The Holy Spirit has worked throughout the entire bible
Ministry of the Father
1. The Father was rejected as King of Israel : 1st Samuel 8: 7-8
2. God’s Covenant with Israel Israel
3. The Holy Spirit was working with God to empower his chosen during that time
· He was, until quenched, upon the members of the Sanhedrin: Num. 11:16, 17
· He came upon the judges : Judges ; ; ;
· upon the kings and the Prophets: 1 Sam. 11:6;
· But note it is a great mistake to say, as many have done, that the Holy Spirit was never in any believer before Pentecost: Numbers 27:18, Nehemiah 9:30, 1 Peter 1:11 clearly prove otherwise.
· But alas, Israel
· as Stephen declared, "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye": Acts 7:51
Ministry of the Son
1. Jesus as a man was given the Holy Spirit: Matthew 3:16-17
2. Jesus had two ministries “Earthly” and “Ascended” which were prophesied in Isaiah 49:6
· 2a. “Earthly Ministry”- Matthew, Mark , Luke, John, and Acts 1: 1-11
· 2b. Jesus is rejected as king of Israel
· 2c. “Ascended Ministry”- Acts 9:4-7(Paul) and Acts 9: 10-17(Anenias)
3. Jesus gave the Holy spirit to the Apostles Acts 1:5 and Acts 2:1-4
Ministry of the Holy Spirit
1. Given to the Apostles at Pentecost as Jesus foretold: Acts 2: 1-4
2. Displayed throughout Peter’s “Little Flock”.
· Miracles: Acts 4, 6:8
· Bold Preaching: Acts
· Can’t be lied to: Acts 5:3
· Cant be tempted Acts: 5:9
· Healing: Acts :
· Casting out evil spirits: Acts
· Would not allow Christ to be denied: Acts
· Witnesses the gospel of Christ: Acts
3. Stephen : Acts Chapter 6-7
Stephen had these same qualities
Miracles and wonders
Bold preaching
He proclaims Israel
Saul’s persecutions gain momentum and the church (without the apostles) is forced to flee Jerusalem
Philip goes to Samaria
Peter and John follow there after and preach also then pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit and laid hands on them : Acts 8:15-17
Saul is converted by the ascended Jesus Christ: Acts: 9:4-7
Ananias following Jesus’ commands confirms Paul’s conversion: Acts -18
Peter raises Tabitha from the dead: Acts 9:37-42
Peter has a vision which declares all food as clean
Peter was sent to the Gentile Cornelius by the Holy Spirit: Acts -20
The Gentiles are given the Holy Spirit after hearing the Gospel from Peter and BEFORE he could baptize them: Acts -48
Peter recounts the events to the brothers in Judea and they are happy for them and glorified God: Acts -18
The church up till this point has preached to the Jews only: Acts
Paul and Barnabus are set apart by the Holy Spirit : Acts : 13:2
They were directed to Seleucia Cyprus
Allowed Paul to blind Elymas: Acts 13:9-11
Allowed Paul to heal: Acts 14:8-10
The Jews try to force the law on the Gentiles. : Acts 15:1
Peter defends the ministry of Paul and the will of God toward the Gentiles Acts 15:7-10
Forbade Paul to preach in Asia: Acts 16:6
Paul raises Eutycus from the dead: Acts 20:9-12
Makes people overseers of the flock: Acts 20:28
Speaks prophecy to and through the prophets (Agabus): Acts 21:10-12 prophecy of Paul’s persecution
(Paul quoting Isaiah): Acts 28:24-26 Israel will not understand though they hear or perceive though they see.
So what we see is that the Spirit was always active but we find something special takes place in Acts. We also see that the Spirit worked in concert for both Israel and the Gentiles to bring them to salvation in the gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus. This was known as the 6th dispensation or the Dispensation of Grace which is based on the finished work of Christ on the cross but is explicitly linked to the work of the Holy Spirit. It should be noted that both Peter and Paul taught this message but it should equally be noted that the motivation of their respective ministries was notably different as were their audiences. Salvation was offered first to the children of Israel then to the Gentiles as the scriptures and prophecies indicate. Their ministries were reconciled to accomplish the will of God for the church as we know it today. One final note is that the signs wonders and gifts are relatively comparable for both Israel and the Gentiles thus confirming once again that God is not as respecter of persons as Peter found out in Acts. What an awesome story about a mysterious side of our God that we know too little about. I love this book.
