The Promise, Power and Purpose of God’s Holy Spirit [1]

 

And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the 

city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. 

(Luke 24:49)

Jesus made an important promise to His followers regarding spiritual power.

The power of the Gospel and the power of God’s Holy Spirit are two key principles in understanding the Biblical concept of power. Experiencing both is necessary to receive spiritual power. It’s a vital spiritual experience that we must have. It’s the power of God’s Holy Spirit promised by Jesus.

He told His followers before His death that after He ascended, He would. . .

. . . pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:16-17)

God’s Holy Spirit would "endue" or literally "clothe" the disciples in spiritual power:

And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)

When we see the word ‘endued’  think about being invested in or immersed in something.  We’re to be engrossed; fully under the power and influence of God’s spirit.  We’re to be baptized in His spirit.  That’s bible.  There’re seven passages in the bible where the word "baptize" is used in relation to God’s Spirit. Four of these passages are the words of John the Baptist:

 

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. (Matthew 3:11)

I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. (Mark 1:8)

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. (Luke 3:16)

 

And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. (John 1:33)

Jesus gave validity to John the Baptist’s words, He said:  

 

For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:5)

When Peter spoke of events which took place in the home of Cornelius he quoted the words of Jesus:

Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 11:16)

Apostle Paul also used the word "baptize" in relation to God’s Holy Spirit:

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:13)

Use of the phrase "to baptize into" God’s Holy Spirit is the same phrase used to describe Christian baptism in water. In both cases baptism is an outward confirmation of an inward spiritual experience.

The 2^nd occurrence happened in the upper room.  The promise of God’s Holy Spirit was given during a time of Jewish observance called the feast of Pentecost.

God’s Spirit came down from Heaven and completely immersed [baptized] believers assembled in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem. They had been waiting or "tarrying" for His coming as they had been instructed to do by Jesus.

Peter said this experience was the fulfillment of God's promise when he said:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:  Acts 2:17

He was referring to the prophet Joel:

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. (Joel 2:28-29)

Male and female, young and old, black and white and every color in-between, rich and poor, the famous, infamous and the ordinary – all were to be included in this outpouring of God’s Spirit. They were to prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions. God's Spirit was to empower both servants [men] and handmaidens [women]. The next outpouring of the Holy Spirit was on that same day after Peter delivered his first sermon, he said:

Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-39)

Peter's words revealed that the promise of God’s Holy Spirit was:

                                                           

v A personal promise:             "Unto you" [the Jewish people].

v A family promise:                  "Your children".

v A universal promise:            "To all that are afar off".

God’s Spirit is invisible to the natural eye. Jesus compared God’s Spirit to the wind:

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

Although the wind is invisible, the effects it produces can be felt and heard. When the wind blows the dust rises from the ground, the trees all bend in one direction, leaves rustle, the waves of the sea roar, and clouds move across the sky. These are all physical signs of the wind.  So, it’s with God’s Spirit. Even though He’s invisible, the effects which God’s Spirit produces can be felt and heard.

There are three places in the New Testament where we are told what happened when people were baptized in God’s Holy Spirit:

¨       Acts 2:2-4 is the record of what happened on the day of Pentecost:

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2-4)

 ¨       Acts 10:44-46 is the record of what happened when Peter preached the Gospel to a man named Cornelius and his family:

While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God . . .    (Acts 10:44-46)

 ¨       Acts 19:6 describes what happened to the first group of converts at Ephesus:

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:6)

As we compare these passages there is one physical sign which is common to all three:

Those who received the baptism of God’s Holy Spirit spoke with other tongues.

 Other supernatural signs of God’s Holy Spirit are mentioned, but none of these were evident on all three occasions.

On the day of Pentecost there was the sound of a rushing wind and visible tongues of fire were seen. These were not recorded on the other two occasions. At Ephesus the new converts prophesied. This is not mentioned as having occurred on the day of Pentecost or in the house of Cornelius.

The one outward sign which Peter and the apostles with him observed in the experience of Cornelius and his household was that they spoke with tongues. This physical sign was proof to the disciples that this household had been baptized in God’s Holy Spirit.

From these Biblical records we conclude that the physical sign of speaking in tongues through the power of God’s confirms that a person has been baptized in God’s Holy Spirit.  It is the initial evidence that a person has been filled with God’s spirit.

The sign of "tongues" can be languages known to man. This is what happened on the day of Pentecost:

. . . And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?    (Acts 2:7-8)

Tongues can also be in a language not known to man. This is called an "unknown tongue":

For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. (1 Corinthians 14:2)

This great spiritual power was to be experienced AFTER receiving God’s Spirit:

But ye shall receive power, AFTER that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

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