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Just prior to His ascension, Jesus told His men in Acts 1:8,
"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth." He directly attached the
coming of the Spirit to the empowering of believers. This gives us
reason to examine some important issues.
What Is Power? The word power used by Jesus in
Acts 1:8 is the Greek word dunamis. It is defined variously as
"strength, power, or ability." Specifically, it refers to
"inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its
nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth." This
spiritual power is not inherent to the believer, however. Notice very
carefully that it is inherent to the Person of the Holy Spirit who
resides within the believer. How does this power manifest itself in
our lives? I can see that there are at least three (though probably
more) clear ways the Holy Spirit expresses His power in the lives of
the redeemed.
Power For Life. How does the Spirit express
life in us? By causing our lives to be profoundly different from the
hopeless world that surrounds us. Notice Paul's words in Romans
15:13, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit."
The power of the Holy Spirit provides for us
the things that human effort and human religion and human
righteousness could never achieve. He is there to empower our living
with a glorious sense of joy, peace, and hope that can carry us
through the trials and hardships that are the inevitable by-products
of life in a fallen world.
In a world that is in mad pursuit of
happiness, we can have joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. In a
world that is crying out from the grief of constant conflict, we can
have true peace. In a world that is filled with empty despair and a
bleak future, we can have a bright hope. Why? Because the power of
the Holy Spirit can equip us for life in a way that the world cannot grasp.
His power can enable us to experience the things that the world
craves and cannot secure, but are ours by the Spirit. This is the
abundant life Jesus spoke of--a life that is full and rich and deep
and lasting. A life that is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The hymnwriter Thomas Chisholm expressed the joy of this when he
wrote:
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and
bright hope for tomorrow-- Blessings all mine, with ten thousand
beside! Great is Thy faithfulness! ©Renewal 1951, Hope Publishing Co.
Power For Outreach. This, of course, is
specifically what is in view in Acts 1:8. But the power of the Holy
Spirit in evangelism and missions is not limited to that text. Notice
two great statements by Paul on this subject:
My speech and my preaching were not with
persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power (1 Cor. 2:4). Our gospel did not come to you in word
only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much
assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your
sake (1 Th. 1:5).
In both of these texts, Paul was writing to
churches he had established. He made it clear, however, that it was
not by his wisdom or cleverness or ability to craft words. It was
only by the Holy Spirit that they had been brought to saving faith.
In a day of cleverly packaged, methodically
dominated, and man-centered evangelism, it is refreshing to be
reminded that only by the power of the Spirit can true evangelism be
accomplished and the mission of the church to reach the world with
the gospel be performed.
Power For Ministry In The Church. True
ministry within the body of Christ is not achieved by human
brilliance or skill but by the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit
gives special abilities (spiritual gifts) to believers "for the
equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12; 1 Cor. 14:26; 1 Th. 5:11).
What Are The "Greater Works" That
Jesus Promised In John 14:12? Notice the words of Christ, "Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do
he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I
go to My Father." The problem is that this verse has been used
to validate all kinds of activities today by calling them
"greater works." The question that must be carefully
examined is how should the word greater be defined? Greater in power?
Greater in scope? Greater in effectiveness? What are "greater
works"?
Is it reasonable to think that we will be
enabled to accomplish works of greater power or quality than Jesus
did? Think of the nature of His miracles--feeding the multitudes,
raising the dead, healing the incurable, controlling the forces of
nature by the power of His word. Now consider why He did these
things. John 20:30-31 gives us the motive behind the miracles.
Truly Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but
these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
The purpose of the wondrous things that Jesus
did was to reveal the uniqueness of His Person as the Son of God.
Certainly we do not seek to accomplish such a goal, for we do not
have the right to make such a claim.
No, we are not to do works greater in quality
or power, for He alone is Christ. What then are the "greater
works"? The best understanding of it, and one commonly held by
many respected Bible teachers, is that the phrase speaks not of the
quality of the works but of the scope of the works. Think about it.
"Such an expectation [greater works]
seems impossible in the light of His character and power; yet,
through the power of the Spirit whom Jesus sent after His ascension,
there were more converts after the initial sermon of Peter at
Pentecost than recorded for Jesus during His entire career. The
influence of the infant church covered the Roman world, whereas Jesus
during His lifetime never traveled outside the boundaries of
Palestine. Through the disciples He multiplied His ministry after His
departure. The book of Acts is a continuous record of deeds that
followed the precedent that Jesus had begun. As the living Lord He
continued in His church what He had Himself begun. He expected that
the church would become the instrument by which He could manifest
Himself to all people" (Merrill C. Tenney, Expositor's Bible
Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House, ©1981, Vol.9, pp.145-146).
We should be humbled by the glorious promise
that by the power of the Spirit we can be used of God to perform His
work on a broad scale--even to the ends of the earth.
What Are The Implications? Perhaps the verse
that captures the implications of these truths is 2 Corinthians 3:18,
"We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory
of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to
glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." It is by the work of
the Holy Spirit that spiritual transformation takes place. This
involves every area of our spiritual lives.
Spiritual Growth. It is the Spirit that
matures us into the image of Christ so that we can give glory to the
Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:1-5). We are called to be submissive to His
control in our lives. That is our responsibility. But the Holy Spirit
is the One who produces the image and likeness of Christ in us.
Spiritual Gifts. We are personally enabled by
the Spirit to perform various kinds of spiritual ministry (see 1 Cor.
12; Rom. 12; Eph 4:7-16; 1 Pet. 4:10-11). It is not by our own
seeking or determination (1 Cor. 12:11). Notice that spiritual gifts
are not given for personal edification or glory. These gifts are
given for ministry to the body of Christ, the church (1 Cor. 12:7).
They are not to be exercised in pride, but in spiritual humility
(Rom. 12:3). Spiritual gifts have not been given so that we all fall
in step with a common experience. Because of diversity in the body of
Christ (1 Cor. 12:4-6), its many unique and varied members can
contribute to the building up of the body (Rom.12:4-8). It is helpful
to be reminded that spiritual gifts are tools to be worked with, not
toys to be played with. They are the instruments by which we perform
our spiritual service, bearing fruit to the glory of the Father.
Spiritual Worship. It is by the Spirit that we
are able to give true worship to the living God (Jn. 4:24). This
worship, however, is always protected by the authority and guidelines
of the Word of God. This is stated directly in John 4 and reinforced
in the guidelines for gifts in worship in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.
Jesus called His disciples to glorify the
Father by bearing much fruit (Jn. 15:8). At the same time, the Lord
made it clear: "Without Me you can do nothing" (Jn. 15:5).
How can these two directives be resolved when He had just said that
He was going away? Jesus resolved them in the promise of the Holy
Spirit.
It is Jesus' desire that we glorify the
Father, so He gave to His followers the indwelling Holy Spirit to
make it possible. How tragic that so often we live life totally
oblivious to this wonderful Comforter in our lives! We often ignore
His enabling by which we give glory to God in our spiritual growth,
in our worship, and in our service to Him.
We live in a society that truly needs to see
the glory of God expressed in a spiritually mature and empowered
church. May we submit to the ministry of the One who has come to
magnify God in Christ and see His great work among the people of God.
Let's pray with Paul, "To Him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Eph. 3:21).
Curtis
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