Weekly Blog - 10 March 2024 - The Work of the Holy Spirit
The work of the Holy Spirit
This week in Arise’s weekly blog, as part of our ongoing journey of discipleship, we take a look at what the Bible tells us about the work of the Holy Spirit, and how it forms an essential part of our Christian lives. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us that after he went to be with the Father, he sent the Holy Spirit to bless and fill his church, to dwell in us and empower us to fulfil the ministry he gave us to advance his kingdom on earth. After receiving the Spirit, the early church passed it on, teaching that Christians need to be baptised by the Holy Spirit after they have been baptised with water. This comes through other Christians laying hands on them and praying for them to receive the Spirit. Thus, we hear how in the early church, Peter and John were sent to the new believers in Samaria, “When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8: 15 – 17).
Of course the Holy Spirit fills and guides us in all things. However, there are some very specific ‘supernatural’ expressions of his work that we will particularly explore in this blog. The Bible teaches that there are specific spiritual gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues and the interpretation of tongues, visions and dreams. As Peter said, quoting the prophet Joel, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2: 17). This should not be taken as a definitive list, but examples of some of the key spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit can also bless us in other ways. We should eagerly seek spiritual gifts by praying and asking God for them, as the early church in Jerusalem did when they prayed “‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4: 29 – 31).
Spiritual gifts are wonderful and should be used when we meet to encourage and build up the whole local church, but in a way that is inclusive and edifying to all. As Paul says “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Cor 12: 7). Paul therefore teaches that “If anyone speaks in a tongue, two – or at the most three – should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret … Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said” (1 Cor 14: 27 – 29). The gift of tongues can also be used in our private worship without interpretation, for “If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God” (1 Cor 14: 28).
Beyond spiritual gifts, Jesus commands his followers to “drive out demons” (Matt 10: 8) and “heal the sick” (Luke 10: 9). We hear that his followers also “anointed many sick people with oil” (Mark 6: 13). He even commands us to “raise the dead” (Matt 10: 8). All of this happens in the power of the Holy Spirit. Such ‘supernatural’ miracles are an important indicator that the kingdom of God is coming into our world, since they look forward to the time when God’s kingdom will be restored in full when Jesus returns, and the physical brokenness of creation that results in demonic possession, sickness and even death will be no more (Arise Manifesto, pg 60 – 62). All of us as Christians should play our part in rolling out God’s kingdom in our world by seeking to do all we can to transform the world around us through sharing our faith, growing daily in that faith, fighting social injustice, eliminating poverty and restoring God’s beautiful creation. The Holy Spirit, and the gifts he gives us, is an essential part of that.
Find out more
Find out more about how God is at work in the world, and the role we all have to play in that work, in the Arise Manifesto. This report is Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. It looks at what the Bible says, and what we can learn from the best data and the world’s leading experts on the five major areas of evangelism, discipleship, social justice, development and the environment. It then draws these lessons together into a practical road map for the changes we need to see in our world, which the Arise movement campaigns to achieve.
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