The Spirit of God
Acts 1:8
Message #12
We are well into God’s Plan of Redemption in the New Testament. After looking at “Jesus the Messiah” two messages ago, last week, we jumped into the deep end with a very personal look at “The Great Commission.”
In the very last verses in Matthew (18-20), Jesus says,
1). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me
2). So GO MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit TEACHING them all I’ve commanded you
3). And I will be WITH YOU always
And I believe the Disciples were ready to go right then, but the last orders from our Lord don’t end there. We have to go to Acts Chapter 1 to see the final-final command before Jesus returned to Heaven.
Acts 1:4–5 (ESV)
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Jesus says, Go make Disciples of all the nations… but don’t go yet. Wait. Have you ever had God do that? Go – wait. If God calls you to go and then tells you to wait, why is it usually? Because you’re not ready!
God doesn’t call you because you are ready. He calls you because he is going to get you ready.
And that is exactly how it is with the entire Church and the Great Commission. Jesus says to his Church, My plan is for you to go make Disciples of all nations, and the Church says, “uh, we don’t think we’re ready.” And Jesus says – No kidding. Of course, you’re not ready. In fact, you are so not ready. I want you to just go into an Upper Room and pray until you receive my power because only my own life and my own power will enable you to take part in my Plan of Redemption. That is so cool!
Allow me to read the end of the Book of Luke. At the end of Luke, there is such a great order of events to get us to where we’re at today.
Luke 24:46–49 (NLT)
46 And he (Jesus) said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. (that’s the Old Testament)
47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations (Great Commission), beginning in Jerusalem: (and here’s the msg) ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’
48 You are witnesses of all these things. (that’s the Book of Acts)
49 “And now (like - in order to make this possible) I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
Jesus tells his followers (you and me) you have been commissioned to take the Good News to all people. But please, please – do not do it until you have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why would Jesus say, hey, do not lift a finger for me until you have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit? Because without the Holy Spirit, you cannot be a faithful representative of Jesus Christ. You cannot be his witness. You can have man-made religion. You can even be a high-ranking Pharisee… You can bully people up, push people around, beat them up with the Bible, and demand they do things. But you cannot be a faithful witness for Jesus Christ without the power of the Holy Spirit filling you.
The truth is, without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are doing far more harm to the Great Commission than we are doing good.
And so, back in Acts 1:6 – we might know this is the Ascension of Jesus, but the Disciples did not know that was what was about to happen here. They had originally thought Jesus was going to restore the Kingdom to Israel – while he was alive. And when Jesus was crucified, they (mostly) all flipped out because they thought their hopes were literally dead. And then, when Jesus rose from the dead, their hope skyrocketed again. Alright, they thought, now is the time; nothing can stop Jesus from establishing his Kingdom now.
Acts 1:6-7 (ESV)
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
Will Jesus restore the Kingdom of God? Yes! But not in the way the Disciples thought or in the time they thought. But here (in the next verse) is what you can know… here is the plan… here is how you fit into the plan!!
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Here is the plan. You will receive power from the Holy Spirit, and you will be my witnesses to the end of the earth. Do you remember when I said I didn’t see why God would use us to accomplish his Plan of Redemption? Well, it’s because he’s not counting on our strength or our ability. It is only his life and his power that is accomplishing his Plan of Redemption on the earth. “Ohhh! I see now. I guess God is pretty smart after all!”
Jesus is trying to get his Disciples to understand he is going to accomplish his Plan of Redemption – through them. It’s going to be his life. It’s going to be his power… living in us and working through us that is going to accomplish his Plan of Redemption for this fallen world.
And so, we must get to know the Holy Spirit because without him, honestly, we cannot truly do anything for God. Without the Holy Spirit, we’re actually “counter-productive.” We stand in the way of God’s great Plan of Redemption. Unfortunately, the Nation of Israel is our greatest proof that without the Holy Spirit, our natural tendency is to fall away from God, no matter how well-meaning we are. In our last message in the Old Testament, when God was promising the New Covenant to his people, Israel, the Holy Spirit was the central answer God had for man’s constant tendency to fall away. We’ve read it before.
Ezekiel 36:25–27 (ESV)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you (Salvation).
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
The Holy Spirit is not just a New Testament revelation. The Holy Spirit has been active in God’s plan since the creation of the world, and as God promises his people restoration in a New Covenant, it is the Holy Spirit who is the power source. God says, A NEW SPIRIT I will put within you I will put MY SPIRIT within you and CAUSE you to walk in my ways.
If the Holy Spirit is the central power source of the New Covenant, then we have got to get a good grasp on WHO the Holy Spirit IS and WHAT his ROLE IS. And so, we must know – first, the Holy Spirit IS GOD!
Just as the Father is a distinct Person – AND is God
Just as Jesus is a distinct Person – AND is God
The Holy Spirit is a distinct Person – AND is God
This is the mystery of the Trinity. There is only ONE GOD – in three distinct Persons – Father – Son – Holy Spirit. All equally God – yet all distinct Persons in distinct roles.
First, we need to grasp that the Holy Spirit IS GOD.
Second, the Holy Spirit is a PERSON – not a FORCE
Third – He is the primary member of the Godhead at work in our lives and in the world
When God moves us – when God speaks to us – when God works in our lives – It is primarily the work of the Person of the Holy Spirit.
We have a few dozen messages on the Holy Spirit (to help you), and you can get them on the phone app or wordbymail.com.
I’d recommend the three-message set, “Under His Influence.” (“Romans” Series.) “The Holy Spirit” in the “Strong Foundation” series. And the message, “Have You Received The Holy Spirit” “Acts” series. We also have a twelve-message series on the Holy Spirit. Please, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have got to have a good Biblical understanding of the Holy Spirit because we cannot truly even live the Christian life without him.
The Holy Spirit IS the life of God residing IN every Believer.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV)
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV)
16 . . . For we are the temple of the living God
The Holy Spirit is GOD dwelling IN you. In our seventh message in this series, “God’s Presence on Earth,” we introduced the Holy Spirit as God’s presence inside us. We looked at John 14, where Jesus told his Disciples,
John 14:18–19 (ESV)
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19 . . . Because I live, you also will live (referring to His life in us).
And just before that, the Foundation Holy Spirit verse,
John 14:16–17 (ESV)
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, (Allos Parakletos) to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Now, please listen. This is really important to understand. The Holy Spirit could not be “IN” the Disciples at this point because Jesus had not died for their sins. The Holy Spirit can not dwell “in” an unredeemed person. But when Jesus took your sins upon himself and gave you his righteousness (as 2 Corinthians 5:21 says). You become the TEMPLE (dwelling place) of GOD and “by name” – that is, God the Holy Spirit.
Now, it’s important we understand the Holy Spirit indwells every true Believer. Let’s read one of the most important (and difficult) texts on this.
Romans 8:9–11 (ESV)
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Holy Spirit dwelling in you) Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
(meaning – anyone who belongs to Christ HAS the Spirit)
10 But if Christ is in you (still referring to the Holy Spirit), although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness (The Spirit is your Life, because of the Righteousness of Christ).
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (Holy Spirit), he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Oh, man! That is good!
Now, it takes some time and some study to really get your head around all of that because it’s huge!
Notice:
The “Spirit of God” dwells in you (verse 9)
And the “Spirit of Christ” dwells in you (verse 9)
And then (verse 10) The Spirit is your life because of the righteousness of Christ.
Then, (verse 11), “The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead” will also give you life.
Four different references to the Holy Spirit all clearly state that he is the life of God in you, and since he is the life of God in you, it is so important you understand his role. You can’t even belong to Christ without him, and you certainly can’t be used by God at all without him. The Holy Spirit IS the life and power of God living IN you.
Now, what about that “baptized” in the Holy Spirit? What about that – have you “received” the Holy Spirit?
If the Holy Spirit dwells in every Believer, why all the fuss about
Being Filled with the Holy Spirit
Being Baptized in the Holy Spirit
Receiving the Holy Spirit
Let me give you the short answer. We’ve already read Jesus speaking in John 14, verse 17, where he told the Disciples, the Holy Spirit dwells with you and will be in you. (John14:17). The Holy Spirit dwells “with us” before we are born again. He dwells “in us” when we become born again. For the first Disciples, the Holy Spirit indwelt them in John 20:22 after the Resurrection when Jesus breathed on them. But then, in Acts in 1, verse 8, after the Holy Spirit was already dwelling IN the Disciples, Jesus said to the same Disciples,
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Let me say it again, put it all together in your mind.
Before you are born again – the Holy Spirit is with you
When you are born again – the Holy Spirit is in you
And you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you
The Holy Spirit is with us even when we don’t know it
The Holy Spirit is in us the moment we are born again
But we need the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon us if we are going to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. Before you were born again, the Holy Spirit was with you. Why? Because you were saved “outside of time.” When you receive Christ, he came in, you became the Temple of the Holy Spirit. But I’m telling you right now, all through Acts (and the power Epistles – primarily Galatians and Ephesians), we see that in order for you to receive power, the Holy Spirit must come upon you.
That’s why we’re commanded to walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:16. (Walk means to order your steps by his leading and power. That’s why we’re commanded to be filled with the Spirit – Ephesians 5:18. (It means to be continually being filled with the Spirit.)
And that’s why Paul asked the Ephesian believers in Acts 19,
Acts 19:2 (ESV)
2 . . . “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” . . .
What do you mean, did I receive the Holy Spirit when I believed? I thought everyone has the Spirit when they believe. But if you keep reading in Acts 19, you find out Paul is talking about the “upon” experience. (The receive power experience.) And here’s the really cool thing. The word receive used here in Acts 19, verse 2, means…
Strong’s Lexicon defines this word as to take to one’s self, to make one’s own… to associate with as a companion.
And when used of a Person, this word “receive” means to give that Person full access to your life.
Have you done that?
Have you given the Holy Spirit full access to your life?
Have you made him your own?
Do you associate with him as your daily companion?
Are you walking in his power?
Are you being continually filled with his power?
IF NOT, you can be, and you should be.
Francis Chan
The Spirit is absolutely essential for fulfilling the mission we have been given. Unless the Spirit gives us the power to faithfully follow Jesus, we will follow in the footsteps of disobedient Israel.
Which means, we will drift away from God and drift straight toward the world and sin.
So, here’s the best news of all. In Luke 11, Jesus tells a story (right after the Lord’s Prayer) about a very persistent friend who needs some bread (read it), and Jesus uses this story to encourage us to be persistent in our asking, seeking, knocking.
In essence, Jesus says,
KEEP on asking, and it will be given to you
Keep on seeking, and you will find
Keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you
And then to finish this teaching on persistent asking, seeking, knocking – Jesus says,
Luke 11:13 (ESV)
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
God wants us (requires us) to be continually, dependently seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Why? Because without that continual filling of the Holy Spirit, we are basically worthless in God’s plan.
The Holy Spirit IS the life of God in you and to be used by God in his great Plan of Redemption. We must be continually filled with his life and the life of God dwelling in us – IS God the Holy Spirit.
And so, what do we do with this information? First, we should be afraid! Afraid that we may be following Jesus in our own strength. That’s a terrible thing to do! And it generally creates either Pharisees or backsliders… don’t do it!
Instead…
Ask God to continually fill you with the Holy Spirit. Ask and keep asking. Seek the continual companionship of the Holy Spirit. Always seek to be walking with him. Knock and keep knocking for God to fill you with his Holy Spirit.
Let’s do that now.
In the very last verses in Matthew (18-20), Jesus says,
1). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me
2). So GO MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit TEACHING them all I’ve commanded you
3). And I will be WITH YOU always
And I believe the Disciples were ready to go right then, but the last orders from our Lord don’t end there. We have to go to Acts Chapter 1 to see the final-final command before Jesus returned to Heaven.
Acts 1:4–5 (ESV)
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Jesus says, Go make Disciples of all the nations… but don’t go yet. Wait. Have you ever had God do that? Go – wait. If God calls you to go and then tells you to wait, why is it usually? Because you’re not ready!
God doesn’t call you because you are ready. He calls you because he is going to get you ready.
And that is exactly how it is with the entire Church and the Great Commission. Jesus says to his Church, My plan is for you to go make Disciples of all nations, and the Church says, “uh, we don’t think we’re ready.” And Jesus says – No kidding. Of course, you’re not ready. In fact, you are so not ready. I want you to just go into an Upper Room and pray until you receive my power because only my own life and my own power will enable you to take part in my Plan of Redemption. That is so cool!
Allow me to read the end of the Book of Luke. At the end of Luke, there is such a great order of events to get us to where we’re at today.
Luke 24:46–49 (NLT)
46 And he (Jesus) said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. (that’s the Old Testament)
47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations (Great Commission), beginning in Jerusalem: (and here’s the msg) ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’
48 You are witnesses of all these things. (that’s the Book of Acts)
49 “And now (like - in order to make this possible) I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
Jesus tells his followers (you and me) you have been commissioned to take the Good News to all people. But please, please – do not do it until you have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why would Jesus say, hey, do not lift a finger for me until you have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit? Because without the Holy Spirit, you cannot be a faithful representative of Jesus Christ. You cannot be his witness. You can have man-made religion. You can even be a high-ranking Pharisee… You can bully people up, push people around, beat them up with the Bible, and demand they do things. But you cannot be a faithful witness for Jesus Christ without the power of the Holy Spirit filling you.
The truth is, without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are doing far more harm to the Great Commission than we are doing good.
And so, back in Acts 1:6 – we might know this is the Ascension of Jesus, but the Disciples did not know that was what was about to happen here. They had originally thought Jesus was going to restore the Kingdom to Israel – while he was alive. And when Jesus was crucified, they (mostly) all flipped out because they thought their hopes were literally dead. And then, when Jesus rose from the dead, their hope skyrocketed again. Alright, they thought, now is the time; nothing can stop Jesus from establishing his Kingdom now.
Acts 1:6-7 (ESV)
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
Will Jesus restore the Kingdom of God? Yes! But not in the way the Disciples thought or in the time they thought. But here (in the next verse) is what you can know… here is the plan… here is how you fit into the plan!!
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Here is the plan. You will receive power from the Holy Spirit, and you will be my witnesses to the end of the earth. Do you remember when I said I didn’t see why God would use us to accomplish his Plan of Redemption? Well, it’s because he’s not counting on our strength or our ability. It is only his life and his power that is accomplishing his Plan of Redemption on the earth. “Ohhh! I see now. I guess God is pretty smart after all!”
Jesus is trying to get his Disciples to understand he is going to accomplish his Plan of Redemption – through them. It’s going to be his life. It’s going to be his power… living in us and working through us that is going to accomplish his Plan of Redemption for this fallen world.
And so, we must get to know the Holy Spirit because without him, honestly, we cannot truly do anything for God. Without the Holy Spirit, we’re actually “counter-productive.” We stand in the way of God’s great Plan of Redemption. Unfortunately, the Nation of Israel is our greatest proof that without the Holy Spirit, our natural tendency is to fall away from God, no matter how well-meaning we are. In our last message in the Old Testament, when God was promising the New Covenant to his people, Israel, the Holy Spirit was the central answer God had for man’s constant tendency to fall away. We’ve read it before.
Ezekiel 36:25–27 (ESV)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you (Salvation).
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
The Holy Spirit is not just a New Testament revelation. The Holy Spirit has been active in God’s plan since the creation of the world, and as God promises his people restoration in a New Covenant, it is the Holy Spirit who is the power source. God says, A NEW SPIRIT I will put within you I will put MY SPIRIT within you and CAUSE you to walk in my ways.
If the Holy Spirit is the central power source of the New Covenant, then we have got to get a good grasp on WHO the Holy Spirit IS and WHAT his ROLE IS. And so, we must know – first, the Holy Spirit IS GOD!
Just as the Father is a distinct Person – AND is God
Just as Jesus is a distinct Person – AND is God
The Holy Spirit is a distinct Person – AND is God
This is the mystery of the Trinity. There is only ONE GOD – in three distinct Persons – Father – Son – Holy Spirit. All equally God – yet all distinct Persons in distinct roles.
First, we need to grasp that the Holy Spirit IS GOD.
Second, the Holy Spirit is a PERSON – not a FORCE
Third – He is the primary member of the Godhead at work in our lives and in the world
When God moves us – when God speaks to us – when God works in our lives – It is primarily the work of the Person of the Holy Spirit.
We have a few dozen messages on the Holy Spirit (to help you), and you can get them on the phone app or wordbymail.com.
I’d recommend the three-message set, “Under His Influence.” (“Romans” Series.) “The Holy Spirit” in the “Strong Foundation” series. And the message, “Have You Received The Holy Spirit” “Acts” series. We also have a twelve-message series on the Holy Spirit. Please, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have got to have a good Biblical understanding of the Holy Spirit because we cannot truly even live the Christian life without him.
The Holy Spirit IS the life of God residing IN every Believer.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV)
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV)
16 . . . For we are the temple of the living God
The Holy Spirit is GOD dwelling IN you. In our seventh message in this series, “God’s Presence on Earth,” we introduced the Holy Spirit as God’s presence inside us. We looked at John 14, where Jesus told his Disciples,
John 14:18–19 (ESV)
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19 . . . Because I live, you also will live (referring to His life in us).
And just before that, the Foundation Holy Spirit verse,
John 14:16–17 (ESV)
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, (Allos Parakletos) to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Now, please listen. This is really important to understand. The Holy Spirit could not be “IN” the Disciples at this point because Jesus had not died for their sins. The Holy Spirit can not dwell “in” an unredeemed person. But when Jesus took your sins upon himself and gave you his righteousness (as 2 Corinthians 5:21 says). You become the TEMPLE (dwelling place) of GOD and “by name” – that is, God the Holy Spirit.
Now, it’s important we understand the Holy Spirit indwells every true Believer. Let’s read one of the most important (and difficult) texts on this.
Romans 8:9–11 (ESV)
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Holy Spirit dwelling in you) Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
(meaning – anyone who belongs to Christ HAS the Spirit)
10 But if Christ is in you (still referring to the Holy Spirit), although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness (The Spirit is your Life, because of the Righteousness of Christ).
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (Holy Spirit), he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Oh, man! That is good!
Now, it takes some time and some study to really get your head around all of that because it’s huge!
Notice:
The “Spirit of God” dwells in you (verse 9)
And the “Spirit of Christ” dwells in you (verse 9)
And then (verse 10) The Spirit is your life because of the righteousness of Christ.
Then, (verse 11), “The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead” will also give you life.
Four different references to the Holy Spirit all clearly state that he is the life of God in you, and since he is the life of God in you, it is so important you understand his role. You can’t even belong to Christ without him, and you certainly can’t be used by God at all without him. The Holy Spirit IS the life and power of God living IN you.
Now, what about that “baptized” in the Holy Spirit? What about that – have you “received” the Holy Spirit?
If the Holy Spirit dwells in every Believer, why all the fuss about
Being Filled with the Holy Spirit
Being Baptized in the Holy Spirit
Receiving the Holy Spirit
Let me give you the short answer. We’ve already read Jesus speaking in John 14, verse 17, where he told the Disciples, the Holy Spirit dwells with you and will be in you. (John14:17). The Holy Spirit dwells “with us” before we are born again. He dwells “in us” when we become born again. For the first Disciples, the Holy Spirit indwelt them in John 20:22 after the Resurrection when Jesus breathed on them. But then, in Acts in 1, verse 8, after the Holy Spirit was already dwelling IN the Disciples, Jesus said to the same Disciples,
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Let me say it again, put it all together in your mind.
Before you are born again – the Holy Spirit is with you
When you are born again – the Holy Spirit is in you
And you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you
The Holy Spirit is with us even when we don’t know it
The Holy Spirit is in us the moment we are born again
But we need the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon us if we are going to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. Before you were born again, the Holy Spirit was with you. Why? Because you were saved “outside of time.” When you receive Christ, he came in, you became the Temple of the Holy Spirit. But I’m telling you right now, all through Acts (and the power Epistles – primarily Galatians and Ephesians), we see that in order for you to receive power, the Holy Spirit must come upon you.
That’s why we’re commanded to walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:16. (Walk means to order your steps by his leading and power. That’s why we’re commanded to be filled with the Spirit – Ephesians 5:18. (It means to be continually being filled with the Spirit.)
And that’s why Paul asked the Ephesian believers in Acts 19,
Acts 19:2 (ESV)
2 . . . “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” . . .
What do you mean, did I receive the Holy Spirit when I believed? I thought everyone has the Spirit when they believe. But if you keep reading in Acts 19, you find out Paul is talking about the “upon” experience. (The receive power experience.) And here’s the really cool thing. The word receive used here in Acts 19, verse 2, means…
Strong’s Lexicon defines this word as to take to one’s self, to make one’s own… to associate with as a companion.
And when used of a Person, this word “receive” means to give that Person full access to your life.
Have you done that?
Have you given the Holy Spirit full access to your life?
Have you made him your own?
Do you associate with him as your daily companion?
Are you walking in his power?
Are you being continually filled with his power?
IF NOT, you can be, and you should be.
Francis Chan
The Spirit is absolutely essential for fulfilling the mission we have been given. Unless the Spirit gives us the power to faithfully follow Jesus, we will follow in the footsteps of disobedient Israel.
Which means, we will drift away from God and drift straight toward the world and sin.
So, here’s the best news of all. In Luke 11, Jesus tells a story (right after the Lord’s Prayer) about a very persistent friend who needs some bread (read it), and Jesus uses this story to encourage us to be persistent in our asking, seeking, knocking.
In essence, Jesus says,
KEEP on asking, and it will be given to you
Keep on seeking, and you will find
Keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you
And then to finish this teaching on persistent asking, seeking, knocking – Jesus says,
Luke 11:13 (ESV)
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
God wants us (requires us) to be continually, dependently seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Why? Because without that continual filling of the Holy Spirit, we are basically worthless in God’s plan.
The Holy Spirit IS the life of God in you and to be used by God in his great Plan of Redemption. We must be continually filled with his life and the life of God dwelling in us – IS God the Holy Spirit.
And so, what do we do with this information? First, we should be afraid! Afraid that we may be following Jesus in our own strength. That’s a terrible thing to do! And it generally creates either Pharisees or backsliders… don’t do it!
Instead…
Ask God to continually fill you with the Holy Spirit. Ask and keep asking. Seek the continual companionship of the Holy Spirit. Always seek to be walking with him. Knock and keep knocking for God to fill you with his Holy Spirit.
Let’s do that now.