Level: 1, Lesson: 14
THE POWER OF A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE
OUTLINE

Mark 16:15-16, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Acts 8:5 and 12, "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them." "12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."

Were these people believers? Yes. Had they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Jesus is the only one to baptize in the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

The purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to empower you to be a witness of Jesus Christ.

John 20:22, "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

Here we see the regeneration of the disciples’ spirits. But in Acts 1:8 we see the empowerment of the disciples for preaching and witnessing of Jesus. It’s an immersion in the Holy Spirit that comes upon a person to empower him.

Acts 19:1-6, "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."

These disciples needed the Holy Spirit baptism. It is a separate and distinct experience. There are two ways to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit:

1. By a sovereign act of God - Acts 10:44, "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." Once these people became believers in Jesus, they were open to the Holy Spirit. God sovereignly baptized them in the Holy Spirit. This experience came directly from God.
2. By the laying on of hands - Acts 19:6, "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." A person already baptized in the Holy Spirit lays his hands on the one desiring to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Both of these experiences are supernatural.

Acts 2:37-41, "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."

This promised Holy Spirit is for you - for empowerment to witness what Jesus has done for you. If you haven’t been baptized in the Holy Spirit, ask Jesus right now to do so. The Holy Spirit is a perfect gentlemen; He won’t baptize you with His power without your permission.

THE POWER OF A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE
Lesson Text

In Acts 2:4, this filling of the Holy Ghost was subsequent to their born-again experience. Paul later revealed in Romans 10:9 that a person had to confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in his heart that Jesus was raised from the dead before he could be saved. These disciples had already done this. In John 20:28, Thomas specifically confessing that Jesus was both Lord and God. No doubt all of these disciples had already been saved, yet they had not received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This same thing was true of the people who believed on Jesus in Acts 8:12-17 and Acts 19:2-7.

Therefore, it is possible to be saved, yet not have the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of (John 7:37-39; Acts 1:4-5). Since the Holy Spirit is now given and we do not have to tarry for His coming, we can receive salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the same time, but it is not automatic. We must ask and believe (Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:13) for the baptism of the Holy Ghost just as we believed for salvation.

When a person speaks in tongues, his new born-again spirit is speaking (I Corinthians 14:14), not his mind. Before salvation, our spirits were the part of us that was, "dead in trespasses and sins." Therefore, until we received a new spirit (II Corinthians 5:17), the Holy Ghost could not give us this supernatural communication with the Father. However, this experience was prophesied in the Old Testament. Joel prophesied about it in Joel 2:28-29, which Peter refers to in Acts chapter 2. Isaiah spoke very specifically of speaking in tongues in Isaiah 28:11-12 and Jesus also said believers would speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17). There are two kinds of speaking in tongues which are clearly spoken of in 1 Corinthians 13:1. They are called "the tongues of men and of angels." The tongues of men are the known languages and the tongues of angels are heavenly languages. Most instances of speaking in tongues (Acts 8:18 [implied]; Acts 10:45-46; Acts 19:16), were evidently the heavenly languages unknown to men.

Speaking in tongues is not as many envision it. The Holy Spirit does not take possession of a person to the point that the individual has no control over what is happening.

Paul makes a special point of this in his letter to the Corinthians about how the gifts should be properly administered. He tells the Corinthians to control themselves and not speak in tongues in church unless there is an accompanying interpretation (I Corinthians 14:27-28). He would not have told them this if they had no control over the gift.

The gift of speaking in tongues is no different than the ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11. A true minister of God is also operating in a supernatural gift when he preaches or teaches. Peter was being used of the Holy Spirit just as much when he preached to this crowd as when he spoke to them in tongues. Yet no one expects him to simply open his mouth and have God supernaturally control it.

The Holy Spirit inspires and anoints a preacher, but the minister’s will is still intact and the degree to which the Holy Spirit uses the minister is largely dependent on how much the individual yields to His control. This is how it is with speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit gives the individual the utterance, but the individual must exercise his faith to speak (Mark 16:17) and believe that the result is inspired of God (Luke 11:9-13). Failure to understand this one truth has caused many people to ask the Lord for the gift of tongues and then wait for the Lord to supernaturally move their mouth. If nothing happens, they say that the Lord must not want them to speak in tongues or it would have happened.

This is no more true than to say that every person the Lord has called to preach is preaching or every person He has given a prophecy to has prophesied. We have to step out in faith.

THE POWER OF A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE
(Additional Information)

John 16:7: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."

(John 16:7) The Greek word translated "expedient" is "sumphero" which means "to be an advantage; profitable." How could any situation be more advantageous or profitable than having Jesus physically with you?

When Jesus walked on this earth in His physical body, He was subject to many physical limitations. For instance, He could not always be with every one of His disciples all the time. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He could. Instead of Satan getting rid of Jesus, 120 "little Christs" (that is literally what the word "Christian" means) came out of the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

Jesus had taught His disciples as no teacher ever had, yet they had very little understanding because they had not been born again yet (I Corinthians 2:14). However, when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead them into all truth (John 14:26; 16:13) and even show them things to come (v.13).

The list of advantages of having the Holy Spirit in us as compared to having Jesus with us in His physical body, goes on and on. The advantages can all be summed up in that Jesus’ power is now complete (Matthew 28:18) and no longer confined to one physical body.

John 16:13: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he shew you things to come."

(John 16:13) A guide doesn’t do everything for us, but rather leads us. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth but we have to follow. We have to go through the effort of studying, and trust that the Holy Spirit is leading us.

This is the fourth time Jesus emphasized the Holy Spirit as being the one to reveal the truths of God to the believer. In this instance, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide us into ALL truth. During this same night, Jesus said, "thy word is truth" (John 17:17). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is specifically given to give revelation knowledge of God’s Word.

Jesus had spoken of the ministry of the Holy Spirit many times before, but here He reveals that the Holy Spirit will show us things to come. Foreknowledge is one of the distinct characteristics of God alone (Isaiah 42:9; 45:11; 46:9-10; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 6:8; 24:36; Acts 15:18). Therefore, this is another witness to the Holy Spirit being part of the Godhead. Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to make this foreknowledge available to the believer. This does not automatically operate, but every Spirit-filled believer through faith can appropriate it. This is one of the most miraculous and beneficial ministries of the Holy Spirit, but also one of the least used.

Acts 1:8: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

(Acts 1:8) The Greek word used for "power" is "dunamis" and denotes miraculous power, ability, might, or strength. It is the root word from which we derive our words "dynamic," "dynamite," and "dynamo." This clearly speaks of the presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit as being the power source in a believer’s life.

It was this anointing power of the Holy Spirit that worked miracles in the life of Jesus (Acts 10:38). We receive the same Holy Spirit power and we can expect to see it accomplish the same miraculous works that Jesus did (John 14:12), IF WE WILL BELIEVE.

Acts 2:14-18: "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."

(Acts 2:14) These events on the day of Pentecost give us a good example of the purpose of the miraculous manifestations of God’s power or presence. The miraculous manifestation that accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit acted like a bell to draw the attention of thousands of people to the disciples. The disciples then explained what was happening and preached Jesus to the people. The results were that about three thousand people were born again.

Likewise today, miracles still draw men’s attention to those having received the miracle and provide a perfect opportunity to proclaim Jesus as the one who can work miracles in their lives.

(Acts 2:16) Peter here exhibits a perception and understanding of the scriptures which had not been characteristic of him or the other disciples before. This came as a direct result of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth and teach us all things (John 14:26; 16:13) and this is exactly what was happening to Peter.

Receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost is the single most important key to receiving revelation knowledge from God.

(Acts 2:17) This promise of the Spirit being poured out on "all flesh" is speaking of all manner of flesh or mankind. It is evident that not everyone has the Holy Spirit. Rather, this reveals that the door of salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit is opened unto Jew and Gentile, male and female, adult, and child.

This scripture clearly states that prophesying, seeing visions, and dreaming God-inspired dreams are associated with the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the doorway into the miraculous realm of God.

This baptism of the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, but it was not only for these few individuals. Peter said in verse 39, "for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." This same power is available to all believers today (Luke 11:13; Mark 16:17).

Acts 4:8: "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel."

(Acts 4:8) Peter had denied Jesus in front of a servant girl just a few weeks before (Mark 14:66-68; Luke 22:56-57). Now he fearlessly proclaims the Lord Jesus in front of the high priest and the council. The difference is being filled with the Holy Ghost, which Jesus said would empower them to be witnesses (Acts 1:8).

Here are some questions to think about for this lesson

Level 1 Lesson 14 Questions
THE POWER OF A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE

1. According to the Mark 16:16 definition of salvation. Were the people of Samaria, spoken of in Acts 8:5&12, saved?
2. Had they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
3. What about those in Acts 19:1-5, were they saved?
4. Had they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
5. What are the two ways to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
6. When a person speaks in tongues, what is he doing?
7. Are you willing to come to Jesus now and ask Him to baptize you in the Holy Spirit? Read Luke 11:9-13.
8. Since God is going to do His part and baptize you in the Holy Spirit, are you going to do your part and speak in tongues?
9. When you speak in tongues, who will do the speaking, you or the Holy Spirit?

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