In the Early Church
IN THE STUDY:
Many commentators have suggested that the Acts of the Apostles could be equally well titled “The Acts of the Holy Spirit”. Throughout the expanding church in the first centuries we read of the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1, the Disciples were commanded by Jesus to wait until they received the power of the Holy Spirit. They gathered together in fellowship, studying the scriptures, praying and looking forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
All the leaders of the early church were men filled with the Holy Spirit. This was the description used of Peter (4:8); of the first Deacons (6:3); of Stephen who was filled with the Holy Spirit (6:5); of Paul (9:17, 13:8); and of Barnabas (11:24). Every early church leader was spoken about as being filled by the Holy Spirit, this description even being made of Jesus Himself (10:38).
Every great decision the early church took was also under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who tells Philip to approach the Ethiopian (8:29); Peter to go to Cornelius(10:19, 11:12); the leaders at Antioch to set apart Paul and Barnabas (13:2); and it is the Holy Spirit who guides and directs the decision of the Council of Jerusalem whereby Gentiles are welcomed into the church (15:28-29).
It was the Holy Spirit that guided and directed the activity of Paul, from Asia Europe (16:6-7). It is the Spirit of God that guides him through Macedonia and on to Jerusalem (19:21).
The early church particularly saw that the activity of the Holy Spirit was connected with aspects of its life, particularly with prayer (4:31, 8:15); with preaching (10:44, 11:15); with fasting (13:2); and with baptism. Usually speaking, the coming of the Holy Spirit was the consequence of the act of Baptism (10:45; 19:5-6). Baptism was the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit when God gave the new believer the power to witness for Christ. Closely associated with this was the gift of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. The Samaritans (8:15-18) received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands of Peter and John. The Holy Spirit came upon Paul through the laying on of hands of Ananias (9:17).
The early church grew because of the impact and influence of the Holy Spirit. Archaeological records indicate the vast extent of the tunnels under Rome where the early Christians met and buried their dead. The tunnels extend for over 900 miles and over 4,000,000 Christians were buried there in the first three centuries of the early church, such growth was a result of the power of the Holy Spirit.
FROM THE PULPIT:
There is no book in the New Testament in which the Holy Spirit becomes so alive as He does in the Book of Acts. Yet not everyone in the early church responded to the Holy Spirit. People may – even in ignorance – be responsible for denying the right of the Holy Spirit to guide our lives. (a) There are those people who lie to the Spirit of God. This was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:3-9). They lied to the Holy Spirit out of selfishness. As each decision of the Church was a decision under the influence of the Holy Spirit, their selfishness was a direct lie to the Spirit of God. (b) Some resisted the Spirit. Stephen charged the people of his day of resisting the Holy Spirit (7:51). People can refuse the gift of the Holy Spirit. (c) Many are ignorant of the Holy Spirit. The need Paul found to re-baptise twelve because they did not even know of the Holy Spirit is a contemporary need (19:1-7). They knew what it was to repent but they did not know what it was to live in the power of the Spirit. It needs little imagination to see how contemporary people lie to the Spirit of God, resist His influence in their lives, and live ignorant of the abundant life through the Holy Spirit which they can have.
AMONG THE PEOPLE:
During question time on an interstate Mission where I had been asked some questions concerning the role of the Holy Spirit one man rose and asked if he may make a brief statement. He said “Like the previous questioner I doubted the attitude of people who emphasised the Holy Spirit for most of my Christian life. Since I have discovered the power of the Holy Spirit in my own life I realise that up to now I was only living a life of formal Christianity, I knew nothing of its joy, nor its power”.
