(Previous  article)

“But wait — there’s more. If you act now, we’ll also include…”

You probably heard enough infomercials to finish that line a hundred different ways. And although the announcer wants you to believe he’s offering an unbelievable deal, you’re not convinced there’s really anything of value in His offer.

I suspect we sometimes treat promises like the one Jesus made the disciples in Luke 11 with a similar dose of skepticism.

We saw the disciples come to Jesus after one of His times of prayer, asking Him to teach them to pray. Not in the sense of a religious ritual, but to get the kind of guidance they saw Him get from the Father. Not only does He oblige their request, He promises even more. In addition to teaching them to pray, He promises that God will give them the Spirit if they will ask.

Ok, fine and good. But what does that mean for us today? Is there really anything of value there?

To answer that, we have to appreciate where this event falls in the Story, and how the Story has developed from then to now.

Although it shows up in the middle of the Gospel of Luke, it occurs as Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem for the last time. A couple of chapters earlier he tells us:

When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;     – Luke 9:51 

All the events from here to His entrance to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Luke 19:29-44) occur on His final journey to Jerusalem.

Having entered on Palm Sunday, He will die the following Friday.

On Thursday night of that week, He celebrates Passover with His disciples. John 13-17 records all that He shared with the disciples that night.

After instituting what we know as “The Lord’s Supper” He begins the Upper Room Discourse in 13:31. The gist of His message is, “I’ve got to go away and you can’t come right now. While I’m gone,  represent me. Love one another, like I’ve loved you.”

They get hung up on the going away part — “Wait. Where are you going and why can’t we come?”

In Jesus’ reply, He makes another promise regarding the Holy Spirit. Several details are revealed at this time:

• The disciples already know Him because He abides with them (suggesting that the promise in 11:13 has already been fulfilled), and in the future will dwell in them (14:17).
• They will not be abandoned (14:18).
• This Spirit will teach them and remind them off all that Jesus taught them (14:26).
• But before the Spirit can come, Jesus must go away, and then send Him (16:7).
• When He comes, He will guide them into all truth, testifying of Jesus (16:13).

Later that evening, after this discussion, He will be arrested and crucified the following day, Friday. According to Dr. Harold W. Hoehner, the date was April 3, 33 AD (Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ).

Resurrected on Sunday, April 5, He appears to the disciples several times over the next five-and-a-half weeks, before His ascension on Thursday, May 14 (Acts 1:9-11).

Immediately before the ascension, He instructed the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, they would be empowered and testify of Him (Acts 1:4-8).

Ten days later, this promise was fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2). Nobody had to ask for it. They were all there together and it just happened.

From then on, we see the Spirit —

• filling believers (4:31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:52)
• speaking to believers (8:29; 10:19; 11:12; 13:2, 4; 20:23)
• relocating believers (8:39)
• directing believers (15:28; 16:6-7; 19:21; 20:22; 20:28)
• empowering believers to speak (Acts 4:8, 31; 6:10; 11:28; 13:9; 19:6; 21:4, 11)
• being lied to (Acts 5:3, 9)
• comforting believers (9:31)

Organizing these passages into categories helps us think about the different ways the Spirit benefits us. At the same time, if we are going to be faithful to the truth, we must recognize that the distinctions in this list are, at times, arbitrary. For example, in Acts 21:11, Agabus says, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” Should this be grouped with “speaking to believers” or “empowering believers to speak“?

Of course, the answer is “Yes,” — that is, it fits either group. You might even make an argument that it could fit in one of the other categories. I made my decisions based on the words Luke used in each passage.

But we did not set out to create an academic cataloging of the activities of the Spirit in Acts. We set out to track His relationship with believers as the Story unfolds.

Remember, in Luke 11, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray — to get direction from God. Jesus offered them that and more — the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, Who will provide, not only direction, but empowerment and fellowship as well.

So, how’s that working out in Acts?

Well, He turns out to be a real Person, abiding in fellowship with believers, directing and empowering them, just as He did Jesus.

But there is one distinct difference. In Luke 11, Jesus told the disciples to ask the Father for the Spirit. But with Pentecost, all that changes. Not only on the Day of Pentecost, but in the resulting growth of the church.

Let’s look at that development.

One of the most notable phenomena associated with the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost was speaking in tongues. This will figure prominently in the major theological controversy faced by the 1st Century church – the question of who could receive the Life that Christ brought. In fact, this speaking in tongues will turn out to be a decisive factor in settling that controversy.

The default assumption by most Jewish believers was that circumcision and keeping the Law were still necessary (e.g., see Acts 11:1-3). Even men like the Apostle Peter were unclear about the obligations of the law, and continued to hold to the laws regulating both food and social relationships (Acts 10:9-16, 28). Even after the revelation that he received in these chapters, he was influenced by these old notions, and had to be confronted by Paul (Galatians 2:11-14).

So, it is significant when we meet Cornelius, a Gentile, in Acts 10. He is devout, supporting Jews and praying regularly to God. An angel appears to him, telling Him to send for Peter. As his servants are on their way to Peter, Peter also receives a vision through which he learns that he should not consider any many unholy or unclean, even though the Old Testament Law forbade association with Gentiles (10:28).

So, Peter goes to Cornelius and preaches the Gospel to everyone assembled in his house. In the middle of the sermon, the Holy Spirit falls on these Gentiles.  This was evident because they started speaking in tongues, just like the believers on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-6). Peter was thus convinced that they should be baptized with water as a testament of their faith in Christ (Acts 10:46-48).

While this may not seem like that big of a deal to us, it was then. When Peter gets back to Jerusalem, the Jewish believers (the “circumcised”) called him on the carpet –“You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them” (Acts 11:2).

In his own defense, Peter recounts His vision and the events at Cornelius’ (11:4-18):

“And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”     – Acts 11:15-18

Consider the points of his argument:

• While he was preaching, the Holy Spirit came upon these Gentiles unexpectedly — without being requested. (Peter and his companions knew this because the Gentiles started speaking in tongues — 10:46).
• Peter connected this to Jesus’ teaching that His followers would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
• The gift of the Holy Spirit received by Cornelius and company was the same as the gift received by the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.
• The gift came as a result of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, even though these Gentiles were outside the Law.
• Ergo, Gentiles are part of the New Covenant by virtue of their faith, independently of the Law. Their receiving of the Spirit, as evidenced by tongues proves this point beyond dispute.
• Those who challenged Peter were satisfied with this conclusion.

So, these Gentiles did not have to ask for the Spirit. He came upon them as a result of their belief in Jesus Christ. His coming even preceded, and in fact, was the basis for, their baptism.

That this had become the norm is seen in Acts 19, where Paul encounters some disciples at Ephesus:

“It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men.”     – Acts 19:1–7 NAS95

Note the connection Paul makes between believing and receiving the Holy Spirit. These particular disciples were still proclaiming the message of John the Baptist. They hadn’t heard about Jesus yet. Although, in this particular case, their receiving of the Spirit was precipitated by Paul laying his hands on them, it is clearly tied with belief in Jesus Christ. Like previous instances, we know they received the Spirit because they spoke in tongues.

We shouldn’t place too much weight on the fact that the Holy Spirit came upon them through the laying on of Paul’s hands. Clearly, this is part of the transition from the Old Covenant, through the ministry of John the Baptist, and into the New Covenant. Harold Hoehner places this event around September of 53 AD. By the time Paul writes Romans, a little over 3 years later, everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit (Romans 8:9, cf. Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 4:13). This is a given from that time forward.

So, unlike the disciples in Luke 11, we no longer have to ask for the Spirit. Now, this One Who provides direction and empowerment, this One through Whom we have fellowship with God, is given to every believer.

But, while tongues were an indication that these believers had received the Spirit, they were not an indication that a believer was spiritual. We’ll look at the next.

(Next Article)