38 Then Peter said to them, “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. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38–39, NKJV)
The “gift of the Holy Spirit” is the promised redemption the Spirit gives to those who believe, repent, and are baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of sins. Many mistakenly believe the gift in verse 38 is the Spirit Himself. Yet, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the promise of redemption available to all (v. 39, 21; Gen. 22:18). It is synonymous with Peter’s parallel statement in Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Spiritual blessings (“times of refreshing”) come to the sinner who is converted by the gospel (believes, repents, and is baptized, Acts 2:37-38; Eph. 1:3). The “promise of the Spirit” is the “blessing of Abraham,” which is received “through faith” (through the gospel, Gal. 3:14, 15-25). Our responsibility as Christians is to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching because what they taught is from the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:10-13). God does not give us a personal indwelling of His Spirit (apart from the word of the gospel) to guide us. The word of truth He gave us through the apostles guides us (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
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