The Sign of the Promise: Acts 1:8
“8) but you will 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
Jesus now explained the sign of the Promise of the Father. He is very specific; “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.”
The sign is two fold; it includes receiving power and being witnesses. These two signs are important.
“Power” is the Greek word Dunamis. It is the miraculous power of God that was inherent in Christ which was able to produce the kind of miracles that validated the gospel message. These miracles are often refered to as signs and wonders. (See Acts 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 8:6; 8:13, 14:3; 15:12; 19:11-12; Romans 15:19; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:4)
Like Moses with the Egyptian sorcerers, these were signs and wonders that eventually could not be duplicated by magical arts. (See Psalm 78:42-43) They went beyond Satan’s power. They were associated with the power of God.
The problem with making speaking in tongues the sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that it can be counterfeited by Satan and faked by the flesh. (1 Corinthians 12:1-3) Tongues need to be tested to see if they are from God. Many Hindus speak in tongues. People in the occult can speak in false tongues.
I have no argument that speaking in tongues often accompanied the giving of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, but Jesus did not say it was the sign of the Promise. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul included tongues as a distributed gift (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), but clearly stated that not all believers have the gift of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31)
Whenever Paul wanted to test if someone was truly in the faith, he consistently looked for power and not tongues. (See 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 4:19-20; Galatians 3:2-5) A person can fake tongues, but you cannot fake the power of God.
The second sign Jesus gave for the baptism of the Holy Spirit was zeal and passion for sharing the gospel. (Acts 1:8) Those filled with the Holy Spirit would become powerful witnesses for Jesus Christ around the world.
Look at Acts 4:29-31. When persecution became painful, the apostles prayed for more power and boldness. They did not ask to speak with more tongues. The result was earth shaking, a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit and new boldness. They wanted more dunamus!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“8) but you will 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
Jesus now explained the sign of the Promise of the Father. He is very specific; “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.”
The sign is two fold; it includes receiving power and being witnesses. These two signs are important.
“Power” is the Greek word Dunamis. It is the miraculous power of God that was inherent in Christ which was able to produce the kind of miracles that validated the gospel message. These miracles are often refered to as signs and wonders. (See Acts 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 8:6; 8:13, 14:3; 15:12; 19:11-12; Romans 15:19; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:4)
Like Moses with the Egyptian sorcerers, these were signs and wonders that eventually could not be duplicated by magical arts. (See Psalm 78:42-43) They went beyond Satan’s power. They were associated with the power of God.
The problem with making speaking in tongues the sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that it can be counterfeited by Satan and faked by the flesh. (1 Corinthians 12:1-3) Tongues need to be tested to see if they are from God. Many Hindus speak in tongues. People in the occult can speak in false tongues.
I have no argument that speaking in tongues often accompanied the giving of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, but Jesus did not say it was the sign of the Promise. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul included tongues as a distributed gift (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), but clearly stated that not all believers have the gift of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31)
Whenever Paul wanted to test if someone was truly in the faith, he consistently looked for power and not tongues. (See 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 4:19-20; Galatians 3:2-5) A person can fake tongues, but you cannot fake the power of God.
The second sign Jesus gave for the baptism of the Holy Spirit was zeal and passion for sharing the gospel. (Acts 1:8) Those filled with the Holy Spirit would become powerful witnesses for Jesus Christ around the world.
Look at Acts 4:29-31. When persecution became painful, the apostles prayed for more power and boldness. They did not ask to speak with more tongues. The result was earth shaking, a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit and new boldness. They wanted more dunamus!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
