The Holy Spirit was an active person at the beginning of the Christian age. His activity is seen in three measures of power: (1) Baptismal, (2) Laying on of hands, and (3) The indwelling. Jesus promised the apostles, “for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). In Luke’s Gospel he describes this event by saying, “You are clothed with power from on high” (24:49). Acts 2:1-4 records their baptism with the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. The only other time the baptismal of the Holy Spirit occurred is recorded in Acts 10 and 11 where Luke tells about the household of Cornelius, a Gentile, being baptized with the Spirit. When that happened Peter said, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 11:15-16). The baptism of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles was to empower them; the baptism of the Spirit on the household of Cornelius was to let the Jews know that the Gentiles could be baptized in water and become part of the church. When Peter explained what happened, those who had challenged him then said, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18).
Laying on of Hands Measure
One of the abilities the apostles had because they were baptized with the Holy Spirit was to give individuals one of the manifestations of the Spirit’s power, such as the gift of performing miracles (I Corinthians 12:4-11). Luke notes this when he wrote, “Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands” (Acts 8:18). “The Spirit bestowed” means that a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power was given to an individual. There were nine of these manifestations of the Spirit’s power (I Corinthians 12:4-11). The Bible records five examples where this power was used by the apostles to given another person miraculous power: (1) Acts 6:6; (2) Acts 8:18; (3) Acts 19:5-6; (4) Romans 1:11, (implied); (5) 2 Timothy 1:6. In Acts 6, when seven men were chosen to meet the needs of the Hellenistic widows, the apostles laid hands on them (Acts 6:6). Stephen, one of the seven, began “performing great wonders and signs” (miracles, Mark 16:17-20; Acts 6:8). From the time when the Spirit had been poured out on the apostles, this is the first person, other than the apostles, to perform miracles. The purpose for those who had received the power to perform miracles was to confirm that the word which was preached was from God (Mark 16:20).
Indwelling of the Spirit
The third measure of the Spirit’s power is when the Holy Spirit is given to one who is baptized. When the people on the day of Pentecost asked what they had to do to be saved, Peter gave them two commands and two promises. He said, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The two commands were: (1) Repent, (2) Be baptized. The two promises were: (1) Forgiveness of sins, (2) Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Later Paul refers to one having the Spirit by saying that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). This measure of the Spirit’s power is non-miraculous while the other two measures of the Spirit’s power were miraculous.
Ephesians 1:13-14 give the primary reason Christians have the Spirit. “You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession.” The two reasons Paul says we have the Spirit is to be a “seal” which is a sign that something is authentic. There is a seal on one’s marriage certificate to prove that it is authentic. He also says that the Spirit is a “pledge.” The King James Version has the word, “earnest” which is like “earnest money” one puts down when purchasing a house. It shows that one is “in earnest” about the purchase and will give the rest of the money later. God gives us the Holy Spirit as a “down-payment” – as our “earnest” to show He will give us the rest of the payment later – heaven.
One of the works that the Spirit does for us is to help our prayers when we do not know how or for what to pray. “In the same way the Sprit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).
Applications of the Information
The primary work of the Holy Spirit in the early days of the church’s history was to guide the apostles and prophets as they preached and wrote. Jesus explained this to the apostles before He ascended back to the Father’s right hand. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26). This cannot apply to Christians today because we did not hear Christ teach in person. This is a promise to the apostles.
The Spirit also guided the apostles and prophets when God would give them more information. Jesus said, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). He guided them as they wrote those revelations down. Paul explained, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” (I Corinthians 2:12-13). The “we” does not apply to all Christians, but to the apostles and prophets of the first century. They were the ones who received the baptism of the Spirit or who had hands laid on them. Even the first part of I Corinthians 2 shows this as Paul is talking about his experience.
Application: Miracles Ceased
A miracle is a supernatural event, something beyond natural power. God used miracles to be a testimony that those who were speaking were speaking the word of God. Mark explained this when he wrote, “They went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed” (16:20, see also Hebrews 2:1-4). The only people who could perform the miracles in the first century were the apostles and those on whom they laid their hands to give them a miraculous gift. Thus, when the apostles died and they on whom they laid their hands, died, miracles ceased to be performed.
The second reason that we do not have miracles today is that they are not needed. Miracles were performed to confirm the word. Once that word (the New Testament) had been confirmed, miracles were no longer needed. The written word of God can do the same thing that the miracles could do – cause people to believe. The apostle John explained, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (20:30-31).
— Wayne Burger