The Holy Spirit and the Christian Witness

Throughout the Bible, the Gospel message of faith and repentance comes to the world through the special revelation revealed through the writings of God’s messengers who were empowered by God’s Spirit. Jesus Himself revealed God’s soteriological message in Scripture to the masses through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 17:6; 2 Tim 1:10). In order that the Gentile world might hear the Gospel, the Lord commissions and sends Paul to bear witness to them, once again, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:15; 13:9). Despite the necessity of the Spirit in the presentation of the gospel, Paul makes it clear in Romans 10:14-15 that conversion of non-believers requires a human messenger.

Filling the Witness. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul tells believers that they are to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. In the Scriptures, being filled with the Holy Spirit is associated with obedience and Spirit-empowered service (Luke 1:67; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 6:5; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9, 52; Eph 5:18).

Empowering the Witness. The Holy Spirit enables the Church to do missions by providing the power, authority, and ability to its members. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells the disciples that they will have “power” when they receive the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is sent by Christ to take Christ’s place among the disciples after His ascension (John 16:7). Peter quotes the prophet Joel in Acts 2:29 when he declares that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on the “servants of God.” In Acts 2:38, Peter tells his audience that they can receive God’s Spirit if they “[r]epent and [get] baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of [their] sins.” The promise of Christ to be present among His disciples even as they engage in obeying the Great Commission is fulfilled through the presence of the Holy Spirit of Jesus (Matt 28:20; Acts 16:7; Phil 1:19).

Inaugurating the Church. Besides the immediate empowerment of the disciples, the coming of the Holy Spirit also led to the inauguration of Christ’s Church causing it to spread beyond Jerusalem and eventually, through Paul’s ministry, to the Gentile world (Acts 2:42-47; 9:31). Just as Christ delivers the Great Commission to the disciples and sends them on missions, His Spirit now serves as the primary motivator for missions (Matt 10; John 20:21).

The Holy Spirit’s role in selecting, empowering, appointing, and directing leaders can be seen in Scripture. In Acts 6:3, the Twelve instructed the church to select seven deacons who were “known to be full of the Spirit.”  In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul writes that all believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to perform their ministry. Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 10:19-20 that God’s Spirit will empower their testimony by speaking through them. After selecting and empowering leaders, the Holy Spirit then appoints them to their leadership roles just as He did with the elders in Acts 20:28.

The Holy Spirit’s role in selecting, empowering, and appointing leadership is also seen in the appointment of Paul and Barnabas. In Acts 13:1-3, God’s Spirit tells the prophets and teachers at the church in Antioch that they are to send out Paul and Barnabas as missionaries. While the church affirmed Paul and Barnabas, they were selected, empowered, and appointed to be missionaries by the Holy Spirit and sent out by Him (Acts 13:1-4). From this text, one learns that the Holy Spirit plays the leading role in deciding who does missions since He selects Paul and Barnabas.

God’s Spirit also selects the place for missions when He prevents Paul and Barnabas from travelling to Bithynia but then directs Paul to Macedonia through a vision (Acts 16:6-10). Just as the Holy Spirit directs Paul, he also tells Philip to remain near the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch and Peter to go with Cornelius’s servants (Acts 8:29; 10:19-20). From Acts 16:6-10, 8:29, and 10:19-20, one learns that God’s Spirit serves as a director of missions, controlling the strategy for missions and directing the missionary each step of the way.

Giving Spiritual Gifts. Spiritual gifts along with “fruit[s] of the Spirit” are a part of the active witness of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Whereas the “fruits” are distributed to all Christians as they mature, spiritual gifts are selectively given by the Spirit to those whom He chooses. Through these gifts that come from the Holy Spirit, each believer is empowered so that they can contribute to the task of ministry and missions in a special way (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12-14; Eph 4:4-16).

Additional comments:

Much debate exists concerning sign gifts: tongues, miracles, and healing. While these gifts were certainly distributed during the NT era, they seem to have disappeared quite quickly as the church matured. While some missionaries remark on similar occurrences on far-off mission fields, the lack of substantiating evidence suggests that extreme caution is warranted. Therefore, I advocate practical cessation. This view acknowledges that the Holy Spirit has distributed sign gifts in the early days of the Church but no longer does so based on the evidence of observation. This view acknowledges the Spirit’s divine prerogative and ability and also confirms that miracles do still occur at the behest of God and not through a human agent blessed with a sign gift.

In addition to the debate on sign gifts, some also argue for a second baptism, a Spirit-baptism. I resolutely reject this position and affirm believer’s baptism. Should the committee wish for more commentary on this subject, I can offer that at that time (Note: I discuss this at length in my paper on the Holy Spirit available on Amazon).