{"id":46147,"date":"2022-04-10T15:00:29","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T20:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=46147"},"modified":"2022-04-10T15:00:29","modified_gmt":"2022-04-10T20:00:29","slug":"does-the-grammar-of-acts-238-mean-that-the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit-cant-be-salvation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-grammar-of-acts-238-mean-that-the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit-cant-be-salvation\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the grammar of Acts 2:38 mean that the gift of the Holy Spirit can&#8217;t be salvation?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>I believe the gift and promise of the Holy Spirit is salvation, but a brother in Christ has told me it cannot be, due to the Greek grammar of &#8220;shall receive&#8221; in verse 38 having &#8220;middle voice future tense&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>He believes salvation cannot be the gift since the gift is future tense middle voice, as in something that takes place in the future by cooperation after baptism as in Acts 8 or Acts 19. He insists that it is the miraculous. Does the grammar with &#8220;shall receive&#8221; in Acts 2:38 change the gift from being salvation?<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>The Greek word <em>lepsesthe<\/em> (you will receive) is grammatically a second-person, indicative, future, middle verb.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>indicative means that this is an assertion, which is why it is translated as\u00a0<em>will<\/em> receive.<\/li>\n<li>future means that we are talking about something that has not happened yet.<\/li>\n<li>middle means that the subject (you) has a vested interest in the action. The emphasis is on the subject instead of on the action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the time Peter spoke these words, his audience had not yet been baptized. Thus, what they will receive is in their future. Peter is emphasizing that they have a vested interest in receiving the gift. This gift comes in response to their action (repenting and being baptized). It is not just a gift given to them (that would require a passive voice). It is not something they are earning (that would require an active voice).<\/p>\n<p>Notice, whether you see the gift as salvation, the miracles granted by the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit Himself, the grammar alone doesn&#8217;t tell you what the gift is. Nor does it tell you when it will be received &#8212; other than sometime in the future.<\/p>\n<p>See:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/acts-2-and-3-and-the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit\/\">Acts 2 and 3 and the Gift of the Holy Spirit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit-2\/\">The Gift of the Holy Spirit<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: I believe the gift and promise of the Holy Spirit is salvation, but a brother in Christ has told me it cannot be, due to the Greek grammar of &#8220;shall receive&#8221; in verse 38 having &#8220;middle voice future tense&#8221;. He believes salvation cannot be the gift since the gift is future tense middle voice,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[144,1098,1574,47],"class_list":["post-46147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-acts","tag-grammar","tag-greek-language","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":87554,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-be-baptized-in-different-voices-in-acts-238-and-acts-2216\/","url_meta":{"origin":46147,"position":0},"title":"Why are &#8220;be baptized&#8221; in different voices in Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would love your thoughts on this. In Acts 2:38, \"be baptized\" is a third-person verb in the passive voice, unlike the second-person verbs of \"repent\" and \"hear\" (Acts 2:22). This confirms that baptism is less of a work for the sinner to perform and more a work for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94715,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/acts-2216\/","url_meta":{"origin":46147,"position":1},"title":"Acts 22:16","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Acts 22:16 Links Baptism and Calling Together with Washing The grammar of Acts 22:16 strongly links baptism and the washing away of sins as simultaneous actions, both carried out while calling on the name of the Lord. The Greek Structure of Acts 22:16 The verse reads:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29541,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":46147,"position":2},"title":"The Gift of the Holy Spirit (Bassford)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford If there is any verse in the Bible that is of particular significance to brethren, it is Acts 2:38. It says in so many words that the purpose of baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, a truth clearly taught in Scripture but rejected by much\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52981,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":46147,"position":3},"title":"The Gift of the Holy Spirit (Bassford 2)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford A couple of weeks ago, I found myself chatting with a friend online about a very familiar subject to me, the meaning of the phrase \"the gift of the Holy Spirit\" in Acts 2:38 and 10:45. I literally spent decades arguing the point with my father,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62427,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":46147,"position":4},"title":"What is the Gift of the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bill Boyd My preacher friends do not agree on the meaning of \"the gift of the Holy Spirit.\" This is frustrating because this expression is at the end of the oft-quoted Acts 2:38. The passage is clear that baptism is \"for the remission of sins,\" but what does the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7100,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":46147,"position":5},"title":"The Gift of the Holy Spirit (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 2:29-39 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our text - Acts 2:38-39 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When a person repents and is baptized, two things are promised: forgiveness of sin and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This promise is for all Christians - \u201cAs many as the Lord shall call.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46147\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}