A Word about Being Empowered by the Spirit

Today I want to share a word about being Empowered by the Spirit as I begin a short series in which I comment on what the Bible teaches about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are central to the ability of God’s people to love Him and be on mission with Him in the world. Without them we would lack the power to serve God, but before we get to the core issue of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, we need to address a couple of points.

First, the information I am bringing to this series is based on the Bible. I have studied the Bible as well as the writings of several learned commentators, and I am confident that I have good, reliable information to share with you, but I am in no way presenting myself as a learned professor. I am learning along with you!

Second, we need to begin every story at the beginning, and so we need to lay a solid foundation for our study of this subject. For this reason, I will begin our work in this area by reviewing the coming of the Holy Spirit and the role He plays in empowering our ministry.

The Revelation of the Holy Spirit:

The Bible reveals to us one God in Three Persons. God reveals Himself to us through His Word and His Word tells us that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Father God is prominent in the Old Testament. Jesus the Son is prominent in the Gospels. The Holy Spirit is prominent in the Book of Acts and the Epistles.

The wholeness of God is seen throughout the Bible, however.

The coming of the Spirit was foretold in the Old Testament; for example Numbers 11:24-29 says:

So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again. However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

1 Samuel 16:13-14 tells us:

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

In Isaiah 61:1 we read:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

Jeremiah 31:33 reveals to us God’s plan:

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Joel 2:28 also tells us:

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”

We see from these and other Old Testament verses that the Holy Spirit was at work during the time before Christ, but the Spirit did not fall on all of God’s people. Only selected leaders were filled with the Holy Spirit in Israel. 

We also see, however, that God’s clearly intended the Spirit to come upon all His people at the time and place of His choosing.

The coming of the Spirit was introduced in the Gospels:

In Mark Chapter 1, John preached to the crowds about Jesus saying, 

“After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

When Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit was seen descending on Him like a dove and after His baptism the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He was tempted by Satan.

In Luke 11 Jesus taught the Disciples about prayer and ended by saying in verse 13, 

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

During the Festival of Tabernacles in John 7 Jesus announced that the Holy Spirit would empower the ministry of His followers:

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The longest teaching from Jesus about the Holy Spirit is found in John 14, beginning in verse 16:

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 

He also said, “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Finally, Jesus’s final words in Acts 1:4-8 included instructions about waiting for the Holy Spirit:

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The Coming of the Holy Spirit:

The coming of the Holy Spirit is a major sub-theme in the Book of Acts. In fact some have called this book, the Acts of the Holy Spirit. In Acts we see that the Holy Spirit came down to all the major peoples of the world:

The Biblical world had three races: Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles. The Holy Spirit first was given to Jews in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit was given to Samaritans in Acts 8. The Holy Spirit was given to Gentiles in Acts 10. By Acts 10 all these major races had received the Holy Spirit. In each instance when the Holy Spirit came upon the representatives of one of the three major races, a sign was given: speaking in tongues.

In Acts 19, the disciples of John were evangelized by Paul. They had no knowledge of Jesus, and they had never given their lives to him. Once these disciples had been saved, they received the Holy Spirit and they spoke in tongues.

After the time that Holy Spirit came upon these four categories of people: Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles, and the disciples of John, speaking in tongues never accompanied a conversion experience in Acts or the rest of the New Testament. This is important to remember for our future discussions.

By the end of the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit had come into the church and the church was spreading across the known world.

The Work of the Holy Spirit:

So, what does the Holy Spirit do in our lives?

The Holy Spirit puts God’s love in our hearts (Romans 5:5) and he gives us hope through the Spirit (Romans  15:13).

The Holy Spirit bears its fruit in our lives: 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

The Holy Spirit is the seal and the evidence of our salvation. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, 

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

According to 1 Peter 1:2, the Holy Spirit also works to sanctify us so that we can be obedient to God. Without the Holy Spirit, we would be like the Children of Israel: we would know what is right, but not be able to do what is right. Paul refers to this in Romans Chapters 7 and 8.

The Holy Spirit also gives us the power to have joy in suffering (1Thessalonians 1:6) and He helps us guard the truth we have been given through being taught God’s Word (2 Timothy 1:13-14). And, of course, the Holy Spirit inspired the written Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and He gives us gifts for ministry (Hebrews 2:4).

1 John 5:6 says that the Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ and that the Holy Spirit is truth.

Conclusion and Summary: 

• God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has been active across the entirety of the history of God’s people.

• The coming of the Holy Spirit was foretold in the Old Testament, by John the Baptist, and Jesus Himself.

• During the time of the Book Acts, the Holy Spirit came upon all the major categories or races. The sign that was given when this happened was speaking in tongues.

• There is no record of individual people who received salvation from Christ speaking in tongues as a sign after all the major categories or races of people had been given the Holy Spirit. 

• The Holy Spirit empowers us to obey God and to minister in His name, and he also give us the power to grow and mature in Christ. The Holy Spirit bears His fruit in our lives and makes us fit for God’s Kingdom.

• The Holy Spirit gives us gifts for ministry.

The Holy Spirit gives us gifts for ministry. Such a simple sentence with such massive implications. We are truly empowered by God Himself, though His Spirit in our lives to partner with Him in ministry. How awesome and how awe inspiriting is that?

I will be back soon with a word about both the Gift and the Gifts of the Spirit.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt