He Testifies

In Jesus’ last words on earth, He tells us this is something the Holy Spirit will do: But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The first principle I take out of this is that whenever the Holy Spirit is at work, in whatever environment and expression, He will always influence it toward Jesus. He will never highlight or exalt a person. He won’t even make a miracle or demonstration of power the central focus. Rather, everything testifies to the power, character, and praiseworthiness of Jesus Himself.

Think about it: A witness testifies of what he has seen. There are no secondary witnesses. So in what way are Christians today witnesses of Jesus? Nobody alive today was present at the resurrection. None of us saw firsthand the ministry of Jesus or heard His teaching—nobody, that is, except the Holy Spirit. This is why it is His job to testify through us. I didn’t see Jesus rise from the dead—but the Holy Spirit did. I didn’t hear the Sermon on the Mount—but the Holy Spirit did. When we teach and preach the gospel, the Holy Spirit affirms it powerfully in the hearts and minds of listeners, just as He did through the Book of Acts when Peter and others preached as witnesses of the risen Christ.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to provide a continuing witness of Jesus, who works through His people in word and deed. Jesus said, “My works testify of me.” The Holy Spirit gives us the power to testify of Him and to demonstrate His character, power, and will by doing the works Jesus did and commanded us to do.

Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you now see and hear. — Acts 2:33

When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. — Acts 4:31