THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
A lady whose car stalled near Mangum, OK called a road service operator. When he got to her location he checked out the car and informed her that she had run out of gas. Her immediate question was, ¡§Will it hurt the car if I drive with the gas tank empty?¡¨ We laugh at that situation, but it was obvious that she had no idea how an automobile is powered and how an engine operates.
The same can be said about many Christians when it comes to the Holy Spirit. There are those who over-emphasize and others who under-emphasize the Holy Spirit, while others ignore the Holy Spirit altogether.
Some people have fixated on the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2. However, like much of the Bible, a broader look is required. Collectively we get a much clearer picture and understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit when we look at the bigger picture.
Before Pentecost, John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:11 NASB, ¡§As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.¡¨ This verse has caused some controversy, but again one must not isolate one verse. The next verse expands the thought that includes end-times judgment. For those who do not embrace God¡¦s gift of salvation, they will be swept up like chaff on the threshing floor and burned in fire.
In preparing his listeners for the church to come, Jesus said in John 16:13 NASB, ¡§But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.¡¨ Beginning in verse 7, the concept of the counselor is presented to conjure up a courtroom and a legal image. In a world versus Jesus setting ¡V the Holy Spirit is a believer¡¦s defense Counselor.
In preparing apostle¡¦s to become his ambassadors, Christ assured them in Luke 12:11-12, not to worry. He said, ¡§When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.¡¨ And their assurance is our assurance today.
There have been numerous times I have been called to meet with an individual on the spur of the moment and did not have a clue as to what to say ¡K but as things unfolded, thoughts and words appropriate to the situation came to me that could only be attributed to God¡¦s Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul stated that he spoke ¡§not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. ¡¨ For individual Christians as well as churches ¡V human wisdom often fails us. We need to always have deference for and seek God¡¦s Holy Spirit in our thoughts and direction. Human wisdom, in the absence of direction from God¡¦s Holy Spirit has resulted in many factions and splits within Christendom!
In 2 Peter 1:19-21 NASB the writer said, ¡§But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.¡¨ The Old Testament validated that God¡¦s Word is true and sure and that is why we must rely on God¡¦s inspired Word as the ultimate source of truth. God¡¦s Word, revealed to human beings is truly an expression of his great love for us.
God¡¦s love and mercy and his divine will are all made known to us through his Spirit. Paul said it this way, ¡§¡K no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¡¨
As we have already mentioned, Matthew, Mark and Luke mentioned that the baptism of Jesus would include God¡¦s Holy Spirit. And 1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV reads, ¡§For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body¡Xwhether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free¡Xand we were all given the one Spirit to drink.¡¨ The church is composed of many types of people from a variety of backgrounds with a multitude of gifts and abilities. It is easy for these differences to divide people, as was the case in Corinth.
Despite our differences, however, all believers have one thing in common¡Xfaith in Christ. Only in this essential truth the church finds unity. All believers are baptized by one Holy Spirit into one body of believers, the church.
In becoming a Christian we are immersed in both water and the Holy Spirit at baptism and by being filled with the Spirit we are empowered to live in the world. We don't lose our individual identities, but we have an overriding oneness in Christ.
When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence, and that person is born into God's family. As members of God's family, we may have different interests and gifts, but let us pursue a common goal ¡V oneness and deep unity in Christ .
In the early church, unity was in short supply. There were racial, economic, class and gender factions. Jew and Gentile were at immediate odds. This required a change in mindset for Peter. In Acts 10 we have the event of Cornelius, a Gentile and Peter, a Jew. After a divine change of heart, Peter said, ¡§I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.¡¨ And Peter¡¦s teaching in the household of Cornelius was the only time that God¡¦s Spirit was given anyone prior to their baptism. Such a miracle was necessary in order to demonstrate that God truly is no respecter of persons.
In the early church, God gave various miraculous powers referred to by Paul as gifts of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 we read, ¡§There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.¡¨
Although God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are mentioned in this section it should not be taken as a ¡¥Trinitarian¡¦ formula. The gifts of the Spirit were to be used by those individual Christians who possessed them for the general edification of the church and not individual self-glorification. The gifts were for the instruction of the church to be lived out in everyday life.
God¡¦s Holy Spirit at this point was used to confirm and supplement God¡¦s Word and point people to Christ. These gifts were to aid the revelation of God until the time the NT was completed .
The apostles were gifted with miraculous power through prayer and the Holy Spirit. In Acts 6:6 we find the apostles laying their hands on the first deacons which included Philip and Stephen. They were able to perform signs and wonders and in Acts 8:12 we find Philip preaching the gospel to the Samaritans and many believed and were baptized. It was necessary for Peter and John to come to Jerusalem to give the Samaritans the power of spiritual gifts because Philip did not have the power to perform miracles or bestow gifts. Only the apostles had the ability to confer the gifts of the Spirit to others.
In Titus 3:4-7 we see the power of the Spirit in conversion. It reads, ¡§But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.¡¨ The ¡§washing, rebirth, and renewal,¡¨ emphasis clearly falls on the Holy Spirit as the source of the new life God has made available to believers .
So, how does God¡¦s Spirit operate on the minds and hearts of people in order to bring them into Christ? Preaching was the designated format that the apostles used in converting the world to Christ . The Holy Spirit was sent to provide them the ability to do their work and to guide them into all truth.
God¡¦s Word and God¡¦s Holy Spirit work in tandem to convince and convict men and women of sin and God¡¦s gracious offer of salvation. When we read or hear God¡¦s Word, we have the words of the Spirit, who then urges us to obey what we read or hear. The Spirit and the Word work together harmoniously. There is no evidence that in conversion they ever worked apart .
The Spirit leads us not by subjective enlightenment of our minds, but by inward empowerment of our wills . God¡¦s Spirit does not override our wills or drive us into certain actions. But, rather, His leading is an inward prodding of the conscience, an influence upon the heart, an empowerment of the will to do what we already know to be right, based on the truth of God¡¦s Word.
God¡¦s Word or the Good News was authored through the power and presence of God¡¦s Spirit. Ephesians 6:17 NIV counsels, ¡§Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.¡¨ The Holy Spirit is both the source of God¡¦s Word, and the one who gives effectiveness to its cutting edge .
In Acts 7 we have the narrative of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. In it we find that God¡¦s Holy Spirit was woven intricately in his life and through his words, however many rejected him and his message and he was stoned to death. It is no different today. We have Spirit-filled and Spirit-led missionaries who teach around the world and yet at times their message is rejected with scorn by some and received with gladness by others. Those who reject have at times even killed the messengers. But no matter the outcome ¡V God¡¦s Word and God¡¦s Spirit have the power to convince and convert.
God¡¦s Word can open hearts and minds to the things of God but it is the Holy Spirit that moves one to conversion and a life consecrated to Christ. God¡¦s Word and God¡¦s Spirit has the power to change lives. In Romans 8:13-14, we read, ¡§For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.¡¨ And when we submit our lives in obedience to Christ, verse 16 says, ¡§The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God¡¦s children.¡¨
Both Jesus and Paul comment on our being united with Christ the moment we receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus says we are born of the Spirit and of water in John 3:5.
Paul says in Titus 3:5, ¡§he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.¡¨
Washing, rebirth and renewal are works of God¡¦s Holy Spirit as the source of the new life God has made available to believers . Receiving the Holy Spirit is the beginning of our spiritual lives. At our baptism we are new creatures with a new Spirit living within us. Romans 8:11 assures us, ¡§And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.¡¨ John Stott says that a Christian is a combination of ¡§a dying body and a living spirit. ¡¨ God¡¦s Spirit dwelling within us is assurance of future resurrection!
Paul told the Corinthians, ¡§For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body¡Xwhether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free¡Xand we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¡¨
The NT teaches that the Holy Spirit ¡§dwells in¡¨ the faithful Christian and therefore collectively in the church made up of Christians. God¡¦s Word and God¡¦s Spirit interact to challenge us in 2017 to practice daily the Great Commandment. Vance Havner wrote, ¡§We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God .¡¨
I think it is obvious that there is a disconnect between the church of today and the church of 2,000 years ago. When you read the New Testament, you see the Holy Spirit active and accepted by the New Way. There was power and passion in what they did every day of the week.
A Christian radio broadcast recently asked, ¡§Are you a Monday through Saturday atheist?¡¨ The point was that we may go to a building on Sunday, sit in a pew and read a church bulletin, sing a few songs, commemorate the Lord¡¦s death, hear a message from some guy who may or may not be polished, put a check or a few dollars in a collection plate, sing a closing song and go home after a prayer and never have any evidence of God¡¦s Spirit in our lives the rest of the week.
„« Do we feel the power and presence of God¡¦s Spirit in our lives today?
„« Does God¡¦s Spirit dwell in our minds, hearts, consciences, and the totality of our lives today?
„« Do other people see the fruits of God¡¦s Spirit in us ¡K in our marriages ¡K in our homes ¡K at work ¡K in our recreational pursuits?
„« Is God¡¦s Spirit strengthening our inner selves every day that we live?
„« Is He helping us in our weaknesses?
„« Is He there relaying our prayer concerns and struggles to God?
The same Holy Spirit that guided and mentored the early church is the same Holy Spirit we have today. Yes, the apostles had the supernatural and visible indwelling of the Holy Spirit fire descending above their heads and we do not have that visible presence today. However, it begs the question ¡V where is the evidence of the Spirit in the lives of Christians and churches today?
For most churches today, there exists neither super or natural ¡V everything is predictable and routine. In most cases we have not allowed God¡¦s Spirit to work in us or among us. Too often we are looking at ourselves rather than seeking and relying on the strength of God¡¦s Holy Spirit. What would the church look like today if we stopped taking control and truly allowed God¡¦s Spirit to lead? I believe that is what the world is longing to see.
In the last chapter in the Bible, there is this invitation, ¡§The Spirit and the Bride say, ¡§Come!¡§ Let the one who hears this say, ¡§Come! Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may have the water of life as a free gift.¡¨
This morning, do you enjoy the free gift of salvation offered through the sacrifice of Jesus?
Are you living in the power of God¡¦s Holy Spirit?
If you need to respond this morning, Jesus says, ¡§Come! Let whoever is thirsty come.¡¨ Won¡¦t you accept the invitation of the Spirit and of Christ as we stand and sing a song of encouragement?
Resources for this sermon:
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 NASB
Psalms 19:7; 93:5; 111:7; 119:28
1 Corinthians 2:11
Life Application Bible Commentary ¡V 1 & 2 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 13:9
The College Press N IV Commentary ¡V 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus
Mark 16:15-16
Black, Garth W, Empowered by the Grace of God, Mustang, OK, Tate Publishing, 2014, page 59
The College Press NIV Commentary ¡V Romans Volume 1
The College Press NIV Commentary ¡V Galatians and Ephesians
The College Press NIV Commentary ¡V 1, 2 Timothy & Titus
The College Press NIV Commentary ¡V Romans Volume 1
1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV
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