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Does Acts 2:41 Teach The Personal Indwelling of the Holy Spirit?

Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles Tags: Bible Lessons on the Holy Spirit

Many are familiar with the argument that has been presented in favor of the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit from Acts 2:41. This verse states, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” It is pointed out that these three thousand souls received the word and then were baptized. Based upon this scripture the following argument is made. If the Holy Spirit dwells only through the word, and if these three thousand souls received the word prior to baptism, then by virtue of the word which these received, the Holy Spirit had to dwell in these individuals. But it is pointed out that the Holy Spirit cannot dwell in the unsaved. So it is concluded that either these individuals were saved before baptism or the Holy Spirit took up residence in a child of the devil. Those who make this argument deny that the Holy Spirit dwells in the child of the devil. They also deny that a person is baptized before he is saved. And so they deny that the Holy Spirit indwells only through the word since it is evident that those in Acts 2:41 received the word prior to baptism.

But is this last assumption really evident? Did those who received the word in Acts 2:41 do so prior to baptism? There is another possibility. These could have received the word at the same time as they were baptized. In other words, for one to fail to be baptized would be for one to fail to receive the word. This is, in fact, what Acts 2:41 teaches. It teaches that those who were baptized received the word at the same instant in which they were baptized. So that one could not be baptized without receiving the word and one could not receive the word without being baptized. This is consistent with New Testament teaching regarding what it means to receive the word. Let’s look at a few New Testament passages that exemplify this.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:6 we read, “And ye became followers (imitators) of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” When did these individuals become followers (imitators) of the Lord? It was when they received the word. Can someone be a follower (imitator) of the Lord without being baptized? Of course not (Galatians 3:26, 27). If someone could be a follower (imitator) of the Lord without being baptized, then that would imply that they are either saved before baptism or they are following (imitating) the Devil and following (imitating) the Lord at the same time but we know that neither of those are true. Yet Paul in this passage says that these had become followers (imitators) of the Lord by receiving the word. How did they receive the word? Just as those in Acts 2:41 did, by being baptized simultaneously with their reception of the word. How did they become followers (imitators) of the Lord? They did so by being buried in the likeness (imitation) of his death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5). In this regard, please also notice 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Paul writes, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” We have already seen that those in Thessalonica became followers (imitators) when they received the word. Here in this passage we see that when they received the word, that was the point at which the word started working effectually in their lives. That is to say, that at the point they became followers, the word began to work “effectually” in their lives.

Why is it dear reader that the word was working effectually in their life? Could it not be that the Holy Spirit was dwelling in them through the word? The scriptures teach that the point in time at which one completely receives the word is the same point in time at which one is baptized. This is also indicated by the Greek construction of the verbs in Acts 2:41. Without going into detail (that is done within another article referenced here) there is a special construction in the Greek language called the coincident participle. This participle must be in the past tense (aorist) and the main verb to which it is subordinate must be in the past tense (aorist) as well. The aorist tense indicates past time and completed action. This coincident participle is exactly the way that the Greek is constructed in Acts 2:41. This is also the Greek construction that we find in 1 Thessalonians 1:6. The coincident participle indicates that the action that is being discussed in the participle occurs
at the same time as the action being discussed in the main verb. So in Acts 2:41 the participle is translated “received his word” and the main verb is translated “were baptized.” That means that the action “received his word” was completed at the same time as the action “were baptized.” Having this in mind, let’s note one more passage.

In Ephesians 1:13 we have this same type of Greek construction–the coincident participle. We read, “In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” I have bold-faced and italicized the participles in this verse and I have bold-faced and underlined the main verb as the English words relate to the Greek. Notice the actions of the participles as related to the main verb itself. The Christians at Ephesus upon being sealed with the Holy Spirit were said 1) to have heard the word and 2) to have believed the word. Many say that the Holy Spirit sealed them AFTER they had done these things. That is, after having heard and believed, they were sealed with the Holy Spirit. That is one possible way to look at it. However, the correct way to look at it is to state that it was when the Ephesians heard and believed that they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That is to say that at the point at which they both heard and believed, they were sealed. This does not exclude baptism at all because the word “believed” in this passage includes the idea of being baptized just as it did for the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16:34. It was only after the jailer had been baptized that it could be said that he believed.

To further bolster the case, let us also noticed Acts 19:2.² This verse says, “and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given.” What was the very next question which Paul asked of them? Did Paul tell them to “receive Jesus into your heart,” as many modern day false teachers would say? No. Paul asked them about their baptism. Why did he do such? Because it was only upon their baptism that it could be said that they had believed. Thus, we conclude from Ephesians 1:13 that it was only after the Ephesians had been baptized that they could say that they had heard and believed.³

If it is even possibly the case that the action of receiving the word occurred (or was even completed) at the same time as the action of being baptized, then the argument based upon Acts 2:41 cannot stand. This is true because the argument assumes that the three thousand received the word prior to baptism.⁴ Yet it has been shown from the scriptures that one does not receive God’s word until one is baptized. Why is such the case? Because at any time prior to baptism, even up to the last second, one could possibly say “I don’t want to do it; I don’t want to be baptized” and in such a case a person would have failed to receive the word of God. This is exactly the same thing that is taught regarding faith in Hebrews 11. We read over and over again in that chapter that “by faith” those heroes of the faith accomplished the Lord’s will. Had they failed to accomplish the Lord’s will, then they would have failed to act by faith. Receiving God’s word means doing everything that one needs to do to become a child of God. Affirming that one can completely receive God’s word prior to baptism simply cannot be true. Hearing God’s word is not the same as receiving God’s word. God’s word must be completely received (implied by the aorist tense in Acts 2:41) in order for one to have the Holy Spirit dwell through the word and this occurs only at the point of baptism.

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