Receiving the Holy Spirit

Qualifications for Receiving the Holy Spirit

Living Abundantly
According to God's Word Series

Read Time: 8 Minutes

It is essential to know who is qualified to receive the gift of holy spirit from God. There are many qualifications that man puts on God so we must return to His Word, His Will, in order to know what God says.

One of the qualifications that seems to be prevalent is a person's worth. Are you worthy of the holy spirit? Are you good enough to receive the gift of holy spirit, power from on high? Have you cleaned up your life enough to be worthy?

Ephesians 2
:4 But God,
        who is rich in mercy,
    for his great love wherewith he loved us,
:5     Even when we were dead in sins,
    hath quickened us together with Christ,
         (by grace ye are saved;)
:6 And hath raised us up together,
    and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
:7 That in the ages to come
    he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace
    in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith;
    and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
:9 Not of works,
        lest any man should boast.
:10 For we are his workmanship,
        created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
    which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

God, Who is rich in mercy made salvation a gift. A gift cannot be earned, gifts are not worked for, otherwise we could boast and the glory would go to man and not God. Because of His great love toward us He quickened us, made us alive in Christ, when we were dead. He saved us when we simply believed His Word. It is by the grace of God, the withholding of merited judgment, that allowed us to be saved. It is nothing we did to better ourselves. God knows who we are, and what we have done; yet He choose to save us through faith, through believing.

Romans 10
:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
    and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
    thou shalt be saved.
:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
    and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Confess the Word, "Jesus Christ is lord in my life, it is no longer all about me, I believe that God raised Him from the dead."

In order to receive anything from God we must know these three things: what is available, how to receive it, and what to do with it after we've got it.

What is available:

The comforter, holy spirit was given to man by God as a gift. It became available on the day of Pentecost and is still available through the Grace Administration.

How to receive it:

It is received by believing. A gift is never earned, simply believe, take God at His Word.

What to do with it after we've got it:

After we receive it we are saved unto good works, to do the work of God. It is now our joy and responsibility to manifest the power of God, speak in tongues and glorify God for His tremendous gift. God would have all men to be saved and come unto a knowledge of the truth so now it is our responsibility to know the truth of God's Word and pray for laborers and God will bring them. Minister to God's people, you are now a part of the family of God.

God has already given man many things, if man does not have it, it is a lack of believing on man's part. Holy spirit is immediately available and to be received and manifested to anyone that believes. It is not based on our merit, worthiness, or stature. It is a gift.

God's gift to man requires no sacrifice from man; Jesus Christ paid the price and bought your life, snatching it from the clutches of the adversary. In order to live abundantly God knew we would need to be redeemed and receive power and dominion to walk victoriously and be spiritually strong, so He gave holy spirit.

Acts 2
:38 Then Peter said unto them,
        Repent, and be baptized every one of you
            in the name of Jesus Christ
        for the remission of sins,
        and ye shall receive [lambano] the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Some believe that one must adhere to the 10 commandments and the old testament law. But God states that the law justifies no one. Righteousness was not imputed on anyone that kept the law. The law never saved anyone.

Romans 3
:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith,
    it saith to them who are under the law:
    that every mouth may be stopped,
    and all the world may become guilty before God.
:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight:
    for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
        being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
:22 Even the righteousness of God
        which is by faith of Jesus Christ
    unto all and upon all them that believe:
        for there is no difference:
:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood,
    to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
    through the forbearance [patient waiting] of God;
:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness:
    that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
:27 Where is boasting then?
    It is excluded.
    By what law?
        of works?
    Nay: but by the law of faith.
:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

The only thing man can do to receive God's gifts is to believe God has given them. Trust Him. We no longer must do the law, Jesus Christ fulfilled it, was the payment, and he and ushered in a new administration, the Grace Administration, whereby we are made righteous when we believe.

Proverbs 3
:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.

If you harbor the idea that you are not good enough to receive any gift from God you will not receive. There is no secret sin that can prevent you from receiving the holy spirit after you make Jesus Christ Lord in you life and believe that God has raised him from the dead. Man may give gifts because of merit, that is human nature; but God loves us to the extent that He made salvation available to us even when we rejected Him.

We no longer have to tarry or wait for the holy spirit. The Apostles had to wait until it was available. For us, it is available now. Those that Peter talked to on the day of Pentecost did not have to spend 10 days in prayer to receive; they were baptized in the holy spirit immediately.

God has given us holy spirit so that we may walk power-filled lives. When we first receive the holy spirit our character doesn't change, but we have been given the spiritual ability to become Christ-like. Now we have the ability to receive knowledge and wisdom, to exhibit the fruits of the spirit, to heal the sick, to minister God's Word to people. We now have dominion over the forces in this world! Many Christians lead powerless, downtrodden lives because they do not know what is available.