Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38, NKJV). According to John, Jesus, “…spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified”(John 7:39, NKJV).

The word “believe” in this verse means to put faith in—faith in who? Faith in Jesus! So even before the Holy Spirit was given, Jesus declared that faith in Him is required to receive the Holy Spirit. By faith in Him, Jesus means faith in his teachings, faith in who is, and of course, He is God manifested in flesh, faith in his death, burial, and resurrection, which is the gospel, and faith in just about everything that pertains to Him.

Faith is the beginning of all things. Hebrews 11:6 explains, But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Also, noteworthy, the Holy Spirit initially fell on those who believed in Jesus and followed his teachings such as the apostles and others who were present in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. After the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has not ceased its outpouring on those who believe in Jesus and have also repented of their sins.  

Now on the Day of Pentecost, Peter did not mention faith, when the people in response to his preaching asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38, NLT). Peter did not mention faith because there was no need to mention it. Why? The people who had heard his sermon were already exhibiting faith.

Case in point, they believed what Peter had preached so much so that they wanted to know what next steps they should take. In essence, they were asking, where do I go from here? What action do I need to take? How do I respond to this sermon? Faith in Jesus will inevitably produce a response in people. They will want to know what to do next.

As such, Peter proceeded to the next step instead of starting from faith, which is the beginning step. Peter was sensitive enough to realize that the question these people were asking reflected their conviction and faith in Jesus that came through the sermon he had just preached. Remember, faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17) Hearing what? The word of God; therefore, instead of telling the people to have faith in Jesus, (which they already had), Peter told them the next step which is to repent. He then followed up with another step, and so on.

So, there you have it! Peter did not bypass Jesus’ teaching that faith in Him (Jesus) is a requirement to receive the Holy Spirit, but rather, Peter simply started where the people were on their journey. They had already completed step one—faith in Jesus— based on their response to Peter’s sermon; they were ready for the next steps.

Do believe in Jesus? Have you repented of your sins? If your answers are yes, you can receive the Holy Spirit!