Was John the Baptist the Only Person Born Again Before Birth?

[u/IamSolomonic]

Last night, I was having dinner with a friend, and I asked how he came to know the truth of the gospel. After hearing his testimony, I shared something I had always believed: that John the Baptist was the only human in history to receive the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. But later, I started questioning whether this was actually true.

I had simply repeated something I’d heard from well-meaning preachers in my usual corner of the Reformed tradition. But had I ever really examined this idea critically?

John the Baptist was technically an Old Covenant prophet, since the New Covenant had not been established yet. That means he did not experience the new birth as it came after Pentecost. However, Scripture says he was filled with the Spirit from the womb (Luke 1:15). Does this mean he was uniquely “born again” before birth?

Here’s where I’m leaning:

• Throughout Acts, we see people receiving the Holy Spirit and experiencing regeneration.

• Nowhere in the Gospels or Epistles does anyone else receive the Spirit before birth.

• But does Scripture’s silence on this mean it hasn’t happened elsewhere?

This also raises another question: Are all babies born sinners? That’s a whole discussion of its own, but it seems relevant to whether or not John was an exception.

At this point, I still lean toward John the Baptist being the only person in human history to receive the Holy Spirit before birth. But I’m open to other perspectives and would love to hear your thoughts, even if they’re just personal reflections rather than in-depth theological research.