Robert Griffith | 24 April 2023
Robert Griffith
24 April 2023

 

What was the key ingredient to the success of the Early Church? What was the secret of those first disciples’ success in establishing a Church which grew at a phenomenal rate each year for more than two generations? Did they just follow a plan and tick off the tasks each day? Did they simply decide one day that they would devote themselves to the Apostles teaching every day, share deep, rich koinonia fellowship every day, share meals with each other in their homes every day and worship together every day?

Were these things simply on their ‘to do’ list or part of some strategic plan and the rest just happened? Absolutely not. Human beings lack the capacity to discipline themselves to follow a list of tasks for that long and God only blesses and grows what comes from our hearts. The rest is just works-based religion and we all know that God hates religion.

So what was it that allowed our forebears to get it so right for so long and have such an incredible impact on the world around them? Well the correct question is not  ‘what’ … but ‘Who’ made all this possible. This ‘Who’ is mentioned in almost every chapter in the book of Acts and multiple times in many chapters. Of course I am speaking about God, the Holy Spirit. Everything about the early Church which made it powerful, effective, real, world-changing and dynamic – was initiated by the Holy Spirit. The disciples were responsible for listening to, discerning the presence of and then responding positively to the Holy Spirit.

This should not surprise us, because the One Who birthed this miracle of the Church, Jesus Christ, operated exactly the same way! Long before the book of Acts and the birth of the Church, Jesus modelled this Spirit-led lifestyle to His disciples. Jesus Himself is the one perfect manifestation in history of the complete work of the Holy Spirit in and through a human being. Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit. He is the only begotten Son of God. It was entirely by the Spirit’s power working in Mary that the Son of God was formed within her.

Jesus also led a holy life and offered Himself without spot to God through the working of the Holy Spirit. We read in Hebrews 9:14, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Jesus met and overcame temptations as other men and women may meet and overcome them – in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was anointed and fitted for service by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:38  “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”

Luke 9:14  “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about.”

In a similar way Jesus said of Himself when speaking in the synagogue in Nazareth:

Luke 9:18-19  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 

All these passages contain the one truth: it was by the anointing of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ was qualified for the service to which God had called Him. As He stood in the Jordan after His baptism, “The Holy Spirit descended and rested upon Him like a dove,” and it was then and there that He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and equipped for the service that lay before Him. Jesus received His equipping for service in the same way that we receive ours – by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was taught by the Spirit who rested upon Him. The Spirit of God was the source of His wisdom, direction and power whilst on earth. This was prophesied many years before by Isaiah:

Isaiah 11:2-3  “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears.” 

Further on in Isaiah we read, “Behold My servant, whom I uphold; My chosen in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him …” (Isaiah 17:1). Matthew tells us that this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth (see Matthew 12:17-18).

The Holy Spirit remained with Jesus in all His fullness and the words He spoke in consequence were the very words of God. We read in John 3:34, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for He gives not the Spirit by measure. After His resurrection, Jesus gave a commandment to His Apostles whom He had chosen through the Holy Spirit. We read in Acts 1:2, “Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Spirit had given commandment to the Apostles whom He had chosen.” This relates to the time after His resurrection and so we see Jesus still working in the power of the Holy Spirit even after His resurrection from the dead.

Jesus performed His miracles here on earth in the power of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 12:28, we read, “I cast out devils by the power of the Spirit of God.” It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead. We read in Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you.” The same Spirit who is to quicken our mortal bodies and is to raise us up in some future day, raised up Jesus.

Several things are plainly evident from this study of the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ: First of all, we see the completeness of His humanity. He lived, He thought, He worked, He taught, He conquered sin and won victories for God in the power of that very same Spirit Whom it is our privilege also to have. Secondly, we see our own utter dependence upon the Holy Spirit. If it was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, lived and worked, achieved and triumphed, how much more dependent are we upon the Spirit at every turn of life and in every phase of service and every experience of conflict with Satan and sin?

The third thing that is evident is the wondrous world of privilege, blessing, victory and conquest that is open to us. The same Spirit by which Jesus was originally begotten is in us so we can be ‘begotten’ again (born again) of Him.

The same Spirit by which Jesus offered Himself without spot to God is with us so we may also offer ourselves without spot to Him. The same Spirit by which Jesus was anointed for service is with us so we may be anointed for service.

The same Spirit Who led Jesus Christ in His movements here on earth is ready to lead us today. The same Spirit Who taught Jesus and imparted to Him wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord is here to teach us. Jesus Christ is our pattern (1 John 2:6), “the first born among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Whatever He realised through the Holy Spirit – we too can and should realise today.

Now perhaps we can understand why the book of Acts is full of references to the Holy Spirit. The miracle of the Church and its impact on the world came in direct proportion to the people’s knowledge of and submission to the Holy Spirit. There are actually 45 verses in Acts which highlight the work of the Holy Spirit. Without that moment by moment work of the Spirit of God, there would be no Acts of the Apostles; there would be no Church. If we read through the book of Acts we see for ourselves just how prominent the Holy Spirit was. In the very first chapter of Acts we find Jesus warning the disciples to not do anything until they have the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:4-5,8  “… (Jesus) … gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit …. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Why did Jesus tell them to wait? Because without the Holy Spirit we are aimless and dangerous; we are ineffective; we are powerless; we are disconnected from heaven and the power of God. All we have is religion and a man-made institution which is completely powerless to change the world. Jesus had taught these disciples so much over the previous three years and they had a lot of knowledge and experience. But the main thing He taught them was that He achieved nothing apart from the Holy Spirit.

Everything in His ministry was in response to the Spirit’s leading and empowering. The disciples knew that, so they waited for that power from on high before attempting anything in Jesus’ name. If only the modern Church would do the same. If only we would wait for that power from on high before we race off into our ministries and plans in Jesus’ name.

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