"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8)
In Acts 1 we see Jesus ascending into Heaven while His disciples "continually devoted themselves to prayer" (Acts 1:14). After choosing, by casting lots, the apostle who would replace Judas Iscariot, the day of Pentecost arrived initiating what Jesus told them in verse 8 of chapter 1. "And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:1-2).
Who is Holy Spirit? We first see Him in Genesis 1:2 - "And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." Then God said....(vs. 3, 6, 9,11,14,20,22,24,26,28,29).
The Spirit in Genesis 1:2 is the Hebrew word Ruwach (pronounced roo-akh) which is a feminine Hebrew noun meaning to blow; to breathe; the breath of one's mouth as in the creative Word of God. "This important Hebrew noun occurs 387 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. The basic meaning is "air in motion" (Key Word Study Bible NASB, page 1775).
Check out 1 Corinthians 2: 6-11 (ESV) -
"Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
In other words, if we want to know God, we need to know His Spirit because the essence of who He is, is His Spirit.
So, our first entry into who God is Genesis 1. We see the power of God displayed in creation when God creates out of nothing. Through the very breath of God, we get to see His creative power. Therefore, when Jesus is ascending back into Heaven, He says "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you."
Just like the creation story in Genesis 1 tells of God (Romans 1), we have been given this kind of power in our lives to tell others about Him. God's Spirit breathes His power into us in order that we breathe that same kind of power into others so they can know Him just like we do.
The power we've been given is the "dunamis" power of God, which basically means being able, capable; powers, miracles coming out of that mighty power of God inherent in Christ and which power was lent to His witnesses and ambassadors" (Key Word Study Bible NASB, page 1827). Isn't that incredible? That we have the same power that is inherent (!) in Christ?!?!
Enjoy praising Him for His power - https://youtu.be/fd24fpsF1Qw
I think that will be enough for this week but for further exploration for next week - is the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit the same thing?
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Carri
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