A STUDY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part Six)

By Bob Myhan

God had promised through His prophet Joel that He would one day pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, that is, without regard for national heritage, age or social position (Joel 2:28-32).

On the first Day of Pentecost, following the ascension of Jesus to heaven, this prophecy began to be fulfilled. When the apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues,

[The people] were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." (Acts 2:7-13)

In defense of himself and the other apostles, Peter then showed, by quoting Joel 2:28-32, that God had long ago promised He would one day pour out His Spirit on all flesh, that is, without regard for nationality, age or social position.

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (Acts 2:14-21)

The “last days” of Joel’s prophecy most likely referred to the final days of the nation of Israel as God’s covenant people. It would be during these days that God would pour out His Spirit. After mentioning these miraculous manifestations of the pouring out of God’s Spirit,

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

What did Peter mean by the phrase, “the gift of the Holy Spirit”? Did he mean “the gift which is the Holy Spirit” or “the gift which the Holy Spirit will give”? Grammatically, it could be either, in both English and Greek.

Remember, that, while He was yet with them, Jesus promised the apostles that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) that the Holy Spirit would “guide [them] into all truth” (John 16:13) and that He would give them “power” (Acts 1:8). The various manifestations of this “power” were collectively referred to by Paul as “the signs of an apostle” (2 Cor. 12:12).

One particular manifestation of this power was the ability to bestow – via the laying on of hands – miraculous, spiritual gifts (see Acts 8:14-19; 19:1-6; 2 Tim. 1:6). The apostle Paul mentioned several of these miraculous gifts in his first epistle to the church at Corinth.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Cor. 12:7-11)

These gifts were limited in duration to the first century because of their purpose, which was to complement the work of the apostles in revealing and confirming the word of God [New Testament]. They belonged to the infant stage of the church and were to cease as the church grew into manhood (1 Cor. 13:8-12). 

The spiritual gift received by those in the home of Cornelius was the ability to "speak with tongues and magnify God" (Acts 10:44-46). They were given this gift without the laying on of an apostle's hands in order to show that Gentiles had a right to hear and obey the gospel without having to be physically circumcised (see Acts 10:25-47; 11:1-18). Thus, the fact that they spoke in tongues does not prove that they were saved prior to baptism in water any more than the fact that Balaam's donkey spoke in a human tongue proves that she was saved (see Num. 22:22-30).

[To be continued]

DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Part One)

By Bob Myhan

By “divine providence,” I mean “the foresight and forethought of the infinite God who planned the creation of man and a world in which to place him—a world in which He could control the destiny of the inanimate creation and direct man to the consummation of His purpose.” “General providence” concerns God’s support, care and supervision of His material creation from beginning to end. “Special providence” concerns God’s support, care and supervision of His spiritual creation.  God is able to provide for both His material and spiritual creations, without violating either human will or what we sometimes refer to as “laws of nature.” And, though many, perhaps even most, Christians do not realize it, there are some things that God does through the agency of His people. While God may use us in ways that He has not revealed, so that we do not always see the providence of God beforehand (see Esther 4:12-14), there are ways in which He uses us that He has revealed. In one respect, “Christ has no hands but our hands” (from “The World’s Bible,” by Annie J. Flint), in that He has given us certain responsibilities in order that He might, through us, accomplish certain things. 

[To be continued]

DRESS UP FOR JURY DUTY?

Author Unknown

You must be outta your mind! No, not at all. "Proper clothing requested; All persons entering the courtroom should be dressed in clothing reasonably befitting the dignity and solemnity of the court” That was lifted from a notice for Jury Duty—and did you catch the part: “Dignity" and "Solemnity" of the court?

Here we have mere men, an elected judge, a cross-section of humanity in the jury box, lawyers, each with their questionable reputation—and the notice informs us of "the dignity and solemnity of the court preceedings." [sic] But it is so. And you know it is so if you have ever sat in a courtroom to observe a trial.

If worldly men have respect for a court of man, how much more should God-fearing Christians have respect for the assembly where we have gathered in the very presence of God for worship?

We are not at all suggesting that we must dress elaborately for worship, but reasoning from the jury-duty notice, and our high regard for God, how can the current "come as you are" attitude display respect for public worship? I mean, we are to show the courtroom respect, but not the Eternal Father and the house of worship? Is that it? The denominational world even advertises, using the very phrase—“come as you are." Have we forgotten whom we are worshipping? Certainly God looks on the inner man, but is not our thoughtless inner man put on display as we come before his Holiness to worship in outward carelessness?

What kind of image does it project when a brother gets up to lead singing, wearing an "I'd rather be fishing" T-shirt? Or looking like he pulled last weeks [sic] work clothes out of the hamper. The brother who comes directly from work to the meeting house, having no time to “clean up" is not in this consideration at all—we have men with such a heart. But what about the rest of us, purposely careless in gathering before God for worship, unkempt, inappropriate, or otherwise disrespectful?

We are only saying, if a court room demands honour and respect, how much more so the house of God. &

                                                    The Light, Mullin, Texas

                                                    Via The Sower, July/August 2005