The Bible makes it clear that all who are in Christ are sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit (see 1 Peter 1:2; Ephesians 1:13). So there is no doubt that receiving the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is part of the salvation experience. When God sees you, He sees the Spirit of His Son. Remember, when you receive salvation, you are repositioned in Christ—you become part of His heritage and His kingdom. However, you are not filled with the Spirit’s power until you ask it of the Father. Jesus said:

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:13)

Jesus called God “your heavenly Father”; therefore, it is evident that He is speaking of believers. We know this because in John, Jesus refers to “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him” (John 14:17 ESV). The “world” represents those who exist outside of God’s kingdom. Clearly, anyone who has not submitted to Jesus’ lordship cannot receive the Holy Spirit. So this instruction to ask “your Father” for the Spirit is not a reference to salvation. It pertains instead to a later infilling that can only be received by those who are already saved.

Now, let’s return to Acts 8:

Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 8:17-19 NLT)

Peter and John laid their hands upon the believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. This infilling of the Spirit was clearly evident to the physical senses because the Bible says that “Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people.” Simon, who was a believer, was so amazed by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power in the believers that he offered to pay the apostles to teach him how to impart this power. (This response was inappropriate, and Peter was quick to rebuke Simon.)

Throughout Acts, the infilling of the Spirit was typically followed by an outward manifestation that could be seen and heard—most commonly in the form of tongues and prophecy. This is why the apostles would often say that the Holy Spirit would “come upon” believers. This account in Samaria is one of the few instances where the Bible does not specifically say that tongues and prophecy followed the infilling of the Spirit. However, we can deduce that such a demonstration did occur; otherwise Simon, a former sorcerer, would not have seen the evidence of the Spirit’s presence in the believers.

Day 3

Saul of Tarsus

The story of Saul’s conversion is one of the most notable passages in Scripture. I want to focus on what is perhaps a less prominent aspect of this amazing encounter. In Acts 9, we find Saul on his way to persecute the believers in Damascus: