LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ACTS

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR.PAUL BREWSTER IN COMPLETION OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BIBL 364

BY JOHNNY CARTER

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINA JULY 17, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------2 a) Waiting for The Holy Spirit b) The Promise of The Holy Spirit OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT-------------------------------------------------------------6 a) Flames from Heaven b) Other Tongues

BAPTSIM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT---------------------------------------------------------------------9 a) Filling of the Holy Spirit b) Power of the Holy Spirit

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ACTS----------------------------------------------------------------------------11

CONCLUSION-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 BIBLIOGRAPHY--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----13

ii

INTRODUCTION

In Acts chapter 1, Jesus Christ instructed his disciples to be his witnesses and to spread the gospel throughout Jerusalem, all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Before the disciples could go and spread the gospel they were instructed to wait for the promise from the Father. Joel, Isaiah and Ezekiel all prophesied about this coming promise (Joel.2: 28, Isa.32: 15,and Ezk.36: 27). What was this promise and why did Christ want the disciples to wait for this promise? Would the disciples message be any different if they chose to go out in the world without this promise? This paper will attempt to show the reader what this promise from the Father was, the importance of this promise and how this same promise is available to everyone today. When Christ told his disciples to go and be witnesses for him, those same instructions apply to todays Christians. Being a witness for Christ is something that every Christian should strive to be. However, without the Fathers promise our witness may not be as effective. Not only is this promise available for everyone, this promise can make your life that much better.

2 WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? When Christ told the disciples that he was preparing to leave them, one could only wonder what was going through the minds of the disciples. The look of confusion might have come upon the faces of the disciples, but to put them at ease Christ reassured them that he would not leave them alone. Jesus tells the disciples that He will pray to the Father and that He will give them another Helper that He may abide with them forever John 14:16 1 Jesus also told the disciples the night before his death that it was to their advantage that He goes away, for if He doesnt go away the Helper will not come John16: 7. This helper is known as the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is God. Elmer Towns states, The Helper is Jesus favorite name for the Holy Spirit. Perhaps more than any other, this name consistently describes the character of the Holy Spirit in His relationship to us prior to our conversion, at the time of our conversion and following our conversion.2 The Greek translation of the word Holy Spirit is called Parakltos, which means counselor, intercessor, one who encourages and comforts.3 Whatever we may need the Holy Spirit to be in our life thats what He will be in every phase of our

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version (NKJV) 2 Elmer Towns, The Names of The Holy Spirit [book on-line] Liberty University, (Graham 1998) 1994, accessed August 13, 2012, http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent .cgi?article=1048&content=towns_books 3 Edward W. Goodrick; John R. Kohlenberger III, The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1999), 1580

3 life. We know from reading the bible that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. Each of these three persons is distinct from the other two meaning the Father is not the same person as the Son nor the Holy Spirit.4 The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus never referred to it when He was talking about the Holy Spirit. In John 14,15 and 16 Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as He, because He is not a force or a thing but a person.5 Because the Holy Spirit has the attributes of a person, the Holy Spirit can be grieved (Eph4: 30), resisted (Acts 7:51), lied to (Acts5: 3), outraged (Heb.10: 29), blasphemed (Matt.12: 31) obeyed (Acts10: 19) and called (Exek.37: 9).6 Most importantly the Holy Spirit wants to be a part of your life to help you in every way possible.

WAITING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT In Acts 1:4, before his ascension Christ told his disciples that before they go out into the world they had to wait for the promise of the Father. Usually when someone is ordered to wait there is a reason behind the waiting. No one likes to wait, waiting can be nerve wracking, waiting can cause you to lose sleep, and waiting can even cause you to lose focus on the task at hand. Waiting is not passive, when you wait actively you are

Tim Martin, The Trinity in The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Ed Hindson, Ergun Caner (Eugene, Harvest House, 2008), 473-474 5 Billy Graham, The Holy Spirit: Activating Gods Power in Your Life (Nashville, W. Publishing Group, 1998), 2 6 Elmer Towns, Theology for Today (Belmont, Wadsworth Publishing Group, 2002), 266

4 allowing God to do in you what He desires.7 If you want to know about waiting ask my kids. My wife and I are parents of 5 kids with the 2 youngest still at home, waiting is something they hate to do especially if they had already anticipated doing whatever they had planned. However, as parents my wife and I have the job of making sure our kids understand the reason we made them wait. And most of the times our kids are thankful that we made them wait. In this case when Jesus commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise from his Father this was a good kind of waiting. In the midst of this waiting period the disciples was able to choose a replacement for Judas and maybe it even brought them closer together as a group. However, in order to receive the promise of the Father they had to wait for Christ to leave first. Without Christ leaving there would be no promise from the Father, without Christ leaving there would be no Holy Spirit. Christ also told his disciples that this promise from the Father was something that he had told them about before hand. (Matt 28:19). Christ told his disciples they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and they would have power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them. (Acts1: 5,8). The disciples would receive the enablement that God will give in the Spirit, this power would empower them to speak boldly by testifying to the message of Gods work through Jesus Christ. 8

Pastor Troy Gramling Flamingo, Road Church. "Make Your Wait Useful." South Florida Sun - Sentinel, Feb 27, 2004. 3, (accessed August 15, 2012) http://search.proquest.com/docview/387813613?accountid=12085. 8 Darrell L. Bock, Acts Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2007), 63

5 THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Promise is defined as, a declaration that something will or will not be done, or given.9 When God makes a promise it begins with a declaration by God; it covers Gods future plans for not one race but all the nations of the earth. It focuses on the gifts and deeds that God will bestow on a few to benefit the many.10 The bible tells us that were approximately 120 people in the upper room waiting for the promise of the Father. From these 120 men the gospel would be spread throughout the earth with the help of the Holy Spirit. Because of the Holy Spirit many people benefited from the spreading of the good news. When God makes a promise we can rest assured that Gods promises are never failing (Josh.23: 5-1) confirmed by Christ (Rom.15:8), fulfilled on schedule (Acts 7:6,17) kept by faith (Rom.4: 20-21) and not slow (2Pe3: 4-13)11 When God makes a promise that promise is unconditional and His promises blesses and enriches. Then Peter said to them, repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will

Dictionary.com, [book online] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/promise (accessed on August 15, 2012) 10 Walter C.Kaiser Jr, Promise in The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1331 11 The Three-In-One Concise Bible Reference Companion Promises of God (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982), 553

call." (Acts 2:38-39) A promise is only reliable as the one who makes it and when God makes a promise, you can be sure He will fulfill it.12

6 OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The disciples were in the upper room waiting for the promise from the Father so that they could proceed forward with the spreading of the gospel. In order for them to do this God had to give them the long anticipated gift that was the Holy Spirit. How were the disciples going to receive this gift? All they had been told was that they had to wait. Jesus told them that John baptized with water but they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. How does a person become baptized with the Holy Spirit? If it wasnt by water then how, because this had never been done before. Nevertheless, if Jesus said it was going to happen then the disciples had to take Jesus at his word for they knew he could not lie. I believe Joel the prophet supplied the answer to how the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit. And it shall come to pass after ward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh Joel 2:28. God said that He would pour out His spirit. When you pour something out you are releasing it from the confines it is contained in and putting it into something else. So God was pouring out Himself from Himself into the people that were in the upper room. And they were not disappointed! For God s Holy Spirit was poured out on them- dramatically and publicly, filling them with joy and with the courage and the ability to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to all around them.13
12

"Promises you can count on Every Day." Word among Us2004. 13, (accessed August 15, 2012) http://search.proquest.com/docview/199577805?accountid=12085

FLAMES FROM HEAVEN

Acts chapter 2 shows the awesome power of God. Luke says that there was a sound from heaven, and it sounded like rushing wind was filling the house and then divided tongues as of fire sat upon each of them. What did this fire represent and why did God use flames? It is clear that the reference to the sound of wind rushing from heaven is intended to signify the pouring out of Gods Spirit.14 I believe when John the Baptist said And He will Baptist you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). This was fulfilled here in Acts 2 during Pentecost. Throughout the bible fire functioned as a significant theological symbol. It is frequently associated with such important concepts as Gods presence, divine judgment, and purification. In the Old Testament, fire served as the primary means by which God manifested His presence and exercised judgment. The New Testament continues to portray Gods presence in the form of fire especially in the person of the Holy Spirit.15 I believe the flames that sat upon the heads of each person was Gods way of purging the believer and sealing them with his Holy Spirit. The

13

Rev. Dr. Chris Knights, A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Expository Times (accessed August 15,2012) http://ext.sagepub.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu: 2048/content/113/8/270 14 Charette, Blaine. 2005 Tongues As Fire: Judgment As A Function of Glossolalia in Likes Thought. Journal Of Pentecostal Theology 13, no. 2: 173-186. Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed August 16, 2012, 2012). http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&A N=19445266&site=ehost-live&scope=site 15 Kevin J. Youngblood, Fire in The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 575-576

8 coming of the Spirit enables Gods people to carry out the mission assigned to them in Luke 24:47 and Acts 1:8.16

OTHER TONGUES Acts Chapter 2 finds the men filled with the Holy Spirit. The fire in the room is described as separated so the picture is that of one great flame separated into many tongues of fire resting on each individual. The flames that were sitting on the head of each disciple and the other people in the room had the visible likeness to tongues, which enabled the believers to speak in inspired language.17 This inspired language that was being spoken was not the language of any of the people in the room. God gave each person the ability to speak the language of the different men that had gathered from every nation under heaven. This sounds similar to the story of Babel in Genesis 11. The difference in the two stories is God scrambled the language of the people who were trying to build the Tower of Babel because of their pride and arrogance. They wanted to make a name for themselves. In Acts Chapter 2, God gave each man in the upper room utterance (the ability to speak in another language). I believe God had a message for each group of men in the crowd and in order to get their attention the All Mighty God

16

Darrell L. Bock, Acts Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2007), 93

17

JohnB.Pohill, The New American Commentary Vol. 26 Acts (Nashville, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 94

9 used the men in the upper to deliver his message. 18Speaking in tongues in Acts 2 is evidentiary. The unique speech is demonstrable proof that something supernatural had happened to the 120 men.

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

I like to think of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as having a relationship with God where His divine spirit lives within me. Its His Spirit that will guide me each and everyday of my life. The more I become one with Him the more He will reveal more of himself to me through his word. The more I depend on Him the more my flesh (natural man) gets out of the way. Those Scriptures in which the Holy Spirit is related to baptism are to be classified in two divisions. In the one group Christ is the baptizing agent, yet the Holy Spirit is the blessed influence, which characterizes the baptism. In the other group of passages the Holy Spirit is the baptizing agent and Christ as the Head of His mystical body is the receiving element, and by so much that blessed influence which characterizes the baptism.19 The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a living relationship; it is the source of
18

Chad Brand, Gift of Tongues in The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Holman Bible Publishers, 2003),1605
19

Chafer, Lewis Sperry. 1952. "The baptism of the Holy Spirit." Bibliotheca Sacra 109 , no. 435: 199-216. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed August 17, 2012) http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a6h&A N=ATLA0001438328&site=ehost-live&scope=site

10 divine power within Christians. It is permanent.20 Among the greatest blessings conferred by the Christian gospel is the personal and endowment of the divine Spirit. The promise of the Spirit first became associated with the language of baptism a baptism with the Holy Spirit.21 It is my belief that what happen in the upper room was the disciples receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Verse 4 of Acts 2 gives the results of the Spirit coming on those who had gathered in the upper room. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.22 Under the Outpouring of the Spirit heading, I stated that when God was outpouring His Spirit upon every one in the upper room He was pouring Himself out into the disciples. Now that He had poured Himself out, the disciples were now filled with his Holy Spirit. Now that the disciples were filled they could go and complete the commission Jesus had ask of them. When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit he/she is given a supernatural ability to be effective in those things that pertain to the Kingdom of God.23 Being filled with the Holy Spirit means you consistently speak, think, and act in a manner that glorifies God. It means the life you live is consistently yielding the fruit of the Spirit. Bock in his commentary on Acts states The description of being filled with the Spirit began in Luke-Acts with the
20

James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith (Downers Grove, Inter Varsity, 1981), 395 21 R.E.O. White, Baptism of The Spirit in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2001),137 22 JohnB.Pohill, The New American Commentary Vol. 26 Acts (Nashville, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 94 23 Steward, Jabari. "A Dynamic Filling!" Sentinel2010. C5, (accessed August 17, 2012) http://search.proquest.com/docview/369282656?accountid=12085.

11 account of John the Baptist (Luke1: 15) and Elizabeth and Zechariah being able to sing a hymn of praise to God (1:41,67). In Acts, the Spirit fills for service or to speak Gods word.24

THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Like a good commander before he sends his troops out to the battle field he makes sure that his troops are equip for the battle. Going into a battle unprepared spells destruction from the word go. Jesus knew this and thats why he had his disciples to wait awhile before heading out into the battlefield. There were some benefits for the disciples because they waited. Jesus told his disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Without the Holy Spirit there is no power and without no power there would be no spreading of the gospel. Its just like our life when we are not connected to Christ; we are cut off from the power source of Christ. Without that power source we do not have a fighting chance against the devil. The bible tells us, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12). Power is needed in this spiritual battle and Jesus knew what his disciple would be up against. The power of the Holy Spirit gives us the boldness to be
24

Darrell L. Bock, Acts Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2007), 98-99

witnesses for Christ. 12 THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ACTS The Holy Spirit in Acts was the ushering in of something new. It was the ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of God. It was the fulfilling of the promise of the Father and the coming to pass of some prophecies. It was the coming of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the introduction of tongues. The Holy Spirit came so the world could see how the church could survive and grow without the physical presence of Jesus Christ. It shows that with the power of the Holy Spirit the message of Jesus Christ

would evangelize beyond it borders. The Holy Spirit in Acts came so that the Gentile nation could know that the Holy Spirit was available for everyone . CONCLUSION In His book the Holy Spirit, Billy Graham say man has two spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness and the other is for goodness.25 And for this reason God sent his son Jesus into the world to die for our sins. God followed that up by sending us the Holy Spirit to be our helper. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to escape the grasp of Satan and to spread the message of Christ to a lost world. It is the Holy Spirit who wants to live in us to give us the power and the boldness to do even greater works for Christ.

25

Billy Graham, The Holy Spirit: Activating Gods Power in Your Life (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1988), xi

13

Bibliography Blaine, Charette. "Tongues As Fire:Judgement As A Functionof Glossolalia in Luke's Thought." Liberty University. 2005. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&A N=19445266&site=ehost-live&scope=site (accessed August 16, 2012). Bock, L. Darrell. Acts Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007. Boice, and James Montgomery. Foundations of the Christian Faith. Vol. 2. Downers,Grove, ILL: Inter Varsity Press, 1986. Chafer, Lewis, Sperry. "The Baptism of The Holy Spirit." Liberty University. 1952. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a6h&A N=ATLA0001438328&site=ehost-live&scope=site (accessed August 17, 2012). Goodrick, W.Edward, and R,John III Kohlenberger. The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance. Grand Rapids, MI: Zindervan, 1999. Graham, Billy. The Holy Spirit:Activating God's Power in Your Life. Nashville, TN: W. Publishing Group, 1998. . The Holy Spirit:Activating God's Power in Your Life. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988. Gramling, Troy. "Make Your Wait Useful." Liberty University. February 27, 2004. http://search.proquest.com/docview/387813613?accountid=12085 (accessed August 15, 2012). Knights, Chris, Dr,Rev. "A Fresh Outpouring of The Holy Spirit." Liberty University. 5 1, 2002. http://ext.sagepub.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/content/113/8/270 (accessed August 15, 2012). Martin, Tim. "The Trinity." In The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, by Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2008. "Promises you can Count on Everyday." Liberty University. 2004. http://search.proquest.com/docview/199577805?accountid=12085 (accessed August 15, 2012). The -Three-In-One Concise Bible Reference Companion. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982. Towns, Elmer. "Digital Commons." Liberty University. January 01, 1994. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&content=towns_boo ks. White, R.E.O. "Baptism of The Spirit." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, by A. Walter Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.