The Holy Spirit: The Work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament
Introduction:
In our last study concerning the Holy Spirit, we made some foundational points concerning the person of the Holy Spirit. We noticed that the Holy Spirit is deity that is referred to as a person and not an “active force.” We also noticed the name which gives us an idea about who the Spirit is, being called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of holiness, and the Spirit of truth. We then went a step further and noticed the work of the Holy Spirit during the Old Testament times. The Holy Spirit was took part in the creation process. We also saw the Holy Spirit working as the revealer of God’s truths to man and also as the giver special gifts to certain individuals. Finally, we noted the many passages in the Old Testament where the prophets spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit. The prophets said that the Holy Spirit would be poured out in the days to come. It is this fulfillment that we will consider in our study today. In this lesson we are going to consider the work of the Holy Spirit in New Testament times and note how the Holy Spirit was poured out, fulfilling these prophecies. Much of this lesson will be spent in looking at scriptures that show the work of the Holy Spirit without much comment by myself. In the New Testament we see three primary workings of the Holy Spirit.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2; Acts 10)
Promised by Jesus
Let us begin by considering the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. We see this idea first in John 1:32-33, “Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. I would not have known Him, except that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’’” Jesus made this promise to His apostles that they would receive the Holy Spirit for Jesus would send the Spirit to them. John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” The promise can also be seen in John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7, and John 16:13.
Recipients
The apostles (Acts 2:1-4, 33). In Acts 2:1-4 we see the twelve apostles are gathered together in the upper room in Jerusalem. Some want to suggest that the Holy Spirit fell upon more people than the twelve. But carefully notice Acts 1:26, where we see Matthias is chosen and numbered with the eleven apostles. In Acts 2:1 the “they” in the text must refer back to the last subject, which is the twelve apostles. It is upon these twelve that the tongues as of fire appeared and they are the ones that were filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:33 Peter explains what has just happened to the twelve apostles. In preaching about Jesus, Peter says, “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” Peter explains that this is the fulfillment of what Jesus had promised of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon them.
Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44-45, 11:15-17). The only other time we see this kind of pouring out of the Holy Spirit is upon Cornelius and his household in Acts 10:44-45. Peter explains this event to those in Jerusalem in Acts 11:15-17. In verse 15 Peter says that the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and his household (Gentiles) as it did on the apostles as the very beginning. Peter then recalls Jesus’ words about being baptized with the Holy Spirit and how the same gift had been poured out on the Gentiles. Peter does not say that this gift had been poured out on the Gentiles as it had last week when they were preaching to other Jews. The last time this had happened was in the beginning in Acts 2. This is a time gap of about 10 years since the Holy Spirit had been poured out in this way. Never again to we read in the scriptures the Holy Spirit being poured out in such a way.
Purpose of this pouring out
Now let us consider the purpose of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the apostles and on Cornelius and his household. The purpose of the Holy Spirit being poured out could not have been for salvation. The apostles were certainly already saved. The Holy Spirit did not come upon them to save their souls. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his household was not for salvation either. In Acts 11:14 we see that is would be the words that Peter preached that would save. Further, if this act was for salvation, then no one else was being saved because this did not happen to anyone else between Acts 2 and Acts 10. Nor does this happen again after Acts 10. So what was the purpose?
Reveal the word of God. Remember the words of Jesus in the gospel of John. John 16:13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” Also John 14:26 says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things an bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Confirm the word of God. In those days, how was one to know if a person was speaking the word of God or making things up? The signs of the Holy Spirit were used to confirm God’s will. Mark 16:20 says, “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.” The writer of Hebrews makes the same point in Hebrews 2:3-4, “This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” Thus, the event in Acts 2 was to confirm to the people that the apostles were speaking the words of God. The event in Acts 10 was to confirm to Peter that the Gentiles were to be baptized to be saved.
Duration
James Needham makes an excellent point in his book The Holy Spirit that I had not considered before in a study of this topic. He says that the baptism of the Holy Spirit as we see in these two events ceased sometime before 64 A.D. The reason is that the book of Ephesians was written at about that time and Ephesians 4:5 says that there is “one baptism.” Therefore, the baptism of the Holy Spirit must have ceased by this point for Paul to say that there is one baptism and not two. There were two baptisms on the day of Pentecost: the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and water baptism for salvation upon the three thousand that heard and believed. There were also two baptisms in Acts 10: the baptism of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his household and water baptism for salvation on Cornelius and his household. Since water baptism for salvation continued to be preached throughout the scriptures, it is clear that Holy Spirit baptism had ceased.
The Laying On of Hands to Receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:12-18)
Done through apostles
We also see in the scriptures the Holy Spirit being given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands upon certain believers. This point is made very clear in Acts 8:18, “When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands….” This is a very direct statement. There were no other peoples that were able to give the Holy Spirit by laying on hands except the apostles. We see this point exemplified in a couple of passages. In Romans 1:11 Paul said, “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you-.“ Turn your Bibles to Acts 8:12-17 where we will see this point very clearly. In Acts 8:12-13 we see that the Samaritans heard the good news of the kingdom of God and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins. But verse 15 tells us that the Samaritans had not received the Holy Spirit yet. Peter and John were sent to Samaria from Jerusalem to impart the Holy Spirit to them. Why didn’t Philip give the Samaritans the Holy Spirit? The answer is clear, that only the apostles could do this work. Further, we see that not every disciple received the Holy Spirit. Only those that the apostles laid their hands upon received this gift. In seeing the hundreds of thousands that were being baptized in the scriptures, it is clear that some did not receive the gift. Hence, Paul’s words in Romans 1:11 that he hoped to see them so they could receive spiritual gifts.
Purpose of laying on of hands
The purpose of the laying on of hands was not for salvation. Acts 8:12-14 makes this point very clear. The Samaritans believed and were baptized for salvation. The laying on of hands was not for the purpose of saving them. The people who received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands were already believers. The purpose of receiving the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands was to reveal the word of God to the believers. The revelation of God was not completed yet. The believers in the first century could not open the scrolls and read the New Testament. The written word of God was not completed yet. How were the believers in various locations throughout the world to know what the will of God was under the new covenant? Only through the laying on of hands could believers have the ability to know God’s will. Spiritual gifts were given to believers in the congregations to know the will of God (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-11). Therefore, the gifts of prophecy, miracles, tongues, interpretation, healing, and discernment were given so that the will of God could be obeyed until the revealed word came.
Duration
As we are already noting, the laying on of hands was only to last until the word of God was fully revealed. In 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 we see that the spiritual gifts are described as that which is “in part.” Paul even explicitly says that the gifts will cease. But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. In Jude 3 we read that the faith has been entrusted to the saints once for all. The word of God has been fully revealed. James 1:25 describes the law as the perfect law of liberty. The word of God is complete and perfect. Further, how were these gifts transferred? Only by the laying on of the apostles’ hands were these gifts given. Since all of the apostles died in the first century, it is no longer possible for the Holy Spirit to be given by the laying on of hands. Therefore this work has also ceased.
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Administrator and recipients
The third work of the Holy Spirit that we read about in the New Testament is what is commonly called the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I will deal with this term later, so bear with my description for a moment. We see that God is the administrator of this work of the Holy Spirit and all those who are saved receive this. Acts 2:38-29 says, “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’” Acts 5:30-32 says, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” It clear from these passages that God gives the Holy Spirit to all those who obey Him. There is question from Acts 2:38 whether the promise is the gift of the Holy Spirit, meaning that the Holy Spirit is giving a gift, or whether the promise is the Holy Spirit who is the gift. The Greek construction can work either way. I do not suppose it matters as long as we understand what is being given. Furthermore, Peter said in Acts 5:32 that God has given the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. The promise mentioned in Acts 2:38-39 is promised to all those who are afar off as many that will come to the Lord. Galatians 4:6 says similarly, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”
Purpose of indwelling of Holy Spirit
First, we must note that the purpose of this is not to give miraculous power. As we have already studied, the giving of miraculous power was through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, all of which have died. To be filled with the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with miraculous power. In Luke 1:15 we are told that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit, yet John 10:41 tells us that John the Baptist did not perform signs.
We see that the Holy Spirit dwells in the church. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” The word “you” is plural and therefore should be understood that Paul is speaking collectively to the church in Corinth. Ephesians 2:19-22 says similarly, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” To this point, there is not much disagreement or discussion. But it is the next part of this work of the Holy Spirit that causes discussion and controversy.
The Holy Spirit also dwells in the individual Christian. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” Romans 8:9 says, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” Also Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” James 4:5 says, “Or do think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’?” Further, 2 Timothy 1:14 says, “That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” These are very clear and direct statements which teach that the Spirit of God dwells in the Christian. Thus, we have called this third work of the Spirit the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
There are many descriptions given as to why the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian. Here are a few of the scriptures:
The Christian is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13).
The Christian is strengthened through the Spirit (Ephesians 3:16-17).
The Holy Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit (Romans 8:16).
The Spirit gives life to the Christian (Romans 8:11).
By the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13).
The Holy Sprit is a deposit in the heart of the Christian (2 Corinthians 1:22).
The Christian is led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18).
The Holy Spirit gives access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18).
The Holy Spirit assures us that God abides in us and we in Him (1 John 3:24; 4:13).
The duration of these things will continue until Christ returns in final judgment. We know this since the promise of these things were given to all those who obey Him and as many as the Lord calls to Him (Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32).
Conclusion:
These are the three works that we read about in the New Testament concerning the Holy Spirit. Let us not shy away from the idea that the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian. The scriptures plainly say this is a fact. What we will deal with in the future is how the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian and what this means for believers. I hope you will take these passages and study them to see the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. What the scriptures say on the matter is what we must believe and know. Let us open our hearts and minds as we study these issues.
