Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Full of the Holy Spirit and Faith

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“he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith…”
(Acts 11:24)

I want this passage engraved on my tombstone.

I know it’s too early to think about that sort of thing, but since I am turning 40 in a couple of weeks, one might as well begin thinking about the inevitable.

All kidding aside, wouldn’t we all want this said about us at the end of our lives?  This passage comes from Luke’s description in Acts of the growing church in Antioch.  Believers who fled persecution in Jerusalem had assembled in Antioch, a predominately Hellenist (read Greek, or non-Jewish) community.  We read in Acts 11 that “the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.”  When news of this tremendous growth reached Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to teach and encourage the believers there, and while Barnabas was there, God continued to prosper and grow the church.  Barnabas rejoiced when we saw the grace of God present in Antioch, and he exhorted them all “to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.”  Then we are given a clue as to the success of Barnabus’ ministry, “he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.”

That Barnabas was a good man has been previously established in the book of Acts.  We first read of Barnabas in Acts 4:36-37.  There we find a man called Joseph, whom the disciples called Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement,” who, with many other believers, sold his property and gave the money to the poor.

This is the kind of guy people want to be around.  He was an encourager, building up others, helping equip and strengthen them for service.  And he was generous and charitable, considering the needs of others before his own.  This characterizes Barnabas as a “good man.”

But, as Matthew  Henry notes, “the goodness of his natural disposition would not have qualified him for this service if he had not been full of the Holy Spirit.”  That is a phrase that is worth considering.  It’s used to describe only two other people in the New Testament, Jesus, just after his baptism in Luke 4, and Stephen, when he was selected as a Deacon in Acts 6, and as he was martyred in Acts 7.

So what does it mean to be full of the Holy Spirit?  It think that first we must remember that it is the Holy Spirit who awakens us to the gospel, who convicts us of our sin, and who leads us unto a saving knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ.  One cannot be a believer, one cannot be saved, unless the Spirit has first come and given life.  There is no such thing as life in Christ apart from the Holy Spirit – for it is the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63).

But there is a sense in which, once quickened by the Spirit from death unto life, the Holy Spirit may also fill individuals with power and equip them for ministry.  It was this outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that filled the disciples and enabled them to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation to the nations gathered in Jerusalem.  It was this outpouring of the Holy Spirit that strengthened Stephen to boldly proclaim the risen Christ even as he was being killed. It is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that equips and gifts the Church for ministry (1 Corinthians 12).  When the Holy Spirit fills a person, the result is a dramatic and mighty demonstration of God’s saving power.

Inwardly, the fullness of the Holy Spirit must also imply the crucifixion of the spirit of flesh.  Paul writes in Romans 8 that “the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus…” that we “walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit…” and “you, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”  To be full of the Spirit is to live according to the Spirit, to seek the leading of the Spirit, through the Word of God (read and proclaimed), and through prayer.  It is following the lead of God’s Holy Spirit in every decision, every action, every word – placing yourself captive to the sovereign and gracious power of God’s Holy Spirit.

And, of course, Barnabas was a man of faith.  He knew and trusted the power of God for salvation.  He could give his possessions knowing his life was secure in the hands of his Provider.  He could encourage others to faithfulness because he knew that Christ was the Faithful One.  Again, Matthew Henry writes, “He was full of faith, full of the grace of faith, and full of the fruits of that faith that works by love.”

If you try to make a name for yourself, you will probably lose it.  But if you live selflessly, living by faith, living in the fullness of God’s Spirit, God will let the quality of your character be known.  “Seek first the Kingdom of God,” Jesus said, “and all these things will be added unto you.”  Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.  Can the same be said of you?  It is my prayer that it be said of me.

Something about the resurrection…

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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”
(1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

I make it a point not to talk about politics, too much.  I don’t want my position as pastor, nor my pulpit and the message of the Gospel that I proclaim, to be too closely identified with one particular party or another.  I will not put campaign signs in my yard.  I will not financially support one candidate or another.  I have in the past been asked to pray at the opening of a county-wide rally for a particular party, and if asked by the opposing party, I would gladly offer the same prayer for them as well.

That being said…

Tuesday President Obama spoke at a Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House about the amazing ability of the resurrection to “put everything else into perspective.”

Here’s the content of the President’s message:

“I wanted to host this breakfast for a simple reason – because as busy as we are, as many tasks as pile up, during this season, we are reminded that there’s something about the resurrection – something about the resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ, that puts everything else in perspective.”
“We all live in the hustle and bustle of our work… but then comes Holy Week.  The triumph of Palm Sunday.  The humility of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.  His slow march up that hill, and the pain and the scorn and the shame of the cross.
“And we’re reminded that in that moment, he took on the sins of the world – past, present and future – and he extended to us that unfathomable gift of grace and salvation through his death and resurrection.
“In the words of the book Isaiah:  “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:  the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
“This magnificent grace, this expansive grace, this “Amazing Grace” calls me to reflect.  And it calls me to pray.  It calls me to ask God for forgiveness for the times that I’ve not shown grace to others, those times that I’ve fallen short.  It calls me to praise God for the gift of our son – his Son and our Savior.”
(Source CNS News www.cnsnews.com)

First, let me say “thank you” to our President for publically affirming his faith, but also the centrality of the teaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Savior, who died for our sins, and was raised from the dead for our salvation.  Any opportunity to have that message proclaimed is welcome.

Secondly, it is so true that as we recall the events of Holy Week, we can begin to get our priorities back in order.  Jesus willingly took that road of suffering which led to the cross for us, he bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18).  This was the ultimate demonstration of God’s love for us (Romans 5:8), and the love which His disciples are to show to one another (John 13:34-35).  Truly the events of Holy Week are a great reminder to repent of our cold and unmoving love, our reluctance to take up our cross and follow Christ, and a motive to praise God for the gift of His Son, in whom we have our victory.

However, is this all that “something about the resurrection” does?  I don’t fault the President here.  He is not the “Pastor in Chief” or the nation’s resident theologian, so I do not expect an exhaustive answer here.  But as a pastor, I must add that the resurrection must do more than just “put things in perspective.”

The resurrection is the sine qua non of the Christian faith.  Without the resurrection of Christ, Christianity is meaningless, deceitful, and we Christians are pitiful fools (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).  Before the resurrection, the disciples were ready to give up and go back to fishing.  Without the resurrection, Jesus would have gone down in history as another good teacher and prophet, no different than all those who had come before.  But because of the resurrection, Jesus is revealed to be the Son of God (Rom 1:4), those who believe in Him are justified by God (Rom 4:25), we are assured of our victory over death and of the resurrection to eternal life (1 Cor 15:50-57; 1 Thess 4:13-18); and the life we now live we live in the power of the risen Lord (Rom 6:4, 8:11).  The resurrection is so much more than an adjustment of our priorities – it is the confirmation of God’s gift of life and peace to those who believe in Christ the Lord.

SDG