This is a much debated topic. Non-Pentecostals generally think you receive the Holy Spirit instantly upon receiving Jesus.

There is also the thought amongst "most" Pentecostals that there is a difference between having the Holy Spirit and being
"baptized" in the Holy Spirit. This "power" you are speaking of comes from being "baptized" in the Holy Spirit.

In the Bible, no one was "baptized" in the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.
The 120 people in the upper room were all Christians for some time before the "first" day of Pentecost.
For example the disciples were there, who had been following Jesus for 3 years, but they had never been baptized
in the Holy Spirit until Acts 2.

Saul who became Paul received Jesus on the road to Damascus, but he wasn't baptized with the Holy Spirit until
at least 3 days later (possibly more) when he reached Ananias's house. ( Acts 9:17; )

Cornelius the centurion had been a devout and God fearing man for some time. ( Acts 10:1-2; )
but he did receive the Holy Spirit until he met Peter ( Acts 10:44; ) This is the first instance in the Bible
of Gentiles (non-Jews) receiving the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 19:1-7; ) Paul meets some disciples who had been believers for some time. They had already been
baptized in water. But they didn't get baptized in the Holy Spirit (they didn't even know there was a Holy Spirit)
until Paul lays his hands upon them. ( Acts 19:6; )

Luke 11:13; says that we have to "ask" God for the Holy Spirit... it doesn't come automatically.
Acts 5:32; says God gives the Holy Spirit to those who "obey" Him. ..which begs the question, "what about those
who do not obey him?"

I'm sure you will get many different points of view on this. Pray for wisdom.

One other point I forgot to mention. Is that they "day of Pentecost" was not a one time event. It was simply the first time
this had happened. We see in Acts 20:16; and 1 Cor 16:8; that "Pentecost" was still celebrated even years after the upper
room event in Acts 2. (Some Pentecostal churches still celebrate "Pentecost") which is simply the 50th (Pente means "five")
day after the beginning of Passover.

Many Pentecostal churches believe that being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not a one time event.
They take verses like Titus 3:5; to mean that we need to be washed and "re"-generated and "re"-newing of the Holy Spirit
as often as possible.

There's a simple answer to the question: you receive the Holy Spirit when you receive Jesus. See Romans 8:


If you don't have the Spirit of God, you don't belong to him.

But it sounds as if the opening post is going after a more searching question: why don't I live in the mountain-moving power that I read about in the New Testament.

Hekuran said:

There's a simple answer to the question: you receive the Holy Spirit when you receive Jesus. See Romans 8:

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.​

If you don't have the Spirit of God, you don't belong to him.

But it sounds as if the opening post is going after a more searching question: why don't I live in the mountain-moving power that I read about in the New Testament.

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Well. This that you explained @Hekuran is what i understood or believed.

Because it gets really confusing sometimes. What i do not want to do is end up just getting someones opinion instead of what the bible it self says.

Well Question is: What about this whole thing of Holy Spirit that now starts to come up? AS @B-A-C starts to point out. What is that all about really?

Because according @B-A-C explanation up there,Does that mean when we come to Christ we only have Holy Spirit but NOT baptised in it yet?

Jesus commanded to go into the Word and Baptise in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. how then does this work?

What about John 15 where Jesus talkes about the Indweling Holy Spirit? To which believers does this apply if we are to separate and classify according to this so called "baptism of HS"?

I personally do not believe in a baptism of the Holy Spirit that is separate from conversion, so I'm not the best person to give a fair explanation of it. The Pentecostal doctrine is that every believer has the Spirit dwelling in him/her from the moment of conversion, but there is a second Baptism of the Spirit that enables the gifts of the spirit, such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing.

I do believe that the gifts of the Spirit are active today. But I find that the Pentecostal doctrine does not make the best sense of scripture and is unnecessarily complicated.

It is interesting you mention the great commission.

Mark 16:15; And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Mark 16:16; He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Mark 16:17; These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
Mark 16:18; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

If someone is not experiencing these things (at least some of them) maybe their faith needs to be checked.

Acts 1:8; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

The fruits of the spirit are evidence of the Spirit within you. ( Gal 5:18-24; )

The gifts of the Spirit are the "power" Jesus is speaking of in Acts 1:8; and Mark 16:17-18; (also Matt 17:20)
The gifts of the Spirit are listed in 1 Cor 12:8-10;

(admittedly there are some differences between the great commission in Matt 28 and the
great commission in Mark 16. )

While I am non denominational now, I was Pentecostal with Assemblies of God for 9 years; so to an extent I might have a somewhat balanced view of these things. (That's not to say I've any idea of what to speak, but I will endeavor nonetheless.) If you note; almost every example specifically recorded in the NT era; especially acts, the Holy Spirit was immediately self-evident upon receipt of Christ. In Acts 10:44-48 when Peter is witnessing to the household of Cornelius; the Holy Spirit came upon the hearers before Peter even finished the message, much less awaiting them to verbally confess Christ as Lord. When we invite Christ into our hearts, the very Spirit of God becomes instantly indwelling, presuming the invitation is sincere and penitent. One cannot have Christ without inherently also "having the Spirit," (see: hekuran quote:

Hekuran said:

There's a simple answer to the question: you receive the Holy Spirit when you receive Jesus. See Romans 8:But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

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However, I think what we stumble over is the feeling or confirmation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Just because He is indwelling from the start does not mean we have the spiritual sensitivity to discern its presence and power...LOL. Even then that doesn't mean He will move and reveal Himself before he wishes to in the manner He wishes to be revealed. We are told in 1 Cor. 2:10-16 that the "unspiritual mind cannot comprehend things of the Spirit because it takes one born of the Spirit to recognize that of the Spirit. Even one born of the Spirit is yet an "infant," in Christ and has yet to "train," the senses to discern that of the Spirit. To build off this idea, look at Hebrews 5:13&14; we find that it takes training, practice, and maturing of spiritual sensitivity in order to evolve a proper spiritual discernment concerning such items.

We also do well to review 1 Cor. chapters 12-14 to see how the Spirit moves and works in relation to the gifts of the Spirit. The applicable concept here is that the Holy Spirit works as He sees fit, in the manner He sees fit, according to His will. No one man can give you any one way the Spirit will move because these are things dictated by a limitless and infinite Spirit..LOL. To some He may be immediately apparent and manifesting in miraculous gifts...to another he may simply bide His time in "the inner," temple of our hearts awaiting the time to be revealed. We simply cannot dictate the terms here. Some may be granted a greater gift of spiritual discernment and sensitivity; meaning their experience will be quite different to one given just the "common," measure of such rather than a divinely portioned amount that reflects a gifting. ( I say common in relative terms, for lack of better contrasting element.)

On a side note, I would like to assert that there is a difference between true movement and action of the Spirit; and deceptive theater. It is like this basically: If it is man that is initiating a movement of the Spirit, than it is not a movement of the Spirit but the movement of man. Far too long have some wantonly gone about presenting the idea that man somehow has any say over the direction of the Holy Spirit. The only true movement of the Holy Spirit must originate with the Holy Spirit or it is no more than a good show.