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CHAPTER SEVEN

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SPIRIT

(3)

  Scripture Reading: Acts 1:5; 8:15-19; 10:44, 47; 11:15-16; 19:2, 6; 2:4a; 4:8, 31; 9:17c; 13:9; 6:3, 5a; 7:55; 11:24; 13:52

IN THE NEW TESTAMENT—THE ACTS

  In the previous chapters, we have covered the functions of the Spirit in the Old Testament and in the four Gospels. The functions of the Spirit are what the Spirit did, what the Spirit does, and what the Spirit is going to do. In this chapter we want to see the functions of the Spirit in the book of Acts.

Giving Commandment of the Lord to the Apostles

  Concerning the Lord Jesus, Acts 1:2 says, “Until the day on which He was taken up, after He had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He chose.” The Lord gave commandment to the apostles through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the reality of the Lord’s resurrection. Actually, the Spirit is the resurrection. When the Lord was giving commandment to His disciples in His resurrection, that means He was doing something in the Spirit. Actually, by that time as the resurrected Christ, He was the Spirit. The resurrected Christ is the pneumatic Christ. Because He is the pneuma, He is pneumatic. The pneumatic Christ is the pneuma, and the pneuma is the Spirit as the breath. The Spirit as the breath is for breathing.

  Whenever the Lord speaks, that is His breathing. John 3:34 shows that Christ is the unlimited One who speaks the words of God and who gives the Spirit not by measure. Speaking the word of God is related to the giving of the Spirit. The Lord gives us the Spirit by His speaking. Christ’s speaking the word of God is His breathing, and His breath is the Spirit. The Spirit as the breath is the pneumatic Christ Himself.

  Without the breathing of the Spirit, our meetings would be empty. This breathing implies the speaking of the word of God. We minister the Spirit to others by our speaking of the word of God. If our speaking is normal and proper, our speaking is a part of the Lord’s speaking. This speaking is a breathing out of the Spirit. After listening to such speaking, we are enlivened and full of joy. The proper speaking of the holy Word is a kind of breathing that releases the Spirit into the listeners.

Baptizing

  The Spirit also has a function in the baptizing of the believers (Acts 1:5; 8:15-19; 10:44, 47; 11:15-16; 19:2, 6). When we say this, we do not mean that the Holy Spirit is the baptizing Spirit. What we mean is that the Holy Spirit is for baptizing. This is like saying that gasoline has a function in the driving of a car. Gasoline is the means and the power by which a car is driven, so the gasoline is for driving the car. The Holy Spirit is the means by which the Lord Jesus as the Head baptized all of us into one Body. Because the Spirit is the very means by which the Lord Jesus baptizes, we can say that this Spirit has the function of baptizing.

Giving the Power of God to the Apostles

  In Acts 1:8 the Lord told the apostles, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The Holy Spirit functions in giving the power of God to the apostles. Actually, this power, the power from on high (Luke 24:49), is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has the function of being power to us.

Prophesying

  The book of Acts shows that the Spirit functions in prophesying (1:16; 2:17-18; 4:25; 11:28; 19:6b; 21:11; 28:25). The Bible does tell us that the Spirit speaks, but it is hard to find a verse that directly tells us that the Spirit prophesies. This is because prophesying implies the principle of incarnation. In the principle of incarnation, God does not do anything by Himself. He does everything with man, through man, and in man. In the principle of incarnation, God cannot prophesy without man. If God speaks by Himself or if we speak by ourselves, that is not prophesying. Prophesying is our speaking with the Spirit, in the Spirit, and through the Spirit. We cannot prophesy without the Spirit, and the Spirit cannot prophesy without us. Prophesying is carried out entirely in the principle of incarnation.

Filling Outwardly

  The Spirit also has the function of filling outwardly (2:4a; 4:8, 31; 9:17c; 13:9). When someone is baptized in water, he is filled with the water outwardly. To drink water is to be filled inwardly with water, whereas to be baptized is to be filled outwardly with water. In Greek pleroo is used for the inward filling for life, and pletho is used for the outward filling for power and authority in the work. Acts 2:4 says that on the day of Pentecost the disciples were filled outwardly with the Spirit. The wind, which filled the house where they were sitting, filled it inwardly (v. 2), whereas they were filled outwardly with the Spirit. The baptistery is filled inwardly with water, but the baptized ones are filled with the water outwardly. To the baptistery, it is an inward filling. To the baptized ones, it is an outward filling.

Giving the Utterance of Tongues

  In the book of Acts, the Spirit gave the utterance of tongues (2:4b; 19:6b). There are three different categories of tongue-speaking. The first one is the genuine tongue-speaking by the Holy Spirit through a believer. The second one is the tongue-speaking by a pagan with a devilish spirit. Tongue-speaking was a Gentile phenomenon in the ancient Han dynasty of China. In Africa there has been tongue-speaking by the pagan priests and priestesses in their idol worship. This is why Paul refers to the discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Tim. 4:1). We have to distinguish the Spirit that is of God from those that are not of God (1 John 4:1-3). The third kind of tongue-speaking is humanly manufactured. Most of the so-called speaking in tongues in the Pentecostal movement is humanly manufactured speaking. The speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost, however, was the speaking of genuine dialects (Acts 2:4, 6, 8). The disciples were Galileans (v. 7), yet they spoke the different foreign dialects of the attendants who came from various parts of the world. This is strong proof that tongue-speaking must be an understandable language, not merely a voice or a sound uttered by the tongue.

  In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul strongly belittles the gift of tongues and exalts the gift of prophecy, because his main concern is the church, not the individual believers. Speaking in tongues, even if it is genuine and proper, edifies only the speaker himself, but prophesying builds up the church. We have seen already that when we speak the word of God, the Spirit is dispensed. The safest way to minister the Spirit is to speak the word of God.

Being Poured Out upon All Flesh

  Joel prophesied concerning the Spirit being poured out upon all flesh (Joel 2:28-29), and this prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius (Acts 2:17-18, 33; 10:45b). The fulfillment of this prophecy in Joel is the baptism in the Spirit. The outpouring of the Spirit prophesied by Joel in the Old Testament is the New Testament baptism in the Spirit, exercised by Christ the Head to put all His members into one Body. The Spirit was outpoured, and the believers in Christ were baptized in the Spirit.

  We need to experience the baptism in the Spirit that has already been accomplished on the Body. In the course of my ministry, I have had a number of miraculous experiences of the outpoured Spirit. Miraculous happenings may accompany our experience of the baptism in the Spirit, but we should not seek after these things. Otherwise, we can be deceived. If these things are needed, God will perform them. But we should not seek these things. We should seek Christ Himself in the holy Word, which He has given us. This is safe.

Being a Gift to the Believers

  The Spirit functions as a gift to the believers (2:38; 10:45b; 15:8). It is a hard and tiring job to be with someone all the time, but the Spirit has the function of being with us always. The Spirit who is with us is a gift, a present, to us. The Spirit is a present given by God to us to be with us. The Spirit given to us by God is a living gift who is able to be with us livingly all the time. No matter where we are or what kind of situation we are in, we believers have the feeling that someone is with us. This person is the Spirit as a gift to us. His presence with us is especially striking in our times of trouble. When we are in trouble or are lonely because we are away from our loved ones, we have the deep sensation that someone is with us. This person is the Spirit as a great gift to us.

Living as God with the Church

  The Spirit lives as God with the church (5:3-4, 9). In Acts 5 Ananias and Sapphira lied both to Peter and to the church, but Peter told them that they lied to the Holy Spirit. Peter also said that they did not lie to men but to God. To lie to the Spirit is to lie to God. This means that the Spirit as the very God is with the church. The Spirit with us is the presence of God. In the Old Testament, God’s presence with Israel was in the form of a cloud. The cloud was God’s presence, typifying the Spirit as the presence of God. When the Spirit is with us, God is with us. The Spirit is God’s presence.

Co-witnessing with the Apostles

  The Spirit co-witnesses with the apostles. In Acts 5:32 the apostles said, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” When the apostles were testifying, witnessing, the Spirit went along with them. He co-witnessed with them. This is one of the functions of the Spirit.

Infilling

  The Spirit has the function of infilling (6:3, 5a; 7:55; 11:24; 13:52). We should experience the infilling of the Spirit constantly and unceasingly. When we feel empty inwardly, this means we are short of the infilling Spirit. Something is wrong within us that is occupying us. Then we need to confess our sins, wrongdoings, shortcomings, and mistakes to the Lord so that we can experience the infilling of the Spirit.

Speaking

  The Spirit also functions in speaking. Acts 6:10 says concerning Stephen, “They were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.” When Stephen spoke, he spoke with the Spirit. The most effective and common function of the Spirit is the Spirit’s speaking. The Spirit is speaking all the time to us.

Opposing

  The Spirit also has the function of opposing (7:51). This means that we may be fighting and offending the Spirit. Therefore, He struggles with us. There is an opposition between us and the Spirit.

Directing

  The Spirit is also the directing Spirit (8:29; 10:19; 11:12a; 21:4). He tells us what to do and directs us.

Catching Away

  After Philip finished the work of preaching, the Spirit came and caught him away (8:39a). Sometimes after we have accomplished something for the Lord, we want to enjoy the result of our work. Philip did a wonderful work of preaching, and he may have desired to enjoy the result of his work. Then the Spirit came and caught him away.

Comforting

  The Spirit also has the function of comforting. Acts 9:31 says the church was going on in “the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” In the midst of suffering, the church was going on in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and enjoying the Spirit as the Comforter. The Spirit as the Comforter takes care of our case, our affairs.

Anointing

  As we have seen, the Spirit has the function of anointing (10:38a). To anoint is to “paint.” Every coat of paint that we apply to a certain thing adds more elements of the paint to it. The Holy Spirit anoints us, paints us, with the divine element as the paint. As we are being anointed, we get more and more of God. This anointing also teaches us in all things (1 John 2:27). By the anointing of the all-inclusive compound Spirit, we know and enjoy the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as our life and life supply.

Sending

  In Acts 13 the Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul (vv. 2, 4). In verse 3 Barnabas and Saul were sent by the other three brothers. But verse 4 says that they were sent out by the Spirit. This proves that the three were one with the Spirit in the Lord’s move, and the Spirit honored their sending as His.

Co-deciding with the Apostles and the Elders with the Whole Church

  Acts 15 tells us that the Spirit co-decided with the apostles and the elders with the whole church (vv. 22a, 28). The apostles and the elders were meeting to make a decision concerning the problem of circumcision, and the decision was made, not just by them but by them with the Spirit.

As the Holy Spirit Forbidding

  In Acts 16:6 the Holy Spirit forbade Paul and his co-workers from speaking the word in Asia. They may have been trying to take a direction that would not have been so holy. Therefore, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit. Forbidding is a part of the Holy Spirit’s leading.

As the Spirit of Jesus Not Allowing

  Acts 16:7 says that when Paul and his co-workers tried to go into Bithynia, “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” The Holy Spirit’s forbidding Paul to go to the left, to Asia, and the Spirit of Jesus’ not allowing him to go to the right, to Bithynia, indicate a straightforward course for him and his co-workers. Thus, they went in a direct course to Macedonia through Mysia and Troas (v. 8). The Holy Spirit forbade them, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. In the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God but also the human element of Jesus and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death. Such an all-inclusive Spirit was needed for the apostles’ preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering among human beings and for human beings in the human life.

Testifying

  The Spirit has the function of testifying. In Acts 20:23 the Holy Spirit solemnly testified to Paul that bonds and afflictions awaited him. The Holy Spirit’s testifying was only a prophecy, a foretelling, not a charge. Hence, Paul should not have taken this as a command but as a warning.

Placing the Overseers

  A great function of the Spirit is to place the overseers, the elders, in all the churches. Apparently, it was the apostle’s placing. Actually, in Acts 20:28 Paul says that the Holy Spirit placed them. Paul placed the elders by, with, and through the Holy Spirit. What Paul did in placing the elders was the Spirit’s doing. Today whenever we place elders, we have to trust in the Lord, doing it in oneness with the Spirit and according to the leading of the Spirit.

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