150607 The Promise of the Father

Acts 1:4-11 ⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

There’s a lot going on here and it may be that we will need to come back, more than once, before we go on with the Book of Acts. We find here the last recorded words of Jesus before his ascension. This account comes from Luke and continues the account that he had recorded in his gospel. Today we will look at the promise of the Father. This is an interesting phrase because of the way it’s presented. To wait for the promise of the Father was something they heard from Jesus. There are different understandings as to what all this means. What really counts is not human opinion but what God’s word says.

The Holy Spirit was at work in the time of the Old Testament. He was bringing people to faith and giving remarkable gifts to some of God’s people. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit worked in the lives of Elijah, Samuel, David and others. Moses should be remembered as having tremendous spiritual power. When he was organizing the nation of Israel in the wilderness he established a leadership group of seventy elders. When he did, the Holy Spirit came down upon the group showing God’s approval. As soon as the Spirit rested on them they prophesied as evidence of God’s Spirit in their life. When Joshua tried to limit their work Moses responded. There is no question that…

The promise was desired by Moses. Turn with me to Numbers 11:24-30 and listen while I read. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.

²⁶ Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” ³⁰ And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

You may ask what this prophesying consisted of. I don’t know! God took of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders. Two of the elders had passed up the meeting Moses had called. They were still in the camp rather than with the others at the Tent of Meeting. Rather than being left out, the Spirit rested on them where they were and they also prophesied causing Joshua’s jealousy. Moses made it very clear that he did not question the work of God’s Spirit. In fact, Moses made it very clear that he desired that the promise would rest not only on him and Aaron but would also rest on all God’s people. Moses would have certainly rejoiced to have seen the Spirit at work in the life of Jesus and the early church. We do not know that Moses did not have that future work of the Spirit revealed to him. We just don’t have a record of him having such a revelation.

The promise of the Father involved the Holy Spirit coming on all God’s people and the transition began during Jesus’ life. Let’s look at…

The promise in Jesus’ ministry. Turn with me to Luke 3:21-22. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus’ ministry was begun in an obvious work of the Holy Spirit. We know that Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit. We know that the Spirit was resident in Jesus all of his life. But the outward evidence, before a large audience, was first revealed when he came to John the Baptizer and was obedient to the Father in fulfilling all righteousness by being baptized. The Spirit came upon Jesus while a voice spoke from heaven confirming that Jesus was the Beloved Son. From that point forward Jesus functioned in the Holy Spirit limited only by his human nature. Now let’s move ahead to…

Luke 4:1-2 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

We mostly think of blessings in our lives when we are full of the Holy Spirit. Yet, when Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit he was led into the wilderness. In that wilderness Jesus was tempted by the devil. He fasted and communed with the Father during forty days. The Spirit that lived in him now surrounded him and prompted him in his battle with the enemy. At the end of that time… Let’s look at verse 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.

After binding the “strongman” in the wilderness Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. From that point forward the Spirit had such an obvious effect upon the life of Jesus that, wherever he went, he was talked about and the people sought to see him. He healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead! All of this was done in the power of the Promise of the Father. Jesus spoke about the willingness of the Father to give his promise. Turn with me to Luke 11:13. If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus compared human parents to our heavenly Father. And assured those around him that if they would ask the Father would give the Holy Spirit. We give our children good gifts but God, beginning in the life of Jesus, clearly came to conquer Satan’s kingdom through the greater new covenant power of the Holy Spirit. Throughout Jesus’ life the promise rested upon him and those he gave power to. A couple of times he sent out his disciples empowered to preach, heal, and proclaim the kingdom of heaven was at hand. After these evidences during the life of Jesus…

The promise came in fullness at Pentecost. Turn with me to Acts 2:1-4. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

They were all together in one place. It has been pretty much assumed that the “one place” was the upper room in the house of Mary. There is no reason not to accept that idea. They spent their time praying and organizing. It’s interesting that the Holy Spirit led them to appoint a replacement for Judas during that time. When they went out they were no longer the eleven (Judas no longer being there) but they were again the twelve.

In this upper room Jesus had breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He was not bestowing the Spirit upon them he was assuring them they would receive the Holy Spirit. He had commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. He had spent about forty days with them opening their mind to understand the Scriptures. Oh, how I wish for a similar experience for all of us today.

In the account of the fall of the Spirit upon them on the day of Pentecost, Luke clearly points out that there were people present that day from many different places speaking many different languages. So the Holy Spirit poured out the gift of tongues. There is no evidence that there was an unknown tongue that day because the people were astonished at hearing them speak in their native language. About 120 believers spread out in the crowd sharing the gospel and the Holy Spirit allowed it to be spoken/heard in many different languages. The result of that miraculous witness was 3000 people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. And they were baptized that day.

At the foot of the steps leading up to the Temple Mount there were quite a few places containing water sufficient to immerse a person. This was part of the Jewish ritual of going to the temple. So obviously these “baptisteries” were made use of and several of the disciples baptized these many people. There have seldom been a time when so many were baptized at once in true believer’s baptism.

The promise came in its fullness on the day of Pentecost and from then until Christ comes again…

The promise brings believers into the body. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Salvation is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit. All authority in heaven and on earth was given to Jesus and because of that authority we are allowed today to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. Jesus had specifically told them to begin at Jerusalem — and it was a magnificent beginning — and go out into Judea, Samaria, and on to the uttermost parts of the earth. The book of Acts gives us a partial record of the “going to all the world” that began on the day of Pentecost.

That day in Jerusalem all of these different people had come to experience Passover without any awareness that they would experience the promise of the Father. I can imagine what might’ve happened.

Let’s use our imagination for a moment. A man from North Africa, or Mesopotamia, or Egypt, are even Rome itself, hears — in his own language — the gospel of Jesus Christ. That gospel Paul would later write is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And so this man, having heard this powerful gospel, was filled with the desire that his family and friends back home hear it as well. He didn’t go to the disciples and say send someone to my people. Instead, he said, “Here am I, send me!” Like Isaiah of old he became the preacher to his own people. I can imagine this man hurriedly canceling the rest of his stay in Jerusalem and asking the church there to pray for him as he returned home. When he arrived at home, full of the Spirit, he began to tell everyone about Jesus. He would begin with his wife and children then he would go on to his brothers and sisters, and, if they were alive, his parents. Everyone he met in his hometown he would want to bring to Jesus. So that the opening of the Christian age saw an unparalleled expansion of Christianity fueled by common people filled with the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts could be written over again and again if we had the record of all those who carried the gospel across the known world.

The promise began at Pentecost in power and the promised Holy Spirit brought people into the body. We look back in amazement at what happened then but we need to remember…

The promise remains. Turn with me to the “love chapter”. And listen while I read 1 Corinthians 13:10. But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. This passage of Scripture has been misused and abused, especially in the last 100 years. In order to refute the errors of the Pentecostals some of the evangelical preachers claim that 1 Corinthians 13 speaks of a time when spiritual gifts would cease. And by the way, it does! When the perfect comes the partial will cease. I can assure you “the perfect” has not yet come! The perfect will come when Jesus splits the clouds and the trumpet blows for the end.

The promise remains in effect for us today. We should expect to have the works of Jesus and the works of the Holy Spirit today. But, care needs to be taken. The Holy Spirit comes upon the believers with a very specific purpose in mind. Today, many people spend their time talking about spiritual manifestations that are nothing more than a sideshow! Look at what Paul continues to tell the Corinthians in…

14:12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. Those that are eager for the manifestations of the Spirit must remember that those manifestations were given for the specific purpose of making disciples not putting on a “power show”. We need to work hard at building up the church. No, not the building, instead we are to build up the real church — the people! God always had a plan and part of it is shown in…

Ephesians 4:11-12. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. Please note that these gifted people were not just given to the church for the first century. They were given for the specific purpose of equipping the saints — that’s you and me — for the work of ministry. The King James translators made a serious error when they punctuated verse twelve the way they did. The gifted people were given, they said, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Those commas break up the thought. The saints were not to be perfected so that they can enjoy perfection. They were to be perfected to do the work of the ministry not to watch the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers, do the work of the ministry.

The promise of the Father — the blessed Holy Spirit — is given for the specific task of discipling the nations beginning in Stamford and going to all the world. There have been more or less evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit in our world today. Satan doesn’t mind people getting excited about the work of the Spirit. What he minds is people obediently letting the Spirit do his work. I remember a story about a lady who spoke up in church one day to say, “It ain’t how high you jump when you holler, ‘Hallelujah’, it’s how straight you walk when you hit the ground.” There is a desperate need in our world today for revival of real spiritual strength and growth. Those who know Christ need to grow up to the fullness of the Spirit. Those who do not know Christ need to come to know him. Let’s make it our goal to be sure that everyone within our reach hears the gospel. Please, don’t get turned aside by foolish debates.

One of the “tricks” of the devil is to get Christians to argue among themselves. If we spend our time fighting each other we are going to be very inefficient in fighting Satan. In the early church the fight was over keeping the Jewish symbolic and ceremonial law. As time went by the fight shifted to matters concerning the Holy Spirit. Today the fight over the program for the second coming is included. We need to be of the same attitude as Moses. We should desire that everyone would be used by the Holy Spirit to proclaim God’s truth. Jesus said that those who believe in him would do the work that he did and even greater with the Holy Spirit at work in their lives. The promised power of the Spirit continues today. We should rejoice in that truth and build up the church in every way the Spirit guides. Have you come to the place where you believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God? Have you followed him in baptism? Do you need to publicly confess him today?

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.