Back To The Table

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) The Amplified Bible

And I will ask the Father and He will send another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener), that He may remain with you forever, The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him nor know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you constantly and will be in you.
(John 14:16-17) The Amplified Bible

But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in my place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will remind you of everything I have told you.
(John 14:26) The Amplified Bible

But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener), comes Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He (Himself) will testify regarding Me.(John 15:26) The Amplified Bible

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
(John 16:12-15) NIV

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; (Acts 1:8a) NIV

Various versions use different descriptive titles for what and how the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will act as he lives inside us. The Amplified Bible puts them in each of the sentences above so we can think about the different ways he has been sent to represent the Father and Jesus and to act on their behalf in our lives.

I researched the antique meaning of the word “power” in both the Greek, “dunimus”, which meant “potential and ability”, and the Latin “potere”, which meant “to be able to“.

As I read the above scriptures, the descriptive titles for the Holy Spirit, what Jesus said the Spirit of Truth would be about, the definitions of “power”, I am in awe of all that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit desires to do in each one of us that have come to believe in and trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
For me, it is learning and being Holy Spirit-enabled to live the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13.

How about you? Take time to read and ponder the above scriptures. Pray about what the Holy Spirit may desire to enable you to do as you continue to learn to walk in the way of Jesus with his heart.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Acts 2:1-13 NIV

Acts 2 had a new meaning for me this week because of an experience I had at a rainy concert at Red Rocks. My husband bought us tickets to see Chris Tomlin at Red Rocks on Tuesday and we had a very rainy and somewhat cold night. But the worship music was wonderful! Most of us in the audience were doing our best to stay warm and dry while we sang along with the songs being sung.

I had a poncho over my winter coat and a blanket over my legs. The hood of my coat and poncho kept me dry, but I also felt like I was in a cocoon, I had tunnel vision. At times, I could only hear the singer and myself singing. It was a unique concert experience. I was in a crowd of thousands, but for much of the concert it felt like I was in a concert with Chris Tomlin all by myself. It felt uniquely personal, like I was worshipping God alone – yet in the midst of many other people doing the same thing.

I highlighted the words above, because I wanted us to focus on the uniquely personal part of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The whole group of Jesus’ followers received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, but “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them,” (Acts 2:3). The Holy Spirit came to rest on each of them – they could tell that each person had its own distinct flames on or above each person. Then Luke told us that those who heard the disciples preaching said, “we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11b). Many of these Jews visiting Jerusalem for Pentecost came from all sorts of nations. Yet – each heard the good news about Jesus in their own tongue – the message was being given to each one alone – to each one personally. God loves the world, but He loves each of us personally.

Have you ever experienced a unique, meaningful, or special worship experience like this? Being with God, being with others, but also it being a uniquely personal worship experience? If so, reflect on that time and thank God for the many ways He is with each one of us because He sent the Holy Spirit.

“We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”” – Acts 2:11b-12

Imagine yourself amidst the crowd of Galileans staying in Jerusalem that day. Jerusalem is swarming with God-fearing Jews from across the known world and you are feeling the energy in the city. The Jews are gathering for their traditional fe”stival of Firstfruits. Perhaps you don’t understand the meaning of this festival but are mesmerized by how this one day has gathered people from every nation.

As you’re enjoying the sights and taking in the wonders of this festival, all of a sudden, something unusual starts to happen. The crowd bursts into laughter and tears start flowing. The sound of this massive crowd causes an uproar. You can see them. People of differing colors and ethnicities are connecting in ways you didn’t think were possible. All because they were speaking in each other’s native language. You were among a crowd of diverse people, but that day you truly felt “with” them.

No wonder the Scripture notes how the crowd was amazed and perplexed – wondering what all this means. All separation that once existed from language barriers was gone, in the blink of an eye.

This is precisely what the Spirit of God does. He breaks down barriers so he can be “with” his people and his people can be “with” one another. God is sometimes called Immanuel, “God with us”. Yet, there are three Greek words for “with” in the New Testament – meta, para, and en. Over the next few days, we will explore the nuances of all three.

Today’s word for “with” is meta, meaning together or among. Think about how many barriers we create between people – divisions of race, gender, political positions, socio-economic status, etc.. Truth is: humans create division but God’s presence includes. God’s Spirit brings humans together. Separations among us cease to exist when God’s presence enters the room. Find at least one person today with whom you can break down barriers because you walk with the Spirit. Ask God what creative actions you might take which would allow for the Spirit to be “with” or among your relationships today.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4 NIV)

The signs of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are the centerpiece of all history and the source of our salvation. We understand these signs are unique to Jesus as Messiah and cannot be replicated (He died and rose – once, for all). Likewise, the signs of Pentecost (the Harvest Festival) – the mighty rushing wind, the tongues of fire, and the disciples speaking the glories of God in languages they didn’t know (but were known to their hearers) constitute a distinctive, concentrated explosion of the indwelling and power of the Holy Spirit.

This phenomenon recorded in Acts 2 was foretold by the prophet Joel around 825-809 BC.

“…I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29 NIV)

The fulfillment of this passage was the Holy Spirit’s unique, inaugural address to the Unseen World, the Jewish people, and all nations. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling in Jesus’ followers exerted the same power that raised Christ from the dead. This indwelling enables the proclamation of His Kingdom to all nations until the end of the age. Here’s what Jesus foretold:

“This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:45-49 NIV)

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

Later in Acts, Luke recorded two other prophetic utterances of Jesus’ followers exalting God in languages unknown to the speakers; first with gentiles (Acts 10:46) and second in Ephesus (Acts 19:6). In later generations, some have conjectured that this was a formula for replication of this tongues phenomenon and is almost a mandate. I’ve observed that those efforts too often cause unnecessary frustration and unhelpful practices. Why do human efforts at replication fail? A closer look at these signs in Acts clarifies they were sovereignly initiated in heaven (Acts 2:2 and 10:44-48 and 19:2-6), not generated by humans following formulas.

So how should we regard this first Pentecost after the Resurrection and the subsequent occurrences in Acts 10 and 19? At the very least they are a reminder that bringing in the Harvest of all nations is graciously enabled by the filling and power of the Holy Spirit. They also remind us that God’s worldwide expansion of His kingdom is accomplished by the full participation of every member of the body of Christ…male and female, Jew and Gentile, slave and free (Galatians 3:28).

Does the Holy Spirit have full access to every part of your life? Does an artificial barrier hinder the power of the Holy Spirit? Ask God to reveal obstacles that obscure bringing glory to Jesus.

NOTE: The unknown tongues manifested in Acts 2, 10, and 19 don’t appear to be in the same category as the private prayer language or individual gift of tongues accompanied by the individual gift of interpretation described elsewhere in the letters of Paul.