Holy Spirit and the People of God

Where In the Bible: Acts and Epistles

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and many others and then he ascended to heaven. The ascension is a significant moment in the story, where Jesus presented his completed sacrifice in God’s heavenly sanctuary and took his throne at the right hand side of the Father. Before he went, he commissioned his followers to be his witnesses in every nation, and then, having taken his exalted position, he poured out the Holy Spirit on his people to give them the power to do what he was calling them to. The Spirit was no longer limited to kings, prophets and other rulers, but was now for all of God’s people – a people now made up not just of the descendants of Abraham but of those of all nations who had put their faith in Jesus. The original design of Eden to see a global community of people in harmonious relationships with each other with God and with the earth is now being worked out through the church in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Great Commission (Mat. 28:16-20): Before the risen Jesus returned to the Father, he spent a few weeks on earth with his disciples, and during this time there are two big themes that emerge in his conversations with them. These are his instruction that they should make disciples of all nations, and his promise that he would send the Holy Spirit to help them in this task. Versions of the great commission appear in Matthew (Mat. 28:16-20), Luke (Luke 24:46-49), John (Jn. 20:21), Acts (Acts 1:8) and also in the longer (disputed) ending of Mark’s gospel (Mk. 16:15). The most detailed version is the one found in Matthew, where Jesus links the commission to the authority he now has (see Phil. 2:9-11 on the authority of the risen and ascended Christ). Jesus explains three aspects of the mission he is sending his people on: firstly to make disciples in all nations. Jesus had primarily focussed on the towns and villages of Israel during his earthly ministry, but now his disciples were instructed to widen the focus to all nations, where they would share the good news and invite others to follow him. Secondly, they are to baptise in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is another Trinitarian formulation, and is based on the expectation that people will be responding to the gospel. When this happens, baptism is the public declaration of their new faith. Thirdly, they should teach the new believers to obey everything Jesus commanded. Following Jesus is more than a single decision; it involves a lifetime of obediently living according to what Jesus taught, and instructing the new disciples in this teaching is part of the commission given.

Pouring Out of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4): The commission that Jesus had given the disciples was not one that they could fulfil by their own strength. Just like the message of the prophets in the Old Testament had fallen on deaf ears, so too would the mandate to preach the gospel in the world, unless it was accompanied by supernatural power. Jesus had promised this power to the disciples, and instructed them to stay put in Jerusalem until it was given. Acts 2 picks up the story on the day of Pentecost, with the believers gathered in an upper room to pray. There were around 120 people present, and God moved in power to pour out his Spirit upon them. The outpouring came with physical phenomena (a sound like a blowing wind and tongues of fire) and the effect was that the believers began speaking in tongues. As the book of Acts goes on, we see other outpourings and the details vary each time. Sometimes there are different physical phenomena (e.g. Acts 4:31) and other times no such thing is mentioned. Sometimes the response is tongues, sometimes prophecy, sometimes boldness for evangelism, sometimes great joy. Sometimes it is accompanied by the laying on of hands (e.g. Acts 8:17). Most of the time it seems to happen in corporate gatherings, though it can happen to an individual too (e.g. Acts 9:17). It also doesn’t seem to be a one-time only event, as there are people like Peter who were present multiple times as the Spirit was poured out. There doesn’t seem to be a set formula or template for what it looks like when the Spirit is poured out, but it is a work of God that is clear when it happens and has powerful effect. It is something that is still available to believers today, and something that we desperately need if we are to have the power to live out the mission we have been given in the world.   .

The Church as the Body (1 Cor. 12:4-14): Because the Spirit has been poured out on all Christians, we are united as one body. This has profound implications for the equality in the church. Where there was previously a divide between Jews (who had been God’s covenant people) and Gentiles (who were on the outside), that divide is now destroyed. Both Jews and Gentiles are saved through faith in Christ, and both receive the same Spirit. In God’s people there is unity and diversity between different ethnicities, genders and social classes. The Spirit also gifts people in different and complementary ways. All Christians have gifts that are given by the Holy Spirit, and these gifts are given for the sake of serving the whole church. None of us should despise the gifts that others have, nor should we think we have nothing to contribute. Rather, we should recognise the Spirit working through each of us in different ways and create space to benefit from being a people together, sharing in the one Spirit.

Potential Applications:

• You could offer to pray for people to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
• Challenge people to think about who they can share the good news about Jesus with this week.
• Invite people to think about what their own spiritual gifts are and how they can use these to serve God and his people.