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Date Posted: 11:09:02 06/18/02 Tue
Author: Jay Dee
Subject: Re: Acts 2 - "gift of the Holy Spirit"
In reply to: Doug 's message, "Re: Acts 2 - "gift of the Holy Spirit"" on 20:35:15 06/17/02 Mon

Hello Doug

You said,

"Presuppositions? Please show me where I have made presuppositions according to the context of Acts 2/Joel 2? If you disagree with my exegesis, then please show me my faulty exegesis. If you are going to make assertions, then you should have evidence to support your assertions."


Easy Doug. I meant no disrespect. It sure sounded like you were being up front with your presuppositions from the start. See, look . . .

"But first,however, I do not believe that the indwelling of the Spirit and "the gift of the Holy Spirit" are the same thing. I know many do but I differ with them on this matter. However, I do believe the Spirit indwells Christians (those who have repented and been immersed for the remission of sins) and that He indwells Me the same way the Father and Son do. I do not believe that any member of the Godhead indwells literally in my body, but dwells representatively through the Word.


I am sorry if you took offense to that.

Yes, I think if we are actually going to do exegesis, you need to take the whole of Luke and Acts together as a context. Luke has an emphasis throughout on the activity of the Spirit. He even records the rememberance of the preaching of Jesus concerning his baptism of the Holy Spirit which he would accomplish.

Before making any conclusions, let me sum up the Gospel of Luke.

1. The Holy Spirit fell on Jesus like a dove (Lk 3:20-21)
2. According to John the B. Jesus would immerse in the Holy Spirit (Lk 3:16ff)
3. Jesus, full of the SPirit was empowered to defeat Satan in the wilderness (Lk 4:1-13)
4. The Spirit was upon Jesus in order that he would preach the Gospel to the poor... (Lk 4:18-19)
4. God, as a Father, gives the good gift of the Holy Spirit to those who "ask." (Lk 11:13)
5. The SPirit would empower the disciples to speak when brought before the authorities for their faith. (Lk 12:11-12)

I'm not making any conclusions yet, just doing this indictively be reading through the text.

Now, let's go to Acts and see how this plays out.

The Spirit takes center stage almost from the very beginning of the book of Acts. Jesus told his disciples that they would be immersed in the Holy Spirit shortly (Acts 1:5); and that when this happened, they would receive power (Acts 1:8). We have already seen in the Gospel of Luke how the Spirit gave Jesus power after in fell on him. We also have seen that John the B. taught that Jesus would immerse others in the Spirit. As we read on, we see this happen in Acts 2. In verse four they are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in tounges. The people think they are drunk, but Peter points out that this was of God and quotes the prophecy in Joel. God would pour out his spirit on all flesh (2:17) and will pour forth of his spirit. It is interesting, that Peter also quotes the following verses in Joel which uses apocalyptic visions of judgement. I wonder what that is all about, especially in connection with the outpouring of the spirit? That is another study though. Peter concludes that what they are seeing is fulfillment of this promise:

"Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear (Acts 2:33)."


They had received the "promise" of the Holy Spirit as was promised in Joel. Peter goes on to preach this:

"Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself (Acts 2:38-39."


Well, this is interesting. Jesus already used the imagery of a Father giving a "gift" to his child in relation to receiving the Holy Spirit. Peter also calls it a "gift." Peter also says the "promise" was not meant for just the twelve, but for their children, those who are far off, as many as the Lord will call to Himself. In context, of course, we are still talking about the "promise" of the Spirit, which God would "pour out" on "all flesh."

As we move on, we see how the Spirit empowered the disciples to speak, just as Jesus had said. Peter, full of the SPirit made his speech to the authorities (Acts 4:8; 5:32). In Acts 6:5, we find that Stephen was a man full of the Spirit, and he made his defense before the authorities in chapter 7. Full of the Spirit, he saw Jesus as they were stoning him (7:55).

During one of Peter's speeches, Luke includes these interesting words of Peter:

"And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32)."


So God has given the Spirit to those who "obey him."

As we move on, we see that the Gospel was not just preached in Judea. Jesus himself said that they were to be his witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth.

Of course, Samaritans were unclean and highly disliked by Jews, yet here we see Phillip going to Samaria to preach the Gospel there too (Acts 8:5ff). They were casting out demons and performing many signs in Samaria, so the Spirit was working mightily. But notice what happened:

"Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17)."


So, they did not receive the Holy Spirit, so Peter and John came down from the mother church to "pray for them" that they would receive the Holy Spirit. And they did after they prayed and layed their hands on them.

Later, we see that Paul is converted in a most unusual way when he is blinded for persecuting the church. How poetic and ironic, the only way we could see his blindness was to be blinded! The Lord send Ananias to Paul. Why? The text says this:

"So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; (Acts 9:17)"


Though the text doesn't give the exact moment when Paul will "filled with" the Holy Spirit, it does make it clear that it was connected with Ananias in some way, maybe through his preaching and baptism? In any case, Luk records the result. Paul immediately began to boldly proclaim Jesus as the Christ, a complete turn around!

After all this, Luke gives a summary statement:

"So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase (Acts 9:31)."


So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee was among other things going on in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

As we move on, we see the Spirit active once again. The Gospel was not to be preached just in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, there was more. After receiving a vision that encouraged Peter to eat food that Peter deemed unclean (but really was now clean), the Spirit told Peter that three men were looking for him, and that he should go with them (Acts 10:19). What does the Spirit have in store now? Peter learns that he is to go and preach the Gospel to a gentile God fearer. Notice what happens:

"Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)--you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days (Acts 10:35-48)."


So now not only did the Samaritans receive the Spirit, these Gentiles did as well. IN both cases, it was after hearing the Gospel.

Later, when Peter is explaining all of this to his Jewish Christian brethren, he says,

"And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way (Acts 11:15-17)?"


In Acts 11:24; we find another man "full of the Holy Spirit" just as Stephen was. He name was Barnabas. The Spirit sets both Barnabas and Saul/Paul apart to preach to the Gentiles and send them out (Acts 13:1-4). Paul is empowered by the SPirit to confront the first challenge to his ministry by a magi named Elymas (13:9), just as Peter was empowered. Peter gives another summary statement:

"And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52)."


As you can see from the context, this now includes Gentiles as well. Of course, this becomes a source of contention later as we see in Acts 15. There were those who felt that the Gentile believers should observe and respect Jewish traditions. So the elders, apostles, and the whole church came together to discuss it in a meeting. During the meeting, Peter spoke up and said this concerning the gentiles,

"And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us (Acts 15:8);"


It is interesting that here God gave them the Spirit in the same manner that he gave it to the disciples in order to "testify to them." Paul and Barnabas spoke next and related how God did signs and wonders among the Gentiles. So obviously the SPirit was working among the Gentiles too.

Another interesting incident involving the Spirit happened in Ephesus. It underscores the importance of faith in Jesus in order to receive the Spirit he gives:

"It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men (Acts 19:1-7)."


Reception of the Holy Spirit is dependent on faith in Jesus.

Most of the other references to the Holy SPirit in Acts deal with his work in "revealing" things to people, such as Agabus (11:28; 21:11). The SPirit also guided Paul in his travel (16:6), and fortold what would happen in the near future (20:23). Even the disciples told Paul "through the SPirit" not to go to Jerusalem (21:4). It is interesting, though, that Paul says that the Holy SPirit made the Ephesian elders overseers (20:28). Was it something similar to when the Holy Spirit set Paul and Barnabas apart for their mission?

======================


Looking at all of this, it becomes clear that these are all talking about the same thing:

1. The gift of the Holy Spirit
2. Pouring out of the Spirit
3. Being filled with/full of the Spirit
4. Being baptized with the Spirit
5. The Holy Spirit "falling on" a person
6. The promise of the Holy Spirit

It is also clear that this was given only to those who had faith in Jesus.

What is not clear is why the Spirit in one case was held back in Samaria, even after the people put their faith in Jesus, until Peter and John came down to pray for them that the Holy Spirit would come on them. The wording of the passage in Acts 8:16 implies that they were expecting the Spirit to fall on them. They sent for Peter and John to pray that they would receive the Spirit since "he had not yet fallen on them."

What is also not clear is why the Samaritan case and the Gentile case were different. Peter and John had to lay hands on the people in Samaria. However, the Spirit simply fell on Cornelius and his household while Peter was preaching. There was no prayer, no laying on of hands. Luke does not give us an explanation as to why the difference was there. He simply tells us that the SPirit fell on those who were listening to the message.

The one thing in common with ALL of those who received the Spirit in Acts was their faith in Christ. There does not appear to be a "mechanistic" way of receiving the Spirit. In some cases, it simply fell on people, as in the case of the Apostles and Cornelius. In other cases, it came through laying on of hands AND/OR prayer, as in the case of the Samaritans, the Ephesian converts, and Paul. In other cases, the text does not tell us how certain people received the Spirit, but just tells us that they were full of the Spirit, such as Barnabas, Stephen, and the church at large, as in 13:52. The Spirit apparantly was everywhere among the believers. After all, Peter did say that the promise was for them, their children, and all those who are far off, as many as the Lord would call to himself. The outpouring of the Spirit, then, was not just a one-time event.

From what I can see, there is not "one way" that folks received the Spirit, except that it was a gift for those who believed. The Spirit then empowered people to speak, in comforted them, testified to them, appointed people to certain ministries, and even revealed things to them. IN addition, the Spirit have them miraculous abilities. This was in accordance with what both John the B. and Jesus preached concerning the Spirit.

The one passage that doesn't seem to fit very will in all of this is the one in Luke, where Jesus talks about God, as a good father, giving the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. We see everything about the Spirit that Jesus and John taught in Luke further developed in Lukes narrative in the book of Acts except this one. No one "asked" for the Spirit, at least not for themselves. There were those who prayed for the Holy Spirit to come one someone else, but not on themselves. I would be curious to know what your thoughts are on this passage.

Let's discuss the conclusions here in Luke and Acts, then move on to the writings of John, then Paul, since they both seem to have a lot to say about the Spirit as well.

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