Acts 2:1-12 - Part 2

Please take your copy of God's Word and turn to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Continue this morning our study of Luke's second volume of the work of Christ.

The work of Christ.

We see in the Gospel according to Luke, the account of Jesus' earthly ministry as told by Luke.

And then here we find in the book of Acts, Luke's account of Jesus' heavenly ministry.

The way in which He works now in His people.

And we find ourselves woven into this redemptive story as the continuation of that very work.

This morning we'll take our second look at Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 12.

Acts 2:1–12

Last week I expressed to you that in my study of it,

there was just too much that is good to be said about these 12 verses to try to tackle it in a single week.

I must admit I'm still feeling that way, although I will wrap our study of verses 1 through 12 up today

and then look for further opportunity, and it abounds throughout the book of Acts,

to talk more about what it means to be filled with the Spirit of God.

Last week I stripped out the historical significance of the sending of the Spirit of God

and the way in which God did so.

I pointed out to you that God reigns sovereignly over redemptive history.

That in Leviticus chapter 23, when He gives the prescription for the feasts of Israel,

Leviticus 23 · chapter mention

that He was outlining this time.

The death of Christ.

The resurrection of Christ.

And now on the day of Pentecost, 50 days later,

the sending of the Spirit of Christ.

My hope in last week was that your heart would be moved to worship.

What a God we serve,

who way back in Leviticus 23 was already planning the redemption of His people.

And we are part of that redemptive story,

and the sending of the Holy Spirit has great significance for us today.

Recall so far in the book of Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

there's a short account of Jesus' post-resurrection ministry.

Verse 3 reads,

He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs,

appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

And then verse 4 and 5,

Jesus gives to them a command to stay in Jerusalem

and wait for the promised Holy Spirit.

Verse 4 reads,

And while staying with them,

He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem,

but to wait for the promise of the Father,

which He said,

You heard from Me,

verse 5,

for John baptized with water,

but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit

not many days from now.

Verse 8,

there's a promise of power for the fulfillment of their purpose.

Jesus says,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,

and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the end of the earth.

And then verse 9,

He ascends.

He goes up to the right hand of the Father,

giving Him the ability now to send the Helper,

the Spirit.

And 10 days later,

that promise of power is fulfilled.

And that purpose that He set forth for them

in the Great Commission,

Matthew 28,

and the restating of it here in chapter 1,

verse 8,

takes off.

That's what we have before us today.

What a blessing to have an account of this

for our study.

Beloved, this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory

and for our good.

We would all do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Chapter 2, beginning in verse 1.

When the day of Pentecost arrived,

they were all together in one place.

And suddenly there came from heaven

a sound like a mighty rushing wind,

and it filled the entire house

where they were sitting.

And divided tongues as of fire

appeared to them

and rested on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in other tongues

as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem

Jews,

devout men from every nation under heaven.

And at this sound,

the multitude came together

and they were bewildered

because each one was hearing them speak

in his own language.

And they were amazed and astonished,

saying,

Are not all these who are speaking

Galileans?

And how is it that we hear each of us

in his own native language?

Parthians and Medes

and Elamites

and residents of Mesopotamia,

Judea and Cappadocia,

Pontus in Asia,

Phrygia and Pamphylia,

Egypt and the parts of Libya

belonging to Cyrene

and visitors from Rome,

both Jews and proselytites,

Cretans and Arabians.

We hear them telling in our own tongues

the mighty works of God.

And all were amazed and perplexed,

saying to one another,

What does this mean?

And so we see this account

of the disciples.

It's probably right to presume

that this is that approximately

120 people that we saw in chapter 1,

likely gathered in this very same

upper room.

The particular details

aren't given to us,

but we know that they're all together

and they're in a house.

And the Spirit of God comes to them

both audibly and visually.

And they began to speak

of the mighty works of God

in various known languages.

For this text,

we're going to bring it down.

Known languages.

They speak the mighty works of God.

And we have this list of people

from all over,

essentially the known world.

Luke's trying to show us

the broad nature

in which the gospel went forth

to these people.

Both those who were Jews

and those who were proselytites

or converts to Judaism.

And they're here in this place

and they ask the question,

what does this mean?

And so as last week

we pulled out much of that

historical significance,

this morning I want to frame

the sermon with three questions.

1.

Number one,

what is the baptism

of the Holy Spirit

that Jesus promises

in chapter 1, verse 5?

That's important.

He makes a promise

that's fulfilled

in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

So what is

the baptism of the Holy Spirit

that Jesus promises

in chapter 1, verse 5?

2.

Secondly,

what is meant by

they were all filled

with the Holy Spirit

in chapter 2, verse 4?

And thirdly,

how are we

filled with the Holy Spirit?

So that's the framework

for this morning.

Right?

I'm stepping a little bit

outside of the text.

Right?

So we're not verse by verse

this morning.

A lot of that detail

was given last week.

But these three questions

need to be answered.

And I want to answer them

in their entirety.

I really want to give you

the complete systematic

presentation of life

in and by the Spirit.

I just can't.

It's impossible to do it

in the time frame

we have this morning.

So what I want to give to you

is the answers

to these questions.

Not exhaustively,

but I hope amply

for you to begin

going from here

and considering this

and to have a very clear

understanding

as we move forward

in our study

of the book of Acts.

So first question.

What is the baptism

of the Holy Spirit

that Jesus promises

in chapter 1,

verse 5?

And to answer that question,

we need to look

at how this phrase

is used

in the New Testament.

Not just to see it here,

but to see other places

that it's used.

And it's only used

in the New Testament

seven times.

Four times

as the prediction

of John the Baptist

concerning Jesus.

So four of these times

are the accounts

of the Gospel writers,

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

of the same prediction

that John the Baptist gave.

I'll read it to you

from Matthew 3, verse 11.

Matthew 3:11

I, this is John speaking,

baptized you with water

for repentance,

but he who is coming after me

is mightier than I,

whose sandals

I am not worthy

to carry,

speaking of Christ,

he will baptize you

with the Holy Spirit

and fire.

This is also found

in Mark 1.8,

Luke 3.16,

and John 1.33.

So, those are the first

four times

that this phrasing

is used.

The next two passages

refer directly to

the day of Pentecost.

We just read

Acts 1.5.

So that's the fifth

accounting of it

that Jesus says,

you heard from me

for John baptized with water,

but you will be baptized

with the Holy Spirit

not many days from now.

And then again

in the book of Acts,

so this is the sixth time,

Acts 11.16,

where Peter is speaking

and he's referring

back to the words of Christ

that we have recorded

in chapter 1, verse 5.

It's recorded,

11.16,

the book of Acts,

and I remembered

the word of the Lord,

how he said,

John baptized with water,

but you will be baptized

with the Holy Spirit.

So the first six times

this phrasing is used,

it's all,

it's talking about

what will happen

and then

what has happened.

Right?

So, five talking about

what will,

the sixth one talking about

what has happened.

But when we get to

the book of 1 Corinthians,

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

Paul helps us

a bit more understand

what all of this means.

He gives us some commentary

on it.

Verses 12-13,

after speaking of the various

spiritual gifts

in which God imparts

by the Spirit of God,

he says,

for just as the body

is one

and has many members

and all the members

of the body,

though many,

are one body,

so it is with Christ.

For in one Spirit

we were all baptized

into one body.

Jews or Greeks,

slaves or free,

and all were made

to drink

of one Spirit.

Now,

we have to be careful

in our hermeneutic

understanding,

which is the study

of how to study

the Scripture,

to know that

not every phrase

is used in every place

in the same way.

So, hear me saying

that I recognize that.

We can't always draw

connections between phrases

every single time.

Sometimes,

metaphors are used

interchangeably

in different ways,

and it would be

dangerous to always

make them synonymous

no matter

what.

However,

if we have a broader

biblical understanding

and we take into account

passages like

Romans 8-9,

where Paul says,

anyone who does not have

the Spirit of Christ

does not belong

to Him.

We could take a step

back and over

to 1 Corinthians 12,

12-13,

and understand

what it is

that he's saying.

The Spirit

was the element

in which the

Corinthian believers

were baptized,

was the element

in which they were

baptized,

which moved them

positionally

into the church.

They were baptized

in the Spirit

and found themselves

as part

of this body

of Christ.

I'm going to read it

to you again

with that framework.

Think about

verses 12-13

in 1 Corinthians 12.

For just as the body

is one

and has many members

and all the members

of the body,

though many,

are one body,

so it is

with Christ.

For in one Spirit

we were all baptized

into one body,

Jews or Greeks,

slaves or free,

and all were made

to drink

of one Spirit.

So,

to be baptized

in the Holy Spirit

is to be

regenerate.

I read to you

from Ezekiel

at the very outset

of this morning

that God

gives us

His Spirit.

He replaces

our heart

of stone

that we inherited

from Adam,

from our

old father.

He gives us

a heart of flesh.

We now have

the righteousness

of Christ

and we place

faith in Him

for it.

So,

to be baptized

in the Holy Spirit

is to be

regenerate.

So,

Jesus promises

something here,

Acts 1-5,

that this baptism

will take place.

Later we have

an account

in chapter 2,

verse 4,

that they were

filled with the Spirit

and I think

the challenge there

is that the outset

you want to make

those two things

synonymous.

That being baptized

and being filled

is the same thing.

And what I'm suggesting

to you is that it is

not the same thing.

That both things

were fulfilled.

They both happened

in chapter 2.

That they were

both baptized,

Jesus did not lie,

they were baptized

in the Spirit

and,

verse 4 begins,

and they were all

filled with the Holy Spirit.

I'm going to

work that out for you

in just a bit.

But that both

things happen.

Now,

with that said,

I do not believe

that the disciples

were converted

at this point

in Acts 2

because...

I know I'm

contradicting myself.

I know I'm

contradicting myself.

Because they had

already given evidence

of repentance and faith.

So follow me

with the text.

I want you to go to

Matthew chapter 16.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

My water cup

has a handle today.

I have a water mug.

I have a water mug.

I have a water mug.

So I've said to you,

I've made the statement

that baptism

in the Holy Spirit

is the same

as regeneration.

That we're baptized

into the church.

That if you are

a follower of Christ,

you have been baptized

in the Spirit.

So I've made that

statement to you.

Now I'm saying

that at this point,

Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

I do not believe

that this is when

the disciples

became believers.

This is when

they were regenerate.

Let me show you why

I believe that to be the case.

Matthew 16,

beginning in verse 13.

Now when Jesus came

into the district

of Caesarea Philippi,

He asked His disciples,

who do people say

that the Son of Man is?

And they said,

some say John the Baptist,

others say Elijah,

and others Jeremiah,

one of the prophets.

He said to them,

but who do you say

that I am?

Simon Peter replied,

you are the Christ,

the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered him,

blessed are you,

Simon Barjona,

for flesh and blood

has not revealed this to you,

but my Father

who is in heaven.

So there's a spiritual work

happening at least

in the life of Peter

at this time.

Right?

Something has been revealed

to him from heaven.

I would argue

by the Spirit of God.

Okay?

So there's something

happening here.

He's believing

that Jesus is the Christ.

There's some evidence

of regeneration

at this point.

Now turn to John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

I'm going to begin reading

in verse 52.

This is after a lengthy teaching

of Jesus

that he's the bread of life.

Verse 52,

John records,

the Jews then disputed

among themselves,

saying,

how can this man

give us his flesh

to eat?

It's the bread of life.

How is it that he's going

to actually feed us

with his physical body?

Which is not what he meant.

Jesus goes on to clarify.

Verse 53,

So Jesus said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

unless you eat the flesh

of the Son of Man

and drink his blood,

you have no life in you.

Whoever feeds on my flesh

and drinks my blood

has eternal life,

and I will raise him up

on the last day.

For my flesh is true food,

and my blood is true drink.

Let me pause for just

a quick second

and speak about

transubstantiation,

where some believe

that the elements

of the Lord's Supper

actually become

the body and blood

of Christ,

if that's consistent,

then they should not

have to eat

until they do it again.

If we're taking this

at face value,

that he's not speaking

metaphorically,

then that's fantastic,

because food is expensive.

Verse 56,

Whoever feeds on my flesh

and drinks my blood

abides in me

and I in him.

As the living Father

sent me,

and I live because

of the Father,

so whoever feeds on me,

he also will live

because of me.

This is the bread

that came down from heaven,

not like the bread

the fathers ate

and died.

Whoever feeds on this bread

will live forever.

Jesus said these things

in the synagogue

as he taught at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples

heard it,

people that are following

him around at the time,

they said,

this is a hard saying.

Who can listen to it?

But Jesus,

knowing in himself

that his disciples

were grumbling about this,

said to them,

do you take offense at this?

Then what if you were

to see the Son of Man

ascending to where

he was before?

It is the Spirit

who gives life.

The flesh is no help at all.

The words that I have spoken

to you are spirit and life.

But there are some of you

who do not believe.

So catch,

the positive of that

negative statement,

there are some of you

who do not believe,

is that some of you

do believe.

For Jesus knew from the beginning

who those were

who did not believe

and who it was

who would betray him.

Verse 65,

and he said,

this is why I told you

that no one can come to me

unless it is granted him

by the Father.

So he has said,

some of you

don't believe,

which means some of you

do believe,

and no one comes to me

unless it is granted him

by the Father.

After this,

many of his disciples

turned back

and no longer

walked with him.

A bunch of them

bugged out.

So Jesus said to the twelve,

do you want to go away

as well?

Simon Peter answered him,

Lord,

to whom shall we go?

You have the words

of eternal life

and we have believed

and have come to know

that you

are the Holy One

of God.

So again,

evidencing,

there's a profession

once again

of who Jesus is.

At this hard-to-understand thing.

It's not that the disciples

were brilliant

and they figured it out.

It was that the Father

had drawn them

to Christ.

Like, they're still

scratching their heads

just like the other disciples,

but the other ones

go away scratching their heads.

They stay

and Peter says,

you are the Holy One

of God.

So there's a work

happening in their lives

while they're with Jesus.

John 20,

21 and 22,

you can turn there

if you want to,

but I'm going to get into it

for the sake of time.

Verse 21,

Jesus said to them again,

after His resurrection,

peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me,

even so,

I am sending you.

And when He had said this,

He breathed on them

and said to them,

receive the Holy Spirit.

I must admit,

I don't fully comprehend

what is happening

right here

in John 20,

21 and 22.

I don't fully comprehend it

because later we see

in the book of Acts,

He's telling them to

stay and wait for what?

For the Holy Spirit.

He's suggesting to them,

don't get going

on the mission yet.

kind of spoken the mission,

the Great Commission

has been given to you.

Don't get going on that yet

because you need

the power of God

to carry out

the purpose of God.

But here,

something happens.

And Jesus says to them,

receive the Holy Spirit

as He breathes on them.

Okay?

So what's important here

is to remember

that as we read

these historical accounts,

we're observing

a transition

between the two economies

of the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament

and up until this time

where we're looking

in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

this point in history,

this day of Pentecost,

He came and He rested

on men

to empower them

for specific tasks

at specific times.

And then He would depart.

That was the way

the Spirit worked

in the old economy

of the Spirit.

He would come,

He was given by God,

He would come,

rest on somebody

for a specific task

at a specific time

and then would be removed.

Okay?

Now,

in starting here,

Acts 2 and moving forward,

He comes and indwells

a follower of Christ

and empowers them

for a specific task.

Right?

That is the exaltation

of Jesus Christ

all of the time.

You see the difference?

Specific tasks

for a specific period of time.

Now,

for a specific task,

all of the time.

He indwells

within us.

He doesn't come and go.

He is ours.

So,

I do not think

that the promise

in chapter 1,

verse 5 of Acts,

that the disciples

will be baptized

with the Holy Spirit

not many days from now,

and the fact

that they were all

filled with the Holy Spirit

in 2,

4

are synonymous,

but rather that both happen.

This is what I was

suggesting to you before.

It's an interesting

in-between time.

And it's hard

for us to comprehend.

And that's why

we must let Scripture

interpret Scripture.

We have to pull

the rest of the account

together.

We have to look

at the rest

of the writing

to try to properly

suss out

what this means

for us.

What happened,

I think,

is that both

happened at this time.

They were baptized

into the church.

They were unified

by the gift

of the Spirit.

And they were filled

with the Holy Spirit,

which empowers them

for speaking

the mighty works

of God,

verse 11,

in other tongues

as the Spirit

gave them utterance.

So they were filled

with the Spirit,

which is evidenced

by their obedience.

They began to do

the very thing

that Jesus had instructed

them to do

many times.

Certainly you can find it

in chapter 1,

verse 8.

You will be my witnesses.

Jerusalem,

Judea,

Samaria,

and to the end

of the earth.

They just begin

to do the thing

that God

had commanded them

to do.

To sum that up,

what it means

to be baptized

by the Spirit

is to be regenerate.

To be saved by God

and welcomed

into the church.

This is a one-time thing.

It is solely

the work of God.

It's monergistic

in that way.

He puts His Spirit

within you.

He changes you.

This brings about

repentance,

faith,

obedience.

That's baptized

in the Spirit.

Okay,

second question.

I'm going to try

to pull it together

all for you.

What is meant

by they were all

filled

with the Holy Spirit

in chapter 2,

verse 4?

Now,

in the past weeks,

and I apologize

for those of you

who haven't been here,

but I've been priming

the pump

to answer this question.

I've been setting you up

for the answer

to this question

by reminding you

one of our goals

for the study

of the book of Acts.

Goal number 3.

To pay

careful attentions

to the means

and ways

of the Holy Spirit.

And I've been telling you

that the primary role

of the Spirit of God

is the exaltation

of Jesus Christ

in the salvation

and perfection

of His church.

This is job number one.

There are other things

that the Spirit of God does,

but this is job number one.

The exaltation

of Jesus Christ

in the salvation

and perfection

of His church.

And the primary means

by which He accomplishes this

is the Word of God

spoken

by the people of God.

He empowers

that activity.

The Word of God

spoken

by the people of God.

In our text today,

we see the first record

of those ways.

Speaking the Word of God

in a rather miraculous way.

In languages

that these people

could understand.

I've also

tried to prime you

for the answer

I'm working toward

by showing you

that the disciples

were not gathered

in this place

praying for the baptism

or for the filling

of the Holy Spirit.

And I'm not suggesting

that we can't pray

for the filling

of the Holy Spirit.

What I'm saying is

they weren't working out

some training.

They hadn't attended

some seminar

that taught them

if you just do

the following steps

then this will happen.

So it's not

the way in which

God sends the Spirit

or fills us

by the Spirit.

If you look at

chapter 2 verse 2

Luke records for us

they're in a house

and they're sitting.

Why would he record

such an obtuse detail?

Because it's not.

He's telling us

that they were sitting

because that's not

the way they would have

been praying.

They're sitting

and this thing

surprised them.

They're baptized

and they're filled.

So I've been

priming you

to rightly understand

what is happening here

and therefore

what this means

for us

by speaking

against

kind of

subversively

a popular belief

in our day

called

Pentecostalism.

Many, many

Pentecostal

denominations.

And I'm going to

paint with a broad brush.

I know people

who are part of

Pentecostal denominations

that are

to be admired.

They get so

much

so

right.

There are

some things

that we can

learn from

and benefit

from

Pentecostal

some

things

about the work

of the Spirit

of God.

But generally

speaking

broad brush

hear me

with humility

saying this

I don't pretend

to have it all

figured out.

I know there's

so much

that I don't

know

but with a

broad brush

Pentecostalism

is dangerous.

In order to be

known for what

I'm for

which is

ultimately my

aim

and I want you

to know

what I believe

to be true

at times

I need to tell

you what I'm

against.

It just

helps to say

not this

but this

at times

to do that.

So hear what I'm

trying to say to you.

I'm humbly

just trying to show

you what the

Word of God

has to say

about the

filling

and the

baptism

of the

Holy Spirit.

I'm

anti-Pentecostalism

because

generally

it's not

biblical.

They use

extra-biblical

and unbiblical

language

to speak

of a second

experience

of the Christian

faith

called

baptism

in the

Spirit.

This is why

I started.

What is the

baptism

of the

Spirit?

They use this

term in a

much different

way.

A second

experience

of an

indwelling,

of a pouring

out of the

Spirit of

God.

At best

they use

this

to divide

saved people

into two

classes.

So you've

got

unsaved

people,

people who

have not

placed faith

in Jesus

Christ

as a

separate

category.

Then saved

people,

they divide

into two

classes.

Those

who are

ordinary

Christians

and those

who are

Spirit-baptized

Christians.

This is

dangerous,

beloved.

This is not

the nature

of sanctification.

You are

not in

Christ or

you are

in Christ.

These are

the categories.

This is

the way

that the

Scripture

speaks about

it.

It does

not divide

believing

people into

two

categories.

We have

gifting

in various

form and

in various

measure.

We are

at different

places in

the sanctification

process.

There are

some that

are more

mature than

others,

but we

are not

classified

into

different

categories.

There is

no clergy

laity type

of distinction

amongst the

people of

God.

At best,

that's what

it does.

At worst,

many Pentecostals

believe that

unless you

do miraculous

things like

speak in

tongues,

that you're

not saved

at all.

They often

elevate,

often,

not always,

but they

often elevate

mindless

experience

over

the Scripture.

John Arnott,

a popular

Pentecostal

writer,

wrote,

do not

take

control,

do not

resist,

do not

analyze,

don't think

about what

you're doing,

just surrender

to his

love.

You can

analyze the

experience

later,

just let

it happen.

Beloved,

we are

meant to

be a

mindful

people,

never

mindless.

At the

biblical

counseling and

discipleship

training that

we were at

this weekend,

if you

heard me

talk about

that in

previous

months,

I appreciated

Dr.

Stuart Scott

said that

most of

who we

are,

most of

our

personality,

rather than

thinking of

it as

residing

our heart

in our

chest,

it really

resides

between

our

ears.

We're

meant to

be mindful

people,

never

mindless.

Think

about

Romans

12,

2.

Paul

says,

do not

be

conformed

to this

world,

but be

transformed

by what?

The renewal

of your

feelings,

by being

renewed,

by seeking

out

experience,

your mind,

by the

renewal of

your mind.

And anyone

who tells you

that the

Christian life

is divorced

from thinking

should be

avoided.

they often

elevate the

work of

the Spirit,

real or

supposed,

and worship

Him over

Christ.

So this is

back to my

previous point.

The primary

job of the

Spirit of

God is the

exaltation of

Jesus Christ.

Many old

theologians got

it right when

they called

Him the

shy Spirit.

The Spirit

of God

says,

not me,

Christ.

And when

a denominational

system worships

the Spirit

and the work

of the Spirit,

that's a really

dangerous thing.

I'll show you

from the

Scripture,

John 16,

12-15.

Jesus says to

the disciples,

I still have

many things

to say to

you,

but you

cannot bear

them now.

When the

Spirit of

truth comes,

He will

guide you

into all

the truth,

for He

will not

speak on

His own

authority,

but whatever

He hears,

He will

speak,

and He

will declare

to you the

things that

are to

come.

Verse 14,

He will

glorify

me.

The job

of the

Spirit,

He will

glorify

me,

Christ

is speaking

here,

for He

will take

what is

mine and

declare it

to you.

All that

the Father

has is

mine,

therefore I

said that

He will

take what

is mine,

He will

declare it

to you.

This is

the job

of the

Spirit

of God.

There's a

quotation on

the front of

your bulletin

written in

nine-point

Helvetica so I

can get it

to fit.

But I

know it's

helpful for

you to

see it,

so I

hope you

can see

it.

Let me

try to

read it

to you

carefully

by the

late

preacher

Martin

Lloyd

Jones.

He

says,

The

Spirit

does not

glorify

Himself.

He

glorifies

the

Son.

This

is to

me

one of

the

most

amazing

and

remarkable

things

about

the

biblical

doctrine

of the

Holy

Spirit.

The

Holy

Spirit

seems to

hide

Himself

and to

conceal

Himself.

He

is always

as it

were,

putting

the

focus

on

the

Son.

And

that is

why I

believe,

and I

believe

profoundly,

that the

best test

of all

as to

whether we

have received

the

Spirit

is to

ask

ourselves,

what do

we think

of and

what do

we know

about

the

Son?

Is the

Son real

to us?

That is

the work

of the

Spirit.

He is

glorified

indirectly.

He is

always

pointing us

to the

Son.

And so

you see

how easily

we go

astray

and become

heretical

if we

concentrate

over much

and in

an unscriptural

manner

upon the

Spirit

Himself.

Yes,

we must

realize

that He

dwells

within us.

Not to

minimize that,

right?

He does

in fact

dwell within

us,

but His

work in

dwelling

within us

is to

glorify

the

Son and

to bring

to us

that

blessed

knowledge

of the

Son and

of His

wondrous

love to

us.

It is

He

who

strengthens

us

with the

might

in the

inner

man

that we

may

know

this

love,

this

love

of

Christ.

This

is the

job

of the

Spirit.

This is

why

Paul

prays

for the

church in

Ephesus.

It's recorded

in chapter

3,

verse 14

and 19.

For this

reason I

bow my

knees before

the Father.

That He's

about to

say,

this is

the reason

I bow

my knees

before the

Father,

from whom

every family

in heaven

on earth

is named,

that according

to the

riches of

His glory

He may

grant you

to be

strengthened

with power

through His

Spirit in

your inner

being.

Why?

Strengthened

with power

through His

Spirit in

your inner

being.

Verse 17,

so that

Christ may

dwell in

your hearts

through faith,

that you

being rooted

and grounded

in love,

the love

of Christ,

may have

strength to

comprehend

with all

the saints

what is the

breadth and

length and

height and

depth,

and to

know the

love of

Christ that

surpasses

knowledge,

that you

may be

filled with

all the

fullness

of God.

Are you

seeing it?

So,

to be

filled with

the Holy

Spirit is

not a

secondary,

necessarily

miraculous

experience of

the Christian

life,

but rather

it's the

normative

experience of

the Christian

life that's

yielded to

God.

It's

normative,

and it

evidences

itself in

obedience.

You want

to know if

you're filled

with the

Spirit?

When you're

obedient.

When you're

obedient,

you're filled

with the

Spirit.

In our

text this

morning,

in verse

4,

the disciples

are filled

with the

Holy Spirit,

and then

what do

they do?

They're

obedient.

They do

it in a

really

miraculous

way.

I'm not

going to

discount

that,

but the

point is,

the driving

point is,

they were

obedient.

They were

telling the

mighty works

of God,

which they

have been

commanded

to do.

They were

to be

witnesses.

And this

is exactly

the activity

that they

are doing

as the

Spirit

gives them

utterance.

Being filled

with the

Spirit

brings about

obedience.

I'm going to

show you

through Acts

quickly.

I just want

you to

track me.

Don't try

to turn.

I just

gave you

the first

one,

Acts 2

Acts 2:11

verse 11.

They're

speaking the

mighty works

of God.

In Acts

4.8,

it's recorded

again that

Peter is

filled with

the Holy

Spirit and

speaks with

such power

that the

Jewish leaders

were amazed

at his

boldness in

spite of

his being

relatively

uneducated.

That's

chapter 4

verse 13.

He speaks

with power.

Acts 4.31,

other disciples

were praying

in the place

where they

were shaken,

they were

filled with

the Holy

Spirit.

The effect

of their

fullness was

that they

spoke the

word of

God with

extraordinary

boldness and

Christ-exalting

power.

In Acts 6,

we meet

Stephen,

who is full

of faith

in the Holy

Spirit,

verse 5,

and Luke

tells us

in verse 8

that he

was therefore

full of

power and

did wonders

and signs

among the

people,

but especially

in verse 10,

the leaders

could not

resist the

wisdom and

spirit with

which he

spoke.