This morning I am considering the beginning of the Acts. Here are the verses - Acts 1:1-8 NIV:
[1] In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach [2] until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. [3] After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. [4] On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. [5] For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
[6] Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
[7] He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. [8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
There are a few things that stick out to me immediately:
1) Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God. He knew now that His time on earth was very short, so He would have been speaking about the most important things, and his subject was the Kingdom of God. Thus, we can place the Kingdom of God very high on our list of important topics to understand, pursue and experience.
2) He taught them about the Kingdom and then He told them to wait for the baptism in the Holy Spirit that they would have the power to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. If they were called to be His witnesses, that which they were supposed to bear witness to was His teaching, His death, His resurrection, and the Kingdom of God. If the Apostles and other disciples, those that were personally taught by and lived with Jesus, needed the power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses, how much more do we need the power of the Holy Spirit to enable our witness to these very same things.
3) Jesus speaks of a baptism with the Holy Spirit, and then describes it as the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and power being received. The Greek word used by Luke here, and the meaning conveyed by Jesus, is the word Baptizo. Here is the definition and a brief explanation of this word:
1: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)
2: to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe
3: to overwhelm
"Not to be confused with the Greek word 'bapto'. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. Mark 16:16. 'He that believes and is baptised shall be saved'. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!" Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989.
Thus, Jesus is speaking of more than just a temporary power boost, but an infilling and changing of the internal nature of oneself. I think the pickle is a great example. You can wash a cucumber in water - which would be a proper use of the word 'Bapto', but the pickling process is representative of a complete change of the character of the cucumber. Depending on the solution, one can make either sweet pickles or dill pickles using the same cucumbers, and depending on the solution the taste of these same cucumbers becomes quite different. I believe that this kind of change is what Jesus is referring to in these verses. The Apostles had operated in the power of the Holy Spirit while performing miracles and healing during their ministry tours, and they had been breathed on by Jesus (John 20:22) to receive the Holy Spirit, but this was different. This time a permanent change would be experienced. We see this coming to pass in Acts 2, they are filled with power and courage!
I am conscious of the fact that I need this type of change to my character! I also know that in many ways I am significantly different than the person I was prior to the infilling of the Holy Spirit, but I don't think I have experienced the complete change of my internal character that Jesus refers to here. My experience so far, although I have been filled with power several times, not a change of nature or character. I have read several biographies of men and women whose nature and character were radically changed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, people like Smith Wigglesworth, Rees Howells, David du Plessis, Kathryn Kuhlman, St. Francis, Heidi Baker, Che Ahn, and John Wimber.
I am also aware of the fact that much of the church would limit the Holy Spirit to being basically Godly wisdom, a sort of wise counselor who helps us figure out what we should do. There are those who understand and teach about the fuller release of power that accompanies the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and are open to the full release of the Power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As I noted above, if the Apostles required this power, how can we think for a moment that we could accomplish God's purposes and plans without also experiencing this infilling, this coming upon by the Holy Spirit?
Lord, I pray that You would once again move upon Your Church, and release onto us the Holy Spirit! I pray that the Holy Spirit would come upon us and would radically change us, change our character, and our gifts. As I was praying this - I was just thinking of the difference between a manual hand-drill, the type that was used for hundreds of years, compared to the powerful electric drill. They are both capable of the same thing at a basic level, drilling holes in wood. However, when the material is changed to metal or stone, the one using the electric drill will have a distinct advantage, and much quicker success. In a way, the addition of power provides acceleration, as well as the ability to do more than previously experienced. Lord, that is my prayer for the Church!
I am reminded of verses from:
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NIV
[10] "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. [11] You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
- and -
1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV: "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."
- and finally -
Amos 9:13 NIV: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,..."
Yes Lord, make our Love increase, provide an increase of seed which will result in an increase of generosity, and finally release the days of acceleration, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that the one planting is followed immediately by the one harvesting and treading the grapes! We want to see new wine pouring forth, overflowing!
Amen and Amen! Release to Your Church the power required to be a witness, even to the ends of the earth!
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