8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
The Holy Spirit & Jesus
In His humanity, there seems to have been a “dependency” of Jesus upon the Holy Spirit. From the very beginning, this dependency was evident. It was a result of the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon the virgin Mary that enabled her to conceive the Christ Child (Luke 1:35). When He was baptized by His cousin John the Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove as the Father proclaimed His pleasure (Luke 3:22).
It was the Holy Spirit that guided Jesus into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1), and after being tempted Jesus began His ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14). Jesus, Himself, testified that it was a result of being anointed by the Holy Spirit that He was to preach to the poor. Likewise, it was the Spirit that sent Jesus to heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18).
After casting out a demon, Jesus announced His miraculous work was done through the Holy Spirit (Mat. 12:28). It was through the Holy Spirit that Jesus offered Himself without blemish to God as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 9:14). After His death, it was the power of the Holy Spirit that resurrected Jesus (Romans 8:11).
From His conception to His resurrection, we see a vital relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit & The Church
If Jesus as God in the flesh “needed” the Holy Spirit, how much more do we? Consider these words of Charles Spurgeon. “If there is this day any power of God in the Church of God, it is because the Holy Spirit is in the midst of her! If she is able to work any spiritual miracles, it is through the might of His indwelling; if there is any light in her instruction; if there is any life in her ministry; if there is any glory gotten to God; if there is any good worked among the sons of men, it is entirely because the Holy Spirit is still with her! The entire weight of influence of the church as a whole, and every Christian in particular, comes from the abiding presence of the sacred Paraclete!” (emphasis mine)
Charles Spurgeon had no disillusionment about his or the church’s dependency upon the Holy Spirit. Nor did Christ. Hence His promise of asking the Father to send us the Spirit to help us and be with us forever (John 14:15-17).
Do you recognize your need of the Holy Spirit? As you go through each day how cognizant are you of your dependency upon the Holy Spirit? Consider for a moment the last sentence quoted from Charles Spurgeon. “The entire weight of influence of the church as a whole, and every Christian in particular, comes from the abiding presence of the sacred Paraclete!” This quote makes me wonder, to what degree is the church as a whole and we as individual Christians influential “lightweights” because of our disconnect from the Holy Spirit? Or, to what degree is our influence limited by our lack of recognition of our dependency upon the Holy Spirit?
Power Pleas
So often when we think of the power of the Holy Spirit we desire to see it manifested in mighty supernatural displays. These sincere desires may be manifested in urgent pleas for the Spirit’s power to be unleashed.
Perhaps we pray for a second Pentecost complete with the sound of a mighty wind and tongues of flames. Maybe we pray for miraculous healings where the blind receive their sight or cripples are made whole.
It is possible that we desire the power of the Holy Spirit to manifest itself in the exorcism of demons; real or imagined. And if Lazarus could be raised from the dead perhaps we can witness the same miracle today.
As intriguing and exciting as such occurrences might be, what if the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed not when we plead for it but rather when we submit to Him?
Submitters Wanted
I believe that if we want to experience the true power of the Holy Spirit, we need to learn the importance of submission. As we have discussed previously, we need to rid our minds of the notion that the Holy Spirit is a commodity. Some mysterious and mighty power that we seek to use for our desires and according to our whims. That is not how Jesus viewed Him.
When Jesus walked the earth He emphasized the fact that He did not do His own will but the will of the Father. In so doing He taught us the importance of submission and surrender to our all wise and all loving Father. Our Father who has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us. The same Spirit that empowered Jesus. The same Spirit that Jesus submitted to.
Like our Savior, we need to submit to the Holy Spirit. We need to surrender ourselves to Him. We have been bought at a price. As R. A. Torrey has said, “Christian life is not to be lived in the realm of natural temperament but in the realm of the Spirit. And Christian work is not to be done in the power of natural endowment but in the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit eagerly desires to do His whole work for each of us. He will do for us everything we will let Him do.”
True Power
While it is exciting to ponder the truth that the same power that raised Jesus from the grave resides within us, I wonder how that power is most effectively displayed in the life of Believers. While performing supernatural miracles sounds exciting, I am not convinced it is the best way to advance the Kingdom of God. It may draw a crowd, but in time they will become bored and return to their routines.
In our last devotion we looked at a couple of passages which referred to the love of the Spirit (Rom. 15:30) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). As I have thought about these passages I have become convinced that they may hold the key to the greatest “power” of the Holy Spirit.
If you look closely at today’s passage, Jesus says that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and then He states that we will be His witnesses. What if we, as the church, truly lived in and exemplified the love of the Spirit? How contagious would our lives and church services be if we truly participated in and displayed the fellowship of the Holy Spirit?
Is there a greater power than the love of God (1 Cor. 13)? Is there a higher calling than intimate fellowship with our Creator? We live in a dark and desperate world that is divided by hatred. No amount of “Christians” living in the “realm of natural temperament” while pleading for the power of the Spirit is going to effectively witness to them. The church has gone down that path far too long.
Weighty Influence
As Spurgeon has reminded us, the entire weight of the influence of the church comes from the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has already prayed for Him. The Father has already sent Him. Now it is up to us to surrender to Him and enjoy His fellowship and allow His love to flow through us.
There is no greater power.
There is no greater witness.
Do you want to experience the power of the Holy Spirit?
“They will never get possession of the power they seek until they come to recognize that there is not some divine power for them to get hold of and use in their blindness and ignorance, but that there is a Person, infinitely wise as well as infinitely mighty, who is willing to take possession of them and use them according to His own perfect will.” R.A. Torrey