“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask of think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Why is it that on Pentecost, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, was so very important, and essential to the world-wide commission to spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations? It was not only very important, and this beyond measure, because of the birth of the church, the living body of Christ, when each believer was baptized into Christ that day, but it was essential to highlight the fulfillment of Christ’s words, “…and you shall receive POWER after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” (Acts 1:8) Along with the objective knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, and all that would be accomplished in the hearts of believers in Christ up until that day, there was one essential, basic, and yet, marvelous gift of God to the believers of that day, and our own. It was that Christ came to dwell in power in the heart and soul of the believer in answer to faith, the very realization of the promise of God. Christ had promised to send the Holy Spirit to the believers after His departure to the Father. His words were very clear: “…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 depart, I will send Him to you.” (Jn. 16:7) The promise of the Father, to be realized by the Son, and this towards every believer in Christ was that “…you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, …and you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me.” (Acts 1:5,8) On the day of Pentecost, the prophecy given by God, and declared by Joel around seven hundred years before was this: “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh. and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” (Joel 2:28) The Apostle Peter clearly affirmed this on the day of Pentecost (2:17). What does all this mean concerning the Spirit of God being “poured out” upon all flesh, fulfilling the promise of God and Christ so long before? It meant that something wonderful had occurred in the kingdom of God, something so great that it would concern time and eternity, and manifested and known to the ends of the earth. It meant that God had not only declared that His presence would be WITH the believers from that time forth, but that Christ’s very Life, by the Spirit, would indwell the believer, so that there should be the unveiling of the true and living God to the ends of the earth, so that many would be saved, coming to a true knowledge of Him by hearing His words of truth in the Gospel, but also, by seeing the reality of His life in the church, the body of Christ. Every believer, born of the Spirit, would be baptized into Christ, making him one with Christ and the Father forever, by the Spirit. There would no longer be any separation from God, nor would there ever be any lack, or need of the heart and soul, that Christ could not meet according to the knowledge of His will and believing prayer.
What then is the great issue at hand here with the coming of the Spirit in a very special way? It was that of power, the knowledge of it, and the receiving of it by faith. That power was the same which enabled Christ to live and dwell among us, remaining without sin or blemish, to become the perfect sacrifice for sins. It was the daily, ever sufficient and abounding power of God, enabling Christ, and now the believer, to accomplish the will of God, exalting the Father. It was a power given to every believer, to appropriate Christ as his life.
Dear Father, Manifest today your power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.