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

 Part 1 - In the early church:

The Holy Spirit - the third person in the Holy Trinity - is working throughout the entire Old Testament, but is usually referred to as the Spirit of God. But as far as I can see, the people in this time had no understanding of the Holy Trinity, and thus not the same awareness of the power that was available through the Holy Spirit after the day of Pentecost.

Some examples of God's spiritual presence in the Old Covenant :
- He was part of the creation. Genesis 1:2: "…and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."
- By the construction of the temple in Exodus 31:3  ..” and I have filled him (Bezalel) with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom …….”
- About Gideon in Judges 6:34 in a battle against the enemies of Israel is it said: "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him."
- Samson was filled with strength and power (Judges 15:14) “The Spirit of the Lord  came upon him in power".
- Isaiah says that “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me” and made him able to preach the word of God. (Isaiah 61:1)

These few examples show that the Holy Spirit gives people the qualities they don’t have in themselves and that the Spirit will come upon them when they need it.

In the Old Testament God promised that one day He would enter into a new covenant with His people. According to Jeremiah 31:33 this covenant will be different than the first:
"I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts”.

What God promised through Jeremiah was that there would come a time when the law was no longer an external burden, but an internal energy source. Ezekiel tells how this happens:

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

The prophet Joel says to whom this applies and will get to experience this:
“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike”. (Joel 2:28-29)

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 When Jesus appears in the Gospels, he says in John 7:38-39:

“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.  When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him”.
 
He also says in John 16:7-8 that “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. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment”.
 
When Jesus is going to leave his disciples, he said that they should not depart from Jerusalem until they had been baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8 and Luke 24:49 ) .
This shows that the power was very important to wait for! In Acts 2, I see that they waited in the town and they experienced the Holy Spirit’s coming as power and that it came as a mighty windstorm .

The consequence of being filled with the Holy Spirit was that they went out and preached the Gospel with power. I can see that the message from God – is living words that creates faith and makes people realizing that they need God, salvation and forgiveness.

As seen the Holy Spirit has the power to transform people. Peter preaches clearly to the Jews that they must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and they will then receive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:37-38)

3.000 people were saved that day!

Acts 3:1-7 tells about Peter and John on their way to the temple - where they see a beggar, a man who has been paralyzed for 40 years. When he saw Peter and John were about to enter, he asked for a gift. But Peter looked at him and said:
" I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have.  In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Here we see that the Holy Spirit also is working out healing.

Through several chapters of Acts I see how the apostles worked strong in the Holy Spirit – and they spoke with great boldness, many people were saved and healed. This was initially only Jews, but in Acts 10:44-47, we see that the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles - to the surprise for many of the Jews.

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The new covenant was redeemed by the Holy Spirit. This was of great significance for both Jews and Gentiles. Hebrews explains how the New Covenant replaces the Old Covenant and the role of Jesus in relation to the Old Testament. Jesus is unique and represents something new and better compared with the laws and schemes in the old covenant. This actually foresaw the prophets (who heard and saw God and told it on to the people). Seen in this way, actually the entire Bible is about Jesus!

In the Old Testament there was a goal to live by the law, so they were good enough in comparison to God's standard. Through Jesus and the New Covenant opens the possibility of being justified by faith. This is dealt with in detail in Hebrews chapter 11 - which begins by saying that faith is not something vague and unclear , " but faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen " (Hebrews 11:1) .

This was written to Hebrew Christians that were well known to the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament). For them - to break up with a tradition that had lasts for many hundred years, by saying that no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law, must have been very revolutionizing. This was talking straight against their fundamental way of worshiping God! For example that the circumcision was no use any longer, must have been perceived as complete madness for the Jews!

However, because of their faith in Jesus – and not longer obeying the law, they experienced persecution (Hebrews 10:32-34). Many were therefore tempted to return to Judaism and it was very important to show that Jesus is superior to the old covenant.

When it comes to Christians from Gentile nations, they also had heard the gospel by the Holy Spirit about the righteousness only by faith in Jesus Christ. But many felt that they had to keep some of the law in addition - such as circumcision and good deeds.

Paul therefore had to take a sharp confrontation with this in Galatians - which emphasizes that salvation can not be obtained by trying to keep the law (Galatians 3:11). And in verse 14 Paul goes on to say that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, what means that we - who are believers - might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

 

Part 2 – revolution today:

I will first say that I am very grateful for being a child of God - saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12). And as a child of God, I am sealed with the Holy Spirit – which “guarantee our inheritance” (Eph. 1:13-14).

In Galatians 5:22-23 is it told about the Fruit of the Spirit, and in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 we hear about the Gifts of the Spirit. I understand that these issues have a little different aspect, and I will try to describe how I perceive both of them. When I am thinking of myself being a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), a lot of these should be at work in my life.

a)    The fruit of the Spirit:

According to Galatians 6:7-8 I myself can decide what kind of fruit I want to harvest in my life, because I decide what I plant in my life:
"Those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit”.

I perceive the fruit of the Spirit as personal characteristics that comes when the Holy Spirit through my reborn spirit will influence my actions and attitudes - that is the life of Christ lived out through my life. Then my understanding of the difference means in many ways that it is more important to me to have a lot of the Fruit of the Spirit, than the Gifts of the Spirit .

As a Christian I am constantly aware the struggle between the two natures in me (Romans 7:25 ) - the propensity to the old evil man or the new man - created by God through the Word and the Spirit. Therefore it is important for me to let the Spirit guide my life, so I can “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of my life." (Galatians 5:16 & 24).

When Paul talks about the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, is it the singular form that is used. I don’t see them as nine different fruits, but as a large, contiguous fruit platter. Fruit of the Spirit is the result of a life in Jesus Christ, not effort!

Paul describes 9 different aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit - produced as:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I don’t think I am the right person to say if all these aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are active in my own life, but it is my prayer and my desire that I live so close to Jesus that the fruits of the Spirit are visibly present in my surroundings and among the people I relate to.

However, some feedback I have received over the years has been that I radiate a peace and that many perceive me as very friendly. Faithfulness is something I will emphasize with great importance, and hopefully is a fruit in my life.

When I allow the Fruit of the Spirit to shape my actions and attitudes, I am transformed. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”.
 

b) The Gifts of the Spirit:

According to 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Paul describes the 9 gifts of the Spirit as:

- the ability to give wise advice
- a message of special knowledge.
- great faith
- the gift of healing.
- the power to perform miracles
- the ability to prophesy.
- the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.
- the ability to speak in unknown languages
- the ability to interpret what is being said.

These gifts are given not only to some selected individuals - as in the time of the Old Testament. Now, in the New Covenant , we all have the Holy Spirit, and He is the one who hands out gifts as He sees it is most appropriate, and I think that they are for all believers.

1 Corinthians 12:7 tells that a spiritual gift is given to us so we can help each other. In verse 18 is it said that we are many members in the body of Christ, so that one purpose of the gifts is that they should be used in all meetings and Christians assemblies – to bless in different ways (verses 25-26).

But I think the strongest effect is when the gifts works when we are together with non-believers. The Holy Spirit will work through us to reach the people we meet on the streets. When people not can be reached with words, God will use the gifts He has put in us. And I think especially the gifts of giving a message of special knowledge, the gift of healing and the power to perform miracles are important gifts in this connection. To get a word of knowledge to a person you do not know, is one of the strongest tools of evangelization that exist, and I will gladly work more in this gift.

I also wish that the gift of healing was more active among us. Praying for sick people in my earlier days was a big issue and very important to me. In many ways this passion have shrunken – especially after my first wife died in cancer. But I think I will allow God to use me again – if He will - to show his love and compassion for others by bringing healing and wholeness to those around me.

I have read about many healing miracles when Jesus sent his twelve disciples out two by two (Mark 6:12-13), and I am longing for times when God’s healing power through The Holy Spirit operates in a way like we are reading about in Mark 6:56:

“And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed”.

There are so much suffering and diseases around us, but when people see God’s love for them demonstrated through the Holy Spirit’s gift of healing, I believe this will make a big impact and contribute to the prosperity of God’s Kingdom!