The Life and Kingdom of Jesus the Messiah series/The Life and Kingdom of... · The Life and Kingdom of Jesus the Messiah “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters

The Life and Kingdom of Jesus

the Messiah

“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. … All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.” (Mark 4:26,28)

© 2012 by Phil Stott, www.kindlingministries.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® .NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover photo: “Field of wheat” (© Phil Stott).

KINDLING MINISTRIES “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk. 12:49 NIV)

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www.kindlingministries.com [email protected] OUR MISSION: “ EVERY HEART AFLAME”

The Life and Kingdom of Jesus the Messiah Version 2.00 (May 2012)

© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page i

INTRODUCTION

This study series covers the full extent of the New Testament message through the prism of the all-important question of who Jesus is, and what he came to do. The answer to this question is found deep within the Old Testament promise that God would sent a Messiah, a restorer or “Anointed One”. Just as there remain many different Jewish interpretations of exactly what this “Messiah” was to be, so also there are many Christian interpretations of who Jesus really was, and what he came to do. This study series examines Jesus’ life and work in the context of his role as the one who fulfilled, and continues to fulfil, all of God’s ancient Messianic promises.

The following topics are covered in this study series:

• STUDY 1: Will the Real Messiah Please Stand Up? – an investigation of the various Messianic promises made, and why there was so much ambiguity about them;

• STUDY 2: Why do we Need a Messiah? – an overview of the Biblical perspective on why a Messiah, or restorer, is needed in our world;

• STUDY 3: The Gospel of Jesus the Messiah – the message of the Kingdom of God as brought by Jesus, and how this fits in with his role as the promised Messiah;

• STUDY 4: The Gospel of Righteousness – the message that we have been made righteous through our faith in Jesus the Messiah, as taught mainly by the Apostle Paul in Galatians and Romans;

• STUDY 5: The Gospel of the Holy Spirit – the glorious truth that Jesus came to impart the same power to us that was made available to him in his life and ministry;

• STUDY 6: How Can I be Sure? – the Biblical evidence on what it means to receive this same Spirit of anointing; and

• STUDIES 7 and 8: Living in the Fullness of the Spirit – having received the Messianic anointing of Jesus, how we are to live as his disciples in the Kingdom of God.


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page ii

A brief word should be provided at this stage on the coverage and style of this study series. It covers an ambitious serious of topics, aiming to survey the broad expanse of the gospel in a matter of eight studies. This means, of course, that each topic can only be covered in overview. It is not intended that each study in the series will provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic in question, but rather a grasp of the main essentials.

There is also a wide variety in the depth of the material covered. As well as the normal text, there is additional material (usually of more academic interest to the scholarly student) found in blue text boxes, as well as the occasional “thought to ponder” found in grey text boxes. The purpose of these is to break up the text into manageable chunks, and to provide opportunity for readers at a wide variety of levels to derive maximum benefit from the study series.

You are encouraged to take a “smorgasbord” attitude to the material in these studies – that is, to dine freely on the parts that the Spirit quickens to you as important for the time being, and lay aside the rest for another time. After all, it will take you (and me!) the rest of our lives to even begin to explore the blessed truths of the gospel of Jesus.

May God bless you with wisdom and understanding as you open up your heart to him in this series of studies.


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page iii

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STUDY 1: WILL THE REAL MESSIAH PLEASE STAND UP? ...................................... 1-1

1. Factual background .......................................................................................... 1-1 2. What was God’s promise? ................................................................................ 1-3

2.1. Predictive prophecy: why the confusion? ................................................ 1-3 2.2. The details of the promise ......................................................................... 1-5 2.3. Summary of the various promises made ................................................... 1-7

3. The implications for us today ............................................................................ 1-8 Thought for the week: ........................................................................................... 1-9

STUDY 2: WHY DO WE NEED A MESSIAH? ............................................................. 2-1 1. What needs to be restored? ............................................................................... 2-1

1.1. Root cause: the fall of mankind ............................................................... 2-2 1.2. So what needs to be restored? ................................................................... 2-4

2. How does the restoration occur? ...................................................................... 2-5 2.1. False hope #1: getting rid of evildoers ..................................................... 2-5 2.2. False hope #2: getting “religion” ............................................................. 2-6 2.3. False hope #3: getting a better government ............................................. 2-9 2.4. The only true hope: a completely new start! .......................................... 2-10

3. How can we be part of the restored creation? ................................................ 2-11 3.1. Overview: God’s strategy ...................................................................... 2-11 3.2. Key dates ................................................................................................. 2-12 3.3. How do we participate? .......................................................................... 2-13

4. Summary ......................................................................................................... 2-14 Thought for the week: ......................................................................................... 2-15

STUDY 3: THE GOSPEL OF JESUS THE MESSIAH ..................................................... 3-1 1. The good news of the kingdom .......................................................................... 3-1

1.1. What is the Kingdom of God? .................................................................. 3-2 1.2. “Gospel of the Kingdom” v “Gospel of the King”? ................................. 3-3

2. When does the Kingdom of God “come”? ........................................................ 3-4 3. Concluding thoughts ......................................................................................... 3-8

Thought for the week: ........................................................................................... 3-8 STUDY 4: THE GOSPEL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ........................................................... 4-1

1. What is righteousness? ..................................................................................... 4-1 1.1. Righteousness and covenant relationship ................................................. 4-1 1.2. The blessedness of being right with God .................................................. 4-2 1.3. “Right relationship” or “right behaviour”? ............................................... 4-3

2. Righteousness as “good news” ......................................................................... 4-5 2.1. Righteousness is a free gift ....................................................................... 4-5 2.2. Righteousness begins with right standing ................................................. 4-6 2.3. Right behaviour also comes by faith ......................................................... 4-7 2.4. The example of Abraham .......................................................................... 4-8

3. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 4-11 Thought for the week: ......................................................................................... 4-11


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page iv

STUDY 5: THE GOSPEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT .......................................................... 5-1 1. Who (or what) is the Holy Spirit? ..................................................................... 5-1

1.1. Transcendence and immanence ................................................................ 5-1 1.2. The mystery of the work of the Spirit ....................................................... 5-2 1.3. How do we account for our own personal experience? ............................ 5-2

2. Jesus the baptisee .............................................................................................. 5-5 2.1. A crucial experience in the life of Jesus ................................................... 5-6 2.2. So what happened? ................................................................................... 5-7

3. Jesus the baptiser .............................................................................................. 5-8 3.1. A vital promise to every believer .............................................................. 5-8 3.2. Just what is the promise? .......................................................................... 5-9 3.3. A promise fulfilled in the early church ................................................... 5-10 3.4. How does this promise apply to me? ...................................................... 5-12


STUDY 6: HOW CAN I BE SURE … ? ...................................................................... 6-1 1. Marshalling the evidence .................................................................................. 6-2

1.1. How should I react to Acts? ...................................................................... 6-3 1.2. What happened when people received the Spirit in the Book of Acts? .... 6-5 1.3. Some personal comments on these experiences ....................................... 6-7 1.4. Summary ................................................................................................. 6-10

2. Interpreting the evidence ................................................................................ 6-10 2.1. Peter’s perspective on Pentecost ............................................................. 6-11 2.2. What is this “prophesying”? ................................................................... 6-12 2.3. Old Testament precedents ....................................................................... 6-13 2.4. God’s perspective on being baptised in the Spirit .................................. 6-15 2.5. Getting a Scriptural perspective on your (and the church’s) experience 6-16 2.6. Need more help? ..................................................................................... 6-17


STUDY 7: LIVING IN THE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT ................................................... 7-1 1. Conceptual introduction ................................................................................... 7-1

1.1. The two-fold role of the Spirit .................................................................. 7-1 1.2. Four sources of information ...................................................................... 7-3

2. The model of the Spirit in the Old Testament ................................................... 7-4 2.1. The priestly ministry ................................................................................. 7-5 2.2. The ministry of the kings .......................................................................... 7-6 2.3. The ministry of the prophets ..................................................................... 7-7

3. The model of Jesus in the four gospels ............................................................. 7-8 3.1. Jesus the discipler of men and women ...................................................... 7-8 3.2. Jesus the minister of the gospel of the Kingdom .................................... 7-10

4. The model of early disciples in the Book of Acts ............................................ 7-12 4.1. The Holy Spirit as teacher and discipler ................................................. 7-12 4.2. Spirit-empowered ministry ..................................................................... 7-14



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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page v

STUDY 8: LIVING IN THE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT (CONT.) ...................................... 8-1 1. The significance of the gift ................................................................................ 8-1

1.1. Proof of our redemption ............................................................................ 8-1 1.2. Our seal and down-payment ..................................................................... 8-3 1.3. The Spirit of adoption to sonship .............................................................. 8-4

2. The Spirit’s role in revelation ........................................................................... 8-5 2.1. Knowing God ............................................................................................ 8-6 2.2. Wisdom and revelation ............................................................................. 8-7

3. The Spirit’s role in moral purification .............................................................. 8-8 3.1. Ever-increasing glory ................................................................................ 8-8 3.2. Living under the personal moral authority of the Spirit ........................... 8-9 3.3. Living by the Spirit ................................................................................. 8-10

4. Spiritual gifts ................................................................................................... 8-12 4.1. The main teaching – 1 Cor. 12-14 .......................................................... 8-13 4.2. Other teachings ....................................................................................... 8-14


EPILOGUE ................................................................................................................... I What we have learned ............................................................................................... I Where we must go .................................................................................................... I Our glorious future ...................................................................................................II Closing thought: ..................................................................................................... III


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page 1-1

STUDY 1: WILL THE REAL MESSIAH PLEASE STAND UP?

The New Testament affirms (over 300 times!) that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel. However, when we read the text closely, we notice a number of interesting anomalies:

1. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he generally avoided admitting he was the Messiah prior to his trial before the Sanhedrin (Jn 4:26 is a significant exception);

2. When others (including demons) confessed that he was the Messiah, he told them to be quiet (e.g. Mk 1:24-25). This is especially noticeable in the earliest gospel (Mark), and is known by scholars as “Mark’s Messianic secret”;

3. Even when godly people such as John the Baptist asked him the crucial question concerning his identity, he refused to answer directly, preferring to refer seekers back to the facts and to the scriptures (see Mt. 11:1-6);

4. Jesus first unambiguously identified himself with the Messiah at his trial before the Sanhedrin (Mk 14:61-62; Jesus is referring to Dan. 7:13), and this led directly to his death;

5. After his resurrection, the disciples boldly proclaimed to everyone everywhere what they had been enjoined to hold secret only a few months earlier.

What does the New Testament mean by the confession that Jesus is the Messiah? And what does this mean for us today?

1. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Here is a summary of the background to the term “Messiah”, according to Wikipedia:

1. Term comes from the Hebrew “Ma-shiy-ach” = “Anointed One”. Typically, the term refers to someone anointed with holy anointing oil. Taken figuratively, it refers to someone being chosen for a special task, especially someone being divinely chosen.

2. The word is mentioned 39 times in the Hebrew Bible (not always referring to a future unique king). Each time it occurs, it is translated as “Christos” in the Septuagint (Greek OT, c 200 BC). Hence in the New Testament, Christ = Messiah.

3. The role of Messiah is not clearly defined in the Hebrew Bible or tradition:


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“The concept of the Messiah is neither common nor unified in the Tanakh. The term is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe Israelite priests, prophets, and kings who were anointed with oil in consecration to their respective offices. Cyrus the Great, the king of Persia, is referred to as “God’s anointed” (Messiah) in the Bible.”

4. There are different understandings as to who the Messiah might be in modern Judaism between reformed, modern, reconstructionist, orthodox and conservative schools.

In New Testament times, there was a lot of confusion (both political and religious) about exactly who the Messiah would be and what he would do. Different groups expected a different type of Messiah. Here is a summary of the main positions that were held:

The Pharisees

looked for a law-giver like Moses who would inaugurate a reign of righteousness;

The Zealots

looked for a warrior king who would overthrow the Romans and re-establish Jewish national sovereignty;

The Qumran community (possibly the Essenes)

looked for a great high priest who would re-establish God’s presence once and for all with his people; and

The Apocalyptics

Clearly, with so many conflicting definitions of “Messiah” available, there was trouble in store for anyone who claimed to be the Messiah – you can’t please everybody! (The New Testament mentions two “Messiahs” who met with sticky ends (see Ac. 5:36-37), and history books tell us of many others).

looked for a heaven-sent saviour who would destroy the current world and supernaturally inaugurate the new age of the Kingdom of God

From this brief factual background, it is easy to understand Jesus’ strategy. He affirmed:

1. On the one hand, he was not

2. On the other hand, he

the “Messiah” of popular legend – i.e. he had not come to fulfil any group’s political (or even religious) agenda; however

was

Clearly, if we are to understand the Messiahship of Jesus, we need to do what he advised us, namely to go back to the Old Testament scriptures and find out what God really promised.

the one God had promised from Old Testament times.


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2. WHAT WAS GOD’S PROMISE?

2.1. Predictive prophecy: why the confusion?

The Bible contains prophecies about events which were at the time they were given (and, in some cases, still are today) future events. The main block of these predictive prophecies concern the coming of the so-called “Messiah” (both his first coming and his second coming). However, there were other predictive prophecies as well.

Prophecies about future events are always hard to interpret, and unstable people are often led astray by extreme interpretations that fit more into the category of “wishful thinking” rather than “reasoned consideration”. This is not helped by the undoubted fact that predictive prophecies are often vague and ambiguous, especially about factual matters such as times and places. It is no small wonder that there was (and still is) so much confusion about who the Messiah would be.

It is therefore helpful to remember the following:

1. God’s agenda with future prophecy is not the same as ours – the primary audience for all prophecy is the people to whom it was addressed. When dealing with events in the distant future, issues of “what?” and “why?” are more important than “when?” “where?” and “how?”

2. In dealing with the coming of the Messiah (which is clearly the central focus of history, from God’s perspective), God also had a secondary agenda – to give confidence after the event

3. This had to be balanced with the need to hide the precise details

that the things that happened were all part of the original plan. However …

before the event

Thought to ponder:

so as to avoid warning his enemies of his plans.

When an army is planning an invasion into hostile territory (e.g. the D-Day landings if June 1944), what details of the proposed invasion is disclosed beforehand? Why is this?

What are the implications for interpreting the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament? (See, for example, 1 Cor. 2:8).

What are the implications for us today in interpreting the predictions about the 2nd coming of Christ?


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God therefore seems to have adopted the following strategy in preparing the way for the Messiah:

1. Specific Messianic prophecies

To Adam (mourning the loss of Paradise), God promised a deliverer who would crush the serpent’s head;

were given, which focused on the qualitative (rather than quantitative) aspects of his coming. These were given primarily to reassure and encourage the contemporary hearers that God had a plan for them in their particular context, and that they should persevere in spite of difficulties. For example:

Near the time of the death of Moses, he promised a second “prophet like Moses”;

In the time of a corrupt monarchy, he promised a righteous king to rule them;

In the time of national defeat, he promised a victorious warrior king; and

In the time of exile, he promised a restorer.

The result of this is a kaleidoscope of snapshot pictures of the future that were hard to reconcile in detail (one Messiah or many?) but which provided reassurance

2.

of God’s ultimate triumph over evil and of his plan of redemption for an imperfect world.

Other Messianic prophecies

containing details of names, dates, places, etc were “hidden” within ordinary texts about other matters. These texts were not obviously Messianic (and hence could not be seen in advance to be predictive) but in reality they are so specific that the reader AFTER THE EVENT cannot help but see that the details of the event were all mapped out in advance. For example:

Ps 22

lists many specific details about the death of Jesus;

Ps 16:9ff

foretells the resurrection of the Christ, and Hos. 6:2 mentions restoration on the “third day”;

Job 19:25

predicts the resurrection and return of Christ;

Zech. 3:1-9

displays the name and priestly function of the Christ;

Dan. 9:25-26

It has been calculated that there are 365 specific references to the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament, all of them fulfilled directly in the life of Jesus!

predicts the exact time of Jesus’ death in Jerusalem.


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How then should we approach predictive prophecy in the Bible?

1. With confidence and faith

2.

– God has put it there for a reason, and wants us to understand it!

With humility

3.

– it is easy to misunderstand and misinterpret what God has said, especially if we approach the texts with our own agenda;

With scholarship

2.2. The details of the promise

– the correct way of understanding all Biblical texts is to understand them in their original context, and not to read into them your own pre-conceived world views of expectations. This is especially important with predictive texts, which were not primarily written for our edification in the 21st century!

Here is a summary of the main prophecies of the Old Testament which are generally taken (and were understood as such when they were first written) to predict the coming of a future “Anointed One”, or “Messiah”:

Deut. 18:14-19

: the prophet like Moses, who would speak the words of God to them;

2 Sam. 7:11-16 / 1 Chr. 17:10-14

: the son of David, who would rule on David’s throne and be known as the “son of God” †;

Ps. 2:7-9

: The crowned and exalted king (“Son of God”†) who would rule the nations with an iron sceptre;

Ps 45:6-7

: The anointed king addressed as “God” who, whilst taken from among mankind, would be exalted above his companions and rule them with justice and righteousness;

Ps 110:1-7

: the priest-king in the order of Melchizedek, who would judge the nations;

Is. 9:6-7

: the divine child who would come and rule on the throne of David forever, extending his government and his peace to all nations with justice and righteousness;

Is. 11:1-9: the “shoot from the stump of Jesse” who, bearing the anointing of the Spirit, would judge the poor with righteousness and justice, and inaugurate a reign of peace and security;


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Is. 32:1-8

: the righteous king who would provide revelation and understanding;

Is. 42:1-4

: the Spirit-bearing servant of God who would bring forth justice with humility;

Is. 52:13-53:12

: the suffering servant who would give his life to bring everlasting redemption;

Is. 61:1-3

: the Spirit-anointed preacher of “good news to the poor”, who would come with miraculous signs of healing and deliverance;

Jer. 23:5-6

: the “righteous branch” from the house of David who would reign wisely and be called “the Lord our Righteousness”;

Dan. 7:13-14: the ”one like a son of man†

coming in the clouds of heaven” who would establish his kingdom on earth over all the rebellious nations;

Mic. 5:2-5

: the shepherd-king who would be born in Bethlehem;

Zech. 12:10-13:1

: the one pierced by rebellious Israelites, who would open a fountain of cleansing;

Zech. 14:3-5

: the one who will come from heaven and stand on the Mount of Olives to fight for his people;

Mal. 3:1

: the messenger of the covenant, “the one you desire”, who would appear suddenly in the temple; and

Mal. 4:2-6

In addition to these specifically Messianic texts, there were a number of passages that talked of the future state of the redeemed. Although these do not specifically refer to the coming Messiah, they were invariably interpreted as relating to the time of his future reign:

, the “sun of righteousness” who would inaugurate the “day of the Lord”.

† Note that the term “son of God” does not necessarily imply divine nature in Hebrew, just divine appointment / authority. “Son of” is a Hebrew idiom for “like”. Likewise, “one like a son of man” (Dan. 7:13) simply means “someone that looked human”. “Son of God” in the Old Testament (and hence, by extrapolation, when used in the New Testament when referring to Old Testament texts) is different from the Trinitarian theological construct of “God the Son”.


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Jer. 31:31-34

: a time of a new covenant of forgiveness, where everybody will “know the Lord” and have his law on their hearts;

Ez. 36:24-32

: a time of washing and renewal when everyone will have a new and clean heart, and will live in peace and prosperity in the land; and

Joel 2:28-32

Thought to ponder:

: a latter-day outpouring of the Spirit where everyone will become a prophet and, calling on the name of the Lord, they will be “saved”.

For each of these texts, try to place yourself in the position of the person hearing the message at the time and place it was originally given. (A Bible dictionary or commentary might be helpful here). What would have been the major worries or fears that concerned you at that time, in your context?

What would be the main message the original hearers would have heard from each of these specific promises?

2.3. Summary of the various promises made

Clearly, there is a lot of diversity in the many promises that were made, over a period of over 1000 years. Some of the promises seem paradoxical or contradictory (humble, but a warrior? suffering servant, but triumphant king? etc). The ancients might be forgiven for wondering whether it was a single Messiah or multiple ones that would fulfil the promise.

Nonetheless, when taken as a whole, there are a number of strands of thought that were consistent throughout the whole Hebrew Bible over the full period of time in which God spoke of the coming one:

1. That Israel’s future (indeed, the whole world’s) was tied up in a human being who would one day come. Although a normal human being (“son of David”), he would nevertheless be a unique man, a man like no other before or after him;

2. That he would be a man specially endowed and anointed with the Spirit of God;


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3. That he would fulfil a number of ministry roles:

a. Prophet;

b. Priest;

c. King;

d. Shepherd;

e. Judge;

f. Warrior; and

g. Saviour / redeemer.

4. That he would possess a uniquely holy character:

a. Humility;

b. Power;

c. Justice and righteousness (especially towards the poor);

d. Wisdom; and

e. Healing / mercy.

5. That his purpose in coming would be to establish his rule over the earth as king. The reward of the righteous was to be a part of this kingdom; and

6. That he would pass on his anointing to those living in his kingdom, so that they would all be experience cleansing from sin, personal knowledge of God, and the same anointing of the Spirit that characterised his ministry.

3. THE IMPLICATIONS FOR US TODAY

It is easy to see how so many different Messianic pictures had emerged by the time of Jesus. Each of the groups in Israel at the time of the Romans saw a part of the picture, focusing on the aspect of their world that was most important to them. Focusing on their own felt needs, they “interpreted” the text through the prism of their own world view.


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We are in precisely the same danger today in interpreting Jesus and his kingdom in our own 21st century western world.

The New Testament teaches us that Jesus was (and is) this unique man who was promised from of old. Most Christians would have no problem believing that items 1 – 4 in the summary above apply to Jesus. But what about the parts of the promise that refer to us?

If Jesus is the Messiah, and if I am a follower of his, then three things must be factually true of me personally:

FACT 1

: I have been invited to enter and live under Jesus’ power and authority in the Kingdom of God;

FACT 2

: I have been chosen to be one of God’s righteous ones; and

FACT 3

This is the

: I have been chosen to be anointed with the same Spirit that Jesus was anointed with.

true

Thought for the week:

message of the good news of Jesus the Messiah in the New Testament.

How clearly do I understand and believe the three things that the Bible says must be true of me, if I am a believer in Jesus? Am I conscious of the Kingdom of God around about me? Do I see myself (and act) as a righteous one? Do I live in the reality of the Holy Spirit’s anointing?

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.” (1 Pet. 2:5)


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STUDY 2: WHY DO WE NEED A MESSIAH?

We saw in the previous study God promised, from the earliest days of his dealings with mankind that he would send a specially anointed person, or “Messiah”. But why do we need such a person?

Essentially, the promised Messiah was to be a restorer

For the Pharisees, the Messiah would restore Israel’s righteous obedience to the Law;

– someone who restored things to the way they were meant to be. That was well understood, but different groups within the Jewish nation had different (and, in some cases, very specific) perspectives on what needed to be restored, and this is the main reason why there were (and still are) so many different concepts about the Messiah. For example:

For the Zealots, he would restore national sovereignty to the way it was in David’s day.

If we are going to have a deep understanding of what God’s purpose in sending the Messiah was, we need to understand from God’s perspective what needed (and, in some ways, still needs) to be restored.

1. WHAT NEEDS TO BE RESTORED?

What needs to be restored? In short, everything! In speaking of his plans to the prophet Isaiah, God said:

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create.” (Is. 65:17-18)

At the end of the New Testament, John had an even more startling revelation:

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Rev. 21:5).


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In other words, something must have happened to spoil the original creation, and to damage it in such a way that every part of it needs to be restored1

Thought to ponder:

. Why could this be?

In what way will our understanding of God’s purposes in sending the Messiah be influenced by how much we understand what needs to be restored?

1.1. Root cause: the fall of mankind

The root cause of all the imperfection in the world today is found in the first three chapters of the Bible. This doctrine, called “the fall of man” or “original sin”, is quite controversial and somewhat confusing. However, there are some things we need to understand about it if we are to understand the why and how

of God’s restoration plan.

Here is a summary of the events of Genesis 1 – 3 as far as they relate to the fall of man, and its consequences:

1. God created mankind (male and female) to rule over

2. In the pre-fallen state, the man and his wife walked in communion with God (e.g. 2:16, 3:8).

the created order (1:26-27). This rulership was clearly a delegated authority, and intended to be under the ultimate rulership of God himself.

3. There are two trees specifically mentioned in the text, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:9). Both trees are symbolic.

1 Note: this is not to imply that it is completely warped, with no good in it (the so-called doctrine of “total depravity”). To use an analogy, a glass of water with a teaspoon of poison in it is completely spoiled, and needs to be totally replaced for drinking purposes. But that does not mean that it is as full as it can be with the poison – you can have different glasses with different concentrations of poison in them. By analogy, the promise of the new creation implies that the damage has spread to all of the current creation, but not that things are “as bad as they could possibly be”.


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4. The “tree of life” is symbolic of mankind’s communion with God – without eating regularly from this tree, the man and his wife were destined to perish (3:22, cf 2:17). This in itself provides a startling picture of life in Eden, for it shows that we were not created with the ability to live the way we ought – not even for one day – without fellowship with our Creator!

5. In Hebrew, “knowledge” refers to experience, rather than intellectual understanding. The “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” is symbolic, therefore, of an attitude that says, “I will decide what is good and evil for me, based on what I experience, rather than what I am told.” This interpretation coincides closely with the reasons given for Adam and Eve deciding to eat from this tree (3:6-7).

6. Evil in the Bible is never represented as an impersonal or abstract concept; it is always personal. In the story of the fall of man, it is represented as the serpent (3:1ff) who is usually taken to be the devil.

7. If evil is a real, personal force, then it is surely a fallacy to think that you can decide what is good and evil by experience. I am a person myself, and once I experience for myself the personal power of evil, it is bound to have an effect on me, to change the sort of person I am – we usually call this a “loss of innocence”. In the Genesis narrative, this is symbolised by Adam and Eve’s realisation of their own nakedness (3:7 cf 2:25).

8. Once the man and his wife had chosen to experience evil for themselves and had rejected God’s authority over them, God banished mankind from his presence (3:22ff). The consequence of this separation was death – instead of ruling over creation, we returned to being a part of it, subject to all its laws and limitations.

Thought to ponder:

Meditate on Psalm 8, especially v4: “…what is man …?” The Bible actually has a very “high” view of the importance and significance of humanity – far higher than many Christians realise. Putting it another way, Christians often criticise secular humanism, without realising that the Bible has within it a far more potent and exciting form of humanism – “God-empowered humanism”.

What are the dangers in accepting God’s “high” estimation of our own importance? What are the benefits of meditating on this?

How does our view of the importance of man affect our understanding of what it means to be “good”?


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Here are the main features of the story of the fall of mankind:

1. When God created mankind, he delegated full authority

2. When the first man and woman lost communion with God, they lost the ability to live the way God had intended. Since the loss of fellowship was passed onto all humanity, all humanity was destined to lose the ability to “live right” also (as the descendants of Adam and Eve, we too are under their authority and suffer to some extent for their actions

to us for its running. This means that we are collectively responsible for what happens in this world, not God – he generally cannot get involved except at our invitation!

2

3. The descent into personal sin also led to a loss of innocence, unleashing the destructive forces of guilt and shame. Fallen humanity now suffers from the joint curse of the loss of the

).

ability to live right (no fellowship with God) and the loss of the will

4. Because all of creation was (and still is) under the authority of mankind, all of creation suffers because of our disobedience. In essence, God is waiting for us to fix up the mess we have created – but we have neither the wisdom nor the will to do it!

to do right (loss of innocence).

Thought to ponder:

One common accusation thrown at God is that, “if he really is a God of love, why does he permit evil in the world?” What is your response to this accusation?

If he were to stop evil in this world (after having given us full authority to run it) merely because we were not doing what we were asked to do, what would that say about the character of God?

1.2. So what needs to be restored?

Given the story of the fall of man in Genesis 1 – 3, what would we expect to be in need of restoration?

Restoration involves two components: cleaning up the mess that already exists, and preventing it happening again in the future. This means that restoration must involve:

2 Note that this does not mean that we are blamed for the sins of Adam, or any of our ancestors. The Bible is very clear that each one of us will be judged for our own actions, and for none others (see Ez. 18).


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1. In the first instance, mankind

• Re-establishment of the

needs to be restored – since we are the ones who caused (and who continue to cause) the mess! For us, restoration is the most complex part of the process, since it must involve:

will to do good (not everyone, however, wants

• Restoration of the

to be good);

ability

• Cleansing from the personal effects of past sins (e.g. forgiveness); and

to do good (i.e. fellowship with God);

• Healing from the “collateral damage” caused by living in a hostile world (sickness and disease, etc);

2. In the second instance, the rest of creation

2. HOW DOES THE RESTORATION OCCUR?

needs to be restored – which involves healing from the effects of our misrule of God’s creation.

Throughout the history of mankind, different philosophies and religions have noted the imperfections in creation, and have had different ideas about how things might be restored. Not surprisingly, this theme of restoration is also the major theme of the Bible.

Interestingly, the Bible shows us what does not work before it shows us what will

2.1. False hope #1: getting rid of evildoers

work!

One of the common cries of humanity is this: “If only God would get rid of all the bad people, that would solve all our problems!”

The Bible records how God demonstrated the falseness of this hope – when the power of sin had spread throughout the world, he resolved (in his grief) to wipe out all mankind from the face of the earth, leaving just the one man who had found favour in his eyes – Noah, a righteous man (Gen. 6:7-9).

What happened in the aftermath of the great flood? Noah firstly expressed gratitude and worship (Gen. 8:20), indicating the willingness to live right. However, it was not long before drunkenness crept in, and the whole miserable story of fighting and curses returned (Gen. 9:20-28). Clearly, not even Noah had the ability to live right.


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2.1.1. The conclusion: 1. “Getting rid of the bad people” won’t work – because we’re all bad! Not

necessarily as bad as we might be, and some of us are worse than others, but we are all bad enough that we don’t have the ability to be really and truly good

2. Living righteously (in the sense of trying one’s best to do the right thing as well as one can) is obviously a good thing – it is better than not living righteously! – but it is just

.

not enough

Thought to ponder:

. We need more!

Meditate on the story of Noah. Why do you think he got drunk and acted the way he did? To what extent was it ignorance, and to what extent was it deliberate rebellion?

Given that we have been given the authority (responsibility) to rule over creation, does it ultimately matter if we act out of malice or ignorance, if the net result is a bad outcome?

2.2. False hope #2: getting “religion”

Another common cry is that religion (or philosophy) is the answer. Whenever times get tough, people flock into new movements, hoping to find the answer in the latest set of religious or philosophical ideas.

In general terms, “religion” is the sociological (or corporate) side of belief systems. Religions generally consist of two items:

1. Rules

2.

(or laws) by which people should live; and

Rituals

There are (of course) both good and bad religions available to choose from. God introduced his own form of religion to the people of Israel in the time of Moses, and the religion he introduced in its historical context was “as good as it gets”. Here’s what it consisted of:

– that is, regular patterns of behaviour that introduce us to certain experiences, and make us familiar and comfortable with them.

• God first chose a people who were oppressed and enslaved, and delivered them from their bondage (Ex. 19:3-6) – thereby earning (by any reasonable standard) their everlasting gratitude;

• He gave them a set of rules (the Torah) that perfectly represents God’s ideas of how we ought to live (Ps. 19:7-11);


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• He appointed one whole tribe from among the people to be a class of priests, to minister before the very presence of God and to teach the people God’s ways (Lev. 9:1-24);

2.2.1. Digression: How the priestly system worked

When the people of Israel were travelling through the desert from Egypt, the presence of God was manifest to them in a very special way through a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21 – 22). However, as the people continued to disobey God and harden their hearts against him, it became clear that it was not going to be possible for the presence of God to stay with them in such a direct manner (see Ex. 33:1 – 3).

Under the priestly system, the people of God had indirect

The presence of God that had been manifest in the pillar of cloud / fire became located in a portable structure called the Tabernacle (Ex. 40:34 – 38);

access to God’s presence through the following mechanism:

One tribe out of the twelve tribes of Israel (the tribe of Levi) was set aside as an hereditary priesthood, who were solely responsible for the ministry of the Tabernacle on the basis of their birth (Num. 3:5 – 13);

Access to the presence of God through the Tabernacle was progressively restricted by the setting up of different areas within it – the outer court was accessible to all God’s people, but the inner place (the “Holy of Holies” or “Most Holy Place”, where the Ark of the Covenant and God’s manifest presence were found – see Num. 7:89) was protected by a huge curtain, and the common people of God could not go there under penalty of death;

At the head of the priesthood was Moses’ brother Aaron, who was designated High Priest. He alone (and his sons after his death) had access to the Most Holy Place where the Ark of God’s presence was situated, and that only once a year on the holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16);

The common people dealt with God through the priests, who administered a complex system of animal and other sacrifices covering every conceivable situation in life, including fellowship offerings (Lev. 3), sin offerings (Lev. 4:1 – 5:13), and guilt offerings (Lev. 14 – 19);

If God’s people offered (through the priests) the prescribed sacrifices, they were forgiven their sins, and were able to live under God’s covenantal blessing.

The overriding purpose of this structure was to make one truth abundantly clear to God’s people – God is holy, and his presence with his people is an incredible privilege that is not to be taken for granted, presumed upon, or otherwise treated lightly.


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• When the people went astray, he appointed prophets (“covenant-enforcers”) to remind them of God’s words and his deeds, and to draw them back to him.

What happened as a result of this revolutionary new religion? Did the people serve God in gratitude? Did they study God’s ways diligently, and strive to please him in everything? Did they submit to the God-imposed rituals and draw near to the very presence of God himself? Did they heed the words of the prophets and turn back to God? No, but rather:

1. They ignored

2. They

God’s law entirely, even reaching a stage where they had “lost” it (2 Ki. 22);

corrupted

3. They

their priesthood, allowing and encouraging them to indulge in pagan practices (Judg. 17, 1 Sam. 2:12-26, Jer. 2:7-8 etc);

murdered

It would be fatuous to claim that these things happened in Israel because they were somehow “worse” than other peoples. The history of the world demonstrates that all the world’s religions and philosophies get corrupted by self-seeking individuals who seek to exploit them for their own selfish ends:

the prophets who spoke to them in the name of the Lord (2 Chr. 24:17-22).

• Where there are rules, people look for opportunities to keep to the letter of the law while evading its spirit;

• Where there are rituals, people take them for granted, and think that the ritual itself (rather than the underlying reality it symbolises) is the important thing, even believing that it has supernatural power in itself; and

• Where there are prophetic voices, people “shoot the messenger” rather than taking on board the challenge of the message.

2.2.2. The conclusion: 1. Improving the quality of our religious rules and rituals will not work – because we

don’t really want to draw near to God all the time! Mankind has an established track record of using religions to avoid God, rather than draw near

2. Having accurate and appropriate religious ideas and practices is obviously a good thing – it is better than having wrong ideas and practices! – but it is just

to him;

not enough. We need more!


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Thoughts to ponder:

What rituals (religious or otherwise) do you find helpful in drawing near to God? What dangers do you see for yourself in these otherwise useful practices?

When listening to social commentators on the radio and TV, we often hear experts comment that the solution to all manner of social problems (from drugs to teenage pregnancy to obesity) is “better education”. How accurate do you think this solution really is?

2.3. False hope #3: getting a better government

We love to blame “the government” (whoever they are at the time!) for everything that is bad, from morals to the economy. Perhaps it is one way in which we avoid personal responsibility for our faults. Whatever the reason, what lies behind this attitude is the belief that the solution to our problems lies in the quality of our leadership.

God also demonstrated that this is a false hope:

• In response to the request of the people of Israel, he appointed them a king to lead them (1 Sam. 8:1-22).

• He anointed their kings with the Holy Spirit, and empowered them with wisdom to reign righteously (1 Sam. 10:1-11, 16:13, 1 Ki. 3:1-15).

• Although the first king Saul was less than a wholehearted success, his successor David was an ideal, a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14 cf Ac. 13:22).

• At first, under righteous king David and his son Solomon, the nation prospered and its borders were expanded to an unimaginable extent (1 Chr. 18). However, sin by David and Solomon led to civil war (1 Ki. 11:9-13) and the fracturing of the kingdom into two separate nations (1 Ki. 12:1-19).

• After that, the monarchy of both kingdoms degenerated into an hereditary system, whereby power was vested in the son who was the most powerful, not the one who was the most godly. There were a procession of mediocre and bad kings, and only the occasional good one. The people of God truly had a king “just like the other nations” (see 1 Sam. 8:5) – in every sense of the word!

• The once-proud nation shrunk in size; it was invaded and impoverished; eventually, both kingdoms were wiped out (2 Ki. 17:7-23; 25:1-26).


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2.3.1. The conclusion: 1. Improving the quality of leadership will only work temporarily – because it is an

onerous job to rule people who don’t really want to be truly good, because there are few candidates for the job who are truly wise enough or good enough, and because power tends to corrupt, especially with the second and subsequent generations of leadership;

2. Having good leadership is obviously a good thing – it is better than having bad leadership! – but it is just not enough

Thought to ponder:

. We need more!

To what extent is it true that the shortcomings of our leaders are more important / significant than ours? What is the danger in believing this too easily?

2.4. The only true hope: a completely new start!

The Old Testament is a history of God’s “failed attempts” to restore mankind to our rightful place in God’s creation. In each case, the attempt failed, not because the method was flawed, but because we the people are fundamentally flawed.

Out of this experience of failure, however, God brought forward the promise of the only true hope – a totally new race of humanity

Under the audacious promise of God, the “failed attempts” at restoration were not discarded; rather, they found their ultimate fulfilment in the kingdom of the Messiah:

where the fundamental cause of the problem (sinful human nature) has been completely eradicated.

• The Messiah and those in his kingdom would be righteous

• The Messiah would be their

– but far more righteous than Noah ever could be! (Is. 32:1-8)

king

• The Messiah would be a

– but a far better and more worthy king even than David! (Is. 9:6-7)

prophet and lawgiver

• The Messiah would be their

– but one far greater than Moses! (Deut. 18:14-19)

priest – drawing them all into the presence of God (Ps. 110:1-7).


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3. HOW CAN WE BE PART OF THE RESTORED CREATION?

If God’s plan is to totally start again with a new race of humanity, it sounds as if there is no hope for us who are part of the old creation. How is it possible for us to be part of this new creation?

It is only in the New Testament that we are told the details of God’s plan to create a totally new humanity – without completely destroying the members of the old one! This is the doctrine of the cross, which is far bigger and greater than mere “forgiveness of sins” (which is what some Christians seem to think is the main intent).

We cannot do justice to the detail of God’s amazing plan in this study, but we can outline it so that the details can be filled in from further study (carried out over a lifetime and beyond!)

3.1. Overview: God’s strategy

Here is a summary of God’s strategy for creating a new race of humanity, as revealed in the New Testament:

1. The new race begins

2. When he died, he incorporated (in a spiritual sense) within his own body on the cross the sum total of all humanity by becoming our

with Jesus the Messiah, who is described as “the second Adam” (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:45-55). He is a worthy progenitor of a new race, as he is the only human being who has ever lived perfectly before God.

spiritual representative

3.

. When he died, we died also (Gal. 2:20); when he rose and ascended, we rose and ascended (Eph. 2:5-6).

The choice is ours

4. This being “born again” does not mean we are instantly changed completely – the old (dead) self still lives in the same physical body as the new (regenerated) self. But God has equipped us with his Spirit to

whether or not we accept this spiritual representation. If we accept it, then the benefit of Christ’s death and resurrection becomes effective, and our old self is put to death (thus dealing once and for all with the problem of sin) and we are “born again” into the new creation as brand new creatures (Rom. 6:1-14 – this is the underlying symbolism of baptism).

enable us to live in the power of the new creation, just as Jesus lived when he was on earth (Rom. 8:1-4).


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5. There will come a day in the future when Jesus returns when the new creation will be consummated

This process is beautifully summarised in the New Testament by one key verse:

(finalised) with the destruction of the current physical world and the recreation of a new world (1 Cor. 15:45-55). At that time, we will be finally changed outwardly to be like Jesus (1 Jn 3:2) and the glorious restoration will be complete.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21).

What a glorious exchange! We became everything that he is, but the price was the cross – he had to first become everything that we are!

Thought to ponder:

Meditate on Eph. 1 – 3. This passage is one long thought-stream from the apostle Paul, exploring the glorious reality of what it means to be incorporated “in Christ”. What does it mean to you to be “in Christ”?

Make a list of all the attributes of being “in Christ” that are listed in this passage. How many of them are real in your life? What is your response to reading these amazing promises?

3.2. Key dates

The following are key dates in understanding God’s plan of restoration:

a. The birth of Christ

b.

– at this time, the plan was set in motion with the first human being born into the new creation – born of the Spirit of God (Mt. 1:20-21);

The baptism of Jesus

c.

– Jesus was equipped for his representative life by the empowering of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 3:13-17). Henceforth, he would live as we are also called to live – victoriously, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The death and resurrection of Jesus – at this time, all humanity was incorporated into Christ, thus enabling “whosoever will” to participate in the divine plan (Jn 3:16).


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d. The ascension of Jesus and the day of Pentecost

e.

– at this time, the work of the cross became a working reality – Jesus took his place of authority, and poured out on the believers the power of the Spirit to enable us to live exactly the same way that Jesus lived. We can now be born of the Spirit, and empowered by the Spirit – this is all we need to live in the new creation (Ac. 2:36-39).

The second coming of Christ

This period between d) and e) is known in the New Testament as the

– Jesus’ first coming was to bring salvation to those who want to participate in it; his second coming in the future will be to bring judgment and closure to the current age (Heb. 9:26-28). At this date (or immediately afterwards), the new creation will be finalised (Rev. 19:11 – 22:17).

Day of the Lord

3.3. How do we participate?

. It is the period of grace during which people can choose (or not) to participate in the new creation.

According to the New Testament, it is impossible

On the other hand, such a restoration cannot happen automatically to

for us to merit entry into such an amazing new relationship with God – some of us are better human beings than others, but none go remotely close to being good enough to warrant such a radical reconstruction.

all people

God therefore requires us to

– since God gave each one of us autonomy over our own lives, the ultimate privilege (and responsibility) of determining our own destiny.

co-operate

This willingness to co-operate with God is called

with him in the process of restoration – and in fact, our willingness to co-operate with him is the only condition to entry into the new creation in Jesus!

faith

1. We must receive

, and involves more than just intellectual assent (or “belief”). It involves the following components:

revelation

2. We must respond to that revelation with an

from God about what he has done in Christ;

open heart

3. We must

– which means a willingness to submit to God’s working in our lives;

meditate

4. We must

on the revelation we have received – i.e. seek to understand the meaning of what God has done, and what its implications are for us; and

act in accordance with what the revelation dictates.


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This last stage is what the Apostle Paul calls “the obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5), and is the only response required by us to activate the power of God in our lives. This is not an equation of “believing + good works” (e.g. believing in God and trying to be a good person), nor is it a matter of “believing so hard that God is pleased with you” (good works faith), but rather a matter of understanding the incredible grace of God and acting consistently with a heart-felt belief that it is true.

Thought to ponder:

What does it mean to you to “believe in your heart” in Jesus (Rom. Mk 11:22-25; 10:9 etc)? How do you understand this to be different to mere “believing”?

4. SUMMARY

We have covered a lot of ground in this study, and we have only touched the surface of God’s amazing plan of restoration through the Messiah. Here are the main points we need to grasp before we can explore some of these issues in detail:

1. The original sin of Adam and Eve corrupted us all by separating us from the presence of God, who alone is able to help us live a good life.

2. When we sin, we enter into a personal relationship with evil, and further corrupt ourselves by causing us to lose our innocence.

3. There is nothing we can do to change this – no human effort can restore the damage done to us by the ravages of sin.

This is why we need a Messiah.

4. Living a righteous life, practicing good religious works, and having good leadership can take us a certain way in “improving” the human condition, but none of these can solve the real problem – the corruption of sin that has infected each one of us through and through.

5. The only solution was for God to start again with a new race of humanity, a race taken out of the offspring of Jesus the Messiah, the only person who ever lived completely right before God.


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6. In order for us to be able to participate in that new race of humanity, Jesus needed to live, die, and be raised again on our behalf. This gives us a window of opportunity to come into a saving relationship with the Messiah (being “in Christ”) over the period until he returns (when the window of opportunity will close).

7. All that is needed from us to participate in this re-creation is faith

Everything else that we need to know about the gospel of the Messiah stems from these basic life-giving principles.

– not mere intellectual belief, but the sort of heart-felt faith which co-operates with God’s incredible plan, rather than fighting against him.


“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” (2 Cor. 1:20). In Christ, God has given me a resounding “Yes!” I therefore resolve to say “Yes!” to him from now on – with all my heart.


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STUDY 3: THE GOSPEL OF JESUS THE MESSIAH

Several years ago, I felt myself challenged by God to re-discover the true meaning of the gospel in the New Testament. Like many in the protestant evangelical churches, I had believed a message that was focused on forgiveness of sins, plus seeking to live according to “the word of God”. I had my theology “down pat”, but my spiritual life was shallow and unchallenging.

What I discovered, as I studied the scriptures anew, was that three themes seemed to recur throughout the New Testament with startling repetition, each one claiming a supernatural dynamic that was beyond my experience. These themes were the Kingdom of God, righteousness, and the Holy Spirit.

As we have seen in the previous two studies, these themes were the constant emphasis of God as he prepared his people over hundreds of years for the coming of his Anointed One. I had missed the significance of these themes because my spiritual experience had not been grounded sufficiently in these Old Testament promises. Little did I realise that I was discovering an exciting and life-transforming dynamic – the gospel of Jesus the Messiah.

Over the next three studies, we will get a brief overview of these three key Messianic themes, and how they are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus the Messiah.

1. THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM

Just before Jesus of Nazareth began his preaching ministry, there was a real sense of Messianic expectation that gripped the region of Judea. A man later known as John the Baptist fuelled that expectancy:

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is near!’” (Mt. 3:1)

This message carried two weighty implications:

1. An event of stupendous, world-changing significance is about to occur: the Messiah is coming, he is near, and his Kingdom is about to break on the scene!

2. This event demands a response from us – you need to change your ways to receive it, draw near to God in repentance, otherwise you will miss out on this amazing event.


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The very term “gospel” (= “good news”) has strong “kingdom” connotations – it was the technical term in contemporary society for a proclamation of glad tidings by a monarch to his subjects. Heralds would be sent throughout the realm bringing news (for example, concerning the birth of an heir, or the conquest of an enemy) to all the king’s subjects. By using that term to describe their message, the early Christians were proclaiming that God was a king, that people were his subjects, and they the evangelists were the appointed heralds of a piece of “good news” from the king.

1.1. What is the Kingdom of God?

In the original languages, “kingdom” refers to a realm of authority, not just a physical place. Consequently, the message of the Kingdom is that, in Jesus, God’s authority has been re-established in a new way on earth.

In other words, the Kingdom of God is the relational and social framework of the gospel. It defines how we are to relate to God, and to each other. It is not just an individual encounter or a personal experience, but a completely new corporate identity

Jesus

for those who respond to the call.

demonstrated

There was no distinction in Jesus’ message between the “spiritual” and “social” gospels – men and women coming under the authority of the Kingdom were expected to live by a new spiritual dynamic, but it also transformed their relationships with others, especially with the poor and needy ones who needed to receive the mercy of God in some practical form or another.

the realm of the Kingdom by doing supernaturally deeds that exemplified God’s rule: over sickness, over the demonic, over poverty, over all manner of bondage.

Thought to ponder:

How do “preaching” and “good social works” fit into the gospel of the coming realm of God? If we emphasise one above the other, what impact will that have on the message we are implicitly bringing about what it means to come under the authority of God?


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1.2. “Gospel of the Kingdom” v “Gospel of the King”?

According to Jesus, the true “good news” is the “gospel of the kingdom” (Mt. 24:14). Over most of the history of the church (and especially in the current era), this has been reduced to the “gospel of Jesus”. Clearly, Jesus is the principle focus of the message, but is he the only true focus? Is there something more to the gospel of the Kingdom than just the good news of the King

If the Kingdom of God refers to the whole realm of God’s coming rule, then the gospel of the Kingdom must incorporate more than just the proclamation that the king has come:

?

It includes how we become

It includes how we

subjects of the Kingdom – what is a kingdom without citizens?

live

It involves how we live

as subjects of the Kingdom – Jesus expected his disciples to live at a significantly higher level than other men and women (Mt. 5:20, 48), because citizenship in his Kingdom involves the privilege of receiving the life-transforming Spirit of Jesus (Jn 16:7).

corporately

Thought to ponder:

as well as individually – the life of the Kingdom is seen in a community of people who are learning to live together under the authority of Jesus – and a community that does not demonstrate the love of God in a profound way is not demonstrating the Kingdom that Jesus came to bring (Jn 13:34-35).

What do non-Christians in your community think about the church? If we preach Jesus to them, but they do not see the quality of life of the Kingdom of God in our midst, to what extent do you think it is fair to say that they have “heard” the message of the Kingdom?

What were the main factors that influenced you to become a follower of Jesus Christ?


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2. WHEN DOES THE KINGDOM OF GOD “COME”?

The question of how Jesus’ Kingdom was to “come” is the key question in the gospels, and one over which scholars have argued for a long time. Some claim that the Kingdom to Jesus was entirely an internal spiritual dynamic, and that the apocalyptic elements (e.g. the second coming) were misinterpretations of Jesus’ message that were added later by his Jewish followers based on their preconceived Messianic expectations. Others go to the opposite extreme, claiming that Jesus expected the imminent appearance of the Kingdom in all its fullness, and that the internal spiritual elements were added later when that hope was not fulfilled.

Both of these extremes are speculative, assuming (without evidence) that the text of the gospels was a major distortion of the message of Jesus. But if we accept the gospel accounts at face value, we see a complicated (but nevertheless consistent) understanding of the coming of the Kingdom of God:

1. With Jesus, the Kingdom of God has come in a very real way.

Jesus was once accused of casting out demons by demonic power. In his response, Jesus made a startling pronouncement:

“But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Mt. 12:28).

The Kingdom of God is no longer a future hope, it is a present reality: it has come upon you! Jesus demonstrated that the Kingdom had come by works of power that established God’s rule over his enemies!

The kingdom is an immense privilege, conferring greatness to all who enter it, even the very least:

“I tell you the truth, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Mt. 11:11).


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According to Jesus, the Kingdom is to be:

• Sought as our highest priority (Mt. 6:33);

• Prayed for earnestly and passionately (Mt. 6:10); and

• Received as a gift by the poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3) and like a little child (Mk 10:15).

In other words, there is nothing automatic

2. There was, however, a definite future element to the Kingdom, with all the apocalyptic trappings of the “end of the earth”

or “magical” in the Kingdom of God – it is possible to “catch” it, but also to “miss” it. In this sense, Jesus was not completely an apocalyptic preacher.

Jesus hinted at this in some of his earliest parables (e.g. Mt. 13:36-43), and made it quite explicit towards the end of his ministry (e.g. Mt. 25:31-46). In his last fateful week, he devoted a whole sermon to teaching his disciples about what the signs would be when this future event is about to take place (Mt. 24).

In the end, it was Jesus’ belief in the apocalyptic end of the world with himself as King that precipitated his condemnation and execution (Mt. 24:64).

Thus, the apocalyptic element was also a clear element of Jesus’ teaching, as well as the inward spiritual dynamic.

3. Over the period from Jesus’ earthly life (the inauguration of the Kingdom) to the end of the age (its consummation), the picture given is one of growth

This is seen most clearly in some of the parables of Jesus, which compared the Kingdom to seed sown in a field (Mt. 13:1-23), a growing mustard tree (Mk. 4:30-32), and the effect of yeast in bread (Mt. 13:33). The implication of all these parables is clear: the Kingdom of God may seem small and insignificant to us now, but one day it will be seen by all as the most powerful and important thing in the universe!

.

In Mk 4:26-29, Jesus indicates the type of growth to be expected – constant and steady, day or night, depending not upon the work of man but upon the work of God. The “seed” (which is elsewhere identified as the word of the Kingdom – see Mt. 12:19) contains within itself the full power to result in the final production of the finished “tree”.


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4. Within the lifetime of the disciples, there would be a significant quantum increase

This is the most difficult part of the teaching of Jesus to interpret, and is the element that gave rise to the (obviously mistaken!) belief among the disciples (both in the first generation and later on) that Jesus expected the end of the world in his disciples’ lifetime.

in the presence on earth of the Kingdom of God.

There is only one incident that gave rise to this belief, but its meaning is quite mysterious. It followed immediately after Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Messiah, and Jesus’ first prediction of his death:

“I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.” (Mt. 16:28).

Mark describes the event as “the Kingdom of God (having) come with power” (Mk 9:1) and Luke uses the words “see the Kingdom of God” (Lk. 9:27).

Among the commentaries, there are three main schools of interpretation for this text:

a) Jesus was referring to the end of the age, but he was mistaken. (Obviously, this interpretation is rarely held by those who maintain faith in Jesus as the Messiah!);

b) Jesus was referring to the event which immediately followed his declaration, his transfiguration;

c) Jesus was referring to the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.

For reasons that will become apparent in a later study, I believe c) is the main intent of Jesus’ words. However, whether one accepts b) or c) as the event Jesus had in mind (or possibly both), it is clear that the growth of the Kingdom would include a quantum increase in magnitude at some time in the 1st century.

The coming of the Kingdom can therefore be displayed diagrammatically:


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com

ing

of th

e K

ing

retu

rn o

f th

e K

ing

inte

nsity

prior to the coming of Jesus

during the lifetime of the apostles

before Jesus' apocalyptic return

during eternity ("the age to come")

com

ing

of th

e K

ingd

om

"with

pow

er"

5. After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples preached unambiguously and consistently about the Kingdom of God.

– Explicit reference

–

s: Ac. 8:4-12; 28:30-31; Col. 1:13

Implicit references

Summary:

: Ac. 2:36; 3:17-23; 5:42

1. The Kingdom of God is the message that Jesus, John the Baptist and the early believers

2. Although it is a “now but not yet” phenomenon, it bears tremendous privilege for those who are part of it;

preached;

3. Properly understood, the Kingdom of God encompasses both individual and corporate dimensions of the Gospel, and it also covers both spiritual and social concerns.


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Thoughts to ponder:

Meditate on Mt. 13:16: “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Is your experience of the Kingdom of God such that you feel more privileged than people like Moses, Elijah and Isaiah?

Compare this text with Mt. 11:11. Am I prepared to believe that I am (at very least!) “least in the Kingdom of heaven?”

If I am to take the teaching of Jesus seriously, what does this imply about the experience of most people in the church over the past two millennia? What does it say about my

experience to date?

3. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

A true understanding of the meaning of the New Testament can only come when we realise what a tremendously revolutionary idea was Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God. “Salvation” is more, much more, than just the forgiveness of sins – it means entering and living in the Kingdom of God!

It means a new personal identity

It means a new

– I am a child of the king!

corporate identity

It means a

– we who believe are a privileged people, the ones upon whom the hope of the ages has come!

supernatural power and authority

It brings with it an

– I can live the way Jesus lived!

awesome responsibility

It means

– I need to show the world the reality of Jesus’ rule over me and through me!

growing into the image of Jesus


– my present and my future can and should be one continuous experience of growth “into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:17).

I resolve to become a “kingdom-focused Christian”.


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STUDY 4: THE GOSPEL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

How do you view yourself in moral terms? Do you see yourself as a “good” or a “bad” person? Given that the Bible teaches unequivocally that God is holy, the answer to this basic question is bound to have a significant impact on the way we view ourselves spiritually.

In this study, we will get an overview of the concept of righteousness as found in the Bible, and why the New Testament message can be called the “gospel of righteousness”.

1. WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS?

We tend to think of righteousness as a religious concept, however in the original culture of the Bible, it was non-religious in origin. Essentially, it was a relationship

To be “righteous” means to be in a right relationship with someone – and therefore able to enjoy the benefits of fellowship with that person. The opposite of righteousness is “sin”, which is likewise a relationship concept. When we sin against someone, we break our relationship with them, and become their “enemy” rather than their “friend”.

concept, and a very important one in a culture that was more relationship-focused that rules-focused.

1 Sam. 2:22-25 is an interesting example of this usage of “sin” and “righteousness” in this original non-religious sense. Eli is making a purely practical point to his sons – if we break our relationship with a person, there is a possibility that God (who is stronger) might intervene; but if we break our relationship with God himself

, who can help us?

1.1. Righteousness and covenant relationship

In Biblical times, important relationships were confirmed by the cutting of a covenant

In some ways, a covenant was similar to the modern legal concept of a contract – only more serious, given the intense religious and social implications of the relationship. Probably the only relationship in modern society that comes close to the ancient concept of covenant is that of marriage – which is still sometimes referred to as a “covenant”.

, which is a solemn and binding agreement between the two parties concerned. The covenant set out the duties and obligations on each party to the agreement, and even the remedies that were available if the covenant was broken. You can refer to Gen. 21:22-34 for an example of this social convention in ancient society.


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The Bible portrays God as entering into covenant with his people – both in the Old Testament (another older English word for “covenant”) and the New. The picture is that God wants people to be in right relationships with him, and he also wants us to know exactly how we are to relate to him – which parts are our responsibility, and which parts are his.

Thought to ponder:

Consider for a moment what happens when two parties to a relationship (especially a close or intimate relationship) have different expectations of what that relationship means. Has this ever happened to you? Reflect for a moment (not too long if the memory is painful!) on your experience.

Given this fact, and the importance of our relationship with God, how vital do you think it is that we fully understand the covenant basis of our relationship with God? What problems are we likely to encounter if we don’t understand God’s expectations?

1.2. The blessedness of being right with God

In covenant terms, righteousness can be expressed as being in obedience to the terms of the covenant you have entered into. This is certainly the perspective found in the Old Testament teaching on righteousness. God promises tremendous blessings upon those who keep his covenant (e.g. in the Ten Commandments – Ex. 20:6). In a famous passage at the end of the covenant book of Deuteronomy, Moses expresses it in glorious terms:

“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock – the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.” (Deut. 28:1-6)

Effectively, God is promising to look after every aspect of his people’s lives, provided they maintain “their side of the bargain”. The rest of the Old Testament (and especially the wisdom literature of Job, Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) paints an overwhelming picture of the blessedness of being righteous (e.g. Ps. 1, 24:3ff, 34:11-22, 91, etc).


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David summed up this perspective at the end of his long (and prosperous!) life with a song of praise to his covenant God:

“Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant,

arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation And grant me my every desire?” (2 Sam. 23:5) David saw all of the good things he had experienced as being a direct consequence of the blessedness of his house being “right with God”.

1.3. “Right relationship” or “right behaviour”?

Should righteousness, therefore, be viewed as a right relationship with God, or right behaviour

Christians often over-simplify the position by suggesting that, in the Old Testament, the emphasis was on morality, whereas in the New Testament it is right relationship (or right standing). This is a dangerous (and unsustainable) position to adopt. We have already seen that the concept of covenant relationship undergirded Old Testament righteousness – so, although there were clear moral obligations in the covenant code, they were founded on a clearly established relationship basis. The primary danger, however, arises when we over-stress the “right standing” aspect in the New Testament. Where we fail to recognise the important dimension of moral behaviour, we are in distinct danger of believing a “gospel” that says, in effect, “it doesn’t matter what I do – the blood of Christ covers everything. Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”

? Is the principle ingredient one of covenant relationship (“having friends in high places”) or being a good person?

The truth is, both the Old and New Testaments agree that both right relationship and right behaviour are essential to righteousness. How could it possibly be otherwise? How could a truly holy God relate intimately to those who do not share his deepest and most intimate desire for holiness? And how could a “fair” God fail to enter into relationship with those who demonstrate (by their behaviour) their desire to be like him?

What is important, however, is the way we see right behaviour and right relationship working together. Which comes first, the right relationship or the right behaviour? How we answer this single question will define a lot about our spiritual life.


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The Apostle Paul was an expert in the covenant laws of God, so it is natural that our ideas of righteousness are heavily coloured by his teaching. However, even Peter admitted (see 2 Pet. 3:14-16) that Paul is hard to understand, so it is hardly surprising that Christians have developed a number of misunderstandings of New Testament righteousness over the last two millennia:

• Traditionally, many western Christians have had a law-focused understanding of relationship with God. This view holds that right behaviour is our obligation, and must come first – the right standing with God coming as a consequence of right behaviour. This understanding is technically called legalism

• Christians who have been taught the basics of the New Testament will recognise that this is contrary to the explicit teaching of Paul in Romans and Galatians, and therefore repudiate legalism. However, many then fall into another law-based idea called

, and says effectively, “If I live a good moral life, God will enter into a relationship with me, and I will be rewarded for my obedience.”

nomism, which says that, although we do not have to leads a good life in order to enter a right relationship with God, we certainly need to try our best to obey God once in order to maintain

Nomism is close to the basis of the Old Testament covenant with God, but it is a “dead end” path, because it falls down due to one fatal flaw: because of sin, none of us are

it after we have accepted forgiveness in Christ. This teaching says, “I am forgiven by God’s grace, but I ought to do what the Bible teaches if I am to be a good Christian”.

able

“Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle!’ ‘Do not taste!’ ‘Do not touch!’? Such regulations … lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (Col. 2:20-21, 23)

to lead good moral lives, so the nomistic philosophy of righteousness is always destined to end in futility and defeat. Paul condemns it outright:

• Such was the Apostle Paul’s insistence that obedience to rules had no part to play in righteousness, that he was often accused of antinomianism

If legalism, nomism and antinomianism are not the New Testament perspective on righteousness, what is? Having stripped away the false teachings, we are now in apposition to explore what Paul actually taught – and why it truly can be said to be “the gospel of righteousness”.

– that is, a belief that sin no longer matters, because of the all-encompassing power of grace. In the early church, there were many sects who taught that the only valid way to “prove” that you were dead to sin was to indulge it at every opportunity! (See, for example, 2 Pet. 2:13ff, Jude 3ff, Rev. 2:20-25). However, Paul was clearly disgusted to be associated with such a teaching (see Rom. 3:8, 6:1-2, 15-18).


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2. RIGHTEOUSNESS AS “GOOD NEWS”

Paul was a Pharisee, and as such he believed that the universal reign of righteousness would be the overwhelming characteristic of Messiah’s reign. It is little wonder, therefore, that a joyful proclamation of the coming of this righteousness was the cornerstone of his teaching in the New Testament:

“I am not ashamed of the gospel … for in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed.” (Rom. 16-17).

In this section, we will outline the basis of Paul’s joyful exuberance, especially as found in the two key letters of Romans and Galatians.

2.1. Righteousness is a

Firstly (and most importantly), Paul’s perspective was that righteousness was a free gift, and that there is nothing whatsoever we can do to earn it:

free gift

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known … There is no difference, for all have sinned … and are justified (i.e. made righteous) freely by his grace …” (Rom 3:21-24).

Given that the Pharisee’s understanding was that righteousness was the key to unlocking all of the promised blessings of the Messianic era, this was a tremendous statement to make. The Messianic blessing of God is here in Jesus! What do I need to do to earn it? Absolutely nothing!

Paul emphasises the “free” aspect of this teaching by using the word “made known” in his description of the righteousness found in the gospel (3:21). This corresponds with his use of “revealed” in 1:16 (see above). To Paul, the gospel is a revelation of God’s righteousness given freely to men and women. This explains at the same time why it is a free gift (you can’t earn a revelation), but also why not everybody receives that gift (faith means responding to God’s revelation). There is nothing you can do to earn righteousness – but you do have to respond in faith to receive

Thought to ponder:

it.

What differences in attitude are there between someone trying to earn a reward, and someone seeking to understand a revelation? What sort of person is most likely to succeed in each case? What are the important attributes of the successful seeker?


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2.2. Righteousness begins

Secondly, Paul was adamant that righteousness begins with the re-establishment of a right relationship with God, and that this is a

with right standing

unilateral declaration of grace

In Paul’s world, the big theological divide was between the Jews (who had God’s law, and generally lived to a high moral standard) and the Gentiles (who did not have the law, and lived to a wide variety of different moral standards, some good and some bad). Law-abiding Jews who were in the church were perplexed by the vast numbers of Gentiles who were becoming Christians at the start of the second half of the 1st century AD – and you can understand their concerns when you read (for example) 1 Corinthians and see the sort of “problems” they brought with them (esp. chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12)! How could God possibly be accepting such “sinners” on the same terms as the law-abiding Jews?

on the part of God (see above – Rom. 3:23-24).

Paul’s logic was simple: none of us can keep the law of God, even the best of us fall short; therefore there is “no difference” between Jew and Gentile. All have sinned; all need grace, therefore grace is made available to all.

There is a subtle pun in Paul’s use of language in relation to righteousness. The verb translated “to justify” is a direct derivative of the noun for righteousness (and therefore means “to make righteous”); but it is also a technical term used in the Roman legal system that all his readers would understand clearly. When a jury was asked to pass judgment in a criminal matter, the verdict was either “condemned” or “justified” (i.e. acquitted). Thus, Paul is suggesting that God makes us righteous by finding us, in spite of our obvious guilt, “not guilty” in his “trial” of our life.

What does all this mean? Simply this: we will only understand New Testament righteousness when we realise that, first and foremost, it comes as a free gift of right relationship, whether we deserve it or not, and regardless of how “good” we are. All of the blessings of righteousness then flow towards us, and are ours to be appropriated.


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2.3. Right behaviour also

It is this third step in Paul’s logic that is little known by many Christians. The legalistic Christian does not understand that righteousness begins with a free gift, regardless of merit. The nomistic Christian understands this, but does not realise that the free gift does not end with justification – right moral behaviour is not something we have to strive to achieve, it is likewise a free gift that comes to us by grace, through faith.

comes by faith

Because we have been made unilaterally righteous, and because all of the blessings of righteousness are ours to be appropriated, then it follows that these blessings are what in fact we need to develop the moral characters that should characterise the people of God.

These blessings are primarily twofold:

1. The revelation of what God has in fact done for us in Christ

2.

– as with the basic starting position of justification, this is something that comes also through revelation, by faith. As we learn to grasp what Jesus has done for us, we will be empowered to become more like him.

The power of the Spirit of God

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature … But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” (Gal. 5:16-18).

– we don’t become good by trying to keep God’s rules, we become good by allowing God’s Spirit of goodness to work in us. This works “inwards out”, and is fundamentally the opposite approach to nomism, which works outwards in:

To Paul, the Holy Spirit is a gift that we are given to live by, so that we can live up to what we have already become. You do not “get” a greater impartation of the Spirit by being good; you become good by getting (and living by) a greater impartation of the Spirit.

There is one clear way of distinguishing between nomistic faith, and the sort of faith walk Paul is talking about; and that is one’s attitude to the Bible:

• To the nomist, the Bible is primarily the law of God – something we ought to obey. The prevailing attitude is one of striving: “If I read enough of it, some of it will go in and I will overcome.” The verses that such a person focuses on will be the ones that detail what we need to do – such people see themselves as “practical” Christians, but rarely have much interest in theology.


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• To Paul, however, the word of God was primarily and supremely the revelation of what God had done in Christ

Paul’s understanding of the “practicalities” of Christian living can be summarised in one simple word of command: “Reckon!” (= “Count!” in the NIV – see Rom. 6:11). In order to “reckon” we need to meditate on the revelation God has given, striving with all our hearts and minds to grasp what its implications are. We then ask ourselves one simple question: “If all these things are really true, how must I respond?” (e.g. Rom. 6:11-14, 8:31-32, 12:1-2; Col. 3;1 etc).

– something we need to meditate on, wonder at, and, having understood, apply in our lives. All of Paul’s letters to churches follow exactly the same pattern: they start with a doxology (usually covering at least half of the letter!) proclaiming the marvellous truths of the gospel; and only then does he get down to more “practical” matters.

It is when we “reckon” in this way that the twin blessings of the revelation of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit do their work in us, and transform us into the image of Christ.

2.4. The example of Abraham

In Rom. 4 and Gal. 3, Paul uses the example of Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, to underscore his teaching on righteousness. Let us look at the text of Genesis 11:27 – 22:19, and see how it confirms Paul’s understanding of how righteousness “works”.

1. In the beginning Abraham was “just another sinner”.

The Abraham in Gen. 11:27-32 is not a pious God-fearing man – he is just another Mesopotamian man, worshipping false Gods like everyone else in his society (see Josh. 24:2). It was to this “ordinary sinner” that God gave a tremendous promise to: “Go … and I will bless you!” (Gen. 12:1-3).

2. In the beginning, even Abraham’s obedience was very imperfect.

It is easy to make the mistake of assuming that Abraham was (from the first) a fearless pioneer in a world of ungodliness – but this is not the picture painted in the Bible! In Gen. 12:1, the verb is past tense: “The LORD had said to Abram.” In other words, the revelation had been given him earlier in his life, perhaps even in his youth, and it was only later that he stepped out to obey.


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Indeed, the impression is conveyed that God had told him to leave on his own, to make a “clean break” from his idolatrous past, but that he had compromised by going with his father and his nephew Lot, and had eventually “missed out” by settling in the “half-way house” called Haran (11:31 – named after or by Lot’s father, presumably). He didn’t actually step out in obedience to the promise of God until after his father died (11:32) – at which point his main reason for hesitating had been removed.

Does this picture sound like a “giant of faith”, ready to “take on the world”? Or does it sound more like the sort of person you and I are – hesitant, faltering, unsure as to whether we have enough faith to believe what God has said?

3. Abraham reached a point in his life where he started to take seriously God’s unilateral promises to him, and God then “reckoned him as righteous”

Abraham’s life was hardly meritorious even after he started to obey. The Biblical account is honest about his lying to protect himself and his wife (12:10ff), and his argument with Lot and its almost disastrous aftermath (13:1 – 14:24). At each point, God kept on reinforcing the revelation at key points (13:14-17, 14:18).

The breakthrough finally came in a key passage in 15:1-21. God once again revealed his plan to Abraham (v1), but Abraham showed by his response (vv2-3) that he had not yet grasped the main point of God’s plan: that he would have a son and heir to pass on the blessing to multitudes of future generations (vv4-5). Then we read that tremendous verse that sums up Paul’s teaching more than anything else:

“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6)

What depths of meaning are conveyed in this simple sentence! Clearly, Abraham had not truly “believed” until this point – he had wanted to believe, tried maybe to act as if he had believed – but he hadn’t truly believed because he hadn’t grasped the revelation God had given him.

Something also changed in the way God viewed Abraham – he “credited it to him as righteousness.”


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4. From then on, God treated Abraham as a friend and covenant partner, and was able to work with him to establish his purposes in the earth.

There is now a distinct difference in the way God relates to Abraham. Abraham is still (in some ways) just as faltering as he was before, as his escapades with Hagar (16:1ff) and Abimelech (20:1-18) illustrate – but God starts revealing greater truths about the future to the man he has deemed to be “righteous” (see 15:12-16 and 18:16-33). He also gives him a new name, one that reinforces his new identity (17:3-8).

The picture is this: when God credited Abraham as righteous, he gave him a new status, which resulted in a new identity and thus a new name

It is within this context that the promise of Isaac is able to come to pass (21:1ff).

. And, although Abraham has done nothing to merit that new position, God still treats him as if it is true, and thereby causes to come to pass what he has already “reckoned” to be true!

5. By the end of his life, Abraham had become obedient to the revealed will of God – so much so that the blessings to him could be said to flow “because he has obeyed me”

The final account in 22:1-19 exemplifies how far Abraham came through his dealings with God. Rather than faltering and trying every human trick possible to force God’s hand, he is now humbly submissive and trusting, believing that God is able to fulfil his promise even if Isaac is dead.

Note carefully the words of God at the end of this account in vv15-18: they are almost word-for-word identical to the promises previously given in 12:1-3, 13:14-17 and 15:1-5, however there is one major difference: previously, the promises had been unilateral, unrelated to any merit on the part of Abraham; however, the angel of the LORD now clearly explains that the blessings will occur “because you have done this … because you have obeyed me” (vv16, 18).

Does Abraham’s life exemplify righteousness as right standing, or right behaviour? The answer is both! The truth is, the righteousness was first promised by God (12:1-3), then (eventually!) believed by Abraham (15:6) and finally fulfilled in his life (22:1ff). This is how both Paul and James (see 3:20-24) in the New Testament can put a totally different spin on the same text of Gen. 15:6 – righteousness must be both imputed and fulfilled

This story should give us tremendous hope, as it tells the story of how God plans to deal with each one of us under the new covenant:

in order to be completed.


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“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ … The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Rom. 4:18, 23-25)

Do the Messianic blessings of righteousness seem far off for you at the moment? Realise that such promises cannot seem further away than Abraham’s promise was to him when he first set out in faltering obedience. But it is for us just as it was for him: as we set out in whatever faith we have, listening as best as we can to the revelation we have and putting it into practice as best as we are able, then God will surely work in us through his Spirit. And one day, the promise will be brought to complete fruition – not just as an imputed righteousness, but as a fully-fledged character, re-formed and re-made in the image of Jesus.

3. CONCLUSION

Much has been made over the years by theologians of the apparent differences between what Paul taught, and what Jesus taught, about righteousness. However, it should be clear to us now that the differences are overstated, once we understand the perspective Paul is drawing on from the blessings of being called into the Messianic kingdom.

Jesus summed up his moral teaching in the Sermon on the Mount as follows:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but fulfil them … For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 17, 20)

Paul would have agreed completely with Jesus’ summary of his mission, which was one of fulfilment


. How can our righteousness exceed that of those (the Pharisees) who devoted their whole lives to keeping God’s laws? Only if God does a miracle! And it took a “Pharisee of Pharisees” to see and explain to us how that miracle can take place.

I am righteous – that is my identity. I therefore resolve to live in accordance with that identity.


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STUDY 5: THE GOSPEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Several years ago, I felt that God was challenging me about my experience of the Holy Spirit, so I studied the New Testament anew to find out for myself what it really taught. I was surprised to find that the message of the Holy Spirit was not an “added extra” to the gospel message, but something that was absolutely central to it. What I began to rediscover was the “gospel of the Holy Spirit”.

In this study, we will look at the centrality of the Holy Spirit to the message of the gospel.

1. WHO (OR WHAT) IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The Holy Spirit has received increased attention in recent years in the church. Most of this is healthy, though some has been less than healthy. But who (or what) exactly is the Holy Spirit?

In both the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, the word translated “spirit” is exactly the same as the word translated “wind” – that is, an invisible, intangible force that nevertheless produces significant impacts. A careful examination of the Old Testament in particular shows that the term “Spirit of God” was used to describe the manifest presence and activity of God in the physical realm.

1.1. Transcendence and immanence

Theologically, the Bible teaches us that God transcends

However, there is a vast difference between the

the physical realm – that is, he is not a part of this world, or limited by time or space, but he is able to interact with it. In that sense, God is equally present in every time and place in the physical universe. You do not have to “be” anywhere special to meet God – you can encounter him in any place, at any time.

theological presence of God and his manifest

Within this theological framework, the “Spirit of God” is simply that used to describe any genuine immanent experience of the transcendent God. In other words, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is purely and simply a doctrine about our experience of God.

presence. God can be experienced anywhere, but not everywhere is he actually experienced. God manifests his presence wherever and whenever he chooses; and he withholds his manifest presence whenever and wherever he chooses. Theologically, we use the term “immanence” to describe situations where the transcendent God can be experienced.


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1.2. The mystery of the work of the Spirit

Jesus described the mysteriousness of the work of the Spirit in his discussions with Nicodemus:

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (Jn 3:8)

An ancient philosopher known as Ecclesiastes defined futility as “chasing after the wind” (Eccl. 4:16), and we can well understand his perspective. What activity could be more futile than trying to predict where the wind will blow next? The wind is something to be felt, not chased after

1.3. How do we account for our own personal experience?

.

The realm of the Spirit, therefore, is by very nature the realm of our own personal experience of God – and everyone’s personal experience is difference. Who am I to tell you, or judge, what you have experienced? Does this mean that the realm of the Holy Spirit should be immune from theological or biblical analysis?

1.3.1. What notThere are three extremes that we need to avoid in talking honestly about the Holy Spirit:

to do

1. Firstly, we must avoid the extreme of ignoring spiritual experience altogether. “Don’t trust in your experience – trust the word of God” is the catch-cry of some fundamentalist Christians. Such a theology seems sound at first glance, but the Bible is full of stories of men and women who experienced God in a variety of ways, so what then? If we block out the realm of experience altogether because it is difficult to interpret properly, we forge a very unbiblical form of Christianity – as well as limiting God to a major extent.

2. Secondly, we need to avoid the temptation to define the Spirit’s work too narrowly, especially if we do so in terms of our own experience. (This can be done either explicitly or implicitly – we do this implicitly when we filter the Bible through our own understanding or experience, and thereby discount anything that is beyond our current experience). If we fall into this temptation, our spiritual experience will stagnate – for, if God is limited to doing the things that I can understand or have already experienced, where is the room for me to experience new things? All too often, religious people have been guilty of “putting God in a box”. Jesus reserved his most scathing condemnation for religious leaders who dishonoured God by behaving in this way (see Mt. 12:22-32).


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3. At the other extreme, we need to avoid the temptation to assume that “anything goes” in spiritual matters, refusing to pass any critical judgment at all on our own (or anybody else’s) experience. The Bible teaches us that we live in a world that includes evil spirits as well as God, so it is surely naïve to assume that anything “spiritual” or “supernatural” is automatically of divine origin. Moreover, men and women show a startling tendency to exaggerate and even invent spiritual experiences out of plain ignorance and weakness, and sometimes even for the purpose of personal aggrandisement (see, for example Col. 2:18-19), so it is very possible for apparently spiritual experiences to have a purely fleshly origin.

Thought to ponder:

How comfortable do you feel talking about your own spiritual experiences? If you are at all uncomfortable, try to express in words exactly why you think this is so.

1.3.2. What we need to do How do we live our lives between these three extremes? When all is said and done, we want our lives to reflect God’s glory, and that means we want our experience to reflect the true work of God in our lives. We want to experience what God wants us to experience, but we don’t want to just become “experience junkies”. How do we achieve this balance?

Here are some “rules of thumb” I have learnt to apply over the years:

1. There needs to be a great humility in our attitude towards the Holy Spirit.

2.

When all is said and done, we must allow God to be God; he is far above us, and he will do what he will do (see Is. 55:9). There is nothing wrong with saying “I just don’t know – I’m not sure if that is God or not” (so long as our profession of ignorance is not an excuse to avoid one of God’s challenges).

We need to understand in broad terms the types of experiences God wants to give us.

3.

The Bible does not prescribe every experience he wishes to give human beings, but it does describe his character, and the sort of things he typically chooses to do. If we understand the character of God and his heart towards us, then it is not usually difficult to work out whether an experience comes broadly from him, or from some other source.

We need to be open to new experiences. It is psychologically difficult for us to step out and experience something new; but God is definitely the God of the “new thing” (see Is. 42:9). It is incredibly easy to discount anything that is beyond our current understanding (“speaking in tongues – isn’t that just emotionalism gone too far?”). This can even apply when we read the Bible.


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4. We need to be discerning when we read the scriptures.

Generally speaking, the context of a passage will tell us how we are to interpret a narrative. For example, the Book of Acts tells the experience of the early church – but how much of this should be assumed to be relevant to us today? If we read the text carefully, however, we find that the sermons of the early believers give us a pretty reliable guide to interpreting the works of the Spirit – which bits were considered extraordinary, and which bits normal. We need to interpret the

Much of the scripture is written in narrative form – that is, it doesn’t say explicitly what we should or shouldn’t do, it just describes what happened in certain circumstances. We need to be very careful in trying to interpret what such passages mean for us today.

acts of God through the filter of the words

5.

of God.

We should let the scriptures provide a template for interpreting our experiences.

6.

Every human being has an experience of life – the good, the bad, and the ugly are all part and parcel of the rich tapestry of life. But how are we to interpret our experiences? How we interpret what we have experienced is crucial to how that experience will affect us for the rest of our lives. We need to apply the word of God to our experiences, to identify the “pure gold” of what God was really saying and doing, and accepting the fact that there will be other things that have happened that are less worthy of being held onto.

We should let the scriptures lead us into new experiences. When we read the Bible honestly, we find that God has certain types of experiences for all people – experiences of salvation, blessing, forgiveness, healing, experiences of supernatural power. What if we come to realise that we have not yet experienced something that God has promised? Do not be ashamed or guilty – rejoice, because God is showing you that he has “immeasurable more” in store for you! Your spiritual journey has not yet finished! Rather, set your heart on God, seek him earnestly for what he has promised, and persevere in prayer until you have received what he has promised. Jesus encourages you to be bold and unafraid in such circumstances, being reassured that God will not allow you to experience false spiritual experiences if you are truly seeking him (Mt. 7:9-11).


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7. We should let God’s word and his Spirit work co-operatively in our lives. If we truly want to be a disciple of another person, we need to pay close attention to what they do and what they say – these are not alternatives in competition with each other! If all we do is watch their actions, we are in danger of misinterpreting their purpose in so acting; similarly, if all we do is listen to their words

Thought to ponder:

, we are in danger of misunderstanding how those words should be applied. We truly know the master only when (and to the exact extent that) we interpret their actions according to their words, and their words according to their actions.

Consider the process by which we grow to maturity in our chosen field of work or study. What happens if we get the mix wrong between book knowledge and practical experience? What is the danger with someone who has too little theoretical knowledge about his or her craft? What about if someone has too little practical experience?

How can we apply these principles to spiritual matters?

These are the attitudes that we will attempt to take into our study of what the New Testament teaches on the Holy Spirit.

Thought to ponder:

What do you think have been the most significant experiences in your life so far? How have they influenced your life as a whole? Looking back, to what extent do you believe they were truly “God moments” in your life?

2. JESUS THE BAPTISEE

There are not many experiences in the life of Jesus that are mentioned in all four gospels – even the Christmas story of his birth is only mentioned in two of them.

In this section, we will investigate one experience that is mentioned in detail in all four gospels, and see why it is so significant – his baptism.


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2.1. A crucial experience in the life of Jesus

When we read the New Testament as a whole from a literary perspective, we discover that the baptism of Jesus is one of the most crucial experiences in the life and ministry of Jesus – almost on a par with the events surrounding his death and resurrection. Consider the following:

1. It is discussed in detail in all four gospels – Matt. 3:7-17, Mk 1:1-12, Lk 3:7-23 and Jn 1:19-34. The only other experience in Jesus’ ministry (apart from his death and resurrection) that is even mentioned in all the gospels is the miracle of the feeding of the 5000.

2. In addition, it is referred to constantly in the book of Acts – firstly, in a pivotal defining role at the very beginning (Ac. 1:4-8 – it was the last thing Jesus talked about before he ascended into heaven!), and then at significant occasions thereafter (explicitly in Ac. 11:15-17, then implicitly in Ac. 15:6-11 and 19:1-7).

3. Each gospel writer presents a slightly different slant on the experience – they are not just repeating a story for the sake of consistency, they are investing the experience with deep theological significance and tailoring that significance to meet their own purposes (just as with the death and resurrection narratives).

Clearly, there is something in this event that we need to consider carefully and prayerfully.

Thought to ponder:

How much thought have you given in your life to the meaning of Jesus’ baptism for you?


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2.2. So what happened?

So what happened when Jesus was baptised? Here is a summary of the key facts, as presented in the gospels:

1. The placement of the event

2.

– the event happened when Jesus was “about thirty years of age” (Lk. 3:23 – that is, he was a fully mature adult) and represented the start of Jesus’ public ministry (implied in Lk. 3:23). Although he was born of the Spirit (and therefore of divine origin and calling – see Mt. 1:18 / Lk. 1:35), he performed no miraculous deeds until after his baptism (Jn 2:11 cf 2:4). After his baptism, the role of the Spirit is stressed continually in Jesus’ ministry – in filling him (Lk. 4:1a), leading him into the desert (Lk. 4:1b), launching his ministry (Lk. 4:14, 18-21) and in working miraculously through him (Mt. 12:15-21, Lk. 5:17).

The preparation

3.

– God sent a prophet known as John the Baptist to “prepare the way” for Jesus coming (Mt. 3:1-2). John had an unusual (possibly startling!) appearance (Mt. 3:3) that would have reminded the people of the ancient prophet Elijah (cf 1 Ki. 17:1-6, 2 Ki. 1:6-8).

John’s message – John’s message included a promise of the imminent appearance of the kingdom of God (Mt. 3:2), a call to repentance and a symbolic action – baptism! (Mt. 3:6 – symbolic messages were common teaching techniques of the Hebrew prophets in times before mass-literacy was common). When asked about the meaning of the symbol, he said that, just as he baptised in water for repentance, the one who was coming would baptise them in the Holy Spirit, and that is why they needed to repent now

4.

, so they could be ready for this stupendous event (Mt. 3:11-12).

Jesus’ actions – Jesus applied to John to be baptised, in seemingly the same way as numerous other men and women (Mt. 3:13). This action surprised John (remember that John was Jesus’ cousin – presumably he knew him in some way, and knew what kind of person he was). Jesus was able to convince John, however, that he needed to be baptised, so John baptised him (Mt. 3:14-15).


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5. God’s actions

a. The Spirit of God descended from heaven upon him in the form of a dove (Mt. 3:16). Possibly, it was only John who saw this event (see Mt. 3:16 cf Jn 1:33). John’s gospel stresses that the Spirit remained upon him afterwards (Jn 1:33); and

– after Jesus was baptised, God responded to the events in two ways:

b. A voice was heard from heaven confirming him as the Messiah (Mt. 3:17 – cf Ps. 2:7, Deut. 18:19).

Luke states that these events happened while Jesus was praying (Lk. 3:9), which perhaps implies that Jesus expected something of the kind to happen (cf Jesus’ words in Mt. 3:15).

6. The significance of the event

In summary, the message of the story is clear, and consistent across all the gospels – Jesus himself was baptised in water so that he could subsequently baptise his followers in the Holy Spirit.

– in John’s gospel, the baptiser reveals that God had a “hidden agenda” in the events not revealed publicly – the very purpose of John’s ministry was to reveal Jesus to Israel as the Messiah (Jn 1:31). John was told in advance what God would do, and he was told that this was how he would recognise the Messiah when he came (Jn 1:32-34).

3. JESUS THE BAPTISER

There is a certain beautiful symmetry in the story of the baptism of Jesus. Jesus receives baptism, in order to become a baptiser. In this section, we look in detail at the baptism Jesus promises to give those who believe in him.

3.1. A vital promise to every believer

John the Baptist prophesied that “the one who is coming” would “baptise you in the Holy Spirit”. After his resurrection, Jesus was slightly more specific about the promise:

“For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” (Ac. 1:5, emphasis mine)


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From the opening chapter of the book of Acts, it is clear that this gift is a vital promise for every believer in Jesus – one we need to hang onto and cherish with all our hearts:

• It is referred to as the gift of the Father (1:4) – not a gift (i.e. one of many), but the gift (i.e. the one in particular Jesus came to bring);

• It is a gift of power

• It is more

(1:6) – that is, it is the one experience which is able to convert the victory Jesus has won for us on the cross from theory to reality;

relevant

3.2. Just what is the promise?

(though not necessarily more important) to the way we live our lives than the second coming of Jesus (1:6-8) – before they received the gift of the Father, the early disciples assumed that the only thing that mattered in the future was the date Jesus would return to restore a fallen world. Many Christians over the centuries have shared this “wait for the end” mentality. Jesus’ response to them and us was the same: “The end will come when it will come! In the meantime, there is a job to be done – and I am giving you the power to do it!”

What did Jesus mean when he promised that believers would be “baptised with (or in) the Holy Spirit”? We need to understand what this language means before we can adequately examine the experience of the early church in the book of Acts.

In Greek, the phrase that is continually used is baptidzo en pneumati hagio. What does this mean?

• Firstly, the verb (active word) in the phrase is baptidzo, which we traditionally translate as “to baptise”. Unfortunately, the concept of baptism has undergone much change of meaning since the time of the scriptures, as a result of centuries of tradition. In the Greek, the verb “to baptise” was the standard word for totally immersing a body in a liquid:

o A ship is “baptised” not when it is launched – but when it sinks!

o A fabric is “baptised” when it is totally immersed in a dye.

Modern synonyms that convey the full meaning of the word are drenched, dyed, soaked, totally immersed, or possibly overwhelmed – it is a very strong verb, indicating a very strong and vigorous action on the part of the baptiser.


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• Secondly, the preposition en (“in”, or “with”) simply indicates the medium in which we are to be immersed.

• Thirdly, the object of the preposition pneumati hagio (“Holy Spirit”) indicates (as we discussed above) the manifest presence of God, with the word “holy” added to emphasise that he is the one true God, unlike any other.

God is not a liquid (like water or dye), so how can we be “baptised” in him? The answer to this riddle lies in a quirk of the Greek language. Normally, the phrase pneumati hagio when used to describe the person of God is preceded by the definite article “the” (as in English – “the” Holy Spirit). However, in this particular phrase, the definite article is omitted. In English, one might translate it literally as “baptise in a holy spirit”.

This distinction is most noticeable in the Greek text of Ac. 2:4, which reads literally that “they were all filled with a holy spirit (i.e. no article) and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit (i.e. with article) enabled them.”

In the Greek, the absence of the article can have meanings different to in English. One of those (probably the relevant one in this case) is that it can indicate an attribute

Thus, the phrase is more comprehensible in the Greek than in the English – it seems to carry the sense of overwhelming us with an experience of the supernatural power of God.

of something, rather than the thing itself. If this is the case, then the attribute that Luke had in mind is clearly power (see Ac. 1:8) – that is, divine enabling to do things not otherwise possible.

The phrase used, therefore, is a very strong one, and indicates a strong experience of supernatural import: that of being totally immersed, drenched, even overwhelmed, in an experience of the supernatural power of the presence of God.

3.3. A promise fulfilled in the early church

What a promise for Jesus to make! What a promise for the church to receive! We don’t know much about what the early believers did as they waited for the promise to be fulfilled, but they only had a few days to wait:

“When the day of Pentecost came (i.e. about a week later), they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Ac. 2:1-4)


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This in-filling was the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus and John the Baptist, and what a fulfilment!

• It was a violent, overwhelming experience

• It was a

– not a gentle breeze, but a violent rushing wind than came suddenly from nowhere and overpowered them (v2);

supernatural, spiritual experience

• It was a

– the wind came “from heaven” (v2) and resulted in supernatural manifestations (v4);

sensual, physical experience

• It was a

– note the emphasis on what was heard (v2), seen (v3), felt (v4a – “filled”), and spoken (v4b). The God of the Bible does not draw an artificial distinction between the physical and the spiritual – to be filled with the Spirit of God means to be filled in every part of you – physically, mentally, emotionally, as well as “spiritually”;

communal, corporate experience

• It was an

– it happened when the church was “all together in one place” (v1). Being filled with the Spirit is something that is intended to bind us together as an irresistible spiritual body – the Church!

individual, personal experience

• It was an

– the tongues of fire separated before they rested on each one in the group individually (v3). Not one of the disciples missed out on a personal experience of the divine presence. When we are filled with the Spirit, we do not lose our individuality – rather, we discover who we really are individually in Christ by being cement into a body (corporately) with other individuals (see 1 Cor. 12 for a full discussion of this paradox);

enabling, powerful experience – being baptised (or filled) with the Spirit is fundamentally an experience of power – divine enabling

The first generation of believers received the gift of the Father on the day of Pentecost – and the rest is history! You can read about what they were able to achieve through the rest of the book of Acts – and it is a glorious, exciting story.

. It is an experience of being empowered to do what God has called you to do, rather than sitting on the sidelines of spiritual life wishing you were somehow “more spiritual”.


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3.4. How does this promise apply to me?

How does this apply to me today? The events of that first day of Pentecost can seem so remote to us living in the 21st century. However, Peter’s words on that day reassure us that the promise is ours as much as theirs:

“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Ac. 2:38-39)

Note the order in which Peter presents it – we repent and are baptised so as to experience the forgiveness of sins – but why? So that we can one day get let into heaven? Not at all! So that the kingdom of heaven can invade us now – in the form of the gift of the Spirit! In other words, the primary purpose for the work of the cross was that we might be filled with the Spirit of God.

Paul had the same set of priorities in mind when he wrote to the churches in Galatia:

“He redeemed us (from the ‘curse’ of having to obey rules) in order that … by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Gal. 3:14)

In other words, being filled with (or baptised in) the Holy Spirit is not a “second blessing” given to those believers who reach a degree of maturity whereby they are now “ready” to move onto a higher spiritual plain – it is an entry level experience, freely available to all believers who have turned away from sin and towards God through repentance.

Even Peter did not understand the implication of his words “for all who are far off” – only a few years later, he found himself preaching to some Gentile Romans and he was astounded to find that they experienced exactly the same as the Jews when they put their faith in Jesus (Ac. 10:44-48).

The Bible is clear that the experience of the day of Pentecost was not a “once-off” or “special” event, designed to give the church a “kick-start” in its mission (although there were clearly some special features of that particular experience, as we will look at in the next study). Rather, it is the fundamental experience that is meant to be the foundation of our spiritual life as believers in Jesus the Messiah.


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4. CONCLUSION

What was the purpose of Jesus coming, and what is his ongoing mission today? Some would say, “to forgive us our sins” – and this is gloriously true – hallelujah! But the New Testament says more – his ultimate purpose in doing all these things for us, in making us who were once dirty into “clean” vessels – was that we might be totally immersed, drenched in the power of God’s Holy Spirit!

This is the “good news of the Holy Spirit” – the gospel that Jesus came to bring. In the next study, we will look at the practicalities in the New Testament of this fundamental experience, so we can ensure that we have not missed out on anything that God clearly wants us to have and use for his glory.


Jesus came to immerse me in the power of God. I intend to ensure that I have received his experience as fully as I possibly can.


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STUDY 6: HOW CAN I BE SURE … ?

We finished the previous study in a somewhat unsatisfactory position – we had just made the point that the key promise concerning the Spirit was that Jesus would “baptise” his followers – totally immerse, drench or overwhelm them – in heaven-sent power. Since this is a key promise, and since it is expressed in such absolute, extreme language, this study left one obvious (and very important) question unanswered: how can I be sure I have received the promise?

Clearly, any sincere follower of Jesus will want to know the answer to this question as a matter of the highest priority. Unfortunately, our task is hindered by the fact that many different perspectives on this question have been brought on this question over the centuries by well-meaning Christians of various experiences and groupings – and they cannot all be equally right!

In this study, we will try to shed some light on this vitally important question.

Here is a summary (not at all exhaustive!) of some of the main ideas about the baptism in the Spirit.(BiS) that have been held over the centuries:

Traditional catholic – BiS occurs automatically at either baptism (if as an adult), or confirmation of baptism by the bishop. There is no outward evidence that this occurs; it is an article of faith;

Traditional reformed (16th century onwards) – BiS is not a personal experience, but a corporate one. The church received the true BiS on the first day of Pentecost, and we share in that experience when we become members of the church;

Traditional evangelical – BiS occurs automatically at the time of Christian conversion (i.e. when “saving faith” first comes to be). There is no outward evidence that this occurs; it is an article of faith;

Evangelical holiness movement (18th century onwards) – BiS is a “second blessing” (i.e. post-conversion) experience, characterised by a manifestation of greater holiness of life;

Mainstream Pentecostal (early 20th century onwards) – BiS is a “second blessing” (i.e. post-conversion) experience of supernaiural power, evidenced exclusively by “speaking in tongues”, which may either be a once-off or an ongoing persistent experience;

Extreme Pentecostal – same as mainstream Pentecostal, except BiS is not a “second blessing” but a conversion experience. Under this view, if a so-called “believer” has not spoken in tongues, then they haven’t really been converted (and therefore still need to be “saved”);


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Charismatic (1960s onwards) – similar to Pentecostal, but evidence of the BiS is usually considered to be broader, involving any (subjective) experience of the power of God. The ongoing evidence of the so-called “gifts of the Spirit” is considered more important than the specific act of BiS;

Post-modern non-denominational – “why cause division over doctrine? Whatever your experience of God is, that counts!”

Apart from the wide diversity of these beliefs, the following aspects of this list strike me as being significant:

1. Experience and belief tends to coincide – that is, there is a tendency to either rationalise one’s own experience (or lack of it) as being the “true” BiS, or either to experience what one has come to believe. This alone should be sufficient warning for us to look closely at the word of God on this issue, rather than simply accept the teachings that we have received (whatever they might be);

2. There is a correlation between beliefs about the BiS and the significance of the Book of Acts in one’s theology. Prior to the 20th century, the Book of Acts was largely considered to be a narrative of extraordinary events that happened in the early church, events which one should not expect to recur now the church was “established”. When groups of Christians started to take the Book of Acts as theologically significant, the theologies on BiS started to change dramatically.

1. MARSHALLING THE EVIDENCE

In this section, we will attempt to marshal the evidence on the baptism in the Spirit, as found (almost exclusively) in the book of Acts. We will do so by asking the following specific questions:

1. When exactly

2.

does the event occur – does it always coincide with one’s initial conversion experience (either confession of faith or Christian baptism), or does it always come as a post-conversion experience, or is it sometimes either?

Is there any external evidence

3. If there is external evidence when one is baptised in the Spirit,

that one has been baptised in the Spirit – or is it something that happens automatically at a certain point in one’s experience with God (and which, therefore, we need to accept as an article of faith rather than on the basis of “evidence”)?

what exactly is that Biblical evidence?


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1.1. How should I react to Acts?

Before we look at the evidence, we need to decide what attitude we will take theologically to the Book of Acts. There are two extreme positions, both of which I believe to be unhelpful:

1. “The Book of Acts is merely an historical narrative, detailing how the early church began. We must not read any theological significance into its experiences, which were all ‘once off’ and ‘exceptional’, with no direct relevance to us today.”

The trouble with this position is that the Book of Acts, although fundamentally a narrative, is nevertheless a deeply theological work. This is evidenced mainly through the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, which are interspersed with the narrative at key points, and which are completely consistent with the narrated experience. Moreover, Many of the key points of the experience of the early church were either explicitly foretold by Jesus in the gospels (e.g. Jn 14:12-13), or were confirmed doctrinally in the epistles (e.g. Gal. 3:1-5, 1 Cor. 12-14).

2. “Everything in the Book of Acts is for today, and we should seek to apply it in the same way as the gospels or the epistles.”

The trouble with this position is that it is overly simplistic. Narrative of any form can never be treated in the same way as direct teaching – it primarily reflects what happened in particular circumstances, which is not necessarily the same as what ought to have happened, nor what should be happening today.

I believe there is a middle ground, and that is the position that the Book of Acts is theologically significant narrative

a) Read the narrative carefully, noting without judgment what actually happened in the early church;

– that is, a story of the experience of the early church, which Luke interspersed with teaching from Jesus and the Apostles to provide illumination to the experiences, and which we should therefore learn from and apply into our own lives. Thus, to properly read the Book of Acts, I believe we need to:

b) Also read the words of Jesus and the Apostles that surrounded the experiences, as a template for interpreting the theological significance of the events – which parts were special events, and which parts were supposed to be the mainstream experience of the church in an ongoing sense; and

c) Based on the reconciliation of the words and experience, of the Book of Acts, decide how to interpret and apply the text in to our lives today.

This is the approach that will be taken in this study.


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One issue that can be problematic with respect to Acts is this: how do we interpret it when Luke does not fill in any details about the experience of a particular group of people? How should be interpret “silence”?

This is especially an issue when looking at the experience of receiving the Spirit, since there are only a handful of cases where Luke spells out exactly what the believers’ experience was. Do we interpret “silence” to mean that “nothing in particular happened”? Or should we assume that it means “the same things happened as in the cases where I spelled out the details earlier”? Clearly, a lot rides on the difference between these two assumptions.

I look at the problem from this point of view: any historian has to be selective with facts – you can’t just write down everything that happened! But there are good historians and bad historians – good historians give us a balanced view of the data, not just telling us the “exceptions” but making it clear by context what was “normal” and what was “exceptional”. Therefore, if Luke is a “good” historian (and all the evidence seems to be that this is the case), then I believe it is reasonable to assume that he is not seeking to deceive us by only outlining the “exceptional cases”.

To me, Luke seems to make the distinction pretty clear. He does this by:

1. First outlining what happened in a particular circumstance; then

2. Giving the interpretation of the event through either commentary or sermon.

It would be a very poor style of writing indeed if Luke were to imply by that logic that a certain “pattern” was to be expected, and then not mention the fact that a pattern had been breached or changed by later experience. I choose to assume that Luke is not treating us in that way – and I believe this is both the simplest and the safest assumption to make.


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1.2. What happened when people received the Spirit in the Book of Acts?

In this section, we will summarise (without commentary) the texts where believers are said to “receive”3

1.2.1. The original 120 disciples: Ac. 2:1-12

the Spirit in the Book of Acts. There are five such texts, which contain varying degrees of detail:

• There was a heavenly noise (a violent wind) (2:2);

• There were “tongues of fire” that rested on each one of them (2:3);

• They all “spoke in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” when they were filled with the Spirit (2:4);

• These “other tongues” were understood as real languages by at least some of the hearers (2:5-12).

1.2.2. The Samaritan believers: Ac. 8:9-25

• They believed Philip’s preaching about “the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” and received baptism (8:12) but they did not initially receive the Holy Spirit (8:15);

• It was evident to Philip and everyone else that they had not received the Spirit, and Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem to remedy this situation (8:14-15);

• When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for them and they received the Spirit (8:17);

• We are not told what happened when they received the Spirit, but there is a strong implication that it was both visible (“saw” – 8:18) and dramatic (8:19).

3 I am assuming here that the phrases “receive the Spirit”, “be filled with the Spirit” and “be baptised with the Spirit” are the same phenomenon. I believe this is justified by a close comparison of texts such as Ac. 2:4, 38 and 11:15-17 which use all these expressions to refer to the same incident.


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1.2.3. Saul of Tarsus: Ac. 9:1-19

• He had a dramatic personal encounter with Jesus along the Damascus Road and began to walk in obedience to his will (9:1-6);

• God sent a disciple named Ananias to him so that he might “see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (9:17);

• We are not told what happened when Saul was filled with the Spirit, but he was healed, and was immediately baptised (9:18) and broke his self-imposed fast (9:19).

1.2.4. Cornelius and the first Gentile believers: Ac. 10:44-48, 11:15-18, 15:7-9

• The Holy Spirit came upon all who heard the message (10:44);

• The Jewish believers knew that the Holy Spirit had come upon them because they heard them “speaking in tongues and praising God” (10:45-46). They were then immediately baptised (10:48)

• It is explicitly stated that the Gentiles had been baptised in the Spirit “just as we have” (10:47, 11:16-17) and this was accepted without objection by the full body of Jewish believers (11:18 and 15:7-9 – this group presumably included many Jews converted to faith throughout the period since Ac. 2).

1.2.5. Apollos and a group of 12 Ephesian disciples: Ac. 18:24 – 19:7

• Apollos was a Jewish preacher who came to Ephesus who “had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John” (18:25). Two Jewish believers, Priscilla and Aquila, “explained to him the way of God more adequately” (18:26);

• Apollos left to go to Corinth, and Paul deliberately set out for Ephesus (18:27 – 19:1);

• When Paul found a group of Ephesian disciples, he asked them “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when (or possibly, “after”) you believed?”

• When a negative answer was received, Paul led them through the fundamentals of Christian teaching (19:2-5);


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• After baptising them, Paul laid hands on them and they received the gift of the Spirit (19:5-6);

• When they were filled with the Spirit, they “spoke in tongues and prophesied” (19:6).

1.3. Some personal comments on these experiences

1.3.1. The original 120 disciples This was the original occasion when the gift of the Holy Spirit first came to the believers. As such, it is reasonable to suppose that there were exceptional circumstances surrounding this event. But what exactly was exceptional and what was “normal”?

When referring to the event around a decade later, Peter implied that the gift of speaking in tongues and praise was normative (see 10:47, 11:15). Presumably, then, the other features of this experience might possibly be exceptional. These features are:

• The heavenly noise (a violent wind) and the appearance of “tongues of fire”; and

• The fact that the “other tongues” were understood as real languages (this might be normative or it might be exceptional – nowhere else in the Book of Acts is this feature of “speaking in tongues” mentioned).

1.3.2. The Samaritan believers This was the first occasion when Samaritans became believers; since this marked a turning point in the progress of the gospel (see Ac. 1:8), it is reasonable to suppose that this is the reason Luke mentions this episode explicitly.

Clearly, this episode was “exceptional” for another reason: something didn’t happen when it was supposed to happen! That something was being baptised in the Spirit. To my mind, this episode only makes sense if the following things can be assumed to be true:

1. There was a normative experience that happened to Jewish believers when they received the Holy Spirit, and this was both observable and consistent;

2. This normative experience did not happen for some reason when Philip preached to the Samaritans, so he asked for help from Jerusalem;

3. Peter and John were able to redress this deficiency by laying hands on the new believers and praying. We are not told what exactly happened, but clearly the normative experience then occurred, and it was sufficiently dramatic to impress a seasoned sorcerer like Simon Magus.


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Many commentators point out that, since the Samaritans were outcasts from Jewish society, God would have needed to provide extra evidence to the Jewish believers that he had indeed accepted the Samaritans. This is used to justify a belief that the normative experience of receiving the Spirit involved no outward manifestations, and that the Samaritan experience was exceptional in this regard.

To my mind, this argument is implausible, verging on the impossible. If the normative experience was that there were no outward manifestations when a person was baptised in the Holy Spirit, how did Philip work out that something was lacking? The only possible explanation is that Philip learned this fact by special revelation – but no mention is made of this in the text! Moreover, if the Samaritan experience was exceptional to that extent, I would have expected Luke to spell out the details of the experience more.

I believe this common theology is a good example of reading something into the text (based on a preconceived theological position) that is not reasonable.

1.3.3. Saul of Tarsus The most notable factor of this experience is that Ananias was sent to Saul for the express purpose that he might receive the Holy Spirit. No mention is made of Saul needing to believe – the strong implication is that he had already become a believer on the Damascus Road.

We are not told what happened when Ananias prayed for Saul, except that he was healed. Later on in his letters, Paul refers to his ongoing experience of speaking in tongues – 1 Cor. 14:18 – so it is plausible that this experience might have commenced with Ananias’ prayer (thus making his experience consistent with Ac. 2:4). However, this is purely speculative, and should not be relied upon.

1.3.4. Cornelius and the first Gentile believers As with the Samaritan believers, this incident is included presumably because it was pivotal in the spread of the gospel according to the Ac. 1:8 mandate. However, the commentary provided by Peter on three separate occasions to three separate audiences (10:45-46, 11:15-17, and 15:6-9) implies strongly that the experience itself was normative – the only exceptional circumstance was the fact that Gentiles had received the same gift as the Jews.

This argument was accepted as conclusive evidence by previously sceptical Jewish believers in 11:18. Given that the audience on this occasion (and in 15:6-9) must undoubtedly have included Jewish believers converted after the initial Pentecost experience of Acts 2, this again is strong evidence (to my mind) that a dramatic and dynamic experience of receiving the Spirit was normative for all believers.


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1.3.5. Apollos and a group of 12 Ephesian disciples This is intriguing because there is no intrinsic reason why these believers’ experience should be exceptional.

The most plausible explanation to me is that these men had been discipled by Apollos before he had come to “(know) the way of God more adequately”, and that Paul deliberately sought them out so that their initiation as believers could be normalised.

To me, there is also a suggestion that Apollos’ inadequacy was a lack of experience of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Luke records that he “knew” (experiential, not head knowledge) “only the baptism of John”. The use of “only” in this sentence suggests that he ought to have known another baptism as well – perhaps the baptism of Jesus in the Spirit, which in Luke’s writings is regularly linked with John’s baptism. This, of course, is speculative again; but I believe it is a plausible scenario.

What is clear, however, is that Paul adopted an interesting diagnostic approach when talking to the Ephesian disciples:

• He firstly asked if they had received the Spirit when (or after) they believed – which implies that this was something they could answer yes or no to based on their own personal experience;

• Having established that they had not even heard about the gist of the Spirit, he dug deeper and investigated their baptismal experience. There is no evidence that Paul saw a need to talk to these men about believing in Jesus;

• Paul appears to have deliberately set about ministering to them the gift of the Spirit after their baptism experience was rectified. They did not receive the Spirit spontaneously, but only when Paul laid hands on them (and, presumably, prayed for the experience to occur!)

There is no indication in the text that the experience of these men when filled with the Spirit (they spoke in tongues and prophesied) was exceptional in any way.


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1.4. Summary

For these reasons, I believe the most logical explanation of the text of the Book of Acts is that:

1. The gift of the Spirit was something that was normally received at or around the point of faith – but there were exceptions to this rule;

2. There was specific evidence that a person had received the gift, and the absence of this evidence was considered to be reason enough to minister to that person and correct the deficiency in his or her experience;

3. This ministry might typically have taken the form of prayer with the laying on of hands to receive the Spirit;

4. The specific evidence that a person had received the Spirit included the ability to speak in other tongues (which is the only experience mentioned on all occasions where details are given), but it is possible that other outward experiences (such as prophecy or praise – presumably spontaneous rather than premeditated) might have been accepted also.

To my mind, any other conclusion implies that Luke only ever mentioned exceptional cases when explaining what happened when someone received the Spirit, without ever clearly enunciating the normative experience – and then went further to imply, by his use of dialogue, that these exceptional experiences were the norm. I do not believe this is a plausible interpretation of Luke’s writings, given the other things we know about him as both a man of science and an historian of some note.

2. INTERPRETING THE EVIDENCE

We have looked at the experiences of the early disciples in the Book of Acts, and it seems that they believed that certain visible evidence (primarily “speaking in tongues”, but possibly other similar signs as well) accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit on a believer’s life. But does that still apply today? Why did they believe such a thing, which seems quite inexplicable to us today?

In this section, we will dig a bit deeper into this topic by looking in detail at the first Pentecost experience in Acts 2.


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2.1. Peter’s perspective on Pentecost

On the day the gift of the Spirit first came upon the gathered believers, the outsiders who witnessed the phenomenon were understandably both sceptical and mocking. Peter addressed them, explaining (in the power of the Spirit) the significance of what they were experiencing:

“These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’” (Ac. 2:15-18) There is a certain poetic balance with this quote (the reference is to Joel 2:28-32, a well known and accepted Messianic text), starting and ending with two significant (and related) promises applicable to all God’s people in the “last days”:

1. God would pour out his Spirit on them all; and

2. They would all “prophesy”.

Notice how they contain a neat balance between the divine and the human: God would first do something (he would “pour out his Spirit”), and then there would be a human response (they will “prophesy”). This parallels neatly what Luke has already described as happening to the disciples that day:

1. All of them were “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ac. 2:4a); and

2. They began to speak “in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Ac. 2:4b).

In context, therefore, Luke is identifying this second phenomenon with the promise in Joel that they would “prophesy”.


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This came as quite a revelation to me when I first realised the significance of this teaching. I first came to faith in an environment that tacitly assumed that the gift of the Spirit was a “private” or “inward” thing, something between God and me to help me to know him better. However, it is clear from Peter’s sermon that there is more to the gift of the Spirit than just the inward blessing of the Spirit’s presence. Peter emphasises this again later on in his sermon also:

“Exalted to the right hand of God, (Jesus) has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” (Ac. 2:33)

What was it that his hearers were “seeing and hearing”? It was the men and women, servants of God, who were speaking words of praise to God, not in words that they had humanly learned, but in words that they had been given by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the gift of the Spirit is just as much about what flows out from our lips (“prophesying”) as what flows in (the Holy Spirit).

2.2. What is this “prophesying”?

What is this “speaking in tongues”, and why does Peter equate it with “prophesying”? If we look closely at the phenomenon as described in Ac. 2:4, we will get an insight into why Peter is drawing this parallel. Luke describes the experience of the first believers by clearly delineating what they did, and what the Spirit did:

• Firstly, it was the believers who spoke – God did not make

• Secondly, it was the Holy Spirit who gave them the ability to speak in unknown languages.

them speak, they chose to open their mouths and articulate words. This is a very important distinction to make, as many well-meaning Christians wait around for the gift of tongues to come to them, not realising that it is they themselves who need to speak; but

The result of this balance was a miracle that began the era of the Spirit, the era which still carries on to this day.

This phenomenon as described by Luke is an example of what is called technically an “inspired utterance”. Essentially, there are two ways in the Bible in which the Spirit is said to bring prophetic revelation to his people:


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• He can provide a “revelation” – that is, he can provide an insight into the mind

• He can provide a “moment of inspiration” – that is, he can provide a revelation to one of his people that he wants them to say something or do something, without telling them in advance exactly what that thing is. As they step out in faith to obey this urging, the power of the Spirit comes upon them and works through the thing they say or do in obedience to the Spirit’s prompting.

of one of his people, and they have the responsibility of speaking this out, to communicate it to the rest of God’s people, but using their own words and language; or

The incident described in Ac. 2:4 is clearly one of these second category of experiences of the anointing of the Spirit. We do not know exactly why they chose to speak out when they were filled with the Spirit (there is a suggestion in Mk 16:17 that Jesus may have “coached” them on this facet of the Spirit’s work before he ascended into heaven), however it was clearly a “step of faith” they made in response to the prompting of the Spirit that had newly come upon them. And it was as they stepped out in faith that they fulfilled the promise that God had for them in the “last days”.

2.3. Old Testament precedents

Once we understand the sort of experience Luke is describing in Acts 2, we can see that it was not an isolated incident at all, but one that fitted in with a long line of inspired experiences from the Old Testament scriptures.

Numbers 11 is a significant experience in the history of God’s people. Moses had been leading a rebellious people through the desert, and he found the experience too much to handle. So God decided to share the burden this man of God had to bear:

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them …

“So Moses … brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied …” (Num. 11:16-17, 24-25)

This incident is significant because it is the first time in the Bible when the Spirit is said to come upon any human being.


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Many years later, God decided to appoint the nation of Israel a king to lead them in a time of crisis. The man chosen was a Benjaminite called Saul. The prophet Samuel told Saul how he would know that he was God’s chosen king:

“ … you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.” (1 Sam. 10:5-7)

Thus, there was a pattern emerging in the Old Testament of God pouring out a prophetic anointing of inspired speech as the initial evidence that they had received the Spirit. Rather interestingly, though, this story of Saul not only tells us what happened to Saul, but also why it happened:

• He would be changed into a “different person” (v6) – the natural Saul was a timid and fearful person;

• He would then be encouraged to “do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you” (v7)

This latter verse was fulfilled not long after Saul’s enthronement as king, when the Ammonites besieged the Israelite town of Jabesh Gilead. Nobody seemed willing to help the people of Jabesh. However:

“When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, ‘This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel’.” (1 Sam. 11:6-7)

Whatever else we might think of what Saul did, it was certainly an “inspired” action, in the sense that it achieved its purpose – the fragmented and disunited tribes of Israel suddenly became united in their efforts, and a great victory was achieved. In this passage, king Saul is seen to be a successor to the judges who helped provide deliverance to Israel from their enemies in the preceding centuries.

Why then was Saul given the prophetic anointing? The implication of the story is quite straightforward: Saul was given a gift of inspired speech so that he would henceforth become a person of inspired action. God needed Saul to be a man who would act in the power of the Spirit; in order to become this man, he first needed to learn to speak in the power of the Spirit.


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2.4. God’s perspective on being baptised in the Spirit

God needs inspired men and women in these last days as much as he needed them in Old Testament times – and the promise of Joel that Peter quoted on the day of Pentecost shows that his method of providing this has not changed. In this regard, the only difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is the breadth of the experience – in the Old Testament, only a select few were given the anointing of the Holy Spirit, but in the New Testament it is every believer

The New Testament gift of the Spirit is not just about an inward sense of the presence of God that helps you to know God personally – although this is a wonderful experience that is certainly part of our heritage as believers in Jesus. However, it is also concerned with the flowing out from us of the anointing of the Spirit in prophetic action – action that will reach out to a needy world and bring the presence of God to them in power and grace.

who has this as his or her birthright.

Jesus spoke about this in John’s gospel:

“… Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If a man 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 …” (Jn 7:37-39)

Do you share Jesus’ burden? Are you thirsty, truly thirsty, for the things God wants to use you for? Then understand this: you haven’t really been “baptised” (drenched, overwhelmed, filled to overflowing) with the Spirit in the fullest sense of the word until the Spirit is flowing out from you in the form of streams of living water. You need to become a man or woman who is constantly acting under the anointing of Spirit-inspired actions, and the way you can become this sort of person is to keep on seeking to be filled until you are enabled to speak out the wonderful praises of God in Spirit-inspired words

2.4.1. Waiting in prayer – what is our motivation?

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Jesus addressed the issue of our desire to be used by the Spirit in a beautiful little story found uniquely in Luke’s gospel:

“… Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’

“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.


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“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks him for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk. 11:5-13)

Jesus is telling a story about the importance of persistent prayer, but Luke places this story within the context of praying to receive the Holy Spirit (thus indicating that not everyone will receive automatically – but he does reassure us that we will receive if we keep on asking).

If we look closely at the story, we can see why this is the case. The man is persistent because he is painfully aware that he has an obligation to be hospitable towards a friend, and he has nothing to offer him! Is that not a powerful picture of the Christian’s position in the world – so much need around us, but, without the anointing of the Spirit, we have nothing to bring to satisfy that need?

Many people struggle to receive the prophetic anointing that characterised the New Testament baptism in the Spirit – but then, disheartened, give up. Maybe God does not want them to speak in tongues, they reason. But Jesus assures us that the gift is for everyone – if you will ask persistently, like the man in the parable, until you receive. The key question is this: just what is your motivation in asking? If you are seeking because of a sense of desperation to do the will of God, and if you remind yourself constantly that you have nothing to give without the gift of the Holy Spirit, then you will surely never give up. May God purify our motives so that we all seek him like the man in this parable!

2.5. Getting a Scriptural perspective on your (and the church’s) experience

Perhaps you have reached this stage of this study and you feel overwhelmed – perhaps your experience of the Holy Spirit is different to that described in the Book of Acts. Don’t worry – you are not alone!

It is a sad fact that the Christian Church over the centuries has settled for far less than God had planned for his people. God wanted a people to be motivated and empowered by the Spirit; instead, believers settled for a so-called “christian society” and trying to achieve God’s purposes in the power of human effort (“flesh”). It is little wonder that, in such a context, the depths of God’s gracious promises to everyone who believes might get lost.


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If your experience does not match the New Testament experience of being baptised in the Spirit, it does not mean that your experience is invalid – it just means that you have more to receive! God has begun to pour his Spirit into your life, but for one reason or another you have not “stayed the course” to receive the full anointing God has in store for you. In other words, there is good news – God has more for you, if you are willing to receive it!

We have already looked at several examples in the Book of Acts where, for some reason or another, believers had difficulty in receiving the fullness of God’s Spirit. Clearly, we are not alone if we are in such a situation, whether it is through ignorance (Ac. 8:14ff) or some other reason (Ac. 19:1ff). These believers were not treated as “second class believers” – there is no such thing! But rather, they had the message of the gospel explained to them “more adequately” and received prayer to help them to receive.

2.6. Need more help?

When seeking to minister the gift of the Spirit to believers, many people are willing and able to receive once they have been adequately taught. However, some have very real practical difficulties, and others have previously been taught quite a different theology, and therefore need a little more information to convince them of the validity of the experience.

The Appendices to this study (contained in a separate document) address some of these issues, and should be read if you are in one or both of these positions:

• Appendix A details a number of common questions encountered about the baptism in the Spirit and speaking in tongues; and

• Appendix B contains a number of helpful hints on receiving the Spirit if you are having trouble receiving the anointing of “prophetic utterance”.

Ultimately, though, if you are struggling with the gift of God, there is no substitute for a sincere study of the Bible, earnest and persistent prayer (Lk. 11:11-13), and humbly asking a brother or sister to pray for you. You are not alone – and God wants to fill you far more than you want to be filled!


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3. CONCLUSION

Perhaps the single biggest problem in ministering the baptism in the Spirit to men and women today is to keep a correct balance about the significance of “speaking in tongues”. By modern standards, this is such an unusual experience, that people tend to have one of two reactions:

• Negative – the experience is not for today, and, even if it is still a valid experience, it’s definitely not for me – I don’t see the point of it!

• Positive – but believing that you have somehow “arrived” once you have passed such an unusual “hurdle” in your spiritual walk.

It is a tragedy that many so-called “Pentecostal” or “charismatic” Christians are no different to their non-tongues speaking brothers and sisters apart from the fact that they “speak in tongues”. They do not minister regularly in any other supernatural gift, and show no evidence of victory over sin and other problems in their lives. At very best, this shows an almost total misunderstanding of the purpose and power of the gift of God.

The reality, I believe, is that speaking in tongues is significant primarily as an entrance into greater and more exciting things: a life lived


in the fullness of the Spirit! This is the subject of our next study.

Jesus came to immerse me in the power of God, so that I can bless a needy world. I will keep seeking more, for their sake, until he has persuaded me, from the Scriptures, that I have received exactly what he promised.


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STUDY 7: LIVING IN THE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT

In previous studies, we have noted that Jesus came to “baptise” his followers in the Holy Spirit – that is, to totally immerse, overwhelm, or drench them in the power of God. We have also seen that this experience is still available to believers today.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit for a reason – so that the believers together might live on the earth in the same manner as Jesus lived when he was here physically. This is an amazing concept, and one which men and women have found difficult to believe over the centuries. However, if we grasp hold of the amazing promise that the New Testament brings, we can begin to experience the wonderful new life Jesus makes available – the life lived in the fullness of the Spirit.

1. CONCEPTUAL INTRODUCTION

1.1. The two-fold role of the Spirit

The coming of the gift of the Spirit was an important promise (in John’s gospel in particular) made by Jesus to his disciples. In introducing his teaching on the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes a truly stunning statement that it is easy to overlook:

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.” (Jn 16:7)

How can this possibly be true? Jesus was the very Son of God, the one who imparted wisdom like no other to mankind, the one who performed miraculous deeds of compassion for all who were in need. What person, having read of Jesus in the gospels, has not thought at one time or another, “I wish I could go back in time and walk with Jesus when he was here on earth!”. And yet, according to Jesus (and the words “I tell you the truth” were often used by Jesus to preface a teaching that we would find hard to grasp), we are better off now, 2000 years after his death and resurrection, than when he walked on the earth!

To understand Jesus’ reasoning, we need to look at the way he describes the work of the Spirit to his disciples. When we analyses his words, we see that Jesus describes the significance of the gift in two-fold terms:


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1. The Spirit is “another Counsellor” for believers (Jn 14:16 – Jesus was, of course, the original Counsellor). In other words, the Spirit of God ministers to believers in the same way that Jesus ministered to his disciples before his death – guiding them, comforting them in need, challenging them gently when complacent or disobedient, bringing the wisdom and knowledge and counsel of God to them in every life circumstance;

2. The Spirit is the one who fulfils the work of Jesus on earth by doing through the believers the works of Jesus (Ac. 1:1 – note the word “began”. Also Jn 14:9-12, 16:5-7). In other words, the Spirit of God ministers supernaturally in the world through believers in the same (miraculous) way that Jesus ministered on earth before his death – Jesus is the “head”, and we are his “body” – his hands (of healing), his legs (of travelling to the ends of the earth), and his mouth (of proclaiming the good news).

Thought to ponder:

Review the creation narrative in Gen. 1-3, where the first humans were given two roles in the world: one relational (to walk in intimate communion with God in the garden), and the other work-related (to work the garden and make it fruitful). Are there parallels between this description of our roles as humans (intimate relationship + fruitful work) and the way in which the Spirit works to and through believers in the new covenant?

How do you see the balance working out in your life between intimate relationship and fruitful labour? Do you find one more “natural” than the other? To what extent do you think this might be a “male vs female” thing?

This two-fold aspect of the Spirit’s ministry means that, where the Church is functioning in the power of the Spirit and according to the mandate to it in the name of Jesus, there is no appreciable difference in quality of ministry now compared with when Jesus walked on earth – except that the effective presence of Jesus (through the Spirit) is now available everywhere that believers gather, rather than just localised in one time and place as Jesus was.

Viewed from this perspective, we can see why it is “better” for us to live today, under the regime of the Spirit, than in the days when Jesus walked the earth. However, it does place an incredible responsibility on us to use the gift God has given us in the way he intends for its use.


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1.2. Four sources of information

If we are going to understand what it is to live in the fullness of the Spirit, we need to avail ourselves of all the information in the Bible on this subject. In fact, we have four sources of information in the Bible by which we can understand the work of the Spirit in the life of a believer:

1. We have the whole of the Old Testament

2.

– although the gift of the Spirit was only given to a select few before the coming of the Messiah, for those who received the gift it was the same Spirit that we who believe have received today. How the Spirit-anointed leaders of ancient Israel lived should therefore be a model of how we are to live today.

We have the ministry of Jesus as recorded in the gospels

Thought to ponder:

– this shows us how the Messiah ministered to his disciples (which is an indicator of how the Spirit should be ministering to us), and also how he ministered to a lost world (which is an indicator of how he should be working through us).

Have you ever thought of interpreting the Gospel accounts of Jesus as an indicator of how you should be behaving in the world? How does it make you feel to take this somewhat daunting challenge on board? How will it make you read the Gospels differently to how you might have previously read them?

3. We have the spiritual history of the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts

4.

– this shows us how the Apostles and early believers (i.e. those who had been closest to the Messiah and who had personally received the promises) interpreted the life in the Spirit in the 1st century.

We have the teachings to the churches in the rest of the New Testament

You will observe that the first three sources are primarily “models” rather than “teaching” – that is, their main function is to show us how certain individuals lived in the power of the Spirit in their particular life circumstances. It is only the fourth source – mainly letters written to the early churches, to men and women who had already received the gift – that this emphasis is reversed.

– this is full of all sorts of theoretical and practical teaching on the life of the Spirit.


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I believe we make a strategic mistake if we jump straight into the “teaching” of the New Testament without first grounding ourselves properly in the “models” given us by the rest of the Scriptures. It is easy to develop theories on the Christian life based on an interpretation of the teachings of the Apostles – and there are many such theories around – but the real test is whether those theories lead to an outcome

It would take a lifetime (literally!) to study all these four sources in detail; in fact, this is exactly what diligent disciples should do if they want to be true men and women of the Spirit. We will confine ourselves to a brief overview, covering just two studies:

that is consistent with the outcomes achieved by the men and women who are our examples. If we start with the “teaching” rather than the “models”, we are more likely to develop an attachment to our own interpretations, and then be tempted to “explain away” the clear examples given to us by the rest of the Bible as “special circumstances”. However, if we allow our hearts and imaginations to be captivated by the “models” God has clearly given us (being careful to focus on the inward reality, not just the outward trappings) then we are more likely to come to the “teachings” with a mind open to the extraordinary possibilities of what God wants to do in and through us.

In this study, we will focus on the “models” shown in the Old Testament, the gospels, and the book of Acts; and

In the next study, having absorbed the principles found in these models, we will explore the teaching found in the Apostles’ letters (mainly those of Paul).

2. THE MODEL OF THE SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

We have already explored several of the examples of men and women who received the gift of the Spirit in the Old Testament. Generally speaking, the work of the Spirit in ancient Israel was “clustered” around three groups of people who were chosen to be special examples. These groups are:

1. The priests – who ministered the special presence of God to the nation;

2. The kings (including the prototypical leaders known as “judges”) – who were anointed with special powers of inspired leadership; and

3. The prophets – who brought clarity of revelation and inspired utterance to the nation at times of national need.


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2.1. The priestly ministry

(For an introduction to the priestly ministry of the Old Testament, refer back to STUDY 2: 2.2.1).

The priestly ministry commenced with Moses and his brother Aaron, and carried on throughout the Old Testament period. The purpose of the ministry was to provide a concrete manifestation of the very presence of God. We see examples of this from several eras of the history of Israel:

1. Before the tabernacle of God was first set up, the presence of God was seen on the face of Moses whenever he ministered in the presence of God (Ex. 33:7-11);

2. When the tabernacle was first set up, the presence of the LORD filled it (Ex. 40:34-38);

3. When the temple was finally set up and consecrated under King Solomon, the presence of the LORD likewise filled it as the priests carried out their ministry (2 Chr. 7:1ff).

If you go back to the original story of the giving of the Law in Ex. 19, we can see that God’s original hope was that all of Israel would dwell in his presence, ministering as priests of the covenant:

“Now, if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:5-6)

Unfortunately, one example of the presence of God was enough for most people to draw back in abject terror:

“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.’” (Ex 20:18-19)

It was after this that God appointed a tribe of “specialist” priests (the Levites) to serve as indirect conduits to the presence of God.

In summary, therefore, the main focus of the priestly ministry was to manifest the presence of God to Israel. God wants to dwell with his people! This is the first and most important lesson from the Old Testament ministry of the Spirit.


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2.2. The ministry of the kings

There was no such thing as secular leadership in Israel as it was originally constituted. According to the archaeologists (and this is confirmed by the Old Testament text), the nation of Israel was a loose confederation of twelve tribes, each run on patriarchal (i.e. family) lines.

This began to change during the time covered by the Book of Judges, during which period the nation (because of their disobedience to the covenant) began to experience defeat and hardship at the hand of their enemies (Ju. 2:1-5).

It was during this period that the Spirit of God began a new ministry – that of the judges, who were specially anointed to “save” Israel from her enemies (Ju. 2:16-19). Time and time again, we read how “the Spirit of the LORD came upon” the judge, who then went out and did exceptional deeds of power to rescue God’s people for a limited season: Othniel (in 3:10), Gideon (in 6:34), and Samson (in 14:19) are three prominent examples.

Rather interestingly, the anointing upon these men was primarily one of power, rather than character

We have already looked in detail at the experience of Saul, the first official “king” in Israel. Suffice to note that his initial role was more akin to that of a judge than the modern concept of a king, although, by the end of his reign, Israel had definitely moved into a stage of kingship.

. Several of these leaders were decidedly defective in spiritual character, even by Old Testament standards! Nonetheless, this is no reason to doubt that theirs was a genuine experience of the Holy Spirit. In terms of the language used, the Spirit used to “come upon” them (from the outside), and one might almost conclude regretfully that, in many cases, the anointing did not go any further than skin deep!

The second (and greatest) king was David, and the Spirit of God was clearly and unambiguously involved in David’s life from a young age (1 Sam. 16:13). His reign is clearly an example of how a man, endued with the anointing of the Spirit, is meant to lead through the power of God and dependence on God’s grace – although even David made some spectacular (and very costly!) mistakes.

After the time of King David, the nation of Israel degenerated further with each generation, becoming like all the other nations around them – i.e. ruled by an hereditary monarchy with no special empowerment from God expected or required. Nevertheless, the lesson from this period of Israel’s history is clear: where leadership is required, especially in times of crisis, God wants to anoint his people with special powers to enable them to be rescued from circumstances. This was known as “salvation”, and it was a key work of the Spirit.


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2.3. The ministry of the prophets

As he kingdom in Israel degenerated from spiritual leadership into hereditary monarchy, the mantle for more “spiritual” leadership devolved onto a hardy bunch of men and women called “prophets”.

Although the term is sometimes applied to Moses (Deut. 18:18), the judges (Ju. 4:4), and even the patriarchs from Abraham onwards (Ps. 105:15), the role of the prophet began in earnest with Samuel (1 Sam. 3:19ff). King David appointed a special position in his government for his appointed prophet (and there is evidence that he was prepared to listen to the advice of his prophet, even when it seemed contrary to his own wishes – see 2 Sam. 12:1ff, 2 Sam. 24:11ff).

So significant was the role of the prophetic in David’s life that he appointed temple musicians “for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals” (1 Chr. 25:1). It must not be forgotten that David himself was a prophet, and knew from first-hand experience the privilege of living under a prophetic anointing (2 Sam. 23:1ff).

The essential nature of the prophet was not to predict the future (though it sometimes involved this), but rather to speak forth the word of the LORD. The phrase that rings consistently through the words of the prophets are “thus says the LORD”. The prophet spoke with the authority of the word of God; anyone who claimed incorrectly to speak under the authority of God was known as a “false prophet”.

Thus, the primary mode of operation for the prophets was to bring forth revelation of God’s truth. The prophets came from many walks of life, and used many different methods of communication (to a large extent, the way they brought their message was determined by their humanity – the specifically inspired part was the message they brought). What they all had in common was that their message originated with the Spirit of God, and was intended to be listened to and obeyed by the people of God.

Sometimes the message was one of blessing and success (e.g. 2 Chr. 20:14), but on other occasions it foreshadowed judgment and punishment for covenant rejection (1 Ki. 14:6ff). Whether the message involved blessing or judgment, it was generally not a “new” message, but merely a reinforcing of the words of the covenant already known and understood by the people (see Jer. 7). For this reason, many scholars refer to the prophets as “covenant enforcers” – people who brought the “old” message of the covenant to the people of God in their contemporary context, using the same ideas but new words and methods.


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From the 8th century BCE onwards, we have records of 15 prophets who wrote their messages down. The first we have were Hosea and Amos who prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel, followed closely by Isaiah and Micah who ministered in the southern kingdom of Judah. These writings constitute a major portion of the Old Testament, and covered the period from the 8th century BCE to the 4th or 5th centuries BCE.

This section of our Bible is generally broken down into the three “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and the other twelve who are termed “minor” prophets. The terms “major” and “minor” are not a value judgment on the significance of the prophets, but a reflection of how much written material they handed down to posterity. Covering such a long period of time, the ministry of the writing prophets covered periods of prosperity, threat, calamity, despair, exile, restoration, and post-restoration ease. They therefore provide us with a detailed picture of how God responded to his people at every stage in their life journey – the good, the bad, and the ugly!

3. THE MODEL OF JESUS IN THE FOUR GOSPELS

There are two areas we need to focus on in looking at the model given us by Jesus in the four gospels:

1. The example of Jesus as the disciple of men and women; and

2. The example of Jesus the minister of the gospel of the Kingdom.

The first of these areas deals with the way in which Jesus related to his disciples (and is therefore a model of how the Holy Spirit relates to believers in the post-Pentecost church), and the second deals with the way in which Jesus ministered to others (and is therefore a model of how the Holy Spirit works through

3.1. Jesus the discipler of men and women

believers in the post-Pentecost church)

Almost as soon as he received his anointing to minister, Jesus called men and women to follow him (Mk 1:16-18). We are not told if everyone responded positively to the call they were given, but a small number certainly did. They lived with him and shared his life and ministry over a period of about three years.

Jesus was a Jewish teacher (Rabbi), and his technique was typically rabbinic rather than western. He did not set up a Bible college or academy, but rather taught his followers “on the go”. His typical ministry style was:


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1. To minister to the people as he chose to do so, without comment or explanation (Mk 1:21-28). The general reaction of all (including his disciples) at this point was usually wonder and amazement;

2. When questioned about his ministry by opponents or others apart from his disciples, his answers were equivocal and sometimes ambiguous (Mt. 11:1-6). Where the enquirers were aggressive or malicious, he could be just as aggressive in return (Mt. 12:3ff). When asked to explain, he would invariably teach in parables deliberately framed to hide the full intent of his meaning (Mt. 13:11-15);

3. Within the privacy of the band of disciples, however, Jesus would explain the parables and answer any other questions as asked (Mt. 13:36ff), thus drawing a clear distinction between his followers (who were allowed and expected to understand) and others (who were not);

4. Jesus also made a habit of placing his disciples in challenging social situations, and then using the resultant fallout to make teaching points (Mk 2:13-15). Moreover, he also made public statements about himself and his ministry “on the back” of his works, especially the miraculous ones (Mk 2:9-12). In these senses, Jesus’ dominant teaching style can be seen to be situational rather than either dogmatic or didactic.

The end result of this approach to ministry was twofold:

• Firstly, there was a clear delineation drawn between Jesus’ followers and outsiders. Outsiders were expected to wonder and marvel at his works, but were not given the privilege of understanding either him or his ministry. Followers, however, were both expected and required to understand the “secrets of the kingdom” (Mt. 13:10-12).

IMPLICATION

• Secondly, where understanding was provided, it was practical in nature rather than theoretical. For example, teaching about forgiveness was not grounded in a homiletic discourse, but rather in a real-life situation where forgiveness was required, and where Jesus himself modelled the attitude required. Once the example had been given, this was backed up with teaching that undergirded the message.

: the knowledge of the message of the Kingdom of God is a “divine mystery” that is freely available, but only to those who are prepared to follow. You have to either be committed to the cause (a disciple), or remain unable to understand the message (see Jn 8:31-32, where Jesus states this principle explicitly);


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IMPLICATION

3.2. Jesus the minister of the gospel of the Kingdom

: true understanding of the message includes a balance of “word” and “Spirit”. You cannot grasp the full picture without hearing Jesus’ teaching in the context of his Spirit-inspired deeds. We are to interpret his words by his deeds, and his deeds by his words. That (jn a nutshell) is the balance that is required. It is also the reason why people who are not disciples cannot properly understand his message.

The Bible teaches that Jesus was God in the flesh. For this reason, many believers assume that the way Jesus lived his life – both his personal holiness and his miraculous works – were a reflection of his divinity. Under this mode of thinking, the life of Jesus is not something to inspire me, something I can aspire to (after, all, I most decidedly am not

However, the New Testament just as explicitly affirms that Jesus was fully human, and that everything he did on earth was in his capacity as the Spirit-bearing man moving under the same anointing as the Spirit-bearing men and women of the Old Testament. This is most explicitly stated by Peter, who summarised Jesus’ ministry many years later in these words:

God!) but rather something that “proves” his divinity, but not much more.

“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (Ac. 10:36-38).

Once you understand this general principle, you realise that it is central to the whole of the teaching about Jesus in the gospels, especially in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). In fact, you see that the primary picture they paint of Jesus is of a Spirit-empowered man, who did everything

• He was conceived and born of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:18) – and believers likewise need to be “born of the Spirit” (Jn 3:5);

in his life in the power of the Spirit and therefore became a model for those who would be his followers:

• He received

• He was immediately

the Spirit at his baptism (Mt. 3:16);

led

• He was described as

by the Spirit (Mt. 4:1);

full of the Spirit (Lk. 4:1);


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• He moved and preached

• He

in the power of the Spirit (Lk 4:14, 18);

healed

• He

in the power of the Spirit (Lk. 5:17); and

cast out demons

This last verse is crucial in understanding the ministry of Jesus: “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Mt. 12:28). According to Jesus, it is the “observable fact” that he is casting out demons in the power of the Spirit that is the “proof” that the Messianic Kingdom has arrived. A power struggle has been manifest between the old kingdom of darkness and the new Kingdom of God which has now “invaded” enemy territory.

in the power of the Spirit (Mt 12:28).

In terms of the types of ministry that Jesus offered in the power of the Spirit, generally speaking there are parallels between his ministry and those of the Old Testament Spirit-led men and women:

1. He is compared, either explicitly or implicitly, with Moses (Mt 5:17ff), Elijah (Mt. 16:14, 27:47) and Jeremiah (Mt. 16:14, Lk 19:41-44);

2. The miracles he performed are paralleled with the miracles of the prophet Elisha (e.g. Mk 6:37-44 cf 2 Ki. 4:42-44, Lk 7:11-17 cf 2 Ki. 4:32-35 etc);

3. Although he was never accredited as a priest (not during his life on earth – but see also the letter to the Hebrews for his ongoing priestly ministry), his ministry as “God in the flesh” was essentially priestly in nature (i.e. bringing the presence of God to the people – see Jn 1:14, 17:3 etc);

4. He accepted the accolade of being both a prophet (Lk 7:16) and a king (Mk 11:1-11) in the Old Testament Spirit-endowed tradition;

5. Jesus’ style of ministry was very idiomatic, clearly relying on the leading of the Spirit to determine how to minister in each particular circumstance. As well as the obvious gifts of miracles and healing at work through him, he also received revelations gifts of words of knowledge (Mk 2:8), words of wisdom (Mt. 22:15-22), and discerning of spirits (Mk. 9:14-29). He also was known to move in gifts of inspired utterance (Lk 10:21ff); and

6. Jesus trained his disciples to share in his ministry, and empowered them to move in the same Spirit as he did (Lk 9:1ff, 10:1ff).

IMPLICATION: although Jesus is undoubtedly portrayed as the “man of the Spirit par excellence”, he is still nevertheless a man of the Spirit. He was dependent upon the anointing of the Spirit in exactly the same ways as the Old Testament priests, prophets and kings.


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Thought to ponder:

How does it make you feel to realise that Jesus ministered in exactly the same way as the Spirit-empowered men and women of the Old Testament, and that he explicitly passed this anointing onto his followers? Does the thought challenge you theologically? Do you find it disturbing, or possibly exciting or challenging?

4. THE MODEL OF EARLY DISCIPLES IN THE BOOK OF ACTS

We have seen that Jesus ministered in a style similar to the Spirit-anointed prophets, priests and kings of the Old Testament, and that he explicitly passed this anointing onto his followers.

What model for this do the early disciples give us from the record in the book of Acts?

4.1. The Holy Spirit as teacher and discipler

Jesus had told his followers: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (Jn 16:13). He also indicated that this special revelation would be for followers only, not the world at large (Jn 14:22ff), but that it would not be anything “new”, but a “reminder” of what he had already taught them (Jn 14:26).

How does the book of Acts record this as having happened?

1. The Spirit clearly communicated to the believers through various supernatural means – including visions (Ac. 9:10), trances and dreams (Ac. 10:10), angelic visitations (Ac. 8:26) and sundry other direct revelations merely recorded as the Spirit “speaking” (e.g. Ac. 8:29). The Spirit also spoke words of direction through prophetic utterances (Ac. 13:2);

2. These “revelations” were not primarily doctrinal in nature – for that sort of teaching, the disciples relied on the teaching of Old Testament scriptures and the Apostles’ teachings about Jesus (Ac. 2:42). Rather, they were the “situational” side of the teaching process, providing a context and an interpretation of the words of Jesus to apply in their particular situation;

3. The Spirit also led the disciples into new ventures by placing them in situations outside their “comfort zones” and then teaching them to cope with the changed


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circumstances. The best example of this is the way the church “decided” to allow Gentiles into their body, contrary to all their preconceived ideas:

• Firstly, the Spirit led Peter into an unexpected and uncomfortable situation (Ac. 10:9-33);

• Secondly, the Spirit overwrote Peter’s preconceived ideas by acting unilaterally in a way that Peter could see clearly was the hand of God (Ac. 10:34-48);

• The church as a whole did not rely on Peter’s authority as an Apostle, but called him to account for acting contrary to the accepted tradition (Ac. 11:1-3);

• They were, however, just as convinced as Peter had been by the evidence that the works of the Spirit had provided (Ac. 11:4-18); and

• The church began to take on board the new Spirit-led understanding of the message (Ac. 11:19-21), which led eventually to a formal change of doctrinal understanding (Ac. 15:1-21).

IMPLICATION: the approach expected to apply throughout the book of Acts was similar to that used by Jesus in his earthly ministry. The existing scriptures (including the teachings of Jesus) were considered authoritative, but the disciples were prepared to hold lightly to any particular interpretation

of them. They fully expected, and allowed, the Spirit to broaden their understanding by acting unilaterally (just as Jesus had done), and, provided they recognised the work of the Spirit and could find a way of reconciling the new understanding with the authoritative scriptures, they were open to embrace change.

Thought to ponder:

How is this similar to that used in your denomination or church today? What differences can you see? What do you think would be the effect of moving closer to the model used in the book of Acts?


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4.2. Spirit-empowered ministry

Jesus was explicit that, when the Spirit came, he would empower them to move in the same dynamic that had empowered Jesus’ ministry. Here are some examples of how this occurred in practice:

1. The outpouring of the prophetic Spirit on believers (Ac. 2:1-4, 17-18, 38-39);

2. Inspired preaching of the word of the gospel (Ac. 2:14ff, 4:8ff);

3. Miraculous powers (Ac. 3:1-10), gifts of healing and deliverance (Ac. 5:15-16), and raising from the dead (Ac. 9:36-43; 20:7-12). Note – this last miracle took place some 30 years after the events of Acts 2, so it is simply not correct to say that such gifts were confined to the “early days” of the church;

4. On rare occasions, words of rebuke and judgment on manifest sin (Ac. 5:1-11, 13:9-11);

5. Prophetic gifts (Ac. 11:27-30, 13:1-3, 21:10-11 – again, this last example took place 30 years after Acts 2), including words of knowledge (Ac. 5:3-4), words of wisdom (Ac. 15:13ff) and discerning of spirits (Ac. 16:16-18).

In all these cases, the style of ministry was identical to that used by Jesus in his earthly ministry, except that whereas Jesus had acted unilaterally by his own authority, the believers acted “in Jesus name” (Ac. 3:6, 16). It was also similar in style and content to that manifest by Spirit-led men and women in the Old Testament.

These gifts were not confined to the Apostles, but were available to any disciple who was filled with the Spirit and called on to use the gifts by God (e.g. Ac. 6:8ff).

IMPLICATION: throughout the 30 year history of the early church covered by the book of Acts, it was expected that the Holy Spirit would minister through the believers in exactly the same way as Jesus ministered when he was on earth. There was no appreciable change in either the scope or quality of the ministry offered.


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5. CONCLUSION

The three sources of examples we have for the work of the Spirit – the Old Testament, the gospels, and the book of Acts – all paint a consistent picture of the type of work that the Spirit does when he moves through God’s people. The only differences are:

1. Under the new covenant, all believers in Jesus are empowered with the same Spirit that was confined (in previous times) to the select few;

2. This power is available to them “in the name of Jesus”, i.e. under the delegated authority of the Kingdom of God as inaugurated by Jesus through his death, resurrection and ascension to glory;

3. Under the new covenant, the Spirit also serves a new function, that of guiding the believers into “all truth”, which means the correct situational interpretation of scriptural teaching for the current context. This is the same function that Jesus served in his earthly life, and is a privilege afforded only to who are his disciples.

(Please note – this privilege only applied to the disciples as a body rather than as individuals


. In all matters, believers were held accountable to each other for their actions. The New Testament knows no such thing as a purely private or personal revelation).

I am committed to being a disciple of Jesus. This means I will learn to move in the power of the Spirit as Jesus moved. I will also learn to listen to the voice of the Spirit and allow him to lead me into all truth, as Jesus said he would.


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STUDY 8: LIVING IN THE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT (CONT.)

In the previous study, we introduced the topic of living in the fullness of the Spirit, dealt with some conceptual and methodological issues, and then looked at the three main models provided in the Bible – the Old Testament priests, prophets and kings, the gospel accounts of Jesus, and the early disciples in the book of Acts.

Having taken these examples on board (and having noted a number of key patterns that emerged), we will now look at the teaching provided by the Apostles in the rest of the New Testament to those same early disciples.

A careful survey of the material reveals that there are four main categories in which the Apostles (mainly Paul) provide teaching. These are:

1. Teaching on the significance of the gift of the Spirit – what it means to be a partaker of the gift under the new covenant;

2. Teaching on the Spirit’s role in bringing revelation of God’s truth to men and women;

3. Teaching on the Spirit’s role in moral purification (what theologians label “justification” and “sanctification” – mainly found in Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Galatians); and

4. Teaching on the so-called “spiritual gifts” (mainly found in 1 Corinthians).

We will deal with each of these blocks of teaching in separate sections.

1. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GIFT

Why has God poured out his Spirit on us? And what is the significance of such a life-changing action? This is the subject of a number of separate teachings in the New Testament.

1.1. Proof of our redemption

The first and most obvious aspect of the significance of the gift is that it is the defining mark, or proof, that we have been redeemed from the old Kingdom of darkness into the new Kingdom of God.

Interestingly, this is found most clearly in an angry diatribe by Paul to the Galatian Christians in response to some false teaching that has led them astray:


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“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? … Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Gal. 3:1-3, 13-14)

Paul is angry because the Galatians are being “seduced” by false teaching into believing that, having become Christians already, they need to start obeying the Old Testament law by submitting to circumcision. It is not Paul’s argument against circumcision that interests us at this point, but his use of the promise of the Spirit within that argument. Effectively, he makes two points worth noting:

1. The Galatians know

2. The gift of the Spirit is actually the

that they have been redeemed because God proved it to them himself – by giving him his Spirit (v2);

goal

This teaching, of course, goes back to the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the fulfilment of the Joel prophecy. The outpouring of the Spirit was seen as the defining evidence that the new Messianic age had dawned, and that those who partake of the gift were participating in that age. The fact that Paul quotes this experience as the

of our redemption (v14).

purpose

Thoughts to ponder:

of our redemption in v14 (he could, for example, have said “he redeemed us so that we might be righteous”, or “he redeemed us so that we might come into God’s kingdom”, but chose not to do so) shows that Paul placed an immense significance on the gift itself.

Do you place the same significance on the gift of the Spirit that Paul appears to?

Consider Paul’s argument in Galatians 3. How much force would the argument have if Paul believed (as many modern believers do) that receiving the Spirit is an automatic process, without any accompanying evidence, and that we should accept it as true as an article of our faith?


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A similar message is conveyed by the following verses:

“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.” (1 Jn 4:13)

“Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3)

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Rom. 8:9).

In each case, though the language is slightly different, the meaning is clear: the Spirit is the defining mark of being “in Christ” (even being referred to as “the Spirit of Christ”), and therefore receiving the gift is proof of his ownership of us.

1.2. Our seal and down-payment

Another key verse is found in the middle of one of Paul’s doxologies on the greatness of what God has done:

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:13-14)4

In this text, Paul uses two metaphors to describe the significance of the gift of the Spirit:

1. It is a seal of God’s ownership; and

2. It is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.

4 There is some measure of controversy in v13 regarding the exact meaning of the Greek text: should the second sentence begin “When you believed …” or “After you believed …”? The significance is that, if the correct reading is “after”, then it seems to go against the commonly held view that you automatically receive the Spirit when you believe. Rather interestingly, even if Paul was saying “when”, the very people he was writing to (the Ephesian disciples) almost certainly included some who received the Spirit in Ac. 19:6 immediately after (but nevertheless still after) they had believed the message (v4) and been baptised (v5). Apart from this, the difference in possible meaning is not significant to us at the current time, as the crucial point is that the Ephesians had received the gift, not when they received it.


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The first metaphor relates to how outsiders (possibly spiritual forces, both angels and demons) regard us (“Be aware – this one has the mark of God’s ownership!”) whereas the second relates to how we should view ourselves (“I have received the deposit, so now I can be sure that God will one day make the final payment!”).

Thought to ponder:

What significance is it to you that God has placed a “deposit” on you – that he has made a “down-payment” guaranteeing that the “deal” will one day be finally consummated with the final payment? How does this strike the balance between two conflicting realities – that (on the one hand) we can live now in the Kingdom of God rather than waiting around for the final consummation, but (on the other hand) the future is infinitely better than our current experience can possibly be?

1.3. The Spirit of adoption to sonship

There are two almost identical verses which talk about the “Spirit of adoption to sonship”:

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Rom. 8:15)

“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” (Gal. 4:6-7)

These verses talk about five aspects of the gift of the Spirit that relate to our relationship with God:

1. We are now (adopted) sons of God through our faith in Jesus Christ (see Gal. 3:26);

A brief note needs to be added here about the Roman concept of adoption. As anyone will recall who has seen the movie “Ben Hur“, a Roman’s estate did not automatically pass to his eldest son, but it was customary for him to “adopt” someone worthy as his son and heir. This was usually one of his natural sons, but this was not always the case. By using the metaphor of adoption, Paul is highlighting that we have been chosen for (not just born into) the incredible privilege of intimacy with God, and inheritance of all his estate.


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2. This means that we are in a position of incredible intimacy with God;

The word “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “daddy” used only in the intimacy of the family home. It is the word Jesus used in addressing God in prayer. Its use in relation to God was unprecedented (and was probably considered blasphemously presumptuous) before Jesus came on the scene.

3. It also means we are heirs of God’s estate, a position of great privilege;

4. The evidence of this is that the Spirit cries out: “Abba, Father.”;

5. The consequence is that we should not be afraid, as we are no longer slaves but sons.

Thoughts to ponder:

What is the significance to you of being an heir with Christ? What do you understand that to mean?

What do you think Paul means when he emphasises that the Spirit “cries out”?

Why do you think Paul emphasises the consequence that we are no longer “slaves to fear”? What does this mean to you personally?

2. THE SPIRIT’S ROLE IN REVELATION

The second block of teaching on the Holy Spirit concerns his role in bringing revelation to God’s people. This is reminiscent of Jesus’ words to his disciples in Jn 16:12-14:

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”


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2.1. Knowing God

In writing to the Corinthians, Paul makes an amazing assertion about God, us, and the work of the Spirit. The context is a discussion about wisdom – the Corinthians had fallen under the influence of some false teachers who claimed that they were “wiser” (i.e. in terms of worldly wisdom, elocution, theological training etc) than Paul. Paul responds in these words:

“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:

‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’

– the things God has prepared for those who love him – these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’

But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:6-16)

This is a long passage, but is absolutely full of meaning! Paul starts by saying that the things of God are so beyond our ability to comprehend that that the wisest and most learned scholars are out of their depth – however, God has revealed those things to us through the Spirit. He then goes on to explain the process: the word “spirit” means the innermost being of a person – your spirit is your innermost being, my spirit is my innermost being, and therefore God’s Spirit (by analogy) is his innermost being. If I have received his Spirit, therefore, I have gained access to the very innermost being of God


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himself, and this is what evangelists such as Paul conveyed to the Corinthians when they preached the gospel to them. The Spirit provided the words (in Paul), but it was also the Spirit who provided the interpretation and understanding (in the Corinthians). Without the Spirit’s ability to “decode” the message, it appeared no more than “foolishness”. But when correctly decoded by the Spirit, it constitutes effectively having “the mind of Christ”.

The implication is clear, but scarcely believable: through the gift of the Spirit, we have unparalleled access to God. The most intimate of God’s thoughts and feelings – the things that constitute his “innermost being” – are available to us if we dare to receive it. I can know God far more intimately than I can know any human being.

Thought to ponder:

What does it mean to you to “know” God (as opposed to merely “knowing about” him? How do you respond to the idea that you can know God far more intimately than you can know any human person? What does this do to our concept of relationships – with God, and with other people?

2.2. Wisdom and revelation

A similar theme is pursued by Paul in his opening preamble to his letter to the Ephesians:

“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe …” (Eph. 1:15-19a)

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:14-19)


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The basic message is the same – God’s Spirit enables us to know God intimately – but this time he fills in the details slightly more:

1. Knowing God intimately involves “wisdom” (i.e. the general truths / principles of his character) and “revelation” or “enlightenment” (specific details);

2. The details we need to have “revealed” to us cover our hope for the future, the details of our (present) inheritance, and the power available for us to take hold of these;

3. The “wisdom” truths we need to grasp include Christ “dwelling in our hearts through faith” and the abundant extravagance of God’s love;

4. Together, these Spirit-provided insights enable us to be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”.

Thoughts to ponder:

Does your vision of the insight / wisdom available to you through the Spirit match up to Paul’s? What does it mean to you to be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”?

Paul prefaces both these passages by saying that he is praying that these things will come to pass for the Ephesians. This suggests that wisdom and revelation are not automatic processes. What do you think is our role in ensuring that we grow in wisdom and revelation and insight?

3. THE SPIRIT’S ROLE IN MORAL PURIFICATION

A third block of teaching on the Holy Spirit concerns his role in bringing moral purification (otherwise known as justification and sanctification) to us.

3.1. Ever-increasing glory

The general principle of our growth to perfection is explained in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:


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“Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. … Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:12-13, 16-18)

Again, the message of this passage is scarcely believable! Moses, the man who under the old covenant was privileged to see God “face to face”, had to wear a veil because the glory he experienced was transient; however, we through the Spirit have received a much greater privilege, a glory that is not transient, but one that will grow in ever-increasing levels of glory until we truly reflect the image of Christ.

Thought to ponder:

Have you ever really considered what it means to have received a greater privilege than that given to Moses?

3.2. Living under the personal moral authority of the Spirit

We have already covered some of the issues concerning the gift of righteousness in STUDY 4: The Gospel of Righteousness. Our concern here is a specific teaching on the basis of moral authority (i.e. what compels our obedience) under the new covenant:

“So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom. 7:4-6)

This is part of a long theological argument covering chapters 6 to 8 of the letter to the Romans, where Paul explains how we have died with Christ so that we could become like him. At this point the question he is addressing is this: who (or what) has moral authority over us?

Under the old covenant, the Torah (God’s perfect law) had authority over God’s people – they were compelled to keep the law, and, if they failed to do so, they had breached the covenant. Paul says that this approach “failed” because the people, in their sinfulness, were not able to keep the law. And so, under the new covenant, we are no longer under the moral authority of the law, but of the Spirit. In other words:


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“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom. 8:12-13)

Note that it is the law as a source of moral authority that Paul is repudiating, not the law as a revelation of God’s requirements

The distinction is most apparent when we transpose the analogy from the law to the Bible. If we live under the moral authority of the Bible (i.e. trying to do what it says, and thereby treating it as a modern equivalent of “the law of God”), then we are living as nomists and outside the realm of the new covenant. However, if we see the Scriptures as being authored by the Spirit to show us the character and requirements of God, and if we recognise that it is the Spirit who now compels our obedience, then we will find that he not only provides us with the revelation of what we need to do, he also provides us with the power to obey.

. The distinction is vitally important. Paul affirms in this passage that the law is “holy, righteous and good” (Rom. 7:17), so it is still an accurate indicator of God’s moral standards; however, we are now no longer under obligation to the law, but to the Spirit.

Thus, the one way leads to slavery, defeat and spiritual death, whereas the other leads to freedom, success, and spiritual life.

Thought to ponder:

What does it mean to you to live under the personal moral authority of the Holy Spirit?

3.3. Living by the Spirit

The climax of Paul’s teaching on how we reach moral purity is simply that we live our lives day by day, step by step, in the power of the Spirit rather than in our own (fleshly) ability:

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.


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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:16-25)

Note in particular the logical order

Note also the verbs Paul uses to describe our life in the Spirit – we are to “walk” with the Spirit (v16), “be led” by the Spirit (v18), “live” by the Spirit (v25a), and “keep in step” with the Spirit (v25b). Exactly the same words are used in the gospels to describe Jesus’ life of dependence on the Holy Spirit. The picture is one of a steady progression, day by day, one step at a time. If we live in this way – the way Jesus lived – then we will attain the ability to live in victory over all the sinful passions of our broken humanity.

in which things appear. We do not “try” to live lives of love, joy and peace (and thereby “earn” an anointing of the Spirit); rather, we first live by the Spirit, and then the virtues of godly living (love, joy, peace etc) flow out of that as a natural consequence (“fruit”).

Exactly the same message is conveyed in one of the most glorious passages in the whole of Scripture, the 8th chapter of Romans:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1-4)

Over the rest of Romans 8, Paul goes on to describe how living by the Spirit affects the whole life, starting with the mind (vv5-8). The details will take you a lifetime to master, but the outcome is clear from v4: as we live by the Spirit, we are supernaturally enabled to fulfil the “righteous requirements of the law”.

3.3.1. Historic perspective

Over the history of the Church, Paul’s words in Romans and Galatians have been interpreted in many ways. The most common perspective has been the idea that Paul believed that the Christian had two natures – a sinful one (described by the word “flesh”) and a redeemed one (described by the word “spirit”). The idea is that the Christian has two choices, to live by one nature or the other, and that all of these references discuss the blessings associated with living in the redeemed nature.

This theology is entrenched in older versions of the most popular modern translation, the New International Version (NIV), which translates “flesh” in a number of places as “sinful nature”.


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The merits of this theory of theology can be debated, however we need to remember that it is only a theory – and there is a great danger in interpreting scripture through the prism of our own theories. In particular, many Christians, having been taught the two-nature theory, then go on to assume that we are destined to live forever in this life torn between the two natures, always destined to live in the conflict of Romans 7 rather than the freedom promised in Romans 8. “I can be free,” they reason, “when I live by the spirit-nature; but I will always be destined to oscillate between the spirit nature and the sinful nature.” In other words, the cutting edge of the wonderful promises of God can end up being blunted by our theological theories.

The discerning reader will now see at this point one of the main reasons why we examined the models for the work of the Spirit (Old Testament, gospels, and book of Acts) before we examined the teaching in Romans / Galatians. When we study the way the early Christians lived in the power of the Spirit, we see exactly the same words being used to describe their new covenant lifestyle as we find in Paul’s writing. You can only interpret Paul’s words in terms of a “dual nature” if you first ignore the evidence of the models provided for us, which show no such indication. The most natural explanation of Paul’s words is that his doctrine of “living by the Spirit” is exactly the same lifestyle that we see in the book of Acts.

4. SPIRITUAL GIFTS

And finally, there is a block of teaching on the so-called “spiritual gifts”, which we will summarise in this section.

I use the words “so-called” because the term “spiritual gifts” is not really a Biblical one, but a modern interpretation of a whole range of diverse teachings. Paul talks about believers having “charismata” (translated “gifts”, but literally meaning “things that flow out form grace”), but he does not apply the descriptor “spiritual” to them (many of them, indeed, are not “spiritual” gifts, but more natural talents devoted to God’s use). He also talks in 1 Cor. 12-14 about “pneumatikoi” (literally “spirituals” – possibly “spiritual things” or even “spiritual people”) without including the word “gifts”.

Most probably, Paul was using the term “pneumatikoi” to mean those supernatural things present in the current age which are a foretaste of the supernatural (or “spiritual”) age to come. This is certainly consistent with his use of this term elsewhere in the Corinthian correspondence.


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4.1. The main teaching – 1 Cor. 12-14

The main body of teaching on spiritual gifts is found in 1 Cor. 12-14. In context, the Corinthian believers were manifesting supernatural gifts, it would seem, but not in a controlled or loving way, and therefore this teaching was brought to correct their excesses, without curbing the expressions of these gifts outright. This passage is too long for us to quote in full, but we can summarise its main points:

1. Paul does not want the Corinthian Christians to be ignorant about spiritual gifts (12:1);

2. There are many different spiritual gifts, but their diversity needs to be seen in the larger context of the workings of one Spirit serving one Lord under the authority of one God and Father (12:4-6);

3. Nine specific manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit are mentioned in 12:7-11, which can be divided into three gifts of inspired speech (tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy), three gifts of revelation (words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and discerning of spirits) and three gifts of supernatural power (faith, miracles, and healings). With the exception of the gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues, these gifts were all evidenced in the models we have already studied from the Old Testament, the gospels (in Jesus), and the book of Acts;

4. The diversity of gifts does not indicate the importance or priority of the believers who manifest them, but are examples of God forging a single “body” out of diverse different “parts” (12:14-31);

5. Whatever gifts we have, they are all subservient to the love of God, which is the motivation undergirding any manifestation of giftedness (13:1-13);

6. Given this motivation, mature Christians will always seek to prophesy rather than speak in tongues in public (or, at very least, they will seek to interpret their own utterance in tongues) so that others can be edified by the experience as well as themselves (14:1-19);

7. Uncontrolled public use of speaking in tongues is not glorifying to God, but a reflection of spiritual pride that damages the body as a whole (14:20-25); and

8. There is a fitting and orderly way to manifest gifts of tongues and prophecy in a worship service so that God’s gifts are used for his glory, not abused (14:26-40).


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The main thing to learn from this passage is balance

• Spiritual gifts are important, but not all-important;

:

• Used properly, they will build us all up my making us aware of how we are all dependent on God, and how we are none of us complete without each other;

• Our aim should be to glorify God by edifying others, rather than trying to “prove” how spiritual we are or what gifts we have.

4.2. Other teachings

The interesting thing is that, apart from this extended passage in 1 Corinthians, Paul has very little to say in all his letters about spiritual gifts! This seems to me to indicate that, unless the gifts were being abused, it was not something he really focused on. This is not to say that the gifts were not manifest in other churches – rather, they were to be treated almost as being a “supernaturally natural” part of the Christian life:

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” (1 Th. 5:19-22)

Treating prophecy with contempt (by either discarding it altogether as a gift, or not being discerning about it) is a matter of quenching the work of the Holy Spirit. (Note – this letter was written to a church that was only a matter of weeks old, consisting of people converted from a totally pagan background, so prophecy was clearly not seen as a “gift of maturity”, but one that could and should be exercised by the newest of converts).

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Tim. 4:1)

This is an example from the latter part of the New Testament period where the Spirit of prophecy was relied on for its predictive elements.

“Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” (Rom. 15:17-19)

Miraculous signs and wonders in the power of the Spirit, according to Paul’s perspective, are an essential part of “fully proclaiming the gospel”. This emphasis is also seen in 1 Cor. 2:1-5 and1 Th. 1:5. Also, in Gal. 3:5, the implication is not only that the miraculous gifts were present in the preaching of the gospel, but also on an ongoing basis in the Galatian churches.


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“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this.” (1 Cor. 5:1-3)

In this passage, Paul is dealing with a sin problem in the Corinthian church, and appears to be suggesting that he moved in gifts of supernatural knowledge in order to deal with the matter. (For comparison, see Ac. 5:3-4 (Peter) and 2 Ki. 5:26-27 (Elisha)).

Thought to ponder:

Reflect on the attitude taken in New Testament times to supernatural manifestations. What do you think it means to view these gifts as a natural part of life in the Kingdom of God?

5. CONCLUSION

Over the last two studies, we have seen how life under the new covenant can very much be described as a life “in the Spirit”. Paul in particular used the phrase “in the Spirit” a lot in his letters to New Testament churches. It is interesting to note that the words used by Paul in the Greek are en pneumati hagio (or, commonly, just en pneumati). If you compare this with the study on the gift of the Spirit itself (see Just what is the promise? in STUDY 5: The Gospel of the Holy Spirit

We have seen that Jesus intended the work of the Spirit after his resurrection to mirror his own work on earth before his death, so we would expect him to give us some guidance on this very important subject. Indeed, it would be very surprising if it turned out he did not. To me, this is the best way of interpreting the teaching (especially in Paul’s) letters of what it means to live by the Spirit.

), you can see that this is exactly the same grammatical construction as was used to describe the original coming of the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost (and later, for other believers). The logical conclusion is that this life “in the Spirit” is a direct outflowing of being immersed (baptised) “in the Spirit”.


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There is one final verse that sums up the glorious potential of those of us privileged to live under the new covenant:

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Cor. 1:21-22)

Key to understanding this verse is that, in the Greek, the verb “anointed” is directly derived from the word for “Christ” (the “Anointed One”). Thus:

1. When he called us into his kingdom, God anointed us with the same Spirit as was present in the Jesus, thus turning us into “little christs”;

2. This anointing is both God’s seal of ownership over us, and our assurance (guarantee) of the future glory of an eternity spent with him;

3. It is this knowledge and this power that will enable us to stand firm in Christ.


“Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”(1 Jn 2:6). Henceforth, this is my guiding principle in life. Since I am a disciple of Jesus the Messiah, I will live as he lived – same priorities, same love, same Spirit, same power.


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page I

EPILOGUE

What we have learned

We have now reached the end of our study series. So what have we learned?

1. That God promised a restorer, called the Messiah (or “Anointed One”) to undo all of the damaged caused when mankind turned their backs on God and decided to live as if God had no involvement or authority in their world;

2. That Jesus came as that restoring Messiah, and that he came to restore the Kingdom of God (God’s authority), righteousness (the moral purity of living in right relationship with God) and to pour out the Holy Spirit (God’s personal presence and power) on all who would receive it;

3. That the New Testament teaches a lot on these three subjects, which can be seen as the hub, or focus, of all New Testament teaching about what it means to live under the new covenant;

4. That in particular, we are called to live day by day in the power of the Holy Spirit just as Jesus himself did; and that if we, as a body called the Church, learn to do this, then the ministry of Jesus will continue on earth in full power and glory until the day he returns to consummate all things.

The sum total of how we are meant to live is found in one key phrase which recurs time and time again in the New Testament – “in Christ Jesus”. The purpose of the gospel is that we should be transferred from the kingdom of darkness – a realm of misery and sin where men and women live according to their own standards and power – to the realm of the Kingdom of light, where redemption and all manner of blessing is ours (Col. 1:13). And the dynamic

Where we must go

of the gospel is that, because Jesus has returned to the Father and sent us his Spirit, we can (and must) live exactly like him – same purpose, same power, same priority, same love – as we live in and through him.

Does all this seem a bit daunting? Do not be alarmed – it is right and proper that it should! The gospel is simple enough in concept that even a young child can understand it, but profound enough that it will require the rest of your life to work out the details!

What we must develop is an attitude that reflects the truth of our future: that we are in Christ, and that his Spirit is in us.


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page II

“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. “Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. “But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ “’Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’

“’Come,’ he said.

“Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” (Mt. 14:22-29)

Why was Peter the natural leader of the band of followers we now know as the Apostles? He was not the most intelligent, nor the most mature; he was certainly not the most spiritual! But there was one truth he grasped better than anyone else, and before anyone else: if Jesus really were the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, then he Peter could (indeed, should) do in Jesus name exactly the same things that Jesus did.

It is this audacious faith that must characterise us as disciples of the Messiah. I cannot tell you exactly where you should go, and what you should do, but he can, and will – through the power of his Spirit.

Our glorious future

And so, let us not be put off by the enormity of the task set before us, because the anointing we have received is able to lead us through whatever challenges lie before us. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, live under the authority of his kingdom, trusting in his righteousness and living by his Spirit, then nothing can stop us!

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:18, 37-39)


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page III

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph. 3:20-21)

Closing thought:

“My past is forgiven and cleansed, my future is assured; I am therefore eternally free to live in the glorious present, by the power of his Spirit, and for his glory’s sake. With his help, this is what I will do.”


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© Phil Stott Bible study notes Page I


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Documents

The Life and Kingdom of Jesus the Messiah series/The Life and Kingdom of... · The Life and Kingdom of Jesus the Messiah “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters