Article Tools
- Text Size
- Add a comment (
- Print-Friendly
- Email this article
Before he left his disciples and ascended to heaven, Jesus promised to send his Holy Spirit to enliven their faith, to give them wisdom, and to console them in times of need. And from that point on, believers have come to understand that we all need the Holy Spirit to live out our faith and to be the Lord’s witness. In fact, we could easily expand on Paul’s famous quote from Ephesians 2:4 and say, "He who made us alive by the resurrection now keeps us alive by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Just before he ascended, Jesus told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there. “John baptized with water,” he told them, “but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). Jesus had already died. He had already risen. The disciples were already “made alive.” Yet here Jesus is saying that something more needed to happen so that they could fulfill their calling.
That “something more” was the power they would receive when the Holy Spirit was poured upon them. It was the supernatural power to lift them up to heaven and to empower them to perform miracles. It was the power to make them into “witnesses, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
From Small Beginnings. The apostles lived in…
The full article is available to subscribers only
Access all articles, daily meditations and readings, as well as special resources, by becoming a subscriber. View subscription options.
Special Offer: Two week free web-only trial subscription. Sign up now.
Existing Print & Web-Only Subscribers: Login for full access.
