Edwin Lam Chou Yin （蓝超荣）: Waiting for the Spirit

WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT (Acts 1)

Times. Dates. We want to know when Jesus will return. So did the apostles. In Acts 1 they were asking, ��Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?�� (v. 6).

Jesus told the disciples that they were not to know times or dates, but what they should know was that they would receive power so that, between the Spirit��s coming at Pentecost and the Son��s coming again, they could be his witnesses in ever-widening circles. In fact, the whole interim period between Pentecost and Jesus�� return is to be filled with the worldwide mission of the church in the power of the Spirit. Christ��s followers were both to announce what he had achieved at his first coming and to summon people to be his witnesses ��to the ends of the earth�� (1:8).

Christ��s vision and commission would give clear direction to the disciple��s prayers during their ten days of waiting for Pentecost. But before the Spirit could come, the Son must go. The themes of Acts 1 will encourage and instruct all who wait for Jesus.

The major event of the early chapters of the Acts took place on the day of Pentecost, when the now-exalted Lord Jesus performed the last work of his saving career (until his coming again) and ��poured�� out the Holy Spirit on his waiting people. His life, death, resurrection and ascension all culminated in the great gift, which the prophets had foretold and which would be recognized as the chief evidence that God��s kingdom had been inaugurated. For this conclusion of Christ��s work on earth was also a fresh beginning. Just as the Spirit came upon Jesus to equip him for his public ministry, so now the Spirit was to come upon his people to equip them for theirs.

Luke tells us that their prayers had two characteristics, which, Calvin comments, are ��two essentials for true prayer, namely that they preserved, and were of one mind�� (Acts of the Apostles, vol. 1 [1552, Oliver and Boyd, 1965], p. 38). There can be little doubt that the grounds of this unity and perseverance in prayer were the command and promise of Jesus. He had promised to send them the Spirit soon (1:4-5, 8). He had commanded them to wait for him to come and then to begin their witness. We learn, therefore, that God��s promises do not remove the need for prayer. On the contrary, it is only his promises which give us the warrant to pray and the confidence that he will hear and answer.

Summary: In a sense all the disciples of Jesus can claim that he has chosen us, revealed him to us, commissioned us as his witnesses, and both promised and given us his Spirit. Nevertheless, it is not to these general privileges that Luke is referring here, but to the special qualifications of an apostle �� a personal appointment as an apostle by Jesus, an eyewitness experience of the historical Jesus, an authorizing and commissioning by Jesus to speak in his name, and the empowering Spirit of Jesus to inspire their teaching. It was primarily these uniquely qualified men through whom Jesus continued ��to do and to teach,�� and to whom Luke intends to introduce us in the Acts. The stage is now set for the day of Pentecost. The apostles have received Christ��s commission and seen his ascension. The apostolic team is complete again; ready to be his chosen witnesses. Only one thing is missing: the Spirit has not yet come. So we leave Luke��s first chapter of Acts with the 120 waiting in Jerusalem, persevering in prayer with one heart and mind, poised ready to fulfill Christ��s command just as soon as he has fulfilled his promise.

Open

What helps you to feel equipped to carry out Jesus�� ministry on earth?

Study

Read Acts 1:1-5. Luke��s first two verses are extremely significant. It is no exaggeration to say that they set Christianity apart from other religions that regard their founder as having completed his ministry during his lifetime. Luke says Jesus only began his. This is the kind of Jesus Christ we believe in: both the historical Jesus who lived and the contemporary Jesus who lives.

1. In what ways did Jesus prepare and equip his apostles to continue his ministry and life on earth?

2. What was the significance of the fact that Jesus showed himself to the apostles and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive?

3. How would the apostles�� ministry be affected by the fact that Jesus chose, commissioned and instructed them?

4. Read Acts 1:6-11. What evidence is there that the disciples did not understand the kingdom that Jesus set up?

5. The primary way that Jesus equipped the apostles was the promise of the Holy Spirit. What was going to be the result of the Holy Spirit coming on them?

6. What difference would the ascension of Jesus and the promise of his return make in the ministry of the apostles?

7. Read Acts 1:12-26. Why do you think prayer seemed to be the major activity that they engaged in after they returned?

8. What was Peter��s conclusion about Judas (vv. 15-20)?

9. What were the qualifications of the person who would replace Judas (vv. 21-26)?

10. Why were these qualifications important?

Apply

The records of these acts of the Holy Ghost have never reached completeness. This is the one book which has no proper close, because it waits for new chapters to be added so fast and so far as the people of God shall reinstate the blessed Spirit in his holy seat of control. How are you involved in being and praying for the witness of Jesus throughout the world, beginning with your own ��Jerusalem��? How have you seen the power of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of others and in your own life? How would you like to experience more of his power?