Useful to God预览

Imbued with Power from on High

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus tells the disciples that while he cannot tell them when the kingdom of Israel will be restored, they 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” (Acts 1:6-8). Jesus will no longer be with his disciples, but they will not be left alone, nor will they need to advance the gospel in their own strength. The Holy Spirit will empower them to do the work of the Kingdom.

Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would come to the disciples after his departure saying, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:25-26; cf. 16:4-15). Beyond teaching, the Holy Spirit causes us to “abound in hope” (Rom 15:13), allows us to confess “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor 12:3), seals us (Eph 1:13), and washes us to regenerate and renew us (Titus 3:5).

As we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, we open ourselves up to the Spirit’s influence. Rather than becoming drunk with wine, we are to be filled by the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18). Drunkenness results in “debauchery.” It yields a wasteful, chaotic life in which we surrender control of our senses and live without restraint or discipline. Rather than relinquishing control of their minds to wine, Paul urges believers to allow the Holy Spirit to fill them up with knowledge, power, and godliness that will result in them “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:19-21).