Importance of Power and Witnessing - Research Paper Example

? Commentary on Acts 8 Outline Thesis: This paper narrates about the continuation of the ministry of Jesus Christ by the apostlesand how they were enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to do this starting in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 1. Introduction 2. Importance Of Power 3. Witnessing 4. System Of Witnessing 5. Conclusion 1. Introduction The verse says, “But you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the end of the earth”. These were the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples after his ascension, following which the bible says He was taken up to heaven. St Luke continues this book from Luke’s Gospel, his other book. He proceeds from Luke 24: 49 when Jesus tells the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. He explains the message of these verses in the book of Acts in greater detail, and thus the book of Acts is a continuation of Luke’s Gospel.1 Luke, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, was an eyewitness of many aspects of the life of Jesus on earth and, in Acts 1: 8 says,” this is an account of what Jesus began to do and teach”. The theme of the book then seems to be the continuation of the ministry started by Jesus and continued by the Apostles through the power of the Holy Spirit.2Some scholars have aptly referred to the book as “the Acts of the Holy Spirit” instead of the Acts of the Apostles due to this aspect. To stress this point further, Luke mentions the name Holy Spirit 57 times, showing that the book’s theme is mostly about the role the Holy Spirit played in the progress of the work of Jesus after He ascended to Heaven. 2. Power Acts 1: 8 starts by talking about the receiving of power after the Holy Spirit was vested on the disciples of Jesus. The import of this was that there was a mandate the disciples were supposed to take up that would not have been possible to accomplish through any other power or knowledge but the power of the Holy Spirit. It was not power to make them feel good or assume political office, but the power to enable them to continue with what Jesus had started. Jesus had stressed about the importance of the Holy Spirit earlier to the disciples in Luke 24: 49 when he told them not to depart from Jerusalem until they were given power from God, denoting the power of the Holy Spirit.3 It implies if that they had taken up the mandate by their own strength, they would have been powerless and ineffective. Jesus seemed to realize beforehand, the hazards that awaited them, as the rest of the chapters of the book of Acts narrate. The power of the Holy Spirit becomes evident from chapter 2 onwards when the formerly timid disciples began to preach the Gospel boldly, perform miracles and wonders, and portray a changed lifestyle based on the teachings of Jesus.4 All this was possible amidst great trials and persecution but possible through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. 3. Witnessing The Apostles were to receive power to become witnesses. The word witness had a deeper meaning in the context. It implied that the Apostles were to stand up for what they believed even to the point of martyrdom so as to propagate the Gospel of Christ upon the face of the earth. The Bible and Church history narrate many instances where believers died because of witnessing about Jesus. The witnessing seems to have become so powerful and effective that Peter, one of the Apostles who had been afraid to testify about Jesus during the crucifixion, was able to boldly witness when he received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, which resulted into the conversion of three thousand people.5 It is important for a witness to have knowledge, power, passion and the Spiritual gifts to accomplish this mandate for the witnessing to be effective. The witnesses were to testify about Christ’s authority, His Son ship, ministry, death and resurrection, and ascension. They were to perform His miracles and wonders to confirm His Gospel. They were to tell a lost world that Jesus was their only hope. Their work was not to set up an earthly but a Spiritual Kingdom, a matter they had also themselves inquired from Jesus in Acts 1:6. Their witnessing was bound to arouse controversy since it was first to the Jews who were under oppressive Roman authority and would have gladly welcomed a Gospel that promised physical power to fight oppression. The first body of Apostles was comprised of the group that had been with Jesus from the very beginning. This fact is given credence by the fact that Judas Iscariot was replaced by Matthias who had been with the group all the time that Jesus went in and out among them Acts1:21-22. 6This was one of the qualities of the need to give a firsthand account by this first group. Though this was so, the Holy Spirit would later enable those who had not physically walked with Jesus to be just as effective when the Holy Spirit would be vested on them too, as was witnessed by what was narrated in the period after Pentecost whereby, future believers are reported to have witnessed as effectively as the Apostles were.7 A witness is supposed to give credible testimony. The apostolic witnessing was found to be very effective since, in most instances, it was backed by very strong evidence. This was probably the reason that Jesus had admonished the Apostles not to leave Jerusalem without receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, which was to make them effective witnesses. The fact that this group had walked with Jesus from the beginning made them know him well. As long as He lived on earth, the spreading of the gospel was limited because he was the main teacher and all attention was focused on Him. Jesus wanted to delegate the mandate of the Gospel to them, by not only walking with them but also in them.8 This was only possible through the Holy Spirit. He had told them in John 14:28a “I am going away and coming back to you.” This would be accomplished through the Holy Spirit. As the disciples would realize that they had Jesus in them as they witnessed about Him, enabling and strengthening them in their difficult endeavors, it would be easier to fulfill their mandate. Having walked with them for the period He was on earth, there was so much they had seen and heard from Him that was so hardy during this time of their witnessing.9 He had taught them in John 14:26 that one of the attributes of the Holy Spirit as their helper was to remind them about the things He had taught them. One of the witnesses, the Apostle John says in 1John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled” as he witnesses about eternal life and Jesus. This denotes that a witness is expected to be credible but not to rely on hearsay evidence. These witnesses also had to know Jesus very well so that as they witnessed His resurrection, they would be able to state that the Jesus who died was the same person who rose again.10 There were all sorts of theories about the resurrection, but in respect to the Apostles mandate to witness about Jesus, they were to depend on the Holy Spirit for confirmation that what they were affirming was true.11 The Bible says that if Jesus had not risen again, then the Christian faith would have been in vain because His death was the atonement or payment for sins of mankind. His resurrection was evidence that He had conquered death. It was very important then for the Apostles to witness the resurrection and other aspects about Jesus’s life if they were to make an impact and convince the people lost in sin that they had hope in Jesus Christ and that He had worked the way for the forgiving of sins.12 4. System of Witnessing The witnessing was not haphazard but systematic. They were to start in Jerusalem and then proceed to Judea, Samaria and the whole world. The statement by Jesus in Acts 1:8 shows the great missionary work that was initiated then and continues to grow. It could be called the summary of the whole book of the Acts of the Apostles, spelling that which was due to happen, or the vision on the Christian Church. The purpose from the beginning was for the Gospel to reach the whole world and this movement that started humbly has influenced many Nations today. Mark’s Gospel, which says, “Go into the entire world and preach the Gospel to all creations”, and Mathew’s Gospel, which says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all Nations support this”. Missionary enterprise has been impacted heavily by this simple beginning. Jerusalem was the capital of the nation. This is the place where Jesus, the central focus of Christianity was crucified. Divine Grace was necessary to convince the people of Jerusalem that Jesus was neither a criminal even though he had died a criminal’s death, nor a blasphemer, but the Son of God as He had claimed.13 Rumors that the disciples had stolen His body after burial and later claimed that He had risen were to be discounted. Normal witnessing would not have sufficed and thus the need of the enabling by the Holy Spirit. No wonder it was the place that the corporate infilling by the Holy Spirit occurred, ushering a completely new dimension in witnessing.14 The disciples in essence started their witness at ‘home’. It was important for them to begin witnessing right where they were since it was to become their Headquarters. We later find that even after their mandate continued to expand, they would always come back to Jerusalem for instructions. It is wrong to witness to others while neglecting ones home, family or oneself. Others will desire what has changed a person. The mandate would then continue to Judea, which meant that the Gospel was not to be preached only in the city but would continue to the rest of the country.15 Judea was Jewish territory and thus up to this point the Gospel was only preached to the Jews. Through persecution, the disciples were scattered to Judea and to Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. 5. Conclusion The verse explains how the disciples were enabled by the Holy Spirit to spread the gospel as the Holy Spirit gave them power and guidance. The same applies today to followers of Christ as they undertake the mandate of spreading the gospel. When man seeks God’s guidance and leadership, he is used as a vessel to undertake God’s purpose. References Arnold, Clinton E. “Acts,” in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.Pp16-35. Barrett, C. K. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. ICC. New York, NY: T & T Clark, 1994.Pp13-147 Brawley, Robert L. Luke-Acts and the Jews: Conflict, Apology, and Conciliation. Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1987.Pp11-56. Bruce, F. F. Commentary on the Book of Acts. NICNT. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1988.Pp15-98. Bruce, F. F. New Testament History. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1972.Pp15-258. Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1998.Pp23-179 Finegan, Jack. The Archaeology of the New Testament. Princeton: Princeton University, 1969. Pp17-158. Gasque, W. W. A History of the Criticism of the Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1975. Hemer, C. The Book of Acts in the Setting of the Hellenistic History. Tubingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1989. Haenchen, Ernst. The Acts of the Apostles. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1971. Harrison, Everett F. Acts: The Expanding Church. 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