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The
HELPER
Depending on the Spirit in all of life
Unless otherwise noted, scriptures are taken from the
NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE
Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
©2007 Randy Hurst
Available from
GOSPEL PUBLISHING HOUSE
1-800-641-4310
The
HELPER
Depending on the Spirit in all of life
RANDY HURST
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
The Promise of Power ....................................7
Chapter 2
The Helper ..................................................15
Chapter 3
What “Power” Means ..................................23
Chapter 4
Power for Purpose ........................................31
Chapter 5
The Spirit’s Instrument ................................39
Chapter 6
The Spirit’s Voice..........................................45
Chapter 7
Tug of War ..................................................57
Chapter 8
Spiritual Gifts..............................................63
Chapter 9
Four Purposes of Tongues ..............................73
Chapter 10
Seeking ......................................................81
7
C H A P T E R
1
The
PROMISE OF
POWER
LIVING A TRULY CHRISTIAN LIFE ISN’T
DIFFICULT—IT’S IMPOSSIBLE.
We need help. And God knows it. He made
us and understands us. He created us with
certain innate abilities. He also designed us to
need him. We were designed to be dependent.
There are two great moments in life, when
we are born—and when we are born again.
Physical birth doesn’t happen in an instant, of
course. It is a process. On that day there are
special moments that will never happen
again—the first breath and the first cry.
The miracle of new life in Christ is similar.
In a moment, life changes. In our second birth,
there are sacred, wonderful moments—when
we confess our sins and ask God for forgiveness.
8
Then there’s the moment when, for the first
time, we experience God’s assurance that our
sins are forgiven and we belong to Him. That
assurance comes from the Holy Spirit.
As with physical life, our spiritual birthday
opens the door to the future. Salvation is not
just a matter of receiving Christ; it is following
Him—for a lifetime on this earth and into the
next life for eternity.
Forgiveness and salvation are God’s free
gifts to us. But there are requirements for
following Him. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to
come after Me, he must deny himself, and take
up his cross and follow Me.”1 That statement
alone should help us understand that following
Jesus will not be easy. But, though the Christian
life is not easy, in the most important ways, it is
a simple one.
DISCIPLINE AND DEPENDENCE
Following Jesus involves both discipline
and dependence. We must discipline ourselves
to do our part while depending on God to do
what only He can. These principles characterize
9
much of Paul’s teaching in the New Testament.
This truth could be summarized in the
following statement: God will do for us what
we can’t do for ourselves, but He will not do for
us what we can do ourselves. Paul expresses this
divine/human interaction in his letter to the
Colossian believers: “I labor, striving according
to his power, which mightily works within
me.”2 Notice that Paul advocates human
effort—discipline (“I labor, striving”) that
depends on God (“according to his power”).
This combination of discipline and
dependence is essential to effective Christian
living. We can’t follow Jesus Christ and live the
life to which He has called us merely by selfdiscipline. We don’t have the natural
capabilities to live a truly Christian life. We
need God’s supernatural help. That’s why the
Holy Spirit came to us—to be our Helper.
In the last days before Jesus’ crucifixion, He
gathered His followers to give them His final
instructions. They had been with Him for three
years during His public ministry. He knew they
were troubled and afraid when He told them
that He would be leaving them soon.
10
He had patiently taught them. He said, “All
things that I have heard from My Father I have
made known to you.”3 He had instructed them
concerning how to live as His witnesses in the
world. But they were overwhelmed. How could
they possibly obey all the commandments He
had given them? It was one thing to understand
what Jesus required of them. It was another to
accomplish the purpose for which He had
called them to follow Him.
Jesus knew that fear would overcome their
best intentions. But He had chosen them. He
had prayed for them. He knew that in spite of
their human weaknesses, they loved Him. And
after three years of teaching, He shared a
wonderful promise with them. He said, “I tell
you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go
away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will
not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him
to you.”4
It is incredible that He told His disciples it
was to their advantage for Him to leave them. He
was implying that they would be more effective
with the Spirit’s presence in their lives than when
Jesus was physically present with them.
11
Jesus’ last words recorded by Luke are these:
“That repentance for forgiveness of sins would
be proclaimed in His name to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of
these things. And behold, I am sending forth
the promise of My Father upon you; but you
are to stay in the city until you are clothed with
power from on high.”5
It would seem that a task so great—
proclaiming Christ’s message to all the
nations—should commence immediately. But
Jesus told the disciples to wait in the city to be
“clothed with power from on high.”
Remember the American Express Card
commercial? A person is on a trip away from
home without the necessary resources and is
advised, “Don’t leave home without it!” Jesus
was telling His disciples essentially the same
thing—that they should not begin their
mission without being equipped to accomplish
the task.
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He spoke
one last time to His disciples:
12
“He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem,
but to wait for what the Father had promised,
‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for
John baptized with water, but you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days
from now.’ So when they had come together,
they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at
this time You are restoring the kingdom to
Israel?’”6
Jesus’ answer was clear and direct:
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the
Father has set by his own authority. But you
will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth.”7
Jesus directed His disciples’ focus to the task
before them of being witnesses to a lost world
in the power of the Spirit. He redirected their
attention from the concerns of time to those of
eternity. Understanding the future was
insignificant compared to experiencing the
Holy Spirit’s empowerment to fulfill the
13
purpose for which He called them—being His
witnesses in the world.
The promise of the Holy Spirit’s power is
for every believer. The apostle Peter said, “The
promise is for you and your children and for all
who are far off—for all whom the Lord our
God will call.”8
The fulfillment of our Lord’s promise of
power for His followers happened on the day of
Pentecost. And that promised power is granted
through a Person—the Holy Spirit.
Mark 8:34
Colossians 1:29
3
John 15:15
4
John 16:7
5
Luke 24:47-49
6
Acts 1:4-6
7
Acts 1:7,8, NIV
8
Acts 2:39, NIV
1
2
15
C H A P T E R
2
The
HELPER
THERE IS ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD.
GOD IS THREE PERSONS: God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each are
distinct Persons, and each is God. They are not
three gods but one God in three Persons—
usually called the Trinity.
The Bible speaks about all three members of
the Trinity from the beginning of Genesis to the
end of Revelation. Jesus clearly taught about all
three in John 15 and 16.
Our minds can’t fully understand how one
God can be three Persons, because the Trinity has
unity that is much greater than any unity people
can have. God is three distinct Persons. But God
is one in perfect unity of purpose and love.
God the Father is our Creator. He is the
maker of the universe and the giver of all life.
16
God the Son (Jesus Christ) is our Savior. He
became a man to show the world what God is
like. He paid the penalty for our sin and offers
everlasting life to anyone who will receive Him.
God the Holy Spirit is our Helper. He is
always with us because He is in each person who
has received Jesus Christ as Savior. He helps us
receive God’s forgiveness and obey God’s
commands.
Each member of the Trinity is working in
the world and in our lives. Though God the
Father is our Creator, the Bible teaches that
Jesus and the Holy Spirit also had a part in
creation. Jesus, God’s Son, is our Savior, but
the Father and the Holy Spirit also are involved
in the work of salvation. And the Father and
Son work in our lives to help us as the Holy
Spirit does.
Each member of the Trinity is an individual
Person, but the three Persons think and act
together and can’t be separated.
Because of how clearly the personalities of
God the Father and God the Son are seen in the
Bible, they are usually better understood than
the Holy Spirit. We can vividly see the
17
personality of God the Father (Jehovah)
revealed throughout the Old Testament and
clarified even further through Jesus’ teaching in
the New Testament.
God the Son is foretold in the Old
Testament and revealed throughout the New
Testament in the person of Jesus.
Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit, and we
see the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Book
of Acts and in the teaching letters of the New
Testament writers, especially the apostle Paul.
But, because a significant part of the Holy
Spirit’s work is to glorify the Son, many have
difficulty understanding the Holy Spirit as a
Person rather than merely a “power” or a “force.”
The Bible clearly teaches that the Holy
Spirit is a distinct Person with attributes of
personality. He corrects, helps and intercedes.
He inspired the prophets to speak. His works
are clearly described as being done by a Person.
The Holy Spirit is also divine.
Characteristics only used of God are attributed
to the Holy Spirit. He is present everywhere. He
knows all things, is all powerful and is eternal,
without beginning or end. He is described as
18
working in creation and doing miracles. And
Jesus commanded that believers are to be
baptized in the Holy Spirit’s name along with
those of the Father and the Son.
In Jesus’ final hours before His crucifixion,
while giving His last instructions to His
disciples, He taught them extensively about the
Holy Spirit, whom He would send from the
Father to be their Helper:
“If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments. I will ask the Father, and He
will give you another Helper, that He may be
with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it does
not see Him or know Him, but you know Him
because He abides with you and will be in you.”1
Jesus was revealing a great mystery about
God. Jesus had been with the disciples, and they
knew how He had helped them. Now He
promised them “another Helper.” He was
introducing them to the third Person of the
Trinity—the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament
writers taught concerning the Spirit of God, but
the people could not understand the Holy Spirit
19
until Jesus came and, even more, after Jesus
returned to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit as
the Father had promised.
Jesus promised two things concerning what
His followers’ relationship with the Holy Spirit
would be.
First was His permanence—the Spirit would
be with them forever and abide (or remain) with
them.
Second was His presence—the Holy Spirit
would be in them.
This was certainly a mystery revealed. The
Old Testament spoke often about the Holy
Spirit coming on prophets, priests, judges and
kings. But Jesus revealed that the Holy Spirit
would come to be in His people.
God was with Adam and Eve in the Garden.
In the Old Testament, God was with His people
as they wandered in the wilderness, showing His
presence in the cloud by day and fire by night.
But when Jesus, God the Son, became flesh
and took on human form, God entered another
relationship with man. The apostle John wrote,
“The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we saw His glory, glory as of the only
20
begotten from the Father, full of grace and
truth.”2 Jesus was God not only with His people
but also among them. Now Jesus was teaching
His disciples that God the Holy Spirit would
come and be in them.
God’s relationship with His people
progressed from being with them to being
among them to finally being in them!
The Greek word used in the New Testament
to describe Jesus’ teaching concerning the Holy
Spirit, parakletos, has been translated
“Comforter.” The title originally was used to
describe a person who was called in to help
someone, which is why some Bible versions
translate the word as “Counselor” or
“Advocate.” But the simplest translation is
“Helper.” Jesus described the One who would
come to spiritually strengthen us.
In Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples,
He repeatedly interjected teaching regarding the
Holy Spirit:
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone
loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and we will come to him and
21
make our abode with him. He who does not
love Me does not keep My words; and the word
which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s
who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you
while abiding with you. But the Helper, the
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My
name, He will teach you all things, and bring to
your remembrance all that I said to you.’”3
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to
you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify
about Me, and you will testify also, because you
have been with Me from the beginning.”4
“And He, when He comes, will convict the
world concerning sin and righteousness and
judgment; concerning sin, because they do not
believe in Me; and concerning righteousness,
because I go to the Father and you no longer see
Me; and concerning judgment, because the
ruler of this world has been judged.”5
“I have many more things to say to you, but you
cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit
of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
22
truth; for He will not speak on His own
initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak;
and He will disclose to you what is to come. He
will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and
will disclose it to you. All things that the Father
has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of
Mine and will disclose it to you.”6
The teaching Jesus gave to His disciples
concerning the Holy Spirit in the final hours
before His death prepared them for life without
His physical presence with them. The Holy
Spirit—the Helper—will be the empowering
presence to help us in everyday living.
1
John 14:15-17
John 1:14
3
John 14:23-26
4
John 15:26-27
5
John 16:8-11
6
John 16:12-15
2
23
C H A P T E R
3
What
“POWER”MEANS
PEOPLE OFTEN THINK OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT’S EMPOWERMENT only in terms
of signs and wonders and spiritual gifts. But
the word translated “power” in Acts 1:8
(dunamis) is wonderfully comprehensive. It
simply means “ability” and applies in practical
ways to everyday life. The power Jesus
promised His followers is for every aspect of
Christian living, enabling us to do and be
whatever our Lord has purposed in our lives.
Each individual is unique. We struggle
with different personal weaknesses. The Holy
Spirit knows our hearts, our motives and our
personal flaws. When we depend on Him, He
will help us in our uniqueness to live in
obedience to our Lord. The help—the
power—that we need varies with each
24
individual. The shy, inhibited person may need
courage to speak up. The outgoing, impulsive
person may need restraint to shut up. The
Holy Spirit’s power will provide whatever help
we need.
We need the Holy Spirit’s working, not just
in church on Sunday, but every day—in our
homes, at school, in our neighborhoods and in
the workplace.
SPECTACULAR OR SUPERNATURAL
When people think of the power of the
Holy Spirit, visible, spectacular works usually
come to mind. Most of the time, the kind of
power we need in everyday life is neither
spectacular nor sensational, but it is
supernatural. Accomplishing God’s purposes in
the world requires divine help beyond our
natural abilities. Supernatural living is not
always outwardly dramatic.
After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in
the Book of Acts, spectacular miracles took
place. The sick were brought into the streets
and laid on beds and couches so that the
25
shadow of Peter might touch them. Likewise,
Luke records:
“God was performing extraordinary miracles
by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or
aprons were even carried from his body to the
sick, and the diseases left them and the evil
spirits went out.”1
Notice that Luke describes these miracles
as “extraordinary.” Other translations use the
words “special” or “unusual.” Placing the sick
where Peter’s shadow would touch them or
taking Paul’s handkerchiefs or aprons were not
regular practices of the church. Instead, the
sick were instructed to call for the elders of the
church and be anointed with oil.
In recent years, much has been taught
concerning signs and wonders. Those two
words are frequently used in the Book of Acts.
But Jesus only spoke about signs and wonders
in two ways. He warned His followers not to
be deceived by false prophets in the last days
who would show signs and wonders. And
when the official at Capernaum whose son was
sick came to Him, Jesus said, “Unless you
26
people see signs and wonders, you simply will
not believe.”2
But, when Jesus taught His disciples about
what would convince people they were His
true followers, He did not talk about signs and
wonders but about love. He said, “By this all
men will know that you are My disciples, if
you have love for one another.”3
The fruit of the Spirit in the believer’s
life—love, joy, peace, patience and all the other
characteristics Paul describes in Galatians 5—
may not seem spectacular. But they certainly
can be supernatural—beyond our natural
capacities. When people look at our lives and
see love (especially for those who have wronged
us), overflowing joy in the midst of sorrow,
peace in the crises of life, patience in
tribulation, and gentleness in response to
hostility, these can be supernatural evidences
that we are not merely subject to our own
natural emotions. We are empowered by the
Holy Spirit to live the life to which our Lord
has called us. The supernatural working of the
Spirit will not always be spectacular or
sensational, but it is convincing evidence of the
27
presence and life of the Spirit within us.
The Holy Spirit helps us in a wide variety
of ways—in every part of our spiritual lives.
For example, one of our greatest personal
needs is motivation. The Spirit works in our
desires. He moves us to do what we don’t have
the internal motivation to do. He inspires our
passion.
The Spirit also helps us when we pray. The
apostle Paul wrote, “In the same way the Spirit
also helps our weakness; for we do not know
how to pray as we should.”4 He encouraged
believers to “pray at all times in the
Spirit…with all perseverance and petition for
all the saints.”5 Praying in the Spirit enables us
to seek the Lord and intercede beyond our own
understanding or wisdom.
A CONTINUING INPOURING
In the Old Testament when the Israelites
were fleeing Egypt for the Promised Land,
God gave them bread from heaven, called
manna, to feed them during their wilderness
journey. It was not a supply to be stored up and
28
carried with them. It was given to them as they
needed it.
A life overflowing with the fullness of the
Spirit is much the same. When Paul exhorted
the Ephesian Christians to be filled with the
Spirit, the tense of the verb means to “keep on
being filled.”6 The infilling of the Spirit should
be ongoing. We must keep praying in the
Spirit, loving in the Spirit and living in the
Spirit. The Holy Spirit baptism—as wonderful
as it is—is not just a one-time experience. We
need to keep being filled. We need a continuing
inpouring of the Spirit daily in our lives.
We don’t need signs, wonders and miracles
every day. But we do need the Holy Spirit’s
help in everyday living.
We need the power of the Holy Spirit in
our spiritual lives, in our emotions and in our
relationships. We are not naturally capable of
being all God wants us to be without His
divine help.
It is the difference between ordinary
living—and living with power.
29
1
Acts 19:11,12
John 4:48
3
John 13:35
4
Romans 8:26
5
Ephesians 6:18
6
Ephesians 5:18
2
31
C H A P T E R
4
Power
FOR PURPOSE
JESUS CLEARLY STATED THAT THE
ESSENTIAL PURPOSE of the Spirit’s
empowerment is to be His witnesses. The Holy
Spirit baptism is a promised gift to all
believers. But receiving the gift is not a
guarantee that the promised power will be used
for its intended purpose.
I heard an intriguing fact on the radio: 95
percent of all sport utility vehicles sold in the
United States are never taken off the road. Of
course, during Minnesota winters, four-wheel
drive is a great help in snow and even on city
streets. But why would someone need fourwheel drive on the freeways of Southern
California? These vehicles were equipped for a
purpose for which most are rarely, if ever, used.
This reminds me of many people’s
experience concerning the Holy Spirit
32
baptism. They receive this wonderful gift, yet
they don’t put it into action or may not even
fully understand the purpose for which this
equipping power was given.
Jesus’ promise to His followers was that
they would be His witnesses wherever they
went. Unfortunately, many equate being a
witness with only our speech, or what has
come to be termed “witnessing.” But
effectiveness in reaching the spiritually lost
requires a witness beyond words.
Paul wrote to the believers at Thessalonica:
“Our gospel did not come to you in word only,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and
with full conviction; just as you know what
kind of men we proved to be among you for
your sake.”1
Paul’s witness was not merely what he said
(“not…in word only”), but also how he said it
(“in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full
conviction”) and who he was (“you know what
kind of men we proved to be among you for
your sake”).
33
Our witness is comprised of what we say,
how we say it and who we are.
WHAT WE SAY
Our message is Jesus. It is the Christcentered message the Spirit will honor and use.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would
glorify Him. After the Day of Pentecost, the
first Christians boldly and clearly witnessed
about Jesus as He promised they would.
In Acts 2, the multitude was amazed
because they heard those who had been filled
with the Holy Spirit speaking in the languages
of the unbelievers who were gathered. When
they asked what was happening, Peter, filled
with the Holy Spirit, stood and explained that
this was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy in
the Old Testament concerning the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit. Then he clearly and boldly
preached Jesus Christ, and about 3,000 people
were added to the Church that day.
In Acts 3, Peter and John were going to the
temple to pray, and a man lame from birth was
healed. Peter again used the opportunity to
34
proclaim Jesus, and about 5,000 believed the
message.
In Acts 4, the priests, captain of the temple
guard and the Sadducees were so disturbed
that they put Peter and John in jail. The next
day the rulers, elders, scribes and high priests
challenged the two men, saying, “By what
power, or in what name, have you done this?”2
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke
boldly about Jesus: “There is salvation in no
one else; for there is no other name under
heaven that has been given among men by
which we must be saved.”3
When the Early Church was born, the
message of the believers always focused on the
person Jesus Christ. As they boldly and clearly
proclaimed Jesus, great numbers believed.
Today this same message—Jesus—must be
clearly communicated to the spiritually lost of
this world. He is thought of by many as a
teacher, a philosopher or even a prophet, but
every person must be confronted with the
reality of who Jesus truly is—the sinless Son of
God who gave His life to pay the penalty for
our sins. They must be given an adequate
35
witness and opportunity to accept His offer of
forgiveness and everlasting life and personally
submit to His lordship.
As He did for the New Testament
Christians after the Day of Pentecost, the
Spirit gives us the internal motivation to speak
about Jesus, confident in the Spirit’s
convincing work. The early Christians prayed
for that kind of help: “Grant that Your bondservants may speak Your word with all
confidence.”4
HOW WE SAY IT
How we say things communicates as much
as what we say. Passion is contagious. It is not
necessarily conveyed by volume, but rather
through evident sincerity and conviction. To
be convincing we must first be convinced. If
we’re not moved by our message, it’s unlikely
we will move anyone else.
Our emotions, attitudes and actions are as
much a part of our message as our words. In
his letter to the Colossians, Paul said,
36
“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward
outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
Let your speech always be with grace, as though
seasoned with salt, so that you will know how
you should respond to each person.”5
Peter wrote,
“Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for
the hope that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect, keeping a clear
conscience,
so
that
those
who
speak
maliciously against your good behavior in
Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”6
Notice that both Paul and Peter emphasize
a witness that includes more than mere words.
Paul says our speech should “always be with
grace.” Peter says we should speak “with
gentleness and respect.”
The Holy Spirit helps us communicate
Christ as Paul did, “in power and in the Holy
Spirit and with full conviction.” The Spirit
moves us in our witness with a sincere,
compelling passion.
37
WHO WE ARE
The validity of our witness is related to the
credibility of our lives. Effective witness
depends on character. This has always been
true. But in a culture that is increasingly
skeptical of Christianity, it is even more
critical. The content of our message will be
greatly hindered if our manner and actions are
inconsistent with our words. With many
people, especially those we know personally,
our testimony of the difference Christ has
made in our lives and its consistent proof
through our actions will be what compels them
most.
In many countries, Christianity is not a
prominent religion. The Christian population
is small, and Christian media do not exist. This
can offer a great advantage in evangelism,
because the first witness unbelievers in those
countries receive is from someone they know
personally whose life has greatly changed after
receiving Christ. They do not have to
overcome negative perceptions that come from
knowing people who communicate a Christian
message but whose lives do not affirm it.
38
In a society in which people are rapidly
losing faith in the integrity of leaders in
government and the business world, the
personal credibility of Christians is not merely
an added blessing in witness, it is an essential
requirement.
The Holy Spirit enables our character to
become what God has called us to be, as the
fruit of the Spirit—the nature of Jesus
Christ—becomes evident in our lives.
1
1 Thessalonians 1:5
Acts 4:7
3
Acts 4:12
4
Acts 4:29
5
Colossians 4:5,6
6
1 Peter 3:15,16, NIV
2
39
C H A P T E R
5
The SPIRIT’S
INSTRUMENT
“THE WORD OF GOD IS THE ONLY
INSTRUMENT THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS.”
That statement made a profound impact
on my life more than 35 years ago during Dr.
Stanley Horton’s theology class at Central
Bible College.
I had heard the word “instrument” used
many times in relation to us as believers—that
we are God’s instruments. But what Dr.
Horton went on to explain is that really we are
agents, God’s representatives in the world. An
instrument is something unchanging that is
used to change something else.
The Holy Spirit uses God’s unchanging
Word to shape and mold us into God’s will.
Jesus taught that the Word (or Message) is
like a seed. The New Testament reveals four
kinds of power the “seed” of God’s Word has to
40
work in and through our lives.
First is the power of regeneration—the
power to give us new life. The Greek word
translated as “regeneration” simply means
“beginning again.” The apostle Peter wrote,
“For you have been born again not of seed
which is perishable but imperishable, that is,
through the living and enduring word of
God.”1
Second is the power of sanctification, which
means “cleansing.” The Holy Spirit uses the
Word to purify our lives. Paul wrote, “Christ
also loved the church and gave himself up for
her, so that He might sanctify her, having
cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word.”2
The third power is transformation. This
comes from the Greek word metamorphoo,
from which we get the word “metamorphosis.”
Metamorphosis is a radical kind of change that
takes place in nature. The Christian life is not
merely making psychological adjustments or
modifying behavior. It is a change from one
kind of a thing to another kind of a thing,
much like the caterpillar that transforms into
41
the butterfly—a creature that bears no
resemblance to what it used to be.
Paul said, “Be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, so that you may prove what the
will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect.”3 Our minds are
renewed as the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to
change the way we think, which in turn
changes our behavior.
The fourth power of the seed is
multiplication. When we become channels of
God’s message, that message multiplies in the
lives of other people. Jesus taught, “Other
seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew
up and increased, they yielded a crop and
produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”4
OUR GUIDE INTO TRUTH
God used human writers as His
messengers, but it is God’s message they have
given to us. The Holy Spirit moved men to
write, and He “breathed” the truth of God
through what the writers said. The writers did
not write God’s Word from their own initiative
42
or from their own natural knowledge and
wisdom. Peter said, “No prophecy was ever
made by an act of human will, but men moved
by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”5
Jesus said that God’s Word is truth and
promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us
“into all the truth.”6 The Holy Spirit helps us
understand the truth beyond our natural
ability. The apostle John said, “But you have an
anointing from the Holy One, and all of you
know the truth.”7
The Bible provides abundant evidence that
it is God’s Word. But a person is thoroughly
persuaded of the Bible’s divine authority
through an inward work of the Holy Spirit,
who convinces our hearts of the truth.
A wonderful thing happens when a bornagain believer reads God’s Word. The same
Holy Spirit who inspired the writers is with us
when we read it. The Holy Spirit guided the
writers of His Word by inspiration. The same
Holy Spirit guides us when we read God’s
Word and helps us understand it.
Three regular practices provide guidance in
our lives through the truth of God’s Word.
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1. Bible reading. The person who has a
Bible but does not read it is no better off than
the person who has no Bible. Daily Bible
reading is a source of spiritual strength to the
Christian. We are not just physical beings, but
spiritual as well. Jesus said, “Man shall not live
on bread alone, but on every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God.”8 Most of
us eat food every day; otherwise, our physical
bodies become weak. We also need daily
spiritual bread.
2. Bible study. We need to study the Word.
The Jews at Berea believed that Jesus was the
Christ because their minds were prepared for
the truth. They examined the Scriptures daily
and received the Word with eagerness. It was a
habit of their everyday lives. This is why Luke
refers to them as being “nobleminded.”9
3. Meditating on the Word. Meditation is
giving time for God’s Word in our thought life.
When His Word is already planted in our
minds, it is available for the Holy Spirit to
bring to our remembrance. Paul said, “Let the
word of Christ richly dwell within you.”10 This
means the Word should live within us.
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“Richly” speaks of abundance, both in
quantity and quality. Jesus taught His disciples
that His words should remain in them. We are
to be full of God’s Word, not just turning to
the Word in times of crisis.
The Word of God is the Holy Spirit’s
instrument in our lives. Invariably, people
testify that after experiencing the Holy Spirit
baptism, the written Word of God came alive
to them in a fresh way. The same Holy Spirit
who inspired the writers of God’s Word works
in our minds and hearts to bring us
understanding and activate faith in our hearts.
1
1 Peter 1:23
Ephesians 5:25,26
3
Romans 12:2
4
Mark 4:8
5
2 Peter 1:21
6
John 16:13; John 17:17
7
1 John 2:20, NIV
8
Matthew 4:4
9
Acts 17:10-12
10
Colossians 3:16
2
45
C H A P T E R
6
The
SPIRIT’SVOICE
ON ONE OF MY JOURNEYS, A WELLKNOWN CHRISTIAN AUTHOR sat next
to me on a plane. I immediately recognized
him and introduced myself. After he learned
in conversation that I am a Pentecostal, he
said, “May I ask you something personal?
Since you are a Pentecostal, does God really
speak to you?”
I replied, “Of course.”
He asked, “How does He speak to you?”
I answered, “The same way He speaks to
you.” That startled him until I explained that I
have never heard an audible voice, but the
Holy Spirit speaks to my heart as He does to
every believer—through the inner witness.
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THE CONSCIENCE
God created us with a conscience. Our
conscience is the ability to know right from
wrong. Even nonbelievers have a conscience.
The Bible teaches that our conscience is a
“witness” within us. The Greek word translated
“witness” means an inner confirmation.
The Christian life is one of spiritual
growth. God intends for us to learn to make
right and wise choices. The Christian’s
conscience should continually be developing
an increasing sensitivity to God’s will. We are
not just physical beings, but spiritual as well.
God wants us to use and develop our spiritual
senses, not just our physical senses. If we don’t
use our physical senses of sight and hearing,
they lose their effectiveness. This is also true of
our spiritual senses.
Unfortunately, our human conscience is
not completely trustworthy in itself. The Bible
teaches that a person’s conscience can be good
or pure, or it can also be defiled, evil or weak.
It can even be damaged and left insensitive.
Our conscience can be trusted only as far as it
is submitted to and instructed by God’s
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written Word—the Bible.
Some people confuse the conscience with
the voice of the Holy Spirit. They are not the
same. The witness of our developing
conscience alone is not always sufficient for the
guidance we need.
THE INNER WITNESS
In Old Testament times God spoke
through the prophets to His people. But since
the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost,
He now lives within the believer. The Holy
Spirit in us speaks to or “bears witness” with
our spirit. The Bible uses the word “witness” to
describe how the Spirit speaks. It is an inner
confirmation the Holy Spirit gives.
The Bible teaches about different ways the
Spirit speaks to us:
THE WITNESS OF CONVICTION
Probably the first time you received the inner
witness was when the Spirit brought conviction
to your heart. It might have been when you
48
heard a sermon or when someone shared the
gospel with you. The message penetrated your
heart so you knew you were a sinner. It was not
your imagination or a human guilt complex.
God’s Spirit spoke clearly to your heart.
Jesus promised concerning the Holy Spirit:
“And He, when He comes, will convict the
world concerning sin, and righteousness, and
judgment.”1 Our own rebellious sinful nature
blinds us from understanding God’s truth. It is
only when the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth to
us that we can even understand it. If we sin, the
Holy Spirit will faithfully convict us of that
specific sin so we can deal with it, much like a
physician diagnoses a disease so it can be treated.
THE WITNESS OF ASSURANCE
When we confess our sins, the Lord is
“faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”2 How
do we know we have been forgiven? The Bible
says,
“For you have not received a spirit of slavery
leading to fear again, but you have received a
49
spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out,
‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with
our spirit that we are children of God.”3
The Puritans called this assurance “heaven
on earth,” because it is the promise God’s
Spirit puts in our hearts to make us certain of
our eternal home with Christ. It is celebrated
in the famous hymn, “Blessed assurance, Jesus
is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!”
THE WITNESS OF PEACE
Another way the believer receives the inner
witness is when the Spirit gives us the peace of
God. Paul said, “And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”4
Circumstances around us may be
threatening, but no matter what our mind
perceives or our emotions feel, the peace of
God guards and protects both our hearts and
minds in Christ. God’s peace brings a
supernatural calm, even though it appears
there is no reason to be calm. The peace of
God cannot be counterfeited. No human
50
friend or counselor can bring divine peace. It is
given by God alone.
HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT “SPEAKS”
The first Christians did not hear audible
voices from heaven for every decision they
made. An example of how the Spirit guided
them is found in Acts. Luke states, “It seemed
good to the Holy Spirit, and to us.”5 When the
Early Church was seeking God’s will in Acts
17, they received the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, even though it is clear from the
language used that they were not hearing
audible voices from heaven. But it is also clear
there was a consensus among the group of
believers concerning the Spirit’s guidance.
Sometimes we are strongly impressed to do
something, or we may be hesitant about
something. These inner promptings can be the
witness of the Holy Spirit. At times we are not
even consciously aware that the Spirit is
guiding us, but later we can look back and see
how God led us beyond our own natural
knowledge and wisdom.
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KNOWING THE INNER WITNESS
Unfortunately, even sincere Christians can
mistake their own thoughts and inner feelings
for the voice of God. Our own desires and
imaginations can deceive us. The prophet
Jeremiah warned of those who call themselves
prophets but who “speak a vision of their own
imagination, not from the mouth of the
Lord.”6
How can we be sure that we are hearing the
Spirit’s witness and not just our own desires
and imagination?
First, a witness from the Holy Spirit will
always agree with the written Word He
inspired. Any inner impression that conflicts
with the Bible must be rejected. Just as our
conscience must be tested by Scripture, so must
any prompting from within us that we think
comes from the Holy Spirit. We must be filled
with God’s Word to be able to hear His voice.
This is why daily Bible reading is so important.
The written Word is the instrument of the
Holy Spirit. Much of the time the Spirit will
speak to us through the Word of God by calling
it to our remembrance.
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Second, the Bible teaches that receiving
God’s guidance depends on our first being
surrendered to His will. This requirement is
essential for being able to spiritually hear God’s
voice. Otherwise our own desires will mislead us.
Third, a daily prayer life will cause us to
grow in our relationship with God and help us
become increasingly sensitive to His guidance.
Our prayers should be instructed and directed
by His written Word. If we read the Bible
before we pray, what we have read will guide
our prayers. We must remember that serving
God is a relationship. All important
relationships depend on open and regular
communication.
A Third World country was given a
communication satellite dish by the United
States for international telephone service. The
dish was constantly in motion, run by electric
motors as it tracked the satellite in space. A
government official unplugged the satellite
dish one night, believing the motors would last
longer if they were not in constant use. When
he reconnected it in the morning, the satellite
dish scanned the heavens listening for the
53
satellite’s beam and burned the motors out. It
was not designed for intermittent contact, but
for constant contact.
We were not created to hear God’s voice
only in times of need and crisis, but to have an
ongoing relationship with Him. But, we cannot
expect God to speak through the inner witness
of His Spirit for all of our decisions. This would
ignore His commands to study His Word and
grow spiritually to discern right from wrong—
the way a compass always turns to the north.
The inner witness is not on call whenever we
desire. God does not speak to us by His Spirit
as we want. He speaks to us as He wills, when
He knows we need to hear His voice.
At times God wants us to depend on our
conscience, which the Spirit teaches with the
Word. But our conscience is not always
sufficient for the guidance we need. God also
wants us to hear and know the voice of His
Spirit.
My friend, missionary David Grant, was
traveling in India some years ago as a young
evangelist. Exhausted after preaching several
times a day for many weeks, he scheduled two
54
nights and a full day to rest in the city of
Trevandrum. Early the next morning he was
awakened with the compelling urge to travel to
Madras immediately. He woke the missionary
in whose home he was staying and insisted he
had to leave for the airport. It was not David
Grant’s conscience that prompted him to leave
the city of Trevandrum early. There was
nothing morally right or wrong about which
flight to take. David was obeying an inner
witness of the Holy Spirit.
When David arrived in Madras, his hotel
reservation was for the following day, but the
hotel manager gave him a room. A couple of
days later, the manager stopped him in the
lobby and asked, “Mr. Grant, I remember that
you arrived before your reservation. Why did
you come one day early?”
David said, “Why do you ask?”
The man replied, “Have you seen the
newspaper?”
The front-page story was about a flight
from Trevandrum to Madras that crashed into
a mountain with no survivors. It was the flight
on which David had been scheduled to travel.
55
God has a plan and purpose for each of our
lives. We need to hear and know His voice to
fulfill His will for our lives. Jesus said, “My
sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and
they follow Me.”7
1
John 16:8
1 John 1:9, KJV
3
Romans 8:15,16
4
Philippians 4:7
5
Acts 15:28
6
Jeremiah 23:16
7
John 10:27
2
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C H A P T E R
7
TUG OF WAR
AS CHILDREN, MOST OF US HAVE
PLAYED THE GAME “TUG OF WAR.” Two
teams pull on a rope that has a handkerchief tied
at its midpoint. Two lines are drawn on the
ground. The “tug of war” continues until the
handkerchief crosses one of these lines. Then the
game—the “war”—is over.
Something like a tug of war is going on in
our hearts. At the center of the problem is our
desires. Desires are what motivate us. We
basically do in life what we want to do. The
problem is that within us we have conflicting
desires.
More than 25 years ago when my wife, Ruth,
and I were pastors in Fairview Heights, Illinois, a
young man began attending the church. Dennis
was a new believer, and we became good friends.
As a young Christian, Dennis struggled with
that internal battle. As he left church one
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Sunday, I asked, “How is it going, Dennis?”
He answered, “It’s like I’ve got a fight going
on inside of me, man. It’s like two dogs are
fighting inside me—a good dog and a bad dog.”
I asked, “Which one’s winning, Dennis?”
He replied, “The one I feed, man.”
Dennis described the inner conflict very
well.
Paul clearly addresses this human condition
in his letters to the early Christians, especially to
the churches in Rome and Galatia.
To the Romans, Paul wrote,
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want
to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I
do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law
is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do
it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing
good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For
I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot
carry it out.”1
The power of the flesh—our physical
desires—is strong. In the Garden of
Gethsemane, when Peter was overcome by his
body’s desire for sleep, Jesus said, “The spirit is
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willing, but the flesh is weak.”2
Feeding desires only temporarily satisfies
them. Anyone who has battled a physical habit
knows this. The person bound by alcohol, drugs
or any other sin knows that indulging those
sinful desires brings only temporary satisfaction.
Soon the desire comes back even stronger—like
an animal that grows as it is fed and requires
more food the larger it becomes.
This problem of sinful desire within the
heart of man is a focus of most world religions.
Even people who have never read a Bible
understand the problems our desires cause us.
The objective of some religions is to gratify those
desires. Other religions try to repress desire or
eliminate it altogether.
But the Bible teaches that our desires can be
changed by God’s power. Paul wrote to the
church at Philippi: “It is God Himself whose
power creates within you the desire to do His
gracious will and also brings about the
accomplishment of the desire.”3
The only power that can defeat the desires of
the flesh is the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul
told the Galatians,
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“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the
sinful nature desires what is contrary to the
Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in conflict with each
other, so that you do not do what you want. But
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry
and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of
rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and
envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn
you, as I did before, that those who live like this
will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”4
Notice that Paul does not talk about the
works of the Spirit or the fruit of the flesh. We can
naturally perform all of the works of the flesh he
describes. But love, joy, peace, patience and the
other characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit
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cannot be performed by us, even if we have the
right intentions. They can only be produced
through the Spirit who lives within us. This is
why the fullness of the Spirit must be
maintained in each of our lives.
The fruit of the Spirit Paul describes is not a
list of “works” we can perform naturally. They
are spiritual attributes that are really a
description of Jesus’ character. The indwelling
Holy Spirit produces that fruit in our lives.
In my youth I remember a precious elderly
woman in my home church, Alice Reynolds
Flower. She used to say, “Be naturally spiritual
and spiritually natural.” That results when the
fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit changes our
character and lives.
Living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit will
empower us to win the internal battle—the “tug
of war”—in our hearts.
1
Romans 7:15-18, NIV
Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38
3
Philippians 2:13, Weymouth
4
Galatians 5:16-24, NIV
2
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C H A P T E R
8
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
JESUS SAID, “I WILL BUILD MY
CHURCH.”1 Our Lord did not just lay the
foundation for the Church; He is still actively
building it. Jesus Christ is the Baptizer, and
sent the Spirit, as the Father promised, to
empower His people. Part of that
empowerment is that He imparts spiritual gifts
to the Church.
If you have attended a Pentecostal church
service, you may have heard a person speak in
a language you don’t understand, followed by
someone interpreting what was just said. Or
you may hear someone from the congregation
speak out with a special message for the
church. These are noticeable workings of the
Holy Spirit, but they represent only a portion
of the spiritual gifts the Spirit gives to believers.
Several lists of spiritual gifts are provided in
Scripture by the apostle Paul—1 Corinthians
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12-14, Romans 12:1-21 and Ephesians 4:1-16.
In each case, Paul’s primary concern is not to
provide a catalog of spiritual gifts but to
address the motives and attitudes of those who
receive and experience the gifts.
The most extensive passage concerning
spiritual gifts is in 1 Corinthians. Paul was
responding to the Corinthian church’s emphasis
on certain gifts, particularly tongues, while they
neglected more essential gifts. Though he was
dealing with a specific problem in a particular
time and place, the truths he taught apply in all
times and places and provide insight for other
issues concerning spiritual gifts.
POWER OF THE GIFTS
Paul mentions all three members of the
Trinity working through spiritual gifts:
“Now there are varieties of gifts but the same
Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and
the same Lord. And there are varieties of
effects, but the same God works all things in all
persons.”2
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God calls us, not merely to work for Him, but
to work with Him. He is working in and through
us, and He empowers us through the gifts.
In 1 Corinthians 12, the gifts are
manifested in these two powerful ways:
First, the power of the gifts is seen in their
unity. Paul uses the human body as an example
of the Church. The body is not merely an
illustration of the Church; it is a divinely
inspired representation of what God intends
the Church to be. God designed both the
physical human body and the spiritual body
(the Church). A body can’t function if its parts
don’t work together.
The Early Church was a living example of
the power of spiritual unity. After the first
Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit,
they “were of one heart and soul.”3 Paul taught
that God has so composed the Body that each
member is dependent on the others. If one
member suffers, so do the rest. And if one is
honored, the others are honored too.
Second, the power of the gifts is seen in
their variety. God has a purpose for each of the
gifts. The Corinthian church focused on a few
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gifts (especially tongues). Consequently, the
church’s strength suffered because believers did
not fully appreciate all the gifts God has given.
The very nature of the church is that it is “not
one member, but many.”4 God knows what the
church needs. Each part of the Body and each
spiritual gift has an important purpose. If we
don’t recognize the beauty and power in the
variety God has provided, we might make two
misjudgments. We might devalue our own
place in the Body. Or we might devalue
someone else’s place.
PLACEMENT OF THE GIFTS
Twice in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul
emphasizes that spiritual gifts and ministries
are given by the will and action of God
himself. Spiritual gifts are not imparted by
man’s initiative. God acts through people, but
by His own will. Paul mentions that a gift was
within Timothy through the laying on of Paul’s
hands, and also through prophecy with the
laying on of hands by the presbytery. But he
clearly shows that God has placed each gift in
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the Body “as He desired.” He also shows in
verse 28 that “God has appointed” the various
ministries in the church.
We are to “earnestly desire” spiritual gifts.
But we are not to pursue them. Spiritual gifts
are not rewards or achievements. They are gifts
or graces that are undeserved and imparted by
the will of God for the good of the whole
church. We are to pursue love, but we are only
to desire spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are not
trophies of spirituality; they are gifts God has
placed in the church to work His purposes.
PERSPECTIVE ON THE GIFTS
Paul never intended 1 Corinthians 13 to
stand alone as a beautiful piece of prose about
love. He didn’t write it to be framed in flowers
and hung on a wall. Rather, it is the center of
Paul’s teaching concerning spiritual gifts and
provides perspective. To understand this
passage, remember what the Corinthian
church was like. Their problem was not a lack
of spiritual gifts, but rather their wrong
attitude toward the gifts.
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Paul begins 1 Corinthians 13 with two
powerful arguments:
First, he shows that as great as spiritual gifts
are, love is even greater.
Second, he shows that as wonderful as the
gifts are, they become ineffective without love.
Paul does not in any way depreciate
spiritual gifts. Before he begins his instruction
concerning love, he says, “I show you a more
excellent way.”5 The gifts are excellent. But love
is more excellent. Love is not in competition
with the gifts. Love is what makes the gifts
effective.
PURPOSE OF THE GIFTS
The purpose of the gifts is to edify, which
simply means to build up. It is related to the same
word Paul uses when he tells Christians that we
are God’s “building.” Jesus is building His
church, and He graciously uses us in His work.
The gifts of the Spirit build up in two ways.
Believers are spiritually built up as individuals,
and the church is built up as a group.
Because tongues was a major issue in the
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Corinthian church, Paul uses tongues as an
example. He makes a distinction between
tongues that are interpreted in church
gatherings and tongues that are only for
personal edification. In church gatherings,
tongues result in the building up of the church
only if they are interpreted.
Paul uses a very strong argument to show
that when believers assemble together, the
priority should be the building up of the whole
church. To assure the Corinthians that he is
not depreciating the value of tongues for
personal edification, he says, “I thank God I
speak in tongues more than you all,”6 but he
goes on to say that in the church he would
rather speak five words that are understood
and instruct others, than 10,000 words in a
language that is not understood. He is not
devaluing tongues. He is establishing a
priority.
At the close of the passage concerning
spiritual gifts, Paul makes sure he is not
misunderstood by saying, “Do not forbid to
speak in tongues.”7 The priority is to “seek to
abound for the edification of the church.”8
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PROPRIETY OF THE GIFTS
God has chosen to manifest His gifts
through people, but it is possible for people to
misuse the gifts. Divinely directed order is
needed for their proper use.
The purpose of the gifts (edification or
building up) is the foundation for determining
the propriety of the gifts. Paul says, “Let all
things be done for edification.”9 He then gives
practical teaching concerning the proper
exercise of the gifts in church. Paul’s last
instruction concerning spiritual gifts is, “all
things must be done properly and in an orderly
manner.”10
God does not control us as though we are
puppets. We have a will. God’s Spirit is
working in us, but our human spirit is still
active and is subject to us. We can choose to
control our spirit. The perspective of godly,
selfless love in 1 Corinthians 13 requires that
each person submit to the common good of
the rest of the church.
There is a proper time and place for each
manifestation. God has not given us a
complete list of exactly what is proper in each
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situation. What is proper and orderly in a
prayer meeting might not be appropriate in a
Sunday morning worship service. And what is
in order at one time in a particular service
might not be at another time in the same
service. There is a time for personal edification
and a time for edification of the whole church.
God has given us leaders who are accountable
to Him to make those judgments.
God has appointed “administrations” in
the church. This word originally was used to
describe steering a ship. It meant to govern by
active guidance and direction. Leadership
involves making judgments. When the leader
of a service makes a decision concerning the
propriety of a manifestation, that decision is
under the guidance of the Spirit and is just as
necessary as a message of prophecy or other
gifts. And because the nature of
“administrations” is “governing,” the leader’s
judgment has authority over the exercise of the
other gifts. The leader is accountable to God to
be sensitive to what the Spirit wants to
accomplish in a service and to be responsible
that everything be proper and orderly.
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Propriety in the use of the gifts is essential
to their ongoing effectiveness. Tragically,
misuse of spiritual gifts eventually results in
their disuse. The gifts are essential to the
building of Christ’s church. They are not
intended merely for intermittent use, but as an
ongoing means of empowering the church to
accomplish God’s purposes. When Paul tells
the Ephesian Christians to “be filled with the
Spirit,” the Greek verb he uses means to keep
choosing to be filled. The infilling of the Spirit
was not intended to be just one event. It
should be a way of living.
We need to do as Paul exhorted the
Corinthian church twice in this passage, to
earnestly desire spiritual gifts.
1
Matthew 16:18
1 Corinthians 12:4-6
3
Acts 4:32
4
1 Corinthians 12:14
5
1 Corinthians 12:31
6
1 Corinthians 14:18
7
1 Corinthians 14:39
8
1 Corinthians 14:12
9
1 Corinthians 14:26
10
1 Corinthians 14:40
2
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C H A P T E R
9
Four
PURPOSES OF
TONGUES
THREE
DRAMATIC
SIGNS
ACCOMPANIED THE OUTPOURING
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT on the Day of
Pentecost: a rushing mighty wind, tongues of
fire appearing on the believers’ heads and
speaking with other tongues (languages). The
wind and fire were not repeated in Acts, but
speaking with tongues continued to occur
when people were filled with the Spirit.
To fully understand the significance of the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of
Pentecost, we must remember that the Book of
Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Luke
and Acts are actually a two-volume work of the
lives of Jesus and His followers. To really
understand the first part of Acts, we must go
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back to the last part of Luke and remember
Jesus’ final instructions and commands to His
followers. He said to them,
“Thus it is written, that the Christ would
suffer and rise again from the dead the third
day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins
would be proclaimed in His name to all the
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are
witnesses of these things. And behold, I am
sending forth the promise of My Father upon
you; but you are to stay in the city until you are
clothed with power from on high.”1
Jesus’ command was that a message of
“repentance for forgiveness of sins would be
proclaimed in His name to all the nations.” It is
difficult to imagine a more convincing sign to
assure the disciples that they had truly been
“clothed with power from on high” than
speaking in languages they had never learned.
A few sincere Christians have interpreted
this to mean that missionaries who are filled
with the Holy Spirit would not have to learn
other languages. I know two missionaries who
temporarily received the miracle of being able
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to speak in another language, but it happened
only once in their lives under very unusual
circumstances and was never repeated. Such
miracles could be termed “extraordinary,”
much as Luke described the healings that
happened when Paul’s handkerchiefs and
aprons were taken to the sick. We don’t totally
understand why God uses the manifestation of
speaking in tongues, but it certainly is a sign
that what God is doing is supernatural.
On an airplane, I conversed with an
anthropologist who was skeptical about
Christianity and especially Pentecostals. When
I shared with him several specific examples of
Spirit-filled believers speaking in languages
they didn’t know and others being present who
understood those languages, he was amazed.
I grew up in East Africa where my parents
were missionaries. I remember well an
incredible testimony concerning someone
speaking with other tongues. An African man
and his wife came forward in a church service
to receive Christ. When the pastor prayed for
them, the woman was filled with the Holy
Spirit. She began to worship and praise God
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eloquently in English. After her time of
worship and prayer the pastor, who was fluent
in English, spoke to her in English and she
didn’t understand a word.
Praying in tongues has several purposes in
the lives of Spirit-filled believers.
1. Confirmation. Speaking in tongues is
the first outward sign of the Holy Spirit
baptism. This is found in Acts 2:4 and also in
Acts 10 and 19. Acts 10 is especially
instructive, because Luke records that the
Jewish believers were convinced that the
Gentiles had received the gift of the Holy
Spirit when they heard them “speaking with
tongues and exalting God.”2
2. Adoration. Our finite minds are
incapable of comprehending and our own
language is inadequate to totally express our
hearts’ worship to God. Speaking in tongues,
in what many refer to as a “prayer language,”
frees us to communicate the worship of our
hearts that is inexpressible in our limited
vocabulary. Having been a missionary, I can
converse in more than one language, but I still
run out of words in worship to God. But when
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I pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit bears witness
with mine that the worship of my heart that I
could not adequately express has been
communicated with the Spirit’s help.
3. Edification. Praying in the Spirit
edifies—builds up—in two ways: It edifies the
individual who prays in the Spirit, and if
interpreted, it edifies the church. Paul stated
that he spoke in tongues more than all of the
Corinthians, yet he reminded them that in the
church setting tongues should be interpreted
so that all could be edified. This does not
restrict the private use of tongues for personal
edification, because praying in tongues builds
up the believer spiritually.
With the stresses, pressures and challenges
of life, we have the blessing of praying in the
Spirit beyond our own wisdom and
understanding. The best way to begin every
day is with prayer. The gift of praying in
tongues enables us to pray beyond ourselves for
each day, not knowing what we face. The Holy
Spirit will pray through us to effectively seek
God’s divine help in everyday living.
4. Intercession. “The Spirit also helps our
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weakness; for we do not know how to pray as
we should.”3 When we pray in the Spirit, He
enables us to pray beyond our understanding.
Paul said, “With all prayer and petition pray at
all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be
on the alert with all perseverance and petition
for all the saints.”4 God uses us to work His
purposes in the lives of others through the
ministry of intercession.
Many years ago, my uncle Bud Abbott was
leading the regular Wednesday night Bible
study and prayer meeting at the Assembly of
God in Superior, Wisconsin. During the
prayer time, a godly deacon who worked for
the railroad began praying quietly in tongues.
The group fell silent and listened as he prayed
in the Spirit for about 10 minutes.
When he finished praying, a visiting
woman stood and gave this testimony. Passing
through town, she had seen a light in the
church and slipped in the back. A missionary
in Tibet for 20 years, she told the congregation
that the deacon had been praying in the
Tibetan dialect she knew. The deacon prayed
for a Christian in China by name who was
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suffering under tremendous persecution. He
eloquently petitioned the Throne of Grace on
the persecuted Christian’s behalf.
When we pray in the Spirit, we are not
puppets, nor do we enter into a trance. We do
the praying as the Spirit enables us.
Praying in the Spirit is a wonderful part of
the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. It confirms
the experience of the Holy Spirit baptism,
empowers us to effective worship, builds us up
spiritually and enables us to intercede for
others beyond our own intelligence and
wisdom.
Speaking in tongues continued to occur
throughout the Book of Acts when people
were filled with the Spirit. The same is true
today. This experience is for everyone who
receives the Holy Spirit baptism.
1
Luke 24:46-49
Acts 10:46
3
Romans 8:26
4
Ephesians 6:18
2
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C H A P T E R
1 0
SEEKING
MANY YEARS AGO, AN IMMIGRANT
FAMILY
FROM
EUROPE
WAS
TRAVELING ON A SHIP to the United
States to begin a new life. The family was of
very limited means, and the parents had
packed a large supply of crackers and cheese to
sustain them on the journey. The entire family
stayed together in one cabin and at each
mealtime ate crackers and cheese together.
Most of the journey was over. Only a few
days remained. As the family was walking
along the deck before lunchtime, the
wonderful aromas of food cooking in the
kitchen adjacent to the dining hall wafted out
onto the deck. Tired of eating crackers and
cheese, the children of the immigrant family
savored the delicious smells and pleaded with
their father for some of the food.
After getting his family back to their cabin,
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the father approached the ship’s captain
privately and asked, “How much would it cost
for my family to have one meal in the ship’s
dining room?”
The captain replied, “I don’t know what
you mean. Haven’t you been eating in the
dining room?”
“No,” the father replied, “we have been
eating food we brought with us in our cabin.”
The captain said, “Didn’t you know that
when you bought your tickets, the price
included all of your meals in the dining room?”
The crackers and cheese sustained the
family on their journey, but they did not enjoy
the plentiful feast that was available to them
and had already been purchased.
A person can live a Christian life without
experiencing the Holy Spirit baptism. But why
should anyone settle for less than what God
has promised and wants for us?
Even many who know this promise are
hesitant to seek. Some feel they don’t deserve
this blessing. But the Holy Spirit baptism is
promised to every believer. The apostle Paul
taught that we receive the promise of the Spirit
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by faith. It is not something we earn. It is a gift.
If you have received Jesus Christ as your
Savior, you are already qualified to receive the
Holy Spirit baptism. On the Day of Pentecost,
Peter said,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in
the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off—for all
whom the Lord our God will call.”1
You don’t have to become better than you
are to deserve the gift He has promised you.
Paul compares our spiritual lives to clay jars.
He says, “We have this treasure in jars of clay
to show that this all-surpassing power is from
God and not from us.”2 Clay has
imperfections. So do we. God knows that. He
receives us as we are and will fill us with the
Holy Spirit, who will enable us to change.
Recognize your need of His power. Many
believers speak of needing more of God. The
issue for most of us is really that God needs
more of us. Make “room” for His fullness by
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surrendering every area of your life to Jesus’
lordship and invite Him to fill you with the
Spirit to empower you to live for Him.
Jesus’ disciples had to wait for God to pour
out His Spirit as He had promised through the
prophet Joel. You need to seek the Spirit
baptism, but you do not have to wait in the
same way the disciples did. The Spirit’s
outpouring took place on the Day of Pentecost
once and for all. Now we seek His inpouring—
individually.
We don’t know why God chose speaking in
tongues as a sign of the Spirit’s empowerment.
Some believe the reason is found in the
teaching of James, who says that “no one can
tame the tongue.”3 But that idea can actually
be misleading to people who are seeking the
Holy Spirit baptism, because they might
expect the Holy Spirit to take control of their
tongue. Acts 2:4 states that: “All of them were
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
The Spirit “enabled.” He did not control. The
Bible is very clear that, although the Holy
Spirit enables us, we do the speaking. The
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Holy Spirit doesn’t take control of our tongue
and speak through us. He enables us to speak
in tongues.
When you seek, don’t worry that you will
have a false experience or that when you speak
in tongues it will be from your imagination.
Jesus taught,
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and he who
seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be
opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is
asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him
a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is
asked for an egg, he will not give him a
scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”4
If you sincerely seek the Lord for what He
has promised, He will give you what you ask for.
Shut the door on outside distractions.
Center your mind and heart on Jesus. He is
the Baptizer, and He will fill you.
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Some seekers find it helpful to have other
Spirit-filled believers pray with them. Others
are more comfortable seeking alone.
If you don’t receive the Baptism
immediately, continue to seek the Lord Jesus in
faith. God’s promise and desire is to baptize
each believer with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told His followers to ask, seek and
knock. In the original Greek language, these
words describe a continuous action. A more
accurate meaning is to keep asking…keep
seeking…keep knocking…and you will receive.
1
Acts 2:38,39, NIV
2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV
3
James 3:8
4
Luke 11:9-13
2