Again, it is important to note that the new believers had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They were now children of God. However, there was an element of the gift of salvation that they had not yet experienced. You might be thinking, Wait a second, John, I thought that the Spirit of Jesus Christ makes our hearts His home as soon as we receive the gift of salvation. Indeed, this is the case. First Corinthians 12:3 clearly states, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” We cannot confess the lordship of Jesus outside of the Holy Spirit’s influence, yet this is different from being filled with Him.

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)