|
|
|
- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
|
|
“EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT TO BE HIS WITNESSES” (2013 GBC THEME REVIEW) (The Church’s Indwelling - 2) (Acts 1:8)
(1/27/13) Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. THE CHURCH’S EMPOWERMENT A. It is Divine Empowerment B. It is Salvation Empowerment C. It is Evangelistic Empowerment D. It is Sanctifying Empowerment II. THE CHURCH’S INDWELLING A. The Promise of Indwelling 1. The Holy Spirit in the OT a) In the beginning, the Holy Spirit is
viewed as part of the creation process of the earth (Ge 1:2), a work depicting
Him as God (Ac 5:3-4 cp. Is 40:12-14). b) The foundational divine work of
inspiration is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Inspiration is the divine process
whereby God moves and superintends the writer (apostle, prophet) to
communicate God’s exact words, i.e. Scripture (Ac 1:16; 4:25; 28:25-26 cp. Is
6:9-10 cf. 2Ti 3:16-17; 2Pe 1:20-21). This is the same process for the
writing of the OT as well as the NT. c) The Holy Spirit would enable and empower
specific individuals to accomplish specific tasks such as craftsmanship on
the Tabernacle (Ex 31:2-6), judge and rule (Jdg 3:10), strength and battle
(Jdg 14:6), prophesy (1Sa 10:6), or write (Ps 45:1; 2Sa 23:2) etc. 2. The Holy Spirit and Indwelling a) Obviously the Holy Spirit would “come upon”
(indwell) individuals for certain tasks, but His indwelling was temporary.
The Spirit would cease indwelling an individual due in part to a completed
task (Ex 38:22) or sin (Jdg 16:20; 1Sa 16:14; Ps 51:11). b) Even though the Holy Spirit was present in
the OT, the very fact that Christ promised the coming of the Holy Spirit
argues that the Holy Spirit would come for a special ministry to the church
(Ac 1:4 cp. Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13). It also included a special indwelling
(permanently - Jn 14:16; 2Co 1:22; Ep 4:30), which was accompanied by a
special empowerment (Ac 1:8). B. The Fulfillment of Indwelling 1. Sending of the Holy Spirit a) Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to the
disciples (Ac 2; Ac 2:17-18; 2:33), called the “Helper” (para,klętos
- para,=alongside & klęto,s=called,
one called alongside to help) (Jn 14:16). b) Jesus said “another” (a,llos - another of the same kind; contrast
with he,teros - another of a different kind) divine Helper (Holy Spirit) would come
to begin His ministry after Christ completed His earthly ministry, also
being a divine helper (1Jn 1:1; He
2:16; 1Jn 2:1). 2. Birth of the Church a) If Jesus said he would build His church in
Mt 16:18, why did the disciples have to wait for the Holy Spirit (Ac 1:4)?
The reason was that the Holy Spirit would spiritually empower the church (Ac
1:8; 2:33). b) The Holy Spirit’s coming, “not many days”
from Jesus’ ascension would constitute the birth of the church on the Day of
Pentecost (Ac 2:1cf. 20:16). c) Pentecost was the celebration of the
completion of the harvest (Ex 23:16) at which time Israel was to give their
first fruits to the Lord (Nu 28:26). After the completion of Christ’s
atonement and ascension (“first fruits” cp. 1Co 15:20, 23), the Holy Spirit
was given to harvest the church and become a pledge to the church (2Co 5:5;
Ep 1:14). 3. Basis of Indwelling a) It is true that we see the reception of
the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts by means of prayer and the laying on of
hands (Ac 8:15, 17; 19:2, 6). This was to confirm the authority of the
apostles as witnesses and messengers of God’s truth. b) However, it is clear from Acts and various
Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is received by and indwells all who believe
on Christ (Ac 2:38; 10:44, 45; 11:15; Ga 3:14; Ep 1:13). |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
