The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.   (1 Peter 1: 10-12)

There’s an error in thinking that God was active in the Old Testament, Jesus was active at the beginning of the New Testament, and the Holy Spirit active after Jesus ascended to heaven.  The truth is that all three persons of the Trinity have been working together since creation and are still at work now.

I was reminded of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Old Testament through reading the verse above.  Did you see it?  The prophets of the Old Testament had the Spirit of Christ in them.  It’s right in that verse.  And what is amazing to me is that they wanted to know specifics of the coming of the Messiah, but Christ did not reveal those specifics to them.  They were faithful in proclaiming what the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9 uses “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” interchangeably, because they are the same; Jesus is God.) told them, but Christ revealed to them that were working for the good of ones who would come after them (Peter is addressing New Testament believers).

The Spirit of Christ has always been working, revealing what is necessary at the right times.  What is he revealing to you now?

Authority in Teaching

Carl Blothc's famous painting of the sermon on the mount. I like it because I think it depicts the actual scene--Jesus teaching the disciples, but with the crowd not too far back as they might have been approaching Jesus. (carlblotch.com)

What gives authority in Biblical teaching?  How does a learner know if there is authority in Biblical teaching they hear?

I recently have been reading Jesus’ sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 through 7.  Besides the excellent (and sometimes difficult) teaching from Jesus, I have been most struck this time around with the last thoughts of Matthew as he records this sermon.  Matthew 7:28-29:

   “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. ”

Jesus taught with authority, something the scribes of that day appeared to lack.  I’ve been thinking of what they really means for my teaching/preaching, and for what that implies for the learning of people who hear Biblical teaching.

It seems to me that understanding the role and function of a scribe would help understand the authority of Jesus because they seem juxtaposed.   The Pillar New Testament Commentary for the Gospel of Mark states:

“Scribe” thus combined the offices of Torah professor, teacher and moralist, and civil lawyer, in that order. Their erudition and prestige reached legendary proportions by the first century, surpassing on occasion that of the high priest. Only scribes (apart from the chief priests and members of the patrician families) could enter the Sanhedrin. Commoners deferred to scribes as they walked through the streets. The first seats in the synagogues were reserved for scribes, and people rose to their feet when they entered a room.

Scribes were highly regarded in this culture, so for Matthew (and Mark (1:22) and Luke (4:32)) to say that Jesus had an authority in teaching that the scribes did not possess is speaking very highly of Jesus’ authority, not necessarily downplaying the role of the scribes.

Scribes had

Monday Morning Rewind- The Power of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives (Acts 2:1-13)

What are Monday Morning Rewinds?  Click here to see my original post explaining them.

Yesterday’s sermon was the third sermon for our 2010 focus for the church: Live Intentionally.  This sermon dealt with the scripture text of Acts 2:1-13.  You can listen to this sermon here.

In yesterday’s sermon, I sought to answer this question:  what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Christians have the Holy Spirit in our lives!  Yet many Christians live feeling defeated, without joy, or with anxiety.  This doesn’t make sense since these traits are contrary to the nature of the Holy Spirit.  So when we read in Scripture that people were filled with the Holy Spirit, what does it really mean?

I started answering this question by explaining the difference between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Spirit.  On the screens, I showed a list of all the references in Scripture to each of these (you can download the PowerPoint presentation as a PDF file at our sermons page to see all of the information that was posted).

Paul refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, where it seems he views the baptism of the Holy Spirit as happening at regeneration, or at the admission of one into the body of Christ.  Luke is the only other writer who refers to it (outside of the gospel records of John the Baptist’s words), and we see it in Acts 1:4-5 where he shows Jesus’ quoting of John the Baptist.  After Acts 1:4-5, Luke only refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit once more, in Acts 11:15-17, where Peter is talking about the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the Gentiles, and likens it to the experience he had (which I believe points back to Pentecost).  Instead of referring to the baptism of the Spirit much more in his writing in Acts, Luke changes his language to say the filling of the Holy Spirit.