Holy Spirit Essay

How did the coming of the Holy Spirit revolutionize the people of God?

After the fall of mankind in the beginning, everyone was separated from perfect relationship with God. During that separation everyone lived under a curse and had to follow the law known as the Old Covenant that God implemented. Now the law was powerless to save, it could only lead people to God. In result Jesus had to come as the perfect sacrifice and shed his innocent blood once for all time to redeem and reconcile everyone back to right relationship with God because it was impossible for man to get to God on their own effort. "So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood not the blood of goats and calves he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever." (Hebrews 9:11-12)    

Now because of Jesus' sacrifice he has brought freedom from the curse and established a new covenant that does not have to do with the law but rather faith in God by living in the Spirit. "Let me put it in another way, The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian." (Galatians 3:24-25). "Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit." (Romans 7:6)  

Jesus prophesied the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in John 14:17 "He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you." Now in order for the Holy Spirit to come Jesus had to leave the earth after his death and resurrection. "But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate won't come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you." (John 16:7). Now after a few days Jesus ascended to heaven the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit came "On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then what sounded like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." (Acts 2:1-4) So the coming of the Holy Spirit revolutionized the people of God because now, for the very first time in all history, God could live in his people. This changed everything throughout the whole world. What had become lost in the beginning had now been found, for God's very spirit lives in his people again. Every aspect of life has changed for both the Jews and the Gentiles.   

The two major changes for the Jews now were, not living under the Old Covenant and also being united with the Gentiles. These were very drastic changes within the lifestyle of the Jews, especially the teachers of religious law because all they ever knew and dedicated themselves to was the Old Covenant (Law of Moses). For instance "Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, 'We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.' " (Acts 6:8-11). We see the Jewish people oppose Stephen with hard hearts not open to and not believing the work of the Holy Spirit that was powerfully demonstrated through him. Stephen is then arrested and taken before the high priest and speaks with the power of the Holy Spirit and rebukes the people because of their hard hearts. "The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand. And he told them 'Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!' Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him… As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' He fell to his knees shouting, 'Lord, don't charge them with this sin!' And with that, he died." (Acts 7:54-60). Stephen was a living demonstration of one who had received the Holy Spirit through the New Covenant established through Jesus. It was not by his own strength he performed amazing miracles and signs but it was the power of the Spirit at work in him. As previously mentioned in Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." That is exactly what happened, he received power and performed miracles and signs so that Jesus would be glorified. It was Stephen's goal to convince the Jews of this great news that they too could have what he had, but because of their hardened hearts they opposed the idea of it. Now not all Jews were like this, this is just one side of the coin. There were many Jews who came to believe. Example, "As Paul's custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, 'This Jesus I'm telling you about is the Messiah.' Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas…" (Acts 17:2-4). This shows a distinct fluctuation within the Jews, some simply opposed and some believed. 

The second major change for the Jews was the state of being united with the Gentiles. There was a dynamic growth happening as the message of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit broke down the age-old cultural barriers between Jews and Gentiles. "For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us." (Ephesians 2:14). Now that the barrier had been broken it didn't mean Jews and Gentiles lived in complete harmony. It was actually quite the opposite, though they were one in Christ they still had conflicts with each other. "But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn't eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter's hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, 'Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?' " (Galatians 2:11-14). Circumcision was highly valued in Jewish tradition and in the early church this brought lots of controversy. Other conflicts between the Jews and Gentiles in the church were "In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike… Don't tear apart the work of God over what you eat." (Romans 14:5;20). This clearly shows there were arguments over the sabbath day and certain foods. 

Life for the Gentiles actually became easier because, even though they were blessed through the promises of Abraham in the Old Testament the total fulfilment and recognition of being fully grafted into God's family came under the New Covenant. "And now you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God's special olive tree." (Romans 11:17). 

What are you equipped, called, inspired to do, with the help of the Holy Spirit? What fruit of the spirit/gift of the spirit are evident in your life, what areas would you like to see growth in?

Jesus makes it super clear we are called and commissioned to share the good news of Jesus with all people. "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this; I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20.  We are also commanded "Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2).  There is a song that expresses very clearly why we honour the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. "For the honour of the Father who reaches out to us that we might live inside his love, he gave his only Son. For the honour of the Saviour let the cross be lifted high, the great exchange of love and grace came down to give us life. For the honour of the Spirit whose power lives in us, that we might see much greater things as we embrace Your love. For the honour of Your kingdom whose reign will never end, we'll give our lives in sacrifice until You come again." We are to be representatives of Jesus here on earth and bring honour to Him through all areas of our lives, in our personal lives, in our relationships, jobs, schools, etc. He has given us his Spirit to help shape our character so that we are more like him. "For the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22) and the more we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, the more fruit we will see produced!