Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

A framework for understanding New Testament miracles: Signs of an apostle

11 Replies

337522537_ebc4a82409“The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance.” (2 Corinthians 12:12)

That verse deserves to be read and reread during this discussion. To some degree, and I don’t want to overplay this, but to some degree signs, wonders and miracles were the marks of an apostle. Here are some verses from Acts that suggest the same thing:

“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” (Acts 2:43) In the earliest days of the church, it was the apostles who were doing wonders and miraculous signs. The Spirit was given to all that obeyed (Acts 2:38; 5:32), but not all did miracles. The apostles did the miracles.

“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.” (Acts 5:12) Time has passed, thousands have been converted, yet it is still the apostles who are doing the miracles.

Seemingly, this gift could be passed on by the apostles through the laying on of hands. The first evidence is circumstantial: in Acts 6, the apostles lay hands on 7 men. Shortly after we read that Stephen, one of the seven, is doing miracles, the first non-apostle that is mentioned as doing so. In Acts 8, we see another of the seven, Philip, doing miracles in Samaria. He was unable, however to pass on the gift. Peter and John came from Jerusalem, laid hands on the believers, and they received this outward manifestation of the Spirit. I’m convinced that these people had received the indwelling Spirit, but the Spirit had not “come on” any of them in the outward sense.

Acts 8:18 is important: “When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.””  The apostles were able to pass on the ability to do miracles, the outward manifestation of the Spirit. Those that received that manifestation, the miraculous gifts, were apparently unable to pass the gift on to others (which is why Philip couldn’t pass the gift to the Samaritans).

The exception was Cornelius, in Acts 10. There is no denying that his is an exceptional case; Peter compares it to what happened at Pentecost, years before. I believe that Cornelius and his household received the outward manifestation of the Spirit before baptism, much the same as people in the Old Testament did. This happened as a sign to Peter and the other Jews that God was accepting the Gentiles.

None of this is stated explicitly. I have drawn inferences from the wording of different texts; I won’t make my inferences a line of fellowship. But this framework helps me understand what I see in the New Testament and helps explain why the early church writers spoke of miracles in the past tense.

I’ll have some more to say on this subject, but would love to hear what YOU have to say. Does any of this make sense?

A framework for understanding New Testament miracles: Baptized with the Spirit

13 Replies

337522537_ebc4a82409Another area of confusion in studying the Holy Spirit is the subject of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. I guess this is one of the areas where Douglas Jacoby’s work got me to looking at a new interpretation that I hadn’t considered before. You can read his views here:

http://douglasjacoby.com/view_article.php?ID=1438

The article isn’t as long as it looks; for some reason it is repeated on the same page. Jacoby credits Richard Rogers with having taught this view before he did. You can also read it in this article from Restoration Quarterly from the 1970s:

http://www.acu.edu/sponsored/restoration_quarterly/archives/1970s/vol_21_no_4_contents/terry.html

The basic thrust is this: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and being baptized with the Holy Spirit describe the same event from two different points of view. God pours out, mankind is immersed. Compare it to you pouring water into a glass that contains a stone: for you, the action is pouring, but the stone sees it as being covered by the water.

Some observations:

  1. The promise from John the Baptist should be considered: “Matthew 3:10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11     “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Note that John talks about one who wil baptize with the Spirit and with fire. In the preceding verse, fire refers to judgment. In the verse that follows, fire refers to judgment. The natural reading would be to interpret “fire” in verse 11 as judgment. So Christ will baptize with the Spirit and with a condemning fire. It would make sense that all men receive one or the other; you are either baptized with the Spirit or you will be baptized with fire. This interpretation of “baptized with the Holy Spirit” fits what John said.
  2. Being baptized with the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Acts 1 as occurring soon; Acts 2, which seems to be a fulfillment of that promise, is when Peter refers to the outpouring of the Spirit. It makes sense for both to refer to the same event.
  3. No one is told to seek nor expect to be baptized with the Spirit after Acts 2. That is, no Christian is told that they still need this baptism. It is stated as having occurred (1 Corinthians 12:13), but nobody is told that they lack this baptism.
  4. When the Spirit came on Cornelius and his followers, Peter remembered the promise of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit “came on” Cornelius as it had the apostles in the beginning, and that reminded Peter of the promised outpouring. That’s when he realized the Spirit had been poured out on all mankind, just as Peter himself had said back in Acts 2.

Several passages connect being baptized with the Spirit with our baptism in water: John 3:5, Titus 3:4-6. That’s also the most logical understanding of 1 Corinthians 12:13. When we are baptized in water, we are born of water and Spirit, we enjoy the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Sprit. We are immersed into the poured-out Spirit, baptized in him if you will. By our baptism in that one Spirit, occurring when we obey (Acts 5:32, Acts 2:38), we are brought into the body of Christ, baptized into Christ as the Bible says (Romans 6:4; Galatians 3:27). We experience the benefits of the outpouring of God’s Spirit which occurred the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2.

A framework for understanding New Testament miracles: Filled with the Spirit

8 Replies

337522537_ebc4a82409One phrase that can be a bit confusing is the phrase “filled with the Spirit.” As we look at that phrase we need to remember a couple of important points:

(1) Being filled with the Spirit is not the same as having the Spirit living inside of you. Remember that Paul wrote to the Ephesians telling them: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) This after he had talked about their being sealed with the Spirit, about the Spirit living in them, etc.

(2) People were filled with the Spirit before the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2. In Luke 1 alone we see John the Baptist, his mother Elizabeth and his father Zechariah all being filled with the Spirit.

(3) Being filled with the Spirit does not relate to doing miracles. John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit from birth, yet never did miracles. (John 10:41)

The question came up on an earlier post about what the point of having the Spirit is if we aren’t doing miracles. A look at John the Baptist’s life should show us that we can be empowered by the Spirit to do great things for God with no need for miraculous activity.

We’ll continue on this topic next week.

A framework for understanding New Testament miracles: Old Testament times

3 Replies

337522537_ebc4a82409In the Old Testament, one of the most common things that we see regarding the Spirit is that the Spirit “comes upon” a person, causing him to say or do what the Spirit wills. Sometimes this is a good person, sometimes it is an evil person. But when the Spirit comes upon them, they are under the control of the Spirit.

You can look at some of these passages: Num 24:2; Judg 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1Sam 10:6, 10; 11:6; 16:13; 19:20, 23; 2Chr 15:1; 20:14; 24:20; Ezek 11:5

Miraculous activity under the power and control of the Spirit was neither a sign of godliness nor of God’s approval. And, based on what we saw last post, it had nothing to do with God’s indwelling Spirit, which was not given until after the cross. God’s Spirit has existed since the beginning, has worked among men since Old Testament days, but has not lived in the hearts of men until after Jesus’ death on the cross.

We’ll continue this study tomorrow (Lord willing).

A framework for understanding New Testament miracles: Before and after

2 Replies

337522537_ebc4a82409As is my custom, I plan to move through this topic piece by piece, step by step. As I do so, I’m sure I’ll write some things that will make you say “What’s that got to do with anything?” Hopefully, it will all make sense in the end.

As we look at the work of God’s Spirit in the Bible, an important passage to keep in mind is the following: “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39) John points to a change, a dividing line, a point where the Spirit’s activity is clearly different from previous times. In the gospel of John, Jesus being glorified refers to Jesus dying and coming back to life. John says that the Spirit was not “given” until after that time. [Interestingly enough, the word “given” is not in the original; the Greek says “the Spirit was not”]

This is important because we will see that the Spirit was active in the Old Testament and during the time of Jesus’ ministry. The Spirit acted through people, “fell upon” people, and “came over” people. Men were filled with the Spirit, like John the Baptist. None of these things, however, correspond to the “giving” of the Holy Spirit which occurred after Jesus’ resurrection. We live in the “last days,” after the outpouring of God’s Spirit. We are in the “after” period, set apart from the “before” by what happened in Acts 2.

As we continue to work toward our framework for understanding, let’s keep this crucial passage in mind.