Witness Empowered by the
Spirit
He who grows in the Holy
Spirit will witness of Christ. Just before His
ascension Jesus said, Ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and
the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8.
The power of Jesus promised the disciples were
especially for witnessing, and this power was to
be personally and continuously communicated to
them by the Holy Spirit.
Christs victory
while on earth was twofold: He conquered death.
In fact, only His victory over sin made possible
His victory over death. After His victory over
sin would have been impossible even for the Son
of God without the Holy Spirit.
Christs victory
over every conceivable temptation settles the
question as to whether man aided by the Holy
Spirit can obey God. In Christs victory,
according to Romans 8:3, our Lord condemned
sin in the flesh.
Did Christ fulfill His
promise that the Holy Spirit would come upon the
disciples and give them power to witness? In the
midst of his sermon on the day of Pentecost Peter
declared, This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all witnesses. Acts 2:32. On
that day 120 testified of the resurrected Christ.
They had felt within their souls the power
of resurrection (victory over sin) and
could testify to what they had both seen and
experienced. (Philippians 3:10.) Luke described
the event in these words: With great power
gave the apostles witness of the resurrection:
and great grace was upon them all.
Acts 4:33.
Ye shall be
witnesses! A witness has no secondhand
hearsay report to give; he can only tell only
what he has actually seen and felt. We must know
the resurrection power in our lives. A witness
not only has something to say, but he says it.
Some want power and yet
have no story to tell. They have a sickly
Laodicean experience that cheers no one and
discourages many. (Revelation 3:14-20.) To listen
to their lifeless testimonies sorely tries even
the saints. The shout of victory needs to be
heard throughout the camp. Let those who have not
had an experience in overcoming sin seek first
for overcoming power in their lives before trying
to be missionary witnesses.
Several months before
Jesus death, His disciples upon returning
from a missionary tour told Him of their
experience in meeting the people. Why, they had
even cast out devils! Jesus, however, cautioned
that miracles were secondary that a Christian
experience was of first importance. Then He made
them a promise: I give unto you power
over all the power of the enemy.
Luke 10:19. Yes, Jesus promised power to His
followers-power-over power; more than that, power
over all the power of the enemy.
Does Jesus really have
this power to give? After His resurrection
Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All
power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. Matthew 28:18. If we have Jesus, we
have all the power-all the power we can use to
His honor and glory.
Peter said of Jesus, He
was put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18.)
Thus Jesus was declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead. (Romans 1:4.) Christs
resurrection demonstrated the power of the Spirit
over death. Thus, His resurrection makes certain
a resurrection for every soul that trusts in Him.
The power that operated to bring Jesus from the
grave will bring us from the grave.
The same Spirit that put
life into our bodies in the beginning will put
life unto them in the resurrection. The vision of
dry bones recorded in Ezekiel 37 plainly teaches
this. The prophet beheld the dead recreated but
without life; then breath came into them,
and they lived. (Verse 10.) Next the Lord
spoke, saying, When I have opened your
graves, O my people,
and shall put my
spirit in you, and ye shall live, then shall ye
know that I the Lord have spoken it, and
performed it. Verses 13,14.
The
disciples who witnessed to Christs
resurrection had themselves died to sin and
experienced the resurrection power of the Holy
Spirit, which enabled them to walk in newness of
life. Christ has given us the symbol of baptism
to reenact His death, burial, and resurrection.
We are buried with him
into
death. That is, we reckon ourselves dead
unto sin, and we are raised up to walk in
newness of life. That is, to live a new
life empowered by the Spirit. (Romans 6:4-6.)
Christ calls all His disciples to be witnesses to
His resurrection, for in that act of victory
Christ demonstrated the full and complete power
of the Holy Spirit. And only as we accept that
victory as ours can we have power for witnessing.
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