Knowing You Have Received
A Sermon on Romans 8:15
Originally preached Dec. 9, 1960
Scripture
15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Sermon Description
Within certain streams of popular Bible teaching, the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit is significantly diminished. Some have emphasized the responsibility to “take” the Holy Spirit by faith. In other words, God wants to give the Spirit, one just needs to “lay hold of” Him. In this sermon on Romans 8:15 titled “Knowing You Have Received,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones finds this teaching unbiblical and troubling. In order to refute this defective teaching, he patiently works through all the New Testament references to the word “receive” and draws proper theological conclusions about the Holy Spirit and faith. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds that as the blessed third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is a sovereign Lord. One must never talk as if they control Him. Nor should they, he warns, think they can simply use “faith” to “lay hold of” or “take” the Spirit. As Paul teaches in Romans 8:15, the Christian merely “receives” the Spirit of adoption. This is the consensus of the Scriptural witness. Watch how Dr. Lloyd-Jones models the proper way to handle Christian doctrine and engage those who teach heterodox views. Moreover, listen to Dr. Lloyd-Jones teach the true nature of the Spirit’s sovereignty and how He comes to the believer.
Sermon Breakdown
- The exact meaning and connotation of the word "received" is important to understand in Romans 8:15.
- The word "received" can have an active or passive sense. In the active sense, it means to take or grasp something. In the passive sense, it means to gain, get or obtain something that is given.
- The context of Romans 8:15 indicates the passive sense is intended. It is inconceivable that "received the spirit of bondage" could have an active sense. By implication, "received the spirit of adoption" also has a passive sense.
- All other New Testament statements about receiving the Holy Spirit teach the passive sense.
- Luke 3:16, the foundational statement, emphasizes baptism by the Holy Spirit as something done to believers, not something believers do.
- Acts 1:8 teaches power comes after the Holy Spirit comes upon believers. Believers do not take the Holy Spirit.
- In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit fills believers and gives them utterance. They do not take the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 8:15-17 indicates the apostles prayed for and laid hands on believers so they would receive the Holy Spirit. This shows the Holy Spirit is given, not taken.
- Acts 10:44 shows the Holy Spirit fell on believers as they listened to Peter. They did not decide to take the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 10:47 shows believers received the Holy Spirit just as the apostles did at Pentecost. This was something done to them, not something they did.
- Acts 19:2 shows believers received the Holy Spirit when Paul laid hands on them, demonstrating the Holy Spirit is given, not taken.
- The laying on of hands suggests the importance of the giving of the gift, not the taking of the gift.
- The take it by faith teaching does not acknowledge the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit.
- Even justification is given by God, not taken by faith. Faith is the instrument, not the actor.
- True faith is never "bare" but accompanied by feeling and works. Mere intellectual assent is not saving faith.
- In Scripture, receiving the Holy Spirit is always accompanied by feeling and transformation that is evident to others. It is not taken by "bare" faith.
Sermon Q&A
What Does It Mean to "Receive the Spirit" According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones teach about the meaning of "receiving the Spirit" in Romans 8:15?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that "receiving the Spirit" in Romans 8:15 is passive, not active. He rejects the popular teaching that receiving the Spirit means we actively "take" the Spirit by faith like breathing in air. Instead, he argues that Scripture consistently presents receiving the Spirit as something that happens to believers - it is God's sovereign act of giving, not our act of taking. The believer is the passive recipient of God's gift, not the active taker of something available to anyone who decides to "breathe it in."
What evidence does Lloyd-Jones provide from Romans 8:15 itself that "receive" is passive?
Lloyd-Jones points to the parallel structure in Romans 8:15: "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption." He argues it's inconceivable that the first usage could have an active sense - nobody voluntarily "takes" a spirit of bondage and fear. Since the first instance of "receive" must be passive, the parallel structure of the verse indicates the second instance (receiving the spirit of adoption) must also be passive. The verse is contrasting what has been given to believers, not what they actively take.
How does Lloyd-Jones use other Scripture passages to support his view of receiving the Spirit?
Lloyd-Jones examines every New Testament instance of people receiving the Holy Spirit and shows that in each case: - The emphasis is on God's giving, not human taking - The Holy Spirit "falls upon," is "poured out," or "comes upon" people - Recipients are passive - In many cases, apostles pray for others to receive the Spirit or lay hands on them - There is visible evidence when people receive the Spirit
He cites examples from Acts 2 (Pentecost), Acts 8 (Samaria), Acts 10 (Cornelius), Acts 19 (Ephesus), Romans 5:5, Galatians 4:6, and 1 John 2:27.
Why does Lloyd-Jones consider the passive understanding of "receiving the Spirit" so important?
Lloyd-Jones considers this understanding crucial because:
- The active view fails to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit as a person of the Trinity
- It promotes a problematic "take it by faith" theology that treats faith as merely intellectual assent
- It contradicts the New Testament pattern where receiving the Spirit always produces noticeable effects
- It can lead people to claim they've received the Spirit when nothing has actually happened
- It fails to recognize that receiving the Spirit is God's gift, not something we can take at will
What does Lloyd-Jones say about the relationship between feelings and receiving the Spirit?
Lloyd-Jones strongly rejects the teaching that one can "receive the Spirit by faith" without any accompanying feelings or evidence. He points out that in every biblical instance of people receiving the Holy Spirit: - The recipients knew they had received the Spirit - Others around them could see the difference - There were visible manifestations of the Spirit's presence
He argues that true faith is never "bare" intellectual assent but always includes an element of feeling and experience. When someone genuinely receives the Spirit, both they and others will know it has happened - it's "the biggest thing you'll ever know."
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.