John Wesley on Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Through baptism, as the ordinary means
"An inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God."
THE POSITION
Baptism is the ordinary means of a real regeneration in which 'a principle of grace is infused,' so for an infant there is no conscious entry point at all — but the grace given is conditional on a life lived in keeping with it, not an unconditional guarantee. Held alongside a direct, felt witness of the Spirit as the ground of assurance, which is the closest anything in this map comes to requiring a discernible moment. Prior to any of this, prevenient grace means the Spirit is already at work in every living person: 'there is no man that is in a state of mere nature.'
5 He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
4 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Anglican priest and founder of the Methodist movement. His Standard Sermons and Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament are Methodism's own doctrinal standards. The map's first researched Arminian figure, set against an otherwise Reformed-heavy list — his signature move is prevenient grace: total depravity by nature, but no one actually left in that bare state, because grace merited for everyone reaches everyone first.
Cite this page
"John Wesley on Indwelling of the Holy Spirit", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/wesley/indwelling (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/wesley/indwelling).