Acts 1:8

Sunday, 3 October 2021 <p> </p> <p>But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8</p> <p> </p> <p>Jesus just told the disciples that it was not their business to know “times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” He now explains what immediately matters, and it isn’t speculating on the day of the rapture (a doctrine not yet revealed to the church as is indicated in 1 Corinthians 15:51) or the time when the kingdom promised in the prophets would come about.</p> <p> </p> <p>Rather, the se disciples had a job to perform. In this task, they would be both directed and assisted, as Jesus notes saying, “But you shall receive power.” The Greek word is dunamis. It carries various meanings including might, ability, efficacy, deeds of power, and so on.</p> <p> </p> <p>In this case, it is a received power granting the disciples the ability to perform what is necessary to accomplish the task set before them. It is the basis of our modern word dynamite, though the meaning is obviously different in that case. Jesus next notes this power will be received “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”</p> <p> </p> <p>This is the same Spirit that rested upon the Lord in His ministry – </p> <p> </p> <p>“Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” Luke 4:14, 15</p> <p> </p> <p>It is the same power referred to as being available to the saints in Rome –</p> <p> </p> <p>“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13</p> <p> </p> <p>This power of the Holy Spirit is referred to again and again throughout the New Testament. It is what ultimately directs those who are working in accord with the will of the Spirit to meet the charge of Jesus