As a Christian do you have the Holy Spirit? Have you been baptised in the Holy Spirit? When do you receive the Holy Spirit? In our day there is a lot of confusion amongst Christians about the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. If you are interacting with other believers, especially those in pentecostal and charismatic churches, you will undoubtedly come across some of these questions.
Many such churches and denominations teach that not all believers have the Holy Spirit. They believe that the Holy Spirit is not something received by believers automatically at conversion. Instead they believe that the Holy Spirit is received at a later point in time upon earnest and fervent request by the believer. Whilst there are a variety of beliefs about how this actually happens the end result is the same: some believers have the Holy Spirit and have the power of God working in their lives and others do not. The implication of this belief is clear, there are two classes of Christians: the haves and the have-nots, the spiritual Christians and the carnal Christians, those who are sanctified by the Holy Spirit and those who are merely ordinary.
In his letter to the Corinthian church Paul was dealing with a similar kind of issue within that church. The Corinthians had come up with their own type of two class Christianity. They believed that at the pinnacle of spirituality was those who could speak in tongues and then below that there was everyone else. They had elevated this single gift as the sign that a person is truly spiritual. Paul’s rebuke and correction is clear. We are all part of the one body. The hand cannot say that it is better than the foot and go it alone. The eye cannot say that it doesn’t need the legs. The body is a whole and each part needs each other part. Those who speak in tongues and consider themselves ‘more spiritual’ cannot say that they are superior to or do not need those with other spiritual gifts. Paul makes his reasoning clear in verse 13: ”For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Paul is clear: there is no division or classes amongst Christians. There is no longer any separation between Gentiles and Jews, slaves or free people, spiritual Christians or ordinary Christians. Why? Because we have all been given the same Spirit and are now part of the same body. All Christians have received the same Holy Spirit and are now all part of the same body of Christ. They cannot be separated or ranked according to whether or not they have the Spirit, they are all part of one body and all have the same Spirit.
Paul’s words in Romans 8 are even clearer about the Holy Spirit being involved in the life of each and every believer. Notice especially verse 9: “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

Paul is describing the way that the Holy Spirit works to bring life to the believer and to transform them to be more like Christ. This work is so vital to the life of a Christian that Paul concludes that if a believer does not have the Holy Spirit he could not possibly be a Christian at all.
Rather than being confused by other teachings about the Holy Spirit be encouraged that as a believer the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you and is actively working in you. There are no classes of Christians. God is active in all those who believe in Christ.
Discussion Questions For Families and Groups
- What are some of the practical implications that would result from having a two-class Christianity in a church? How would this start to show?
- What are some of the subtle ways that we have our own two-class Christianity? What could we do to guard against this kind of thinking?
Prayer:
Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
- Praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit that He gives to each and every believer. Praise God that He is working through His spirit to bring you life and to transform you to be more like Christ. Pray that today He might grow you to be more and more like Him.
- Pray for the Youth as they gather tonight. Pray that as they study the Word together that they might grow in their knowledge and love for God. Pray that they might grow to be more like Christ. Pray that the leaders would be encouraged and that they might be wise in the way that they teach the youth.
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