Are Christians consciously aware of the first time they received the Holy Spirit?

[TruthSeek3r]

I don't know if there are statistics on this, or if the answer depends on the denomination, but are Christians usually consciously aware of the first time they received the Holy Spirit? Is the reception of the Holy Spirit for the first time an unmistakable, life-changing, self-evident experience/event that most Christians can easily remember, the date of which they can easily pinpoint on a calendar?

Relevant passage:

Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all. (Acts 19:1-6 NASB)

 

[sandman]

For some … yes

For others …not so much

In my opinion (and only my opinion) I think sometimes…. it has to do with the persons emotions.

When I am instructing people on getting born again… I have already taught them about speaking in tongues….and the other 8 manifestations of the spirit.
So when they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior Rom 10:9&10 I tell them to close their eyes (to avoid distractions) and tell them to speak in tongues. When they do that I have heard many describe different types of feelings.

 

[Carl Emerson]

It seems to me that the way believers describe their encounters are many and varied.

He seems to engage in a way most meaningful to the believer and this is often a personal experience rather than a typical one.

 

[Petros2015]

It is imparted as a sacrament within the Eastern Orthodox faith when joining, but to be honest, I find that I have to ask for it every morning

Within the weekly liturgy there a prayer, roughly paraphrased here

Heavenly King,
Paraclete,
Spirit of Truth,
Everywhere present
and filling all things,
Treasury of Blessings
and Giver of Life,
Come and dwell in us,
Cleanse us from all impurity,
And O Good One,
Save our souls

 

[Blade]

Its whats written not what some "denomination" thinks/says. Christ prayed to the Father aka asked.. the 120 received. Luke 11:13.. how much more will your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask. It seems some believe He gives it and you never had to ask. Yet they asked if you have received.

We say we believe the word of God aka John 3:16-17. Yet Luke 11:13.. na we don't touch that. Yet GOD said it

 

[JAL]

I don't know if there are statistics on this, or if the answer depends on the denomination, but are Christians usually consciously aware of the first time they received the Holy Spirit? Is the reception of the Holy Spirit for the first time an unmistakable, life-changing, self-evident experience/event that most Christians can easily remember, the date of which they can easily pinpoint on a calendar?

Relevant passage:

Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all. (Acts 19:1-6 NASB)

You cited a passage from Luke-Acts. Luke was a biblical historian. Paul was a theologian, not a historian.

Paul tells us about regeneration. For most Christians, the initial reception of the Spirit for regeneration/ sancification is not an overwhelmingly distinct ("loud") experience, unless the church is in a revival privy to massive outpourings. In my case, for example, it would be impossible for me to pinpoint the exact moment when the Spirit came into me for regeneration. In later months He did become for me a somewhat distinct/ loud experience (at least an identifiable encounter) as I sought the Lord in prayer.

As a historian, Luke's emphasis is not regeneration. As I mentioned to you on another thread, Luke's emphasis is on receiving the Spirit for inspired speech for witnessing/evanglism, also known as the Spirit of prophecy (see Joel's promise). While several biblical historians tended to say, "The Spirit fell on him and he prophesied", Luke tended to say it like this, "He was filled with the Spirit, and spoke to them".

The verse that you cited in Acts, like most such passages in Luke-Acts, is referring to the Spirit of prophecy (very abundant in those early revivals) which, as such, MUST be a distinctly conscious experience.

That's why, in most cases, people who receive the Spirit in Luke-Acts were already regenerated long before that point. Luke is dealing with the Spirit of prophetic utterance, which is NORMALLY subsequent to regeneration. I like the way Howard Ervin argued this point. Referring to the passage you cited (Acts 19:1-6), he argued that the QUESTION:

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2)


MUST be understood in terms of the SEQUEL:

6 And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.


Paul was satisfied, in other words, only when he saw them prophesying because that's what Luke-Acts is (mostly) dealing with.

 

[The Liturgist]

I was baptized as an infant and thus have had the Holy Spirit as long as I can remember.

 

[SkyWriting]

I was baptized as an infant and thus have had the Holy Spirit as long as I can remember.

Your parents believed that, so that's how you were raised. That's how infant Baptism works. It also includes other significant adults so that everyone is on the same page.

 

[Marumorose]

Yes, You are consciously aware but i want to explain to our fellow Christians that you can only receive the Holy Spirit AFTER you have been BAPTISED in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There spirits of God are many. Example spirit of courage, spirit of understanding, spirit of prophesy, spirit of wisdom etc. Christians confused these other spirits with the Holy Spirit. The Comforter can only come After Baptism( which is for the forgiveness of sins)

 

[RDKirk]

Yes, You are consciously aware but i want to explain to our fellow Christians that you can only receive the Holy Spirit AFTER you have been BAPTISED in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There spirits of God are many. Example spirit of courage, spirit of understanding, spirit of prophesy, spirit of wisdom etc. Christians confused these other spirits with the Holy Spirit. The Comforter can only come After Baptism( which is for the forgiveness of sins)

Cornelius received the Holy Spirit before baptism. The Holy Spirit is not constrained by the actions of third-party men...He can do what He wants.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I've always been a believer, there was never a time when I wasn't in my recollection. Since the Holy Spirit is received in Word and Sacrament--and He works through these Means of Grace--then I would say that for the majority of Christians receiving the Holy Spirit in regeneration was something that happened before they started developing full memories--in infancy and very early childhood. As the majority of Christians in history have been received into the Church through Holy Baptism as infants.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[SkyWriting]

Yes, You are consciously aware but i want to explain to our fellow Christians that you can only receive the Holy Spirit AFTER you have been BAPTISED in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There spirits of God are many. Example spirit of courage, spirit of understanding, spirit of prophesy, spirit of wisdom etc. Christians confused these other spirits with the Holy Spirit. The Comforter can only come After Baptism( which is for the forgiveness of sins)

So water baptism either
- is the forgiveness of sins, or it
- represents the forgiveness of sins.

But getting wet changes nothing in itself. Though water does represent change.
Like being physically born of water is a big change, at birth.

 

[The Liturgist]

Yes, You are consciously aware but i want to explain to our fellow Christians that you can only receive the Holy Spirit AFTER you have been BAPTISED in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There spirits of God are many. Example spirit of courage, spirit of understanding, spirit of prophesy, spirit of wisdom etc. Christians confused these other spirits with the Holy Spirit. The Comforter can only come After Baptism( which is for the forgiveness of sins)

Absolutely!

 

[wendykvw]

I don't know if there are statistics on this, or if the answer depends on the denomination, but are Christians usually consciously aware of the first time they received the Holy Spirit? Is the reception of the Holy Spirit for the first time an unmistakable, life-changing, self-evident experience/event that most Christians can easily remember, the date of which they can easily pinpoint on a calendar?

Relevant passage:

Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all. (Acts 19:1-6 NASB)

There are two events that take place. At conversion believers will be born again and will receive the Holy Spirt.

38 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

Believers are also called to be filled with the spirit. This is a supernatural event that takes place when a believer is called by God to serve others in an extraordinary capacity. The filling of the Holy Spirit.

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” (Acts 2:4 NRSV).