have the Holy Spirit.
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) (Romans 8:9, NLT)
Because salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit, it should be clear to us that the Holy Spirit is present in our lives at the very moment of salvation.
Why then are we told in Scripture about the baptism with the Holy Spirit? Why would the believer need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit if the believer already has the Holy Spirit? To answer this question, we must understand that man’s being has three aspects:
Body, soul, and Spirit.
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. (1 Thessalonians 5:23, NLT)
Your body is your earth suit, the means by which you interact with this world. Your soul is the realm of decision - mind, will, emotions, personality. Mind - what you think. Will - what you desire. Emotions - what you feel. Personality - how you behave. Your spirit is the part of your being that is already in perfect union with God. Your Spirit desires as God desires, because your spirit is joined with the Holy Spirit.
But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. (1 Corinthians 6:17, NLT)
All spiritual growth, then, is not a matter of obtaining more from God but of manifesting what is in your spirit to your soul and body. In your spirit, you are complete. In your spirit, you know God. In your spirit, you are one with the Lord. The Holy Spirit lives as one with your spirit. The spirit is perfect. The soul and body are being perfected.
Now, to be baptized with the Holy Spirit is to be immersed in and overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. Think of a ship. A ship stays afloat because though it is in water, the water is not in it. It’s not until the water floods the inside of the boat that it sinks and becomes baptized.
When you were saved, you received the Spirit. When you become baptized with the Holy Spirit, you release the Holy Spirit. He flows from within your spirit and floods the soul and body. He rises from the inner man (the spirit) and floods the outer man (soul and body).
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38, NASB)
The baptism with the Holy Spirit is not a matter of you getting more of the Holy Spirit; it’s a matter of the Holy Spirit getting more of you. The baptism with the Holy Spirit isn’t rain from Heaven; it’s a flood from within. The spiritual waters in which you are baptized don’t come from the outside in, but from the inside out.
The waters of the Holy Spirit overflow from your innermost being (your spirit) and flood the soul and body. The Spirit within you transforms, emboldens, and empowers the outer man (soul and body). The greater the surrender, the greater the flow. He’s received at salvation, released from within at baptism.