God’s Spirit and Ours: The Letter to the Romans

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

Peace. Power. Life. Love. Joy. Hope. If this list weren’t from the epistle to the Romans, you’d think it was from a hippie soliloquy from the 1960s. But it’s just a partial list of the blessings that are associated with a Spirit-filled life.

What made the recipients at Rome so special that they received a letter like this – like no other in the canon, really? Does it still hold all of the possibilities for us that it did for them?

Romans 5:5 | And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Life disappoints us, because it’s full of people – and people are often no doggone good (to paraphrase Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor in Superman). Here the term “poured out” refers to love, and it’s poured out by the Spirit. The Spirit Himself is a gift from God, much like the Son is spoken of elsewhere. So we have hope.

8:1-16 | Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful natue, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Only the last reference to the Spirit in this excerpt is more than ten words away from some form of the word “life.” Though this is a discussion primarily for a Jewish audience about law leading to sin leading to death, it is also a description of life and peace through the Spirit that’s appropriate for all audiences. Including children – which He testifies that we are. Through Him we cry “Da-da!” – just as His Son did while pleading for His life in Gethsemane.

There are control issues here – “controlled by the Spirit”; “led by the Spirit”. There are declarations here: If you’re in Christ, you have His Spirit; if you have His Spirit you’re in Christ. If you don’t have His Spirit, you don’t belong to Christ. (Well, that answers a lot of questions about whether this Spirit is still given to believers today!) There are challenges here: “share in His sufferings.” There are promises here: “share in His glory.”

Whole libraries could and have been written about this epistle.

8:26-27 | In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

He helps us. Intercedes for us. Translates our groans when words fail us. Through Him, God knows our hearts … the God who searches our hearts finds them through His Spirit. Can we afford to be without this gift?

9:1-2 | I speak the truth in Christ – I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit – I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

Not just a fancy way of saying, “I ain’t lyin’ to ya,” this comes as close to an oath as the writer of the letter to Rome gets. He’s telling the truth in Christ, confirmed by his conscience in the Holy Spirit. (Remember – the One who helps God search our hearts?) The writer hurts constantly for the readers, and God knows about it.

14:17 | For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

From the writer of “whose god is their bellies” comes a nicer way of expressing what the kingdom Jesus described is really all about. If the Spirit is a channel through Whom righteousness, peace and joy flow to us from God … are we receiving all that He wants us to have? We’re not talking about happiness here; you can buy happiness – eat and drink happiness – but joy, peace and righteousness (a package deal) come from God. They last, long after the belly is empty and cramping for more.

15:13 | May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

A blessing … with a condition? “As you trust in Him”? And the result is that we overflow with hope by the power of the Spirit. The world has every kind of power you could crave, except this one. The world can’t offer hope. It’s not part of the entropic nature of creation. It’s part of the eternal nature of the Creator. Do we trust in Him to provide hope?

15:14-15 | I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Here’s that “boldness” again that is so often associated with the Spirit, though the gist of this sentence is that the Spirit sanctifies us. The Spirit sets us apart as holy vessels; ceremonially clean, kosher dishware through which others might be served a full plate of joy, hope, peace and righteousness. We’re among those Gentiles who have become an offering to God. So if you’re making a list of items the Holy Spirit does for us, write down “sanctification”!

15:17-19 | Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

It’s a little hard to tell whether there’s a cause-and-effect relationship implied here between the Spirit and the “signs and miracles” – or if they’re just parallel items that enabled the leading of Gentiles to obey God. We’ll have to see what is said about it later in the letters to Corinth.

15:30-33 | I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Again, it’s hard to tell whether the “love of the Spirit” refers to the Spirit’s love for the believers or vice-versa or both. (My bet would be on answer [c.] if there was a multiple choice test.) Nevertheless, it’s clear that love is also among the multifacted works and gifts of the Holy Spirit that builds up Christians into a unified kingdom through their prayers for each other and for the success of the gospel.

More observations that questions this time. Hmm. I must be slipping. Let me try to restore the balance:

After reading Acts and Romans do you see the Holy Spirit as primarily a come-down-from-heaven spectacular miracle-working intervenor and confirmer of the gospel, or as a down-to-earth by-your-side in-the-trenches companion and comforter in the daily ministries of believers?

Could He still be both? Or has one role been fulfilled? Have both roles been fulfilled?

Which is a greater, more lasting miracle: the turning of ill or wounded flesh to whole … or the turning of a sick and tortured soul to God?

What is the reason for the hope that dwells within us?

That’ll do for now. We’ll move on to Corinth in Part VI.

Poured Out On All Flesh – The Last Half of ‘Acts’

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

The Holy Spirit continues as a major character affecting the events in ‘The Acts of the Apostles.’ We pick up the thread with Philip, whose journey is Spirit-directed in detail:

Acts 8:26, 29; 39 | Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” … The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” … When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

When an angel or the Spirit speaks verbally to someone, how does he/she perceive it, I wonder? Did an angel appear to him privately at first, but then the Spirit spoke to Philip invisibly so as not to be seen by the charioteer? What does it mean that the Spirit “suddently took Philip away and the eunuch did not see him again”? Was Philip transported supernaturally? Whisked away? Caught up as some folks describe “rapture”?

9:17 | Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

I don’t often think about Paul as being “filled” with the Holy Spirit, but that’s the intention Ananias communicates here.

9:31 | Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

One of the Spirit’s works mentioned here is encouragement. Was it encouragement that came from enjoying a time of peace – presumably a respite from persecution? Was the Spirit involved in taking some of the spite out of it through Saul’s conversion?

10:38 | [Peter:] “…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” | 44 | While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter where astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

Peter again links the Spirit with power, and uses the word “anointed” in connection with Jesus; yet another term for that relationship. While he speaks, the Spirit comes upon Gentile listeners – before they are baptized! (see v. 44). The giving of the Spirit almost always seems to be close in proximity to baptism in water … perhaps this was a sign to overcome Peter’s persistent racial uneasiness that they should be permitted the blessing of baptism.

Acts 11:12 | The Spirit told me [Peter] to have no hesitation about going with them. | 11:15 | [Peter] : “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

As Peter explains to the other eleven what he has done with the new Gentile Christians, he credits the Spirit – quoting what the resurrected Jesus had told them in the early verses of Acts. Their objections are overwhelmed with evidence. It’s a whole new ministry. It had to come sometime; Jesus had commissioned them to go to every nation. The Spirit seems to have a vital role in getting the Gentile outreach started.

11:27-29 | During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.

The kind of prophecy inspired by the Spirit through Agabus is very specific about what would happen in the near future. In faith, the believers decide to help their brothers – probably by laying in store what they had just as Egypt and the Israelites had done in the time of Joseph and the famine predicted by Pharaoh’s dreams.

13:2-4 | While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

Two special missionaries are commissioned – after worship and fasting – by the Holy Spirit’s (seemingly) verbal instruction and calling. They are “sent on their way” by Him … how or why is not detailed.

13:9-11 | Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit ad trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”

Paul has a change of name as well as a change of heart – but Elymas (unlike Simon, another sorcerer who had a run-in with Peter) was not at all penitent about opposing. Paul, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” denounces him and pronounces a curse on him of physical blindness to match his spiritual blindness. – Not unlike what had happened to Saul/Paul himself! Is it frightening to read about a Spirit who might have been involved in the deaths of two lying donors to the church and the blindness of a self-important charlatan? Are the penalties for opposing the Spirit too steep?

15:6 | The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.”

The question of acceptable Gentile practices could not be put off forever. Jewish and Gentile culture were as different as their religions. It seemed natural for Jews to insist on proselytizing new Gentile converts to Judaism; it would sort-of “perfect” their faith. But Peter takes a stand. God has accepted Gentiles just as He did Jews.

15:28 | [The apostles and elders:] “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: …”

James, after hearing what Paul and Barnabas witness of their ministry among the Gentiles, quotes scripture about how the Lord intends to rebuild David’s tent and include Gentiles who bear His name. The leaders quickly agree on forbidding practices among the Gentiles that would have been revolting and disgusting to their Jewish brothers because they would smack of pagan idol worship – though the phrasing does not seem gavel-bangingly decisive: “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Was there “wiggle room” here? Was there space and time given for Gentiles to adjust to this cultural “sacrifice” (pardon the pun) on their part to accommodate Jewish comfort – even when (perhaps like Christmas or Easter for some of us) there was no longer any religious significance to their practices?

16:6-10 | Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

How does the Holy Spirit keep Paul and company from Asia and Bithynia, and why? Is He trying to adjust their course until Paul’s vision calls them to Macedonia in the opposite direction? Might there have been a trap waiting in the other direction? Or another missionary team already working there? A greater need in Macedonia; the perfect timing for a better opportunity? We may not know in this life … but there certainly are possibilities. Maybe we don’t always need to know the reasons why.

19:1-3, 5-6 | While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you received?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. … On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.

The followers who had not received the Spirit knew only John’s baptism – had they been taught by Apollos, whose knowledge also ended there? – but upon being baptized in the name of Jesus and having Paul’s hands placed on them the Spirit came on them – and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Those two gifts were powerful in helping communicate good news then, even as they had been on Pentecost. Would they help today? Are they necessary? Still available and given?

20:22 | [Paul]: “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.”

Paul had a realistic view of his ministry and the threats ahead. Before his conversion, Ananias had been told that the Lord would tell Paul what things he would have to suffer in Jesus’ name. Apparently dates, descriptions and details were left sketchy. Now the Spirit compels and warns him – a powerful incentive to persist in faith.

21:10-11 | [Luke]: After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ “

Agabus reappears with a warning again – not about famine, this time – rather, about Paul being taken prisoner and being turned over to Gentiles. Now Paul knew what was ahead. He would be treated, in some ways, just like his Lord.

28:25-27 | They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet. ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ ”

When in Rome under house arrest, Paul is once again opposed by Jews who had been curious about his teaching – just as he had been in Corinth and elsewhere. He confirms that the Holy Spirit has a hand in the inspiration of scripture and especially prophecy when he quotes Isaiah. It is not a curse; merely an observation of the depth to which Jewish tradition had closed their minds to God’s will. It didn’t change God’s will or ability to heal them. It only changed theirs.

So, once again, Paul takes his message to the Gentiles, who will listen.

It would have been a sad way for the book of Acts to close – though it could have been much more depressing if Luke had detailed the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul and many others. Instead, he leaves Paul in chains, bound to the boldness so often given by the Spirit:

28:30-31 | For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

In spite of persecution from non-believers and the beginnings of questions and dissension and doctrinal issues among the believers, it is still a time of growth and triumph for the gospel. The opposition will grow from without and within, as the letters written to counter them clearly reveal … along with the Spirit’s agency in every call for unity and courage and faith.

We’ll pick up this thread where we left it – in Rome – with more questions and observations in Part V.

Poured Out On All Flesh: The First Half of ‘Acts’

Part I | Part II | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

There’s a sense in which ‘The Acts of the Apostles’ might just as accurately be called ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit’ – and I’m probably not the first to perceive it.

Just in time for Pentecost, let’s look at some of the references to Him in the opening chapters of the book – right up to the story of Philip. There are too many in the entire book for one post because of all the activities in which He was engaged! His activity in scripture just seems to increase exponentially.

Acts 1:1-2 | [Luke]: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

Luke catches up the reader of his gospel mentioning that Jesus gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles. He doesn’t say whether that was verbally or if it was word-for-word; just that the Holy Spirit was the agency through whom Jesus gave the instructions.

1:4-5 | 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. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The resurrected Lord evidently ate several meals with his friends, an on this occasion He confirms what John the Baptist prophesied.

1:7-8 | “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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.”

Elaborating, Jesus uses the “comes on you” expression, promising power along with the Spirit’s presence. What kind of power? He doesn’t elaborate that much. Did He mean for the Holy Spirit to be something of a surprise package? Or did He think that the experiences of the 72 missionaries he had sent would make them sufficiently familiar with the power He had in mind to give?

1:15-16 | In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus …”

Peter leaves no doubt that the Holy Spirit spoke through King David – prophesying specifically about Judas. (Interesting that David begged God not to take His Holy Spirit from him after his sins with Bathsheba ….) The 120 feel that, with Judas’ suicide, there is a missing chair among the 12 which should be filled, according to prophecy. They put forward two candidates, though there is only one opening. They pray. They turn the decision over to God. They literally roll the dice; cast lots – in utter faith that God will speak His choice in the outcome. Do we have that level of faith today?

2: 1-4 | When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The term is “filled with” again, and it occurs in conjunction with the “fire” prophesied by John the Baptist – though it is qualified by the term “seemed to be” and that the tongues of fire came to rest on them. That they spoke in other tongues that visitors to Jerusalem understood as their own language is clear from the verses which follow. Was this specific work of the Holy Spirit limited to this single event, to ease understanding and testify to the truth of Peter’s message?

2:17-18 |”In the last days, God says, I will pour my Spirit on all people, Your sons and daughters will propesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”

Peter leads the preaching by quoting the prophet Joel, and declaring his prophecy fulfilled. Were there women among those who received the Spirit and spoke other languages? Could the prophecy have been completely fulfilled if there weren’t?

2:37-39 | When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

When Peter connects his instruction for the people present to repent and be baptized, they knew what they were repenting of: being part of the crowd which had rejected Jesus and turned Him over to the authorities, calling for His death. Did he explain why they should be baptized? Was it the baptism of John, or of Jesus? It was for the forgiveness of sins, he says; and there is a promise that they will “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He seems to be speaking generationally (rather than geographically) when he says that the promise is for “all who are far off.” Does that include believers down to our day; to us? What does he mean when he qualifies it by saying “for all whom the Lord our God will call”? Are there some He does not call? Are there some to whom He would not give the Spirit?

4:8 | Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rules and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.”

Later – arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin – Peter preaches boldly again; “filled with” the Holy Spirit. These are people who could take him out and stone him if they wished, and he accuses them of crucifying Him. (Technically, the Romans did. He’s on thin ice legally, but is quite correct!) The text doesn’t speak of the Spirit in connection with the healing of the crippled man; but with Peter’s boldness! Is that boldness something the Spirit would lend us today?

4:31 |After they [the believers] prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Watch the order in which things happened here: they prayed; the place was shaken; they were filled with the spirit; they spoke boldly. What do you think they were praying for? What kind of power does their prayer manifest? Do we pray petitions that make God want to shake our buildings of meeting with a mighty and affirmative “Yes!”?

5:3 | Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?” | 5:9 | Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

I don’t mean to make a joke of what happened here, but this is a completely different kind of “slaying by the Spirit” than you see on television today. Ananias and Sapphira lied – not just to their fellow believers, but to the Holy Spirit who knew better. And something or someone ratted them out to Peter. They did not survive this slaying. Could this be the kind of sin Jesus spoke about as “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit”? Denying – even to themselves – the Spirit’s power to know truth and to enact justice?

6:3 | [The Twelve:] “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them …”

Grecian widows are being neglected in the distribution of food, and the Twelve decide to have the believers choose seven from among them that they know to be full of the Spirit and wisdom to look after them. With uncanny wisdom, the believers choose (method not specified) seven men – who all happen to have Greek names. How did they know these seven were full of the Spirit? (They were certainly right about Stephen!) Why would that need to be a qualification for people to take care of widows? Were these seven deacons, or at least precursors of what would later be called deacons (servants, ministers)?

6:9-10 | Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

It was the custom to rise when you had something to say. Apparently these argumentative Jewish people could not come up with anything to say to confute Stephen’s combination – repeated again – of wisdom and the Spirit “by whom he spoke.” Is wisdom something that comes as a matched set with the gift of the Spirit?

7:51 | [Stephen]: “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”

Perhaps he spoke too boldly. Was it wise for him to call fellow Jews “uncircumcised” in their hearts and ears; insult their ancestors; accuse them of resisting the Holy Spirit? Apparently the wisdom of the Spirit differs from ours. Perhaps it maintains that unspoken truth is no truth at all.

7:54 | When they heard this, they were furious, and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

It begins. The persecution Jesus predicted begins with Stephen. He must know that it is coming. Before the first stone is hurled, he sees his immediate destiny – because he was full of the Holy Spirit. Does He still lend such glimpses to believers who long to peer into such glory?

8:15-20 | When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money.”

For a reason which remains unclear, Samaritans who believed and were baptized had not received the Holy Spirit. So Peter and John were sent to them, prayed that they would and laid their hands on them – and they did. Simon, a converted sorcerer, connected the laying on of hands to thes Spirit -and perhaps to the miracles he had seen Philip perform. What does Peter’s answer tell us about exchanging money in connection with gifts of the Spirit? Are there those today who claim to perform miracles and seem eager about exchanging money to perpetuate their “ministries”? Simon begged them to pray for him so that nothing bad would happen to him as a result of his request – because Peter saw that he was “full of bitterness and sin.”

Well, I’ll stop there – having accused and alienated all of the healing ministries that televangelism has to offer … and in one swell foop. I hope your Pentecost is blessed with a keen awareness of the Holy Spirit. Part IV to come later!

From Creche to Cross

Part I | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

I don’t begin to know how to introduce this section of the study. It seems as if God’s Spirit retreats from the stage of scripture at this point, only to be referred to in promises made by Jesus – except for one spectacular moment at His baptism when the two are together and seem to become one again; two-thirds of God’s triune personality on this world (if God can possibly be described in mathematical terms). But the presence of the Spirit expressed in the New Testament begins with a revelation to a couple who would become Jesus’ aunt and uncle:

Luke 1:15 | “…for he [John the Baptist] will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.”

“Filled with” – scripture goes back to the description of the Spirit’s relationship with Bezalel, the tabernacle designer … why? And from birth? Is it the Lord’s instruction that John should be a Nazirite? Is that interrelated to his relationship with the Spirit?

Luke 1:34-35 | “How will this be?” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

This is just awkward; we don’t like to talk or even think about this. But the Spirit was an agent – along with the power of the Most High God – in the giving of Jesus to the world through Mary. Maybe “hows” and “whys” are pointless to ask here; maybe the most accurate (and simplest) description from a qualified physician is already used.

Luke 1:41 | “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Now the mother of John the Baptist is spoken of as being “filled with” the Holy Spirit. (Interesting to me that the first two people mentioned in connection with Him are women. John – yet to be born – would be filled “from birth” {see above} and he hasn’t been born at this point.) Look this up to see the beautiful exchange between these two – dare I say? – inspired women.

Matthew 1:18 | This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Matthew tells the story rather matter-of-factly. The phrasing is peculiar to us: How was she “found” to be with child through the Holy Spirit? To be sure, both Joseph and Mary were told in advance that it would happen. What would your reaction be as a young, engaged person to news like this? Mary’s response was pretty much “Let it happen to the Lord’s handmaiden as He has said.”

Luke 2:25 | “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”

Here is the “upon him” language again, referring to this elderly priest who was delighted to see the baby Jesus at the temple for the bris – but spoke prophetic words of warning to His mother. Did those words of prophecy come from the Holy Spirit who was upon him? Why did the Spirit choose to reveal this truth in this way – and at this time? To be sure, at the circumcision there would be piercing of flesh and dripping of blood and the baby would cry … and His mother would feel a peculiar mix of sadness at the pain and joy at the covenant fulfilled ….

Matthew 3:11 | “I [John the Baptist] baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Also Mk. 1:8, Lk. 3:16)

Here, John speaks prophetically of a day when Jesus will “baptize” with the Holy Spirit – and with fire. It seems to be fulfilled at Pentecost. And it seems to be the first of many instances in which the Holy Spirit is given in close proximity to baptism.

Matthew 3:16 | As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. (Also Mk. 1:10, Lk. 3:22)

Here’s the next instance. The “he” might refer to Jesus – or to John; that’s not real clear. Apostle John’s account (see below) makes it clear that John saw it and testified to it. Why “as a dove” and why “descending” and “lighting on him”? Not “filled” or “poured out upon” or any other term? Is this a signal of a unique relationship between Jesus and the Spirit?

John 1:32 | Then John [the Baptist] gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ “

This fascinates me! Who was “the one” who sent John to baptize with water and gave him this signal of recognition? And if John didn’t recognize Jesus as the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, why did he hail Him as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”? Could it be that the Spirit actually spoke through John before John recognized his Cousin to be the person who would baptize with the Holy Spirit?

Luke 4:1 | Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert… | 4:14 | Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

Now, immediately after His baptism, Jesus is spoken of as “full of” the Holy Spirit – something that was true of John “since birth.” Had it also been true of Jesus? Or did that fulness begin here? The Spirit leads Him into the desert to be tempted after 40 days of fasting – and gives Him the power to return to Galilee. Why did news about Him spread? Had He done something miraculous, began teaching powerfully or something else we’re not told? Or was it just that an emaciated carpenter and friend of the community had found the strength to return home from the wild? Did the Spirit pick Him up and supernaturally transport Him, as the servants of Elijah thought the chariot might have done with their master?

Luke 10:21 | At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children.”

Jesus had just heard great news from the returning 72 missionaries He had sent out. Here He is described as “full of joy through the Holy Spirit.” Is it possible that we are missing out on some of this joy … or even experiencing it from time to time without recognizing the Spirit through which it is given?

Luke 11:11 | [Jesus:] “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Do we ask Him? Jesus has just shared a model prayer with His followers. He has just begged them to be persistent in prayer, and promised them it will pay off. But what He is encouraging them to beg for in their prayer is the Holy Spirit. Do we ask for Him?

Matthew 10:18-20 | “On my [Jesus’] account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” | Luke 12:11-12 | “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

This prophecy reassures those who would speak for Him while under lock and chain that an advanced degree in theology would not be required; three years of seminary with Him and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit would be enough. Is that same inspiration available to us? When we wish to approach someone we love with the gospel, but don’t know how to begin or what to say?

Matthew 12:31 | “And so I [Jesus] tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come.” (Also Mk. 3:13, Lk. 12:8-10)

This is serious business. What exactly constitutes “speaking against” the Holy Spirit? Denying His power? Denying His holiness? Calling good “evil” and evil “good”? How close do we want to get to finding out by experience?

Matthew 12:43-45 | [Jesus:] “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (Also Luke 11:24)

Why’s this here? It’s not talking about the Holy Spirit ….

But does it raise any questions in your mind? Like … what should be filling that “house” after the evil spirit has been cast out? Is the Holy Spirit still available to us as a “housekeeper” after evicting our demons and evil inclinations?

John 3:6 | [Jesus:] “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be suprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus is perplexed at Jesus’ answer to his unspoken but heartfelt question. Is Jesus saying that the Spirit is like the wind, blowing where He pleases? Or that people born of the Spirit are like the wind; you hear their sound but don’t know where they’re coming from or going? Or both? How does Spirit give birth to spirit?

John 3:34 | [Jesus:] “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.”

Is there an unspoken “him” here that some versions add: “… God gives [him] the Spirit without limit”? Jesus is speaking of Himself here; He doesn’t talk about anyone else for a couple more verses. Is it only Jesus to whom God gave His Spirit without measure? Does He give it to us in a measure, like that “some” taken from Moses and apportioned to the seventy elders? Does that measure change over time? Increase when we ask for more? Decrease when we choose to walk away from God?

John 6:63 | [Jesus:] “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

He had just alienated a number of followers who, after enjoying loaves and fishes, begged for bread from heaven. He had told them to eat His flesh and drink His blood and it sounded like cannibalism to them, no doubt. His closest followers remained, though, probably baffled but still faithful to Him. He shares that the Spirit gives life. Was it God’s own Spirit (pneuma) that was breathed into Adam’s nostrils that brought him from clay to man? Is Jesus speaking of eternal life given by the Spirit? Or both? Some have pounced on the next phrase to insist that His words are the Spirit and life. Is that a fair assessment? Or was it a reassurance to His followers that He was only speaking metaphorically about eating His flesh and drinking His blood?

John 7:38 | [Jesus:] “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘streams of living water will flow from within him.’ ” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

John does his own exegesis here. He apparently wants to leave no doubt what Jesus was talking about. The fluid, watery metaphor for the Spirit is here again, like the one for air/wind/breath, yet this one is connected again with life – “living water.” And John makes it plain that the Spirit would be given later to “those who believed in Him.”

John 14:15-18 | [Jesus:] “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” | 15:28 | “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” | 16:13a | “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” | 15b | “… the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”

In Jesus’ prayer over the Passover meal from which Judas fled to betray Him, He identifies the Counselor to be the Spirit of truth – new descriptions. The term “counselor” has a meaning which transcends any single English word: companion, friend, advocate, walker-beside (literally). Jesus describes some of the ways the Spirit of truth will help: guiding into truth, making it known. Would there be more ways? Were these enough for Him to talk about at the moment?

(It’s also in this passage that Jesus uses the singular masculine pronoun “he” to refer to the Spirit – as I have tried to remember to do throughout this study, wondering if the “it” I used to use is very accurate. How can a spirit have gender? God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth, Jesus told the Samaritan woman. Yet God is generally called “Father” … though in Isaiah 49 and 66 He reveals some motherly aspects of His character.)

Matthew 28:16 | [Jesus:] “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Spirit again is intimately connected with baptism – which is almost certainly baptism in water because it is something done by one person to another. But it is only part of the instruction: make disciples, baptize them, teach them to obey. Then there is a guarantee: “I will be with you always.” How? Visibly? In a resurrected body that will return periodically after He ascends in this verse? To the end of what age or world? And are we among the “you” to whom He speaks?

John 20:22 | And with that he [Jesus] breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Is the act of breathing on His friends from His resurrected body somehow connected to His plea for them to receive the Holy Spirit? Is it a way of making the pneuma metaphor come to life? Does it call to mind what God did with Adam?

I’m out of questions again. Sometimes my brain just goes “TILT! TILT! TILT!”

When I’ve had a chance to let it rest and chew on some of these questions, let’s put our heads together again and go after some more in Part III.

From Chaos To Creation; Patriarchs to Prophets

Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

Do we really believe that God sends His Holy Spirit to those who believe His Son Jesus?

Are we spooked by the “Holy Ghost” moniker of the King James Version?

Or just frightened by the idea that a Person of the Trinity might somehow be living inside us? It’s important, because the promise of His presence in our lives as believers seems clear and almost guaranteed; almost a “given.”

He may be the least spoken-of personality in the Trinity (or is He?), but He is real from the first page of Genesis to the last page of Revelation. But let’s take some of His appearances in order, and see what we can learn from them:

Genesis 1:2 | “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

He was at one place, at one time, near the earth God had created. Did He have a role in it, as well as the Father and the Son (through whom it was made)? Is it a role of giving order to chaos, proximity, closeness, concern (one translation renders “hovering” as “brooding”)?

Genesis 6:3 | Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

It could have gone better with the mankind experiment. Mankind had progressed from simple disobedience to deceit to murder in one generation, and things hadn’t gotten any better. How was God’s Spirit contending with man? Within his heart, even at that point? Could He have been that element of good spoken of in Romans 1 that makes man see God in creation, rendering himself without excuse for his actions?

Exodus 31:2,3 | “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts … “

Bezalel was the master designer of the tabernacle built by Moses and the people. God was the architect and gave the plans; Bezalel filled in the details. Did the Spirit work inextricably with those gifts of skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts? Were those early “gifts of the Spirit” given to glorify God through the temple at which His people would worship? If not enumerated among the New Testament gifts, might they have still been among them? Might they still be among us? Why the term “filled (him) with”?

Numbers 11:25 | Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him [Moses] and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.

Could the Spirit be “divvied up”? Yet one? Was He given so fully to Moses that some of Him had to be taken from Moses to be given to the elders? Does prophecy immediately result from the Spirit resting on someone? What kind of prophecy was it: future-telling, warning-giving, grace-sharing? Why didn’t they prophesy again later? Was it because they only had some of the Spirit taken from Moses? And why the term “rested on”? Is it different from “filled with”?

Judges 6:34 | Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumptet, summoning the Abiezirites to follow him. | Judges 11:29 | Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced agains the Ammonites.

Two judges become mighty in battle, and just before it, the Spirit “comes upon” them. Why “comes upon”? Is that different from the other ways in which the Spirit accompanies people?

Judges 13:25 | …and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him [Samson] while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Another judge, Samson, is “stirred” by the Spirit. Yet another term. Why? Is the connection growing more tenuous with men? Are they growing farther away from God’s intentions? If so … is it as because the Spirit’s accompaniment is changing? Or is His distance the result of theirs?

I Samuel 10:10 | When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him [Saul]; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying.

The Spirit “comes upon” Saul and he prophesies (as did the elders upon whom He “rested”). It seemed contrary to Saul’s timid character; people joked about it later (“Is Saul also among the prophets?”). Does the Spirit give boldness of character as well as prophecy?

I Samuel 16:13,14 | So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him [David] in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

This is a real puzzle. God giving an evil spirit? Or is this just a case of “Lord” referring to Baal-zebub and we don’t catch the difference by usage/context like the original readers might have. Still, the Spirit “departs” from Saul – apparently never to return. David would have been aware of this when he wrote Psalm 51 (see below), wouldn’t he?

II Samuel 23:2 | “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me [David]; his word was on my tongue.”

This would seem very self-confident if it weren’t true (Jesus confirmed that the Spirit spoke through David). Does the Spirit cause people to speak only the truth, no matter how it sounds? Is it His presence that compels and/or inspires them to do so?

Psalm 51:11 | “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” | 106:33 | “…for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips.” | 139:7 | “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”

Is God’s presence synonymous with the Spirit? There’s a lot of repetitive parallelism in Jewish poetry of this time. David is pleading here; he has sinned and sinned badly: taken another man’s wife and had him murdered by neglect in battle. The other two Psalms imply that it was against the Spirit that the Israelites sinned; that there is no place to hide from Him. Can He be given, the gift rescinded, yet not be escapable? How is that possible?

II Kings 2:16 | “… Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him [Elijah] up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.” “No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

Elisah knows that his mentor has been lifted to heaven in a chariot – but the servants think it’s possible that the Spirit just took him for a ride. Would the Spirit transport someone over a distance for some reason? Did He do so with Philip after he left the eunuch’s chariot in Acts?

Nehemiah 9:20 | “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.” | 30 | “For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets.”

Nehemiah, the wall re-builder of Jerusalem, praises God for His providence, and says the Spirit was given to instruct and admonish. Still true in the New Testament? Today?

Isaiah 11:2 | “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him … the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the Lord.” | 44:3b | “I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” | 61:1a | “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”

And Isaiah the prophet speaks of One on whom the Spirit will rest, crediting Him with giving gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power and knowledge. But it’s not restricted to this One; He will be poured out on the Lord’s offspring (singular) and descendants (plural). He will be on the One anointed to preach good news to the poor. New Testament readers, does this sound familiar? There’s another new description: “poured out.” Is that different from “rested on” and “filled with” and “given to” and “stirred by” …?

Joel 2:28 | “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

Joel, another prophet, confirms the vision of God’s plan to “pour out” His Spirit “on all people.” Does He really mean “all”? Or just “all kinds”? Young, old, men, women? And isn’t that a break from tradition … not just old men, but also young women! Peter, on Pentecost, will tell a crowd hundreds of years later that the day Joel predicted has arrived. Does the “pouring out” continue?

I’m assuming in all of these that the phrasing “Holy Spirit,” “Spirit of God,” “His Spirit” and so on all refer to one and the same Spirit. Am I right in doing so? The New Testament speaks of only one (but I’m getting ahead of myself).

Whew! So many questions. So little brainpower. That’s all I can handle right now. Give me a while, and we’ll get together again and ponder some more in Part II.