Let's look at some OT examples of the Holy Spirit's empowering coming upon Judges and Kings.

     One of the earliest Judges after the death of Joshua was Othniel. Speaking of Othniel, the Scriptures say, "...And the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war; and the Lord delivered...[Israel's enemy]...into his hand."--Judges 3:9-11.

     Another early Judge and deliverer of Israel was Gideon. Notice that identical language is used concerning him. "But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a [war] trumpet..." and he proceeded to lead Israel into a successful war against the Midianites. (Jud. 6:34).

     Samson is another clear example.

     "Then went Samson down..and...a young lion roared against him. And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent [the lion] as he would have rent a kid..."--Judges 14:5-6.

     "And the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them..."--Judges 14:19.

     Saul was Israel's first king.

     "Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon [Saul's] head and kissed him...and the spirit of God came upon him...--I Sam. 10:1-10.

     When news reached Saul that an enemy king had laid siege to a city in Israel, "And the spirit of God came upon Saul..."--I Sam. 11:6.

     David was Israel's second king.

     "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed [David] in the midst of his brethren: and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward..."--I Sam. 16:13.

     The Holy Spirit came also upon prophets.

     As we noted earlier, the Holy Spirit's power was upon Moses, and then also upon the Seventy Elders.

     And the Spirit's power was upon first the prophet Elijah, then upon his successor Elisha. At the end of Elijah's life, Elisha prayed and asked, "...let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."--II Kings 2:9. God granted the request, and onlookers exclaimed, "...The spirit of Elijah does rest upon Elisha!"--II Kings 2:15.

     In the cases of Moses, Othniel, Gideon, Samson, Saul, David, Elijah, Elisha, and countless other OT judges, kings, and prophets, the Holy Spirit's power rested upon them, empowering them for supernatural service, while His manifested presence remained at Mount Sinai, then in the Tabernacle, and finally in the Temple.

     And the Holy Spirit, being God, never changes. He is absolutely unchanging and unchangeable. So the ways in which you see His Spirit operate throughout the Old Testament, you will see him continue consistently in through the life of Christ, Pentecost, the Early Church, and in the believer's life today.

The Two Prophecies in the OT

     From the previous page, "Acts of the Holy Spirit in the OT," we demonstrated clearly that the Holy Spirit chooses to manifest Himself in two ways: in His presence, and in His power. From Moses onward to Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelt in the Tabernacle or Temple, but His power rested upon individuals He sent forth.

     This is an important distinction:

     The Holy Spirit within--referring to His presence.

     The Holy Spirit upon--referring to His power.

     Take note of this:

     The people in the Old Testament could come into the Tabernacle or Temple and experience the presence of God. But miracles rarely if ever occurred in the Tabernacle or Temple. To receive a miracle, the OT people had to go to a prophet or man of God. Why? Because the Holy Spirit's power wasn't in the Temple it was upon His servants.

     God revealed to Ezekiel and to Joel that in the future His Spirit would continue to move in the same way--presence within and power upon.

     "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness...A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you...and I will put My Spirit within you...:--Ezek. 36:25-27 (Amp).

     Within.

     Not upon.

     Ezekiel's prophecy was speaking of the future born-again experience which would become available after Christ's death and resurrection.

     When Christ died, the veil in the Temple was rent in two.

     Why?

     Because the man-made Temple in Jerusalem was no longer to be the Holy Spirit's dwelling place. After Christ rose from the dead, the hearts of believers became the Holy Spirit's new resting place. The Holy Spirit would come within or into their hearts, and their hearts became the new temple. Paul wrote to NT believers, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"--I Cor. 3:16.

     Within.

     Not upon.

     But this is not all that God said would happen after Christ's resurrection. Ezekiel said the Holy Spirit would be within believers. Joel went further and prophesied that the Holy Spirit would also be upon believers.

     Joel prophesied:

     "And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit."--Joel 2:28,29 (Amp).

     Joel is speaking here of an entirely different manifestation of the Spirit. This manifestation was a manifestation of power. In addition to the presence of the Holy Spirit being in believers, His power would also be upon them too.

     Ezekiel's prophecy--the Holy Spirit's presence within the believer through the born-again experience.

     Joel's prophecy--the Holy Spirit's power upon the believer through the outpouring or baptism in the Holy Spirit experience.

     Two completely different future experiences.

     Think about it. In the days of Ezekiel and Joel, the Holy Spirit's presence dwelled in the Temple. But both Ezekiel and Joel had the Holy Spirit's power resting upon them to fulfill the prophet's ministry. They prophesied under the unction of the Holy Spirit. By personal experience, they knew the difference between the Spirit's presence within the Temple, and His power resting upon them.

     Ezekiel prophesied of the future born-again experience.

     Joel prophesied of the future outpouring or baptism experience.

     Two different prophets.

     Two different prophecies.

     Two different future manifestations.

     Ezekiel prophesied that after Christ's resurrection, the Holy Spirit would no longer dwell in the Temple, but would reside in the hearts of believers.

     Joel prophesied that in addition to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in believers' hearts, He would also come upon believers in power just like He had done with Ezekiel, Joel, Moses, and the other prophets of Old.

     The Holy Spirit within in presence.

     The Holy Spirit upon in power.

John the Baptist's Revelation of Christ 

     The Church has no scriptural explanation for John the Baptist's ministry.

     No, John was not sent to reveal the Messiah to Israel.

     I know you've heard it for years.

     It is still wrong.

     In our zeal to convince sinners of their need for a savior, we looked at the entire Bible through salvation-colored glasses, so to speak. Each Scripture existed only to provide evidence of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. When we felt it was necessary, we didn't hesitate to tweak a Scripture in order to corroborate the gospel message. By handling the Scriptures with an agenda--well-meaning though we were--we brought light and salvation to sinners, but we put blinders on our own understanding of the Gospel.

     John the Baptist was the son of Elizabeth and Zacharias. John's father was a priest. As the son of a priest, John was thoroughly schooled in the Law and the prophecies of the Bible. He was familiar with Ezekiel's prophecy of the Holy Spirit's presence coming within believers in the future. And he also knew of Joel's prophecy of the Holy Spirit's power coming upon all believers like He had come upon the prophets of old.

     When John reached maturity, rather than joining in to the priestly system, he went out into the wilderness. While in the wilderness, God revealed to John a two-fold ministry assignment.

     First, God told him to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy by being:

     "The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."--Isa. 40:3.

     In the first half of the instruction, God told John to preach repentence to Israel to prepare them for a coming event.

     What was the coming event?

     The appearance of the Messiah?

     No.

     The Second part of the ministry assignment God gave John was:

     "...Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost."--John 1:33.

     John was sent to reveal to Israel the one who would baptize them in, or pour out upon them, the Holy Ghost.

     How did they know that an outpouring of the Holy Spirit was coming?

     Because they had read Joel's prophecy.

     "And afterward I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit." Joel 2:28, 29 (Amp).

     From this prophecy John the Baptist and the Jews of that day knew there was coming an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He was going to come upon all believers, empowering them to flow in God's miraculous power in the same way He empowered the prophets of Old.

     But how would this outpouring come? Joel's prophecy did not specify. Would the outpouring come in the Temple? Would it come at Mount Sinai? Would it come from the clear blue sky? Would angels appear? They did not know.

     God provided the missing information to John in the wilderness, indicating that the promised outpouring would come through a man. He told John that as he preached and baptized, the one upon whom the Spirit descended and remained, would be the one through whom the Holy Spirit outpouring would come.

     All four Gospel's record John's baptism of Jesus. In all four accounts, he describes Christ in the same way:

• Matthew 3:11--"...he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
• Mark 1:8--"...he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."
• Luke 3:16--"...he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."
• John 1:29, 33, 34--"...the Lamb of God...he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost...the Son of God."

     We preach wrongly, that John the Baptist was sent to reveal the Messiah to Israel. We act like John saw Jesus, and jumped up and said, "Behold O' Israel!...Here is the Messiah!...His name is Jesus of Nazareth!"

     But John did not do that.

     John identified Christ as "he which shall baptize you [pour out upon you] the Holy Ghost." Although in John's Gospel, John the Baptist also noted that Christ was the Lamb of God and the Son of God, clearly the emphasis was on Christ's role as the Baptizer [or outpourer] of the Holy Spirit.

     Believers were then like they are today.

     There are superficial believers--who are always looking for the wrong thing, and who always miss out on what God is really doing in their day.

     And there are true believers, deep believers--who are looking for what God is truly doing, and are determined to get in on it.

     The superficial believers in that day were looking for the coming of a political Messiah, the arrival of a new King, or a general that would deliver Israel from Roman oppression. They waited in the streets and synagogues for him, and plotted and planned, and had no time for spiritual matters.

     The true believers, those fully in tune with God, were looking for the one who would pour out upon them the power of the Holy Spirit, and deliver them from the oppression of sin and the bondage of Satan. They went out into the wilderness. They repented and were baptized, and prayed, and had no time for political matters.

     Through John's identification of Jesus Christ as the one who would pour out upon them Joel's promised outpouring, God made clear that He intended for His Spirit continue manifesting in and upon New Testament Christians as He always had before:

     His presence residing within.

     And His power resting upon individual believers.

The Holy Spirit in Christ's Life

     The works of the Holy Spirit in Christ's life begin with his miraculous birth. 

     The virgin birth is one of the foundational doctrines of Christianity.

     Isaiah prophesied 800 years before Jesus' birth, giving a hint as to how it would take place:

     "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."--Isa. 7:14.

     Some try to discount the virgin birth by saying that the Hebrew word translated "virgin" simply means young girl. Well, young girls have been giving birth since the Garden of Eden. For an ordinary young girl to conceive in the ordinary way, and give birth in the ordinary way, would not be much of a miraculous "sign."

     No.

     God said that Christ's birth would be a miraculous sign. And He chose that the miraculous sign would be that a virgin would conceive and bear a child without having been intimate with a husband.

     Let's look at how this birth was accomplished. The angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would give birth to the Messiah. Then Mary replied:

     "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?"

     Note closely the angel's reply:

     "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee..."Luke 1:34,35.

     The conception of Christ was accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary.

     As we have seen in previous posts, the Holy Spirit's presence and the Holy Spirit's power are two entirely separate issues.

     His presence dwelled first in the Tabernacle in the days of Moses, then in the Temple from Soloman's day forward. Have you ever noticed that in the Old Testament, you rarely see a miracle take place actually in the Temple itself?

     Out of the hundreds of miracles of the Old Testament, only two or three occurred directly in the Temple. Instead, the Holy Spirit worked miracles by putting His power upon various judges, kings, and prophets, and His power flowed through them to heal and work miracles for others.

     In Mary's case, the presence of the Holy Spirit remained in the Temple in Jerusalem, but His power came upon Mary to accomplish this miraculous birth.

     The Holy Spirit's presence within.

     The Holy Spirit's power upon.

     Another foundational doctrine of Christianity is the divinity of Christ.

     Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. The Bible is absolutely clear on this subject.

     "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things were made by him...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)..."--John 1:1,3,14.

     He was all God.

     Yet he was all man.

     How can this be?

     How can Jesus be 100% God and 100% man?

     Because when Jesus was born into the earth, he set aside all his power and glory, and came into the earth as a mere human being.

     Speaking of Christ, Paul wrote, "But stripped HImself [of all privileges and rightful dignity] so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being."--Phil. 2:7.

     Christ's humanity is clearly documented throughout the New Testament. Jesus grew hungry and ate. He became thirsty and drank. He grew tired and slept.

     Although he was God, he chose to be born as a mere human being.

     This raises an interesting issue:

     If Jesus was God born as a simple human being, then how did he work miracles? Human beings can not work supernatural miracles.

     The Bible tells us that the miracles began at a specific point in Jesus' life--after his baptism by John the Baptist.

     Remember in the previous post what we learned. John the Baptist was sent by God to reveal to Israel the person through whom the outpouring of the Holy Ghost would come. God told John:

     "...Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost."--John 1:33.

     John baptized Jesus and the Scriptures record, "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him;"--Matt. 3:16.

     Why did the Holy Spirit descend upon Christ at John's baptism?

     We have preached wrongly, that He did so that the crowd could see the vision and know that Jesus was the Messiah.

     No.

     Note this: No one saw the vision except John and Jesus.

     We have John's word on it.

     Later, John did not say:

     "We all saw the Spirit descend and remain on him."

     No.

     The Scriptures tell us, "And John bare record, saying I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him."--John 1:32.

     Only John and Jesus saw the vision.

     Notice that the Spirit descended and remained on Jesus. John said, "It abode upon him."

     Why?

     To provide the anointing and power to fulfill what Christ was to fulfill--to work miracles, heal the sick, and cast out devils.

     What happened next?

     "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led of the Spirit into the wilderness..."

     At this point the Bible states specifically that Christ was "full of the Holy Ghost." Why inject that phrase there. Wasn't he always "full of the Holy Ghost?" Evidently not. The fulness came at John's baptism.

     After the baptism, he went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan over the course of 40 days.

     After triumphing over Satan's temptations, the Scriptures say something very interesting:

     "And when the devil had ended all the temptation...And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee."

     The power to heal and minister is now present in Christ's ministry.

     Where did it come from?

     In just the same way the Holy Spirit came upon the prophets of old, empowering them to work miracles, so now the Spirit's power is upon Jesus Christ enabling him to work miracles.

     Jesus works his first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana by turning the water into wine. The Bible reports it as his first miracle, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee..."--John 2:11.

     And Jesus begins to preach a very interesting message:

     He read from Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to...preach...heal...[bring] deliverance...recovering of sight...to set at liberty..."--Luke 4:18.

     Now Christ announces to his listeners that he can heal. He doesn't say,

     "I can heal because I am God."

     He was God manifested in the flesh, but he left behind all his power to be born into the earth.

     He says instead that he can heal and deliver because "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me."

     The chronology is clear:

• Jesus was God.
• The Holy Spirit came upon Mary.
• Jesus left behind his power and was born a human being.
• Jesus worked no miracle before John's baptism.
• Not one.
• In thirty years.
• Then the Holy Spirit comes upon Christ at the River Jordan, and remains on him.
• No one sees this but John and Jesus.
• Jesus is at this point "full of the Holy Ghost."
• Jesus defeats Satan's temptations.
• He "returns in the power of the Spirit."
• He works his first miracle at Cana.
• He announces that he can heal because "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me."
• Throughout all these events, the Holy Spirit's presence remained within the Temple.     
• And His power rested upon Jesus Christ.

     From the days of Moses to the times of Christ we see the Holy Spirit consistently manifest in the same two ways:

     The presence of the Holy Spirit within.

     The power of the Holy Spirit upon.

Jesus Christ--The Man of Faith

     Fascinating!

     That's the only word that describes it.

     Absolutely fascinating.

     What?

     Christ's attitude throughout his adult life.

     The Modern Church has never caught sight of the full image the Bible paints for us of the Champion of the Ages.

     They see only parts.
     They see that he was loving.
     They know he was sinless.
     They know he is forgiving.
     To all these observations, we say Amen.

     But they fail to see the one attribute, the approach, the attitude, the focus that saturated all that he did.

     What was his focus?

     His focus, his attitude, was one of consistent and unwavering faith.

     You might say, "Everyone knows that."

     No, the vast majority of Christians don't.

     If they truly knew he was a man of faith, then they would seek to walk in his footsteps by emulating his kind of faith. They would walk faith like he walked faith. They would talk faith, like he talked faith. To be fully Christ-like would require that we not copy merely some of the attributes but all of the attributes of the Man of Galilee.

     If Christians ever fully realized that Christ was a man of faith, and they patterned themselves after his faith, then our churches would be unshakeable strongholds of faith and power.

     Instead, by ignoring Christ's attitude of faith, our churches tend to be watery potholes of doubt and unbelief. Places you need to actually avoid, lest they wreck you.

     Examine with me this aspect of the Great Shepherd.

     Let's look first at faith in general, then at his kind of faith.

     The first thing the Bible shows us about faith is surprising. The Bible tells us that faith is actually rare. Especially among religious people who should be faith-filled.

     In his three years of public ministry, Christ saw true faith, what he called "Great faith," in only two instances. He saw it in the Gentile woman who sought to have him heal her demon possessed daughter.

     She approached him, and he ignored her.
     She planted herself in his path and besought him.
     He insulted her, calling her a dog.
     But she would not be denied or deterred.
     The Master replied, 

     "...O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And the daughter was made whole from that very hour."--Mat. 15:28. 

     He saw Great Faith only one other time, in the case of the Roman Centurian who asked Jesus to heal his servant.

     The Centurian told Jesus, 

      "...speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." 

     When Jesus heard the Centurian's words, he marvelled.

     Jesus actually marvelled.

     Only twice in his life did Jesus marvel.
     At the unbelief in his hometown of Nazareth.
     And at the faith of this non-Jewish Centurian.

     Jesus called what this man had, "Great Faith." 

"...Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."--Mat. 8:8,10. 

     True faith, Great Faith, was rare then.
     It is perhaps even rarer today.

     True faith is never distracted, deterred, or disuaded.
     True faith stays focused.
     True faith endures whatever it has to endure on the journey to receiving from God.

     True faith.
     Great Faith.
     All Christ thought, said, and did was saturated with it.

     His faith in the Father's Word showed forth to all as he went from John's baptism at the Jordan River, through three years of public ministry, to the long climb up Calvary's hill where all that awaited him was mockery, cruelty, suffering and death.

At no point did his focus ever waver.

     He knew he was to suffer.
     He knew he would be rejected.
     He knew he would be killed.

     But He also knew,

     He would rise the third day.
     He would ascend to Heaven.
     He would pour out the Holy Spirit.

     This would fulfill Joel's prophecy.

     Notice this Man of Faith's marvelous appearance at the River Jordan.

     A great move of God's Spirit had been taking place in the months leading up to Jesus' appearance at the River Jordan. The Holy Spirit was bringing conviction and repentence upon multitudes. The Children of Israel were preparing for the coming of the one that would pour out upon them the Holy Spirit, thus fulfilling God's promise given them through the prophet Joel. "I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy..."

     Weren't they were waiting for the Messiah?

     No, no.

     John told them plainly Who was coming:

 

     "...he which baptizes with [pours out]the Holy Ghost..."--(John 1:33, Mat. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16)

     They were repenting and being baptized by John right and left. Even hypocritical Pharisees and the hardest of the hard-shelled were preparing their hearts for his coming.

     After months of this preparation, the time for Christ's ministry had finally come.

     He could have begun in any number of ways.

     He could have suddenly appeared in the Temple, declared himself to be the Messiah, and called for an uprising against the hated Romans. Others had done so.

     He didn't.

     He could have gone to the Pharisees and Saducees and tried to win them over, convincing them of his authenticity.

     He took not one step towards them.

     He could have begun meeting in secret, plotting and planning as the False Messiah's had done.

     He refused.

     Why?

 

     "...I do not seek or consult My own will--I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose--but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me."--John 5:30 (Amp).

     That says it all.

     Instead, he went to where God was already moving.

     He went to the River Jordan to John's Baptism.

     Here we see the first characteristic of His greatness--humility.

     Although he was the Creator. Although he was sinless.

     He humbled himself under what God's Spirit was already doing, and allowed himself to be baptized. The sinless, perfect Christ was baptized by the imperfect John the Baptist. The Creator baptized by the created.

     Is it any wonder that in the face of such perfection and humility the very heavens themselves opened up to him? 

     "And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."--Mark 1:10,11. 

Jesus Christ was a Man of Faith.

     He walked by faith.

     What is faith?

     Bible faith? 

     "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."--Heb. 11:1. 

     Yes, but what does that mean? 

"...faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses."--Heb.11:1 (Amplified Version). 

     That helps, doesn't it?

     But the following makes Bible faith even clearer: 

     "...God...Who...speaks of the non-existent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed."--Rom. 4:17 (Amp). 

     Faith considers the job done, even before the job is begun.

     Notice the words of a fellow man of faith, John the Baptist.

     In all his preaching, he never once mentioned to the people that their long-awaited Messiah would be rejected.

     John never mentioned that the coming One would:

     Be despised and rejected. (Isaiah Chapter 53)

     Be a man of sorrows and grief.

     Bear their griefs and carry their sorrows.

     Bear their sicknesses and carry their pains.

     Be wounded, bruised, chastised, afflicted.

     Be cut off from the land of the living.

     All that was coming.
     Yet neither Christ nor John spoke of it at the River Jordan.

     Why?

They were men of faith.

     Faith perceives as fact what has not yet taken place.

     Faith speaks of things that haven't happened yet, as though they have already happened.

     Faith looks past the challenge of the moment to focus on the end result.

     Faith considers the job done, even before the job is begun.

     Yes, Christ would be despised and rejected. He would bear all our transgressions. He would suffer great agony and die.

     But these two men of faith looked beyond that.

     He would also rise from the dead.

     But they looked beyond that too.

     He would ascend to the Father, pour His blood out on the Judgment Seat, turning it into a Mercy Seat. He would institute the New Covenant promised by God through the prophet Jeremiah. "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel."--Jer. 31:31.

     Yet John and Jesus looked further into the future.

     He would make salvation--being born-again--possible.
     He would make it possible for the Holy Spirit's presence to leave the Temple in Jerusalem and indwell the hearts of believers, fulfilling Ezekiel's prophecy. "And I will put my Spirit within you..."--Ezek. 36:27.

     But beyond even this John and Christ looked.

     They focused their attention on the final accomplishment.

     They looked at what Christ would accomplish once he sat down at the right hand of the Father.

     Christ would enter into an entirely new role.

     He would then become, "He which baptizes with [pours out upon believers]the Holy Spirit," in fulfillment of Joel's ancient prophecy.

     John and Jesus looked past everything and focused on the Outpouring that would come at Pentecost.

Christ's Words were consistent.

     No emphasis at the River Jordan on his eventual sacrifice and death.

     Throughout Christ's ensuing three years of public ministry, only rarely does he mention the coming suffering and death.

     We see Christ maintain this same focus on the eventual Outpouring unwaveringly. Even in the final hours he had with the disciples at the Last Supper, he mentions:

     His coming death (only indirectly)--5 times.

     The coming Holy Spirit (clearly)--9 times.

     "Going to the Father" (clearly)--8 times.

     (John Chapters 14-17).

     "Going to the Father" was not just another term for his coming death. From the context, we can see that Christ made a clear distinction between death and going to the Father.

     His death would be the culmination of the suffering.

     "Going to the Father" was an event of great joy.

     "Going to the Father" was his ascension to the Throne.

     From the Throne he would pour out the Holy Spirit.

     In his final hours with the Apostles, he walked by faith.
     His thinking was consumed--not with thoughts of suffering and death. His entire being was saturated with the purpose of enduring everything he had to endure, so that he could ascend and pour out the Holy Spirit upon believers. Not only saving them, but also empowering them.

     Yes the suffering, and the blood, and the agony would come.
     Followed by death.
     Followed by resurrection.
     Followed by ascension.

Followed ultimately by OUTPOURING. 

"...who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God..."--Heb. 12:2. 

     Aaaaaaah!

     Now we begin to see what John and Jesus were looking at by faith. John and Christ were focused, not on the intermediate events, but on the eventual goal.

     Faith considers the job done, even before the job is begun.

     Christ endured the agony.
     It had to be endured.

     He walked through death.
     Death had to be conquered.

     He rose again from the dead.
     Bringing New Life.

     He ascended to the Father.
     Thus concluding his victory.

     He sat down beside the Father at the Throne.
     It was ony from Here that the last step could be taken.
     Only from the Thone could it be given...
     What John and Jesus focused on at the River Jordan...
     What the Father had promised through Joel...

     What?

     The Holy Spirit Outpouring.

     On Pentecost, Peter cried to the assembled crowd: 

     "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel!"

 

     "...I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh!"

 

     "...Jesus of Nazareth...you have taken...and crucified!

 

     "...Whom God has raised up!"

 

     "...Therefore being by the right hand of God...he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear."--Acts Chapter 2. 

     And thinking on that Outpouring, gave Christ such joy, that he was able to endure the cross, conquer all, sit on the Throne of God, and pour out the Holy Spirit as promised.

     The Outpouring promised by Joel.

     The Outpouring first seen at Pentecost.

     The Outpouring that is still in the earth today.

     The Outpouring that you and I have received.

     Those of us who have the Holy Spirit within, through the born-again experience.

     And who have allowed Christ to pour His Spirit out upon us through the "baptism in the Holy Spirit."

     The Holy Spirit's presence within us.
     The Holy Spirit's power upon us.
     The same consistent manifestations of the Holy Spirit from the days of Moses to today.

     All Christians know Christ as Savior.
     Many of us also know him as Baptizer.
     The Outpourer of the Holy Spirit

     And when that Outpouring came upon us, we received the very same sign given at Pentecost, experienced by the Apostles.

     The same sign given at the house of Cornelius.

     The same sign spoken of by Christ Himself in the Great Commission.

     "And these signs shall follow them that believe...in My name...they shall speak with new tongues..."

The Promise of the Father

     Are you sitting down?

     Good.

     Brace yourself.

     What the Bible calls "the Promise of the Father," was not salvation.

     I know, you've heard otherwise.

     You heard wrong.

     I'll prove it.

     As you will recall, we are studying the ways of the Holy Spirit, tracing His acts from the days of Moses up to Pentecost, to the Early Church, and into our lives today.

We have seen the same consistent manifestations:

     The presence of the Holy Spirit within.

     The power of the Holy Spirit upon.

     Two distinctly different manifestations.

     These are not interchangable terms.

The Bible Records:

The Holy Spirit's Presence Within:

• Mount Sinai--meets Moses here.
• Tabernacle--Accompanies Jews in travel.
• Ark of the Covenant--in and around.
• Temple in Jerusalem--in the Holy of Holies.

The Holy Spirit's Power Upon: 

• Moses.  To Egypt and back.
• 70 Elders--To help Moses judge Israel.
• Prophets--Elijah, Elisha, etc.
• Judges--Othniel, Gideon, etc.
• Deliverers--Samson and others.
• Kings--Saul, David, etc.
• Elizabeth--giving birth to John Baptist.
• Mary--giving birth to Christ.
• Christ--working miracles.
• The Apostles--working miracles.

At the Last Supper

     Christ spoke to the Apostles about:

• His coming death (indirectly)--5 times.
• The coming Holy Spirit (clearly)--9 times.
• "Going to the Father" (clearly)--8 times.

     And he makes a very intriguing statement about the Holy Spirit.  Christ told them:

 

     "Even the Spirit of Truth...you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you."--John 14:17.

     Up to this point, they had known only the Holy Spirit's power.

     His power had been "with" them.  In other words, His power had accompanied them, resting upon--even in Christ's absence--as He flowed from them numerous times to heal the sick and cast out devils.

     In this Scripture, Christ was preparing the Apostles for the coming of the Holy Spirit's INDWELLING PRESENCE.
We call His indwelling presence, being born-again.  They would be born from spiritual death to spiritual life.  They would become their newly born-again spirits would become the new dwelling places of the Holy Spirit. 

     Indeed, the Bible tells us that the instant Christ died, the Holy Spirit's presence left the Temple:

 

"Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom..."--Matt. 27:50,51.

     Why did the Holy Spirit's presence leave the Temple?

     Because as soon as Christ rose from the dead three days later, a man-made temple would never again be the Spirit's resting place.

     After the Resurrection, it would be time for Him to fulfill Ezekiel's prophecy: 

     "And I will put my Spirit WITHIN you..."--Ezekiel 36:27. 

     Following this fulfillment of coming within believers, it would then be time for the Holy Spirit to also come upon believers in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy: 

     "And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh...upon the menservants and upon the maidservants...will I pour out My Spirit."--Joel 2:28,29 (Amp). 

What Happened After the Resurrection.

     Christ arose from the dead, and appeared to the Apostles.

     Some churches teach that the Apostles were not born-again until Pentecost.  I believe the Bible clearly shows otherwise.

     Think about it:

     How is a man born-again? 

     "...If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made ujnto salvation."--Rom. 10:9,10. 

     Salvation comes when you believe in your heart that Christ has been raised from the dead, and when you confess him as your Lord.

     The Scripture records that after the resurrection, 

     "...when the doors were shut...[then]came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you...he showed untothem his hands and his side.  Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord."--John 20:19,20. 

     The Apostles saw with their own eyes that Christ had been raised from the dead.  He was standing right there, talking to them, and they called him "Lord." 

     As required by Scripture, they confessed with their mouth the Lord Jesus and they believed in their hearts that Christ had been raised from the dead.  

     They were now born-again.

     Therefore, the Holy Spirit was now within them.

     But the Holy Spirit was not yet upon them in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy.

     Note Christ's final instruction to His Apostles: 

     "And behold, I will send forth upon you What My Father has promised; but remain in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high."--Luke 24:49. (Amp).

      The Holy Spirit's presence was already within the Apostles through the born-again experience in fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy.

     Yet there was another entirely different prophecy waiting to be fulfilled.

     Christ commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until it happened.

     What?

     The Holy Spirit's power coming upon them in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy.

     To make sure we understand this, the Bible repeats Christ's instruction again in the Book of Acts, adding more detail.  Hear the words of the Master:

     "And while being in their company and eating at the table with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, Of which, He said, you have heard Me speak."

 

     "For John baptized with water, but not many days from now you shall be baptized with--placed in, introduced into--the Holy Spirit...You shall receive power--ability, efficiency and might--when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends--the very bounds--of the earth."--Acts 1:4,5,8. (Amp). 

The Sequence of Events is Absolutely Clear

• Centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophet Joel prophesied that the Holy Spirit would come upon all believers.
• God sent forth John the Baptist to publicly identify to Israel "he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost."
• At the River Jordan, God identified Christ as the One through Whom the Outpouring would come.
• Throughout his years of public ministry, Christ mentioned his coming suffering and death, but continued to place a strong emphasis on his coming role of baptizing believers--pouring out upon believers--the Holy Spirit.
• At the Last Supper, He still emphasized--not his impending suffering and death which was only minutes away from beginning--but stressed the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• After the Resurrection, Christ did not draw their attention to all that he had just suffered at Calvary.
• He did not focus their attention on His Resurrection.
• He still drew their attention to the coming Outpouring.
• He identified in unmistateable terms, "the promise of the Father" as being--not salvation--but the coming Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
• He made it clear that what was coming on the day of Pentecost would not be salvation, but would instead be an endument with "power from on High."
• He said this power would come "upon" them, not come "within" them.
• This outpouring of power was so vital that Christ absolutely commanded them not to leave Jerusalem without it.

     Then came Pentecost....

Pentecost

     The time had finally come.

     Joel had prophesied of this day.

     The day in which the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all flesh.

     John had identified Jesus as the man through the outpouring would come.

     Christ had suffered, died, and been raised from the dead, instituting the New Covenant, preparing believers for the Pentecost Outpouring.  

     Before ascending to the Father, Christ had appeared to the Apostles, and to over 500 other people (I Cor. 15:6).  The Apostles and others who had seen the Resurrected Lord, believed he had been raised from the dead, had accepted His Lordship over their lives, and had been born-again.  (Rom. 10:9,10).

     He instructed the Apostles not to leave Jerusalem until they  had received "power from on High."

     Jesus Christ  ascended to the Father.

     And the Apostles waited.

     Those who believed the Gospel, the "good news" of Christ's resurrection, joined wth the Apostles, and together they all assembled in the Upper Room.  These were born-again Christians.  They had the Holy Spirit's presence residing within them.  They were the temples of the Holy Spirit.

     Why were they waiting in the Upper Room?  Why didn't they shout it to the rooftops that "Christ is risen from the Dead!  Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life!"

     Why didn't they?

     They couldn't.

     That would be disobeying the Master.

     Jesus Christ had been clear.  "Tarry ye in Jerusalem."

     Wait.

     Wait?  Why?

     He had said, "And behold, I  will send forth upon you What My Father has promised; but remain in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49 Amp).

     They obeyed and assembled in the Upper Room waiting, not for salvation.  They were already saved.  They were waiting for what Christ told them to wait for:  POWER.

     Power from Above.

     Power from Heaven.

     They knew not how it would come.  They knew not what form it would take.  They just knew that the Lord had said "wait," and that they were waiting for "power"--the outpouring of power that Joel had prophesied.

     Ezekiel's prophecy had already been fulfilled.  He had written: 

     "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you...And I will put My Spirit within you..."  Ezek. 36:26,27. 

     When they had believed in Christ's resurrection, and made Him their Lord, they had been born-again.  The Holy Spirit, who had vacated the Temple three days previously, had come to reside permanently in their hearts.  

     Ezekiel's Prophecy had been fulfilled.  But Christ had said that there was more to be received.

     What?

      The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit about which Joel had prophesied:

     "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit."  Joel 2:28.

     The Holy Spirit was already within them through the born-again experience.  He was soon to come upon them in power.

     So they waited.

     And then He came, and He brought His fire with Him.  Now read this like you are reading it for the very first time: 

     "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."  Acts 2:1-4. 

     Oh Glory to God!  Doesn't that thrill your soul!

     Everywhere in this Scripture the same theme is repeated:  fully, filled all, all filled.  When Pentecost was "fully come,"  the Holy Spirit's wind and fire "filled all" the house where they were sitting," and they were "all filled" with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues..." 

     "Filled" means totally.

     No room for any more.

     For the first time since the Garden of Eden, the Holy Spirit's presence dwelled within believers and His power rested upon them.  They were FULL.

     Filled with the Holy Ghost.

     From the Fall of man, to Moses, to Jesus Christ's ascension, the Holy Spirit's Presence and Power had been divided.  His presence had dwelled at Mt.Sinai, then in the Ark of the Covenant, then in the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and finally in the Temple.  His power had come upon priests, prophets, and kings.  But now His presence and Power would reside in the same vessels:  in Christians.  And this condition of the Holy Spirit's presence the believer, and His power resting upon the same believer, was called  being "filled with the Spirit."

     What effect did this have on the assembled believers?

     "And they all began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

     Speaking in tongues was the sign given at Pentecost, and at subsequent events, of the fulness of the Spirit.

Speaking in Tongues at Pentecost

     My, oh my, oh my!  We could put to rest all of the questions, arguments, and controversies about Pentecost and speaking in tongues if Christians would simply read and believe what the Bible actually says! 

     At Pentecost, the assembled believers did not receive salvation.

     They had been born-again in the days preceeding Pentecost, when they had seen and believed Christ had been raised from the dead, and had confessed Him as their Lord. (Rom. 10:9,10).

     Jesus had told them to wait--not for salvation--but for "power from on high."

     Power from on high came, and the Holy Spirit inspired or in other words "gave them utterance" to speak in other tongues.

     Now, here is where so many opponents to speaking in tongues today, jump and say "Ah Ha!  I gotcha!"

     They think that the speaking in tongues experience at Pentecost proves that true speaking in tongues will occur only in known, recognized, and identifiable earthly languages.  "After all," they wrongly argue, "the ability to speak in tongues was given for the purpose of evangelism--so that early church evangelists could preach the Gospel in native languages!"

     Well, that "gotcha" isn't the "gotcha" they think it is.  And they would see it for themselves if they would only take the time to read the account, believe what they read, and use some common sense.

     Let's first identify who was likely present at Pentecost.  I will put in bold italics the key phrases, and my own comments in brackets [ ].  

     Acts Chapter 1

     vs 13: "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, [Strongs: highest room of the house]  where abode [Strongs: to remain permanently, to abide] both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Phillip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James." 

     vs 14:  "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

     vs 15  "And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty)..."

     So those who a few days later were present in this upper room consisted of the eleven remaining Apostles, various women including Mary the mother of Jesus, and various men including Jesus' brethren.  (This will prove important later).

Acts Chapter 2:

     vs 1:  "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all [the approximately 120] with one accord in one place."

     vs 2:  "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting [please note this, it will be important later.  They were sitting].

     vs 3:  "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

    vs 4:  "And they were all [please note--all, not some] filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

     Everyone present had exactly the same experience.  All were filled with the Holy Ghost, and all spoke in tongues.

      vs 5:"And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven."

     vs 6:"Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."

       How was this "noised abroad?"  We don't know.  Perhaps the surrounding area heard the sound of the rushing mighty wind from heaven.  Or perhaps, someone from the first floor went up into the Upper Room, overheard what was going on, told others, and the news spread like wildfire.  We don't know.  Somehow the surrounding crowds heard the speaking in tongues.

     vs 7:"And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?" 

     Evidently in addition to hearing the believers, the crowds could see individuals and could identify their facial characteristics as Galilean.

     vs 8:"And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?"

     vs 9-10: lists 13 language groups, plus "strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes"

     vs 11:"Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God."

     vs 12:  "And they wer all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth thsi?"

     vs 13:  "Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine."

     vs 14:  "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them..."

     vs 16:  "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;"

     Do you see it?

     No?

     It is plainly there.

     Before I point this out, let me ask you:

     "Do you believe the Bible?"

      Specifically, "Do you believe the Bible means literally what it says, and says literally just exactly what it means?

     Okay, now I'll show you.

     There were approximately 120 believers gathered together in an Upper Room.  They were sitting, [vs 2] not standing.  Not running up and down the streets.  Not hanging out on balconies.  Sitting in the Upper Room.

     The Holy Spirit fell. 

     They ALL spoke in other tongues.

     News spread like wildfire.

     A large crowd gathered.

     They listened for quite awhile to those speaking in tongues, long enough for at least 15 different languages to be clearly recognized by their native speakers.

     The native speakers said, "...we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God."

     Still don't see it?

     Notice what they did not hear.  It does not say, "We do hear in our tongues the wonderous account of a sinless man, sent from God, who died on a cross, and rose again from the dead, and that whosoever believeth in him shall have everlasting life."

     No.

     They did not hear THE GOSPEL in their native tongues.  They heard "the wonderful works of God"--they heard praises being spoken unto God in the languages of their birth.

     The believers were not preaching the Gospel or testifying in other tongues.

     They were calmly sitting there in the Upper Room, gloriously praising God in other tongues.  And the assembled crowd overheard them as they praised God.  And the Spirit-filled believers praised Him for some time before the crowd gathered, identified the languages being spoken, and asked what it all meant.  None of the messages in other tongues were addressed to the native speakers who had come in. 

     "Peter stood up with the eleven..."  Up to this point, Peter and the other Apostles had been sitting there also, praising God in languages they did not understand.

     Here's the clincher:  Peter "...lifted up his voice, and said unto them..."  And he went ahead and preached them all a sermon, evidently in Hebrew.  And they all understood his words.

     This shows us two things.  One, what was spoken in tongues said little or nothing about Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and how to receive salvation.  Had the Gospel been preached to all these people in other tongues, there would have been no need for Peter to preach another sermon on top of what they had already heard. 

     How could Peter have topped a SUPERNATURLLY spoken sermon uttered perfectly in every native language?  He couldn't have topped that or added to it.

     Had they heard in other tongues the Gospel--instead of praises--they would have asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"--just as they did later after Peter preached his sermon.  But that wasn't their reaction at all.  To use modern phrasing, they said, "Wow!  We hear all about how wonderful God is!"

     The second thing Peter's sermon in Hebrew tells us, is that every person present in the crowd already spoke and understood Hebrew in addition to their native language.  Tongues were not needed, nor were they used, to preach the Gospel or testify of Christ, at Pentecost.

     Now note this final point:  they ALL spoke in other tongues.

     Peter spoke in tongues.  My goodness!  What a tool for evangelism.  Had Peter been given the ability to speak the Persian language, he could go there and preach all over that country in the people's native language!  What a miraculous witness! 

     But he didn't.

     Isn't that strange?

     We have no record of Peter preaching, testifying, or even simply identifying the other language he spoke in.

     What about the other Apostles present at Pentecost?

     We have no record of a single one of them preaching, testifying, or identifying the other language they spoke in.

     Mary, the mother of Jesus spoke in other tongues at Pentecost.  Yet we have no early church record of her setting out on a missionary journey to a foreign country and preaching or testifying to the natives in their own language.

     To our knowledge, absolutely no one who spoke in other tongues at Pentecost ever used their "other tongue' to preach or testify to its native speakers.

     Not even one.

     Why?

     They couldn't.

     Yes, each believer received the ability to speak at will in another known language.  But he did not receive the ability to understand that language.  Nor could he read that language.  And when some native speaker of that language spoke in that tongue, the believer could not understand the speaker.  

     How can you use a language you can't understand a single word of, to travel across the world to people who do not understand a single word of your language, and preach to them?

     If you went to the country of the other tongue you were given, how would you possibly communicate or understand anything.  You look at a man passing by on the street in this foreign land.  You say:

     ";ldpnwrglw;ieng slijgf w oeij li." 

     And he replies:

     "lslu[r9n ide[ew onjgp lllie;''g ."

     What did you say to him?

     You don't know.

     You might have said, "Jesus is Lord."  "I'm sure hungry."  Or, "Isn't this beautiful weather we are having?"

     And what did he reply to you?

     You don't know.

     He might have said, "Tell me who this Jesus is."  "Hey mac, there's a great restaurant around the corner."  Or, "Naah!  I hate this kind of weather!"

     All spoke in tongues at Pentecost.  Some, perhaps all, of the tongues were recognized as known languages.

     Never-the-less, all the "other tongues" spoken at Pentecost were useless for preaching, witnessing, or evangelism.

      So what did they do with their "other tongue?"  Every one of them did with their "other tongue," what Paul did with his.

     "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.  What is it then?  I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also:  I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understand also...I thank my God I speak in tongues more than ye all."--I Cor. 14:14, 15, 18."

     Paul prayed in his "other tongue."

     Paul sang praises in his "other tongue."

     Paul never mentions even once, preaching, teaching, or testifying in his "other tongue."

     Paul like Peter, James, John, the rest of the Apostles, Mary, other relatives of Jesus, and the rest of the 120, for the rest of their lives, they and he, used "other tongues" for prayer and worship.

     Nothing else.

     Had tongues been used for anything but prayer, by the apostles or anyone else, the Holy Ghost would have inspired Paul or one of the other Apostles to write it down.

     The Bible records not even one single example of tongues being used for anything but prayer and praise.

Copyright 2006 Mel C. Montgomery.  All rights reserved.  Material may be copied and shared with others if done so without charge, in entirety, and if attribution is given.