Disciples Global Network

Jesus is the anointed Son of God whose life and ministry were characterized by the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit . The activity of the Spirit dominated the life, words, and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth. He was “ Jesus, the one called Christ ,” the Anointed One, the long-awaited Messiah of Israel.  When  an angel  informed  Joseph that   Mary carried a child  “ conceived   of the Holy Spirit ,” his declaration indicated that something more than a miraculous birth was about to unfold.

The Spirit of God and the voice from heaven confirmed the calling and identity of Jesus, Son, Messiah, and the Servant of the LORD . Jesus first appears in the  Gospel of Mark  when John baptizes him in the Jordan River. The account identifies him with his hometown, Nazareth, a village of no consequence, though its insignificance plays a role in the story. He is the “ Servant of the LORD ” anointed by the Spirit, but he does not conform to popular expectations about the Messiah.

Under the guidance of the Spirit, Stephen gives eloquent and effective testimony before the priestly leaders of Israel . The young church experienced conflicts between its Greek and Aramaic-speaking members. The Apostles instructed the community to select seven men “ full of the Spirit and wisdom ” to take charge of the matter. One of the seven was Stephen, and the  Book of Acts  describes him as “ full of faith and the Spirit .”

In the Book of Acts , the application of Joel’s prophecy to the events of the Day of Pentecost links the outpouring of the Spirit on the Church to the start of the “ Last Days .” The activity of the Spirit beginning that day is essential for understanding the rapid spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the center of the Roman Empire. That same process must continue until the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus at the end of the present age.

The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the covenant of God with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ . The New Testament links the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ Blessings of Abraham ,” the promise that God would bless the nations through the Great Patriarch. The Spirit is the gift believers receive “ through the hearing of faith .” It is one of the promises made to Abraham, and Peter connects this gift to “ the blessings ” for the nations in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost.

Jesus revealed the proper form and location for worshipping the Father to the woman at the well in Samaria. With the advent of the Messiah, concepts and traditions about holy space and time are now irrelevant. The presence of the Messiah rendered the historical debate over the location of the Temple moot, for the worship of God must be performed in truth and spirit .

Jesus grants the Life-Giving Spirit to men and women without which there is no enduring life. His words are spirit, and they are life . “ The Spirit makes alive.   The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life. ” Christ’s declaration echoes the biblical principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The flesh has no lasting life apart from the Holy Spirit as was demonstrated in the original creation. The Spirit is essential for the bodily resurrection of believers and life in the coming age – (John 6:63).

The spiritually-minded man understands that the proclamation of Christ Crucified is the Power and Wisdom of God  - 1 Corinthians 2:14. Overused by the Church and society, the English term ‘spiritual’ has become meaningless. To some, it is synonymous with  religion . To be  religious  is to be  spiritual . To others, it refers to supernatural things not of this physical universe, creatures that are otherworldly, noncorporeal, invisible, and live beyond the realm of time.

Israel’s possession of Canaan was an earlier stage in God’s redemptive plan, which always envisioned something larger than Israel or a small plot of land in the Middle East. With the arrival of the Messiah and the outpouring of the Spirit, the covenant promises began to find their fulfillment in the true “ Seed of Abraham ,” and in his “ brethren ” and “ coheirs ,” the promised inheritance that would include bodily resurrection and New Creation.

There is “ now no condemnation ” of anyone “ in Christ Jesus .” This happy condition exists because the “ law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death .” In  Romans , the Apostle Paul links our salvation to the inheritance of Christ and the coming redemption of our bodies and creation itself.

The Gift of the Spirit is the First Fruits of the bodily resurrection and the Guarantee of our participation in the coming New Creation . The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great model of faith. God counted his faith as “ righteousness ” when he was uncircumcised, which means that God justified the Patriarch apart from the “ works of the Law .” Thus, he became the father of all men who are also “ from faith .” Circumcision was added after the promise as the confirmation of Abraham’s justifying faith.

Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to his people, empowering them to proclaim the Good News of his Kingdom to the Nations of the Earth . The Messiah is identified in the  Second Psalm  as the Son and King destined to reign over the nations. In the New Testament, he is anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism, equipping him to proclaim the “ Kingdom of God ” to Israel. He gave his disciples the Gift of the Spirit to enable them to announce his message and sovereignty to all the nations and peoples of the Earth.

The Gift of the Spirit is clear evidence that a person has been justified by God and made a part of His covenant people. In Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” one that claimed Gentiles must be circumcised to “ complete ” their faith. Paul would have none of it, and he appealed to the presence of the Spirit among uncircumcised Gentiles as proof positive of their justification and acceptance by God.

Paul chided the Galatians over their desire “ to return to bondage under the weak and beggarly rudiments ” of the world, including calendrical observations and circumcision. Since they were no longer “minors” but full heirs who lived in the age of fulfillment and had the Gift of the Spirit, resorting to outmoded rituals was tantamount to returning to a state of slavery.

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was part of the promise to bless all the nations through the Patriarch, Abraham . The “ Promise of the Father ” is the Gift of the Spirit, which the Apostle Paul links to the Abrahamic Covenant. The promises are fulfilled in the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus. The bestowal of the Spirit on his Church on the Day of Pentecost marked the commencement of the Last Days, and every man and woman who receives the Spirit from now on becomes a child and heir of Abraham.

“Spiritual warfare” is an idea based on the Apostle Paul’s words to the Assembly in Ephesus - “ Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers… against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places .” So, how do believers wage war against these unseen forces of darkness?

The New Testament applies temple language from the Hebrew Bible to the Body of Christ, the habitation of the Living God . Except for contacts between Jesus and the early church with the priestly authorities, the New Testament shows little interest in the Jerusalem Temple. Instead, we find that terminology and imagery from the Temple are applied to the New Covenant community of Jesus. What the Temple and earlier Tabernacle foreshowed has come to fruition in Christ and his Church.

The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, the Heir of the Patriarch and his Seed, including the possession of the Earth  – Romans 8:1-23. The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of the faith, the model for believers to emulate as they live from “ the faith of Jesus .” God counted the Patriarch’s faith as “ righteousness ” while he was uncircumcised and thus justified him apart from “ the works of the Torah .” He is the father of all those who live “ from the faith of Jesus ,” whether Jew or Gentile, and Abraham is “ the heir of the world .”

In response to threats from the high priests, the young church was filled with great boldness of speech by the Spirit  – Acts 4:5-31.  After healing a lame man, Peter and Joh n were confronted by the priestly authorities. They were disturbed because the apostles were “ proclaiming the resurrection ,” and the Sadducees rejected belief in the resurrection of the dead. But the church claimed that the resurrection takes place “ in Jesus ,” and that made its resurrection doctrine especially distinct.

The final paragraph of the second chapter of Acts summarizes the results of the Spirit’s outpouring. It describes the basic practices of the young congregation that resulted from the Spirit’s presence – Teaching, shared meals, fellowship, prayers, unity, and material support for individuals in need. The one unique feature is the holding of possessions “in common” under the administration of the Apostles.