THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRT Key Verse: John 15:26 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: I. The Holy Spirit has always existed. A. The Lord Jesus has always been. “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1) refers to the eternal self-existence of Jesus before He became flesh (John 1:14). B. It is equally true that the Holy Spirit has always existed and been active in the affairs of the world along with God the Father, and God the Son. For instance, it was the Holy Spirit who was instrumental in the conception of Jesus in human form (Matt. 1:18, 20). It was also said that John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15). Likewise, both Zacharias and Elisabeth were filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41, 67), as were Simeon (Luke 2:25) and Anna (Luke 2:36). These events all occurred before the manifestation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. II. Jesus foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit on the night before His passion. A. He presented the Holy Spirit not merely as an energizing power (Luke 4:18; 1 Cor. 3:16; Gal. 4:6), but as a distinct personality, a paráklētos, (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). In John 16:7 reference is made to Him: “I will send him unto you”; “And when he is come” (v. 8); “… when he, the spirit of truth, is come …” (v. 13); and “He shall glorify me …” (v. 14). Clearly, Christ was predicting the coming of a personal being and not a type of special power. B. Jesus said in John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come.” The verb used here is élthē, the second aorist subjunctive of érchomai, indicating a once and for all happening which could be later pinpointed. III. The coming of the Holy Spirit was a definite historical event. A. He came on the day of Pentecost which was an appointed festival held on the fiftieth day after the beginning of the Passover (Lev. 23:16). Acts 2:1–42 describes in detail His coming to over a hundred disciples and later that day to about three thousand other Jews in Jerusalem. B. This event also occurred just ten days after Jesus’ ascension into heaven (Acts 1:10, 11). IV. The Holy Spirit’s coming initiated the beginning of the worldwide church. A. Before His ascension, Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come and empower them to be His witnesses “… unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). John the Baptist had also predicted the coming of the Holy Spirit during his ministry (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). B. The coming of the Holy Spirit abolished the distinctions between Israel and the Gentiles as well as any other human differentiations. Although the event at Pentecost was exclusively for the Jews, the same miraculous signs were later repeated at Caesarea to include Cornelius and others who were Gentiles (Acts 10:44–48; 11:15–18). Then at Ephesus the Holy Spirit also came on those who were calling themselves the disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1–17). On all three of these occasions the one common sign given as evidence of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit was speaking in languages other than their own (Acts 2:4, 6, 8, 11; 10:46; 19:6). C. This baptism in the Holy Spirit was for the purpose of joining believers to the body of Christ. “For by [in] one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). In Jesus, all believers share “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” This baptism is of the Holy Spirit, not water (Eph. 4:5). D. The Holy Spirit’s coming also brought about the full revelation of Jesus Christ. “… He shall testify of me” (John 15:26). A testimony (marturía) is the making public all that one knows about another. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:13). “He [himself] shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you” (John 16:14). Thus, Jesus explains that the Holy Spirit came to teach the believer about Christ and then to unite him with Christ as a member of His body, the Church. This Study Taken From Sermon Starters 52 New Testament Outlines Volumes 1–4 Spiros Zodhiates,: AMG Publishers
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 16:10:23 +0000
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