The Coming Of The Holy Spirit

NOVEMBER 28, 2021 STUDY NOTES ACTS 2:1-4 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT INTRODUCTION The first four verses of Acts 2 are important, helping us to understand the rest of the book Acts 2 is important, helping us to understand the purpose of the NT letters Letters written to churches, letters we must read today and live according to their teaching In acts 2 we find the birth of the NT church, occurring at the time of the coming of the Spirit Jesus made a promise to His disciples, Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Theologians debate the question of the beginning of the Church Age The question is, did the NT church exist during Jesus’ earthly ministry? Notice that Jesus did not say, “I will continue building My Church” Jesus used the future tense, “I will build my church,” something that had not happened yet Something that the disciples could expect to happen in the future The church identified in Acts and the NT letters was not previously in existence The NT church as revealed in Acts could not exist prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit There was no such church as described in the NT found in the Gospels or the OT Jesus said, I will build “my” church, Paul describes Christ and the church, Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, The NT church is the “Body of Christ,” Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. The promise of Jesus to build His church corresponds with many other promises to His disciples The day before Jesus was crucified, He went with His disciples into the upper room John 13-17 is His “farewell address” to the disciples, read it and pay attention to the promises Jesus said to them, Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. But they were troubled, disturbed, confused, perplexed, and saddened Because they had heard Jesus speak of His death, burial, and resurrection And they were still troubled even though He made them a promise, Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. What Jesus had been telling them was not what they had expected to hear from the Messiah They were looking for the Messiah to come and prepare a place for them on earth They expected the Messiah to prepare a place on earth for God to come to them Jesus wanted His followers to know that He was going to physically leave the earth His going away is what the disciples could not understand, so He made them another promise, Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Thomas revealed the dilemma of the disciples, Joh 14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? So, Jesus gave them another promise, Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. That was a great promise but hard to believe or understand How could there be greater works than what they had witnessed in the presence of Jesus? Jesus had presented the truth of greater works, Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. Page 1 of 4 Jesus promised a never-ending flow of spiritual water which would supply never ending life, Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. That promise and the fulfillment of greater works were both based upon the same truth, Joh 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Both promises were based upon the “Coming of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2) And the Holy Spirit would not come until Jesus was “glorified,” but when was that? When Jesus died on the cross, He was glorified, Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Jesus arose from the grave in a “glorious body,” Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. When Jesus ascended back to the Father He was “received up into glory,” 1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Believers would receive the Holy Spirit when Jesus experienced the glory of the Ascension THE PROMISE OF THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT The coming of the Holy Spirit does not mean that the Spirit had not been previously present We find the ministry of the Spirit at the time of the creation of the earth, Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. There are approximately 100 references to the Spirit of God in the OT Old Testament prophets were guided by the Holy Spirit, 2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon the Messiah, Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; The Spirit of the Lord was present in the life of Jesus throughout His earthly ministry You will find the Sprit present at the time of His birth, His baptism, and temptation, Luk 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Jesus through the Spirit offered Himself to die on the cross, Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Following His death Jesus was made alive by the Spirit, 1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: Between His resurrection and His Ascension Jesus taught His disciples through the Spirit, Act 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: The Gospel accounts end with the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ Jesus had blessed the disciples, Luk 24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. Then He ascended into Heaven, Luk 24:51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. The Gospel of Luke closed with the ascension of Jesus Christ The book of Acts opens with the ascension of Jesus back to Heaven Page 2 of 4 The ascension of Jesus was 40 days after His resurrection Jesus had instructed His apostles during this 40-day time-period, a 40-day seminary course His instructions had been given through the ministry of the Holy Spirit The same Jesus was teaching the same Apostles that He had taught before His death, Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. The disciples of Jesus must understand the scriptures, Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, They must understand the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: They must also know that something was different since Jesus was alive from the dead In Acts 1:2, Luke points out the difference, Jesus was speaking “through the Holy Spirit” And there is an emphasis upon the presence of the Holy Spirit and what a difference that made The Holy Spirit was present with Jesus during His earthly ministry, Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, But now the disciples sensed the ministry of the Spirit in Jesus’ life in a new way By example, Jesus was revealing to the Apostles what their ministry would now be The Apostles and all believers would now minister through the Holy Spirit The book of Acts tells the story of the Acts of the Apostles through the Holy Spirit Before His ascension Jesus was speaking to His disciples concerning the Kingdom of God, Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: The coming of the Holy Spirit was a must for the future ministry in the kingdom of God The Holy Spirit was coming to continue the works of Jesus Christ upon the earth The Spirit was coming to begin His new ministry in the life of those who believe in Jesus The continued work of Jesus upon the earth would now be through Spirit-Filled believers So, that is why Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem, Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. “Being assembled together with them” is one word in the Greek and found only here in the NT It is not the usual or ordinary phrase to identify coming together It means “to gather together in one place,” but the emphasis is upon it being a “special time” Luke selected a special word to describe a very special place to gather for a special time It spoke of the time that they had been instructed to wait for, expecting something to happen Jesus said, you have heard me speak of the “promise of the Father” Jesus had repeatedly promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, revealing how important it was Jesus promised the “Comforter” which is the Holy Spirit, Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Jesus gave the promise of “another Comforter” or “another Helper” The Greek word translated “another” means another of the same kind or of equal quality “Another” was an important word because it meant one just like the first one In other words, if Christ is God, then the Spirit, the other Helper of the same kind, is also God Jesus is saying that he will send the disciples a person just like Himself, One who is of God Jesus is the first Counselor who was living “with them” The Holy Spirit is the Counselor who is coming to live “in them” The word “Comforter” speaks of one who comes to help or comes to give aid Page 3 of 4 It was also used to identify a legal advisor, an advocate, one who is the representative of another The word translated “Comforter” is found four times in the Gospel of John Again, a future promise, “He shall be in you,” Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. Notice that Jesus said He would “not leave us comfortless,” Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. The word comfortless means “orphaned,” as a child without parents Jesus would not leave His disciples without a master The presence of the Holy Spirit with the believer represents strength, guidance, companionship Jesus was going to leave the earth, but the believer would not be left alone Jesus promised that the Father will send the “Comforter,” Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Jesus said that the Father would send the Spirit “in my name” Which identifies why Jesus said that He would send the Spirit from the Father Jesus will ask the Father to send the Spirit based upon His completed work of redemption The Father will send the Spirit as a fulfillment of the works of Jesus, “in Jesus’ name” Jesus identified the “Comforter” as “the Holy Spirit” and spoke of His future ministry Jesus would send the Spirit when He returned to the Father, Joh 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: Jesus must depart from the earth before the coming of the Spirit, Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Jesus said, “It is expedient for you that I go away,” it is for your own good It was for the benefit of the disciples, and it was to our advantage, it was for our profit All believers would benefit from the return of Jesus to the Father, He would send the Comforter The word translated “Comforter” in the Gospel of John is found one other time in the NT, 1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: It is the word “advocate” and John uses it here to present another important point The original word was also used as a legal term identifying a “defense attorney” It referred to a legal advisor who would come forward on behalf of another’s interest The truth revealed is that Jesus stands before God to represent us, to speak in our defense Therefore, we do not stand before the Father on our own, we stand before God “in-Christ” Satan stands before God to accuse us, Jesus stands before God to represent us We stand before God in the righteousness of Christ because Jesus Christ is the righteous Acts 2 and the “Coming of the Holy Spirit” is very important to us today We must understand the truths related to the “Coming of the Holy Spirit” We must apply them to our Christian life today, we must apply them to the ministry of our church Pray that the song you are going to hear will be true of us as we study the book of Acts Page 4 of 4