Acts of the Holy Spirit - Essay Example

? The Bible The promise of the Holy Spirit was made by Jesus Christ in the book of John chapter 14 from verse 15 to 17. He was meant to be with the disciples forever and to be their counselor at all times. Jesus Christ was speaking from His own personal experience with the Holy Spirit who was dwelling richly in Him (Wagner, 046). The promise came after Jesus had told them that He was going to leave them after some time to go and prepare a place for them in heaven where He had come from. The disciples were thus fearful and wondered how things will be in the absence of Christ. So He sought to give them an assurance of the presence of the Holy Spirit who will guide and strengthen them in their quest to spread the gospel of Christ and to make Him known all over the world. On the day of Pentecost which is accounted for in the book of Acts chapter 2 from verse 1 to 4, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. It began by the blowing of strong and violent winds then what seemed like tongues of fire rested upon each one of them and finally they each spoke in strange and different tongues as each of them was enabled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had a lot of impact in the lives of the disciples and He prompted Peter to stand and address the crowd that had gathered around them. In his address, he referred to the prophecy of Prophet Joel in which the coming and manifestation of the Holy Spirit was prophesied. Therefore, what occurred on the Day of Pentecost was fulfillments to that prophesy. He went ahead to speak of how the coming of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ had been revealed to David who was among the patriarchs of Israel. Through his message, many Jews believed and they were baptized. The coming of the Holy Spirit marked a turning point in the life of the disciples and they were scattered all over the world to spread the gospel of Christ with boldness. The power of the Holy Spirit is very important in the book of Acts since it is what drove the disciples to manifest the power of Christ in them and to perform great miracles and wonders. The disciples needed the Holy Spirit to guide them and to give them courage to speak about Christ. We too need the Holy Spirit in our lives to strengthen us and to enable us live in peace with our neigbours as we bear His fruits. 2. The title Messiah was used in the Old Testament to refer to the kings in the line of David who were anointed by priests. In the book of Luke chapter 4 and verse 18, Jesus Christ rose to read from the prophesies of Isaiah referring to Himself as the anointed one of God to preach the good new to the poor and to set the captives free (Bauckham, 308) Peter talks of Christ as the Messiah in Acts 10 verse 38 and how He was anointed by God to set free the oppressed by the devil and to heal those who were sick. However, the view of Christ about the Messiah was somehow different from what the Jews expected. The misunderstood concept of the Messiah is revealed in John chapter 4 verses 25 when Jesus was speaking with the Samaritan woman. She was shocked to learn that Jesus was the Messiah because she thought the Messiah had not yet come. The Pharisees expected the Messiah to be a military person who will liberate them from oppression by the Romans by wedging a physical battle with them. Jesus stood in sharp contrast to their expectation by advocating for a spiritual battle and not a physical battle. He portrayed Himself as a peaceful Messiah who entered Jerusalem while riding on a colt. The disciples too were confused and wondered at first if Jesus was the Messiah but they understanding of Him changed as He continued to reveal Himself to them. 3. Covenant forms a very integral part of the bible. Covenant refers to an agreement between two parties and they agree to be bound. There are several elements that make up a covenant which include a sign, witness, promise and the parties involved. God made several covenants with people in the bible. The first covenant that God made with man was with Noah. God told Noah to built an Ark which was to carry all animals and his family as He was about to destroy the whole world with floods. The symbol of this covenant was the rainbow which was to appear in the sky to remind both parties of the covenant. The second covenant was with Abraham in which God promised to make him the father of the nation. The symbol of the covenant was circumcision. God was greatly impressed by the level of faith attributed to Abraham since he had no son but he firmly believed the promises of God (Rapske, 207). He finally made the last covenant in the Old Testament with Moses at Mount Sinai in which the Ten Commandments were the symbol. The covenant was made on behalf the Israelites by Moses. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfilled all the former covenants by dying on the cross for the sin of mankind. Jesus brought a different twist to the Old Testament covenant by offering himself as the sacrifice (Smith, 677). The covenant made by Jesus was for the whole universe since Jesus died to save the entire mankind. The resurrection of Jesus made this covenant between God and mankind to be everlasting. 4. The bible mainly talks of God and His creation in which man appears at the centre of events. Man is revealed in the bible as the most special creation of God. The major theme is that of salvation and God’s plan on how to bring it into fulfillment. After the fall of man, God made many steps in the Old Testament to reconcile and to bring back man to his former position (Hayes, 110). The prophecies in the Old Testament were geared towards restoring God’s relationship with man. In the Old Testament, people were bound by law which they were to abide with but in the New Testament, Jesus Christ brings about the element of grace since it was not easy for man to live by law. Apostle Paul explained further the element of grace by giving clear guidelines by which people should conduct themselves as they wait for the second coming of Jesus Christ. The theme of salvation was fulfilled by Jesus Christ when He accepted to die on the cross so that man can be reconciled back to God. Works Cited Bauckham, Richard. The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1995. Print. Hayes, John H. Introduction to the Bible. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971. Print. Rapske, Brian. The Book of Acts and Paul in Roman Custody. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 1994. Print. Smith, Ralph A. The Eternal Covenant: How the Trinity Reshapes Covenant Theology. Moscow, Idaho: Canon Press, 2003. Print. Wagner, C P. Acts of the Holy Spirit. Ventura, Calif: Regal Books, 2008. Print Read More