We finished reading through the Book of Acts over the past month. Thsi week, Wendy Reaume is going to highlight important points that Acts makes about how Christian communities operate. Enjoy this excellent summary of Acts this week.
By Wendy Reaume
The book of ACTS has been called ‘the actions [acts] of the apostles.’ It could just as easily be called ‘the actions of the Holy Spirit’ because everything that the Apostles do is through the Holy Spirit’s power. In this book we see the first time the Holy Spirit is given to live and stay within the believer’s life. Prior to Christ’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit would come upon a prophet or leader of God and would give them the power they needed to carry out their task. However, when the task was completed or when they turned away from God, the Holy Spirit would leave. We see this in many places in the Old Testament. Here are a few:
Ps 51:11 (David) “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”
Ex 31:1-5 (Bezalel the craftsman) “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘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 wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.”
Judges 6:34 (Gideon) “Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.” “
1 Sam 10:10; 16:14 (King Saul) “When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.” “Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.”
We are then promised in Ezekiel and Joel that one day God will write the law on our hearts. It will no longer be a law written on stone tablets, and His Spirit will dwell inside us. It will be our heart of flesh as we listen to God’s voice within us that encourages and admonishes us to follow His way. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26,27) (Joel 2:28,29)
The book of ACTS does something incredible; it shows that this gift of the Holy Spirit is for all believers. It is not just a promise made to the Jewish Christians, but to Gentiles as well. In ACTS the Jewish believers wait and receive the Holy Spirit. Although it is not the case all throughout ACTS, in this case it is a visible ‘giving’ accompanied by speaking in tongues and flames of fire, just as John the Baptist promised: “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) In ACTS we see this same ‘giving of the Holy Spirit’ duplicated, first for the Jewish believers (Acts 2:3,4), and then for the first Gentile believers (Acts 10:44-48). Again, this is not always the case when believers receive the Holy Spirit, but these were the first Gentiles to become Christians and as such, the mirrored experience of speaking in tongues and flames of fire made it very, very clear. God is not a respecter of persons. The giving of the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, the gift of eternal life—it is for all: Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free.
How great that God had these instances recorded and made it so clear that no one is left out. We all have an equal chance. We simply need to accept the free gift of forgiveness offered to each and every one. And by simply responding to God in faith (one expression of faith is through prayer) we can thank Him for what He has done for us; dying on the cross to pay the penalty our sins. He has exchanged our debt for His righteousness and the forgiveness of sins. Upon becoming a Christian, (accepting God’s gift of forgiveness through Christ’s work), we are baptized or receive the Holy Spirit, and from that moment on, the Holy Spirit lives and dwells in the life of the believer.
How amazing that God orchestrated the giving of the Holy Spirit in such a way that we all know—we are welcome! He loves us each regardless of who we are or what we have to offer. It is truly His gift.
Ephesians 2:8,9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.