The Equipping of the Saints

Acts 2:1-6

In Act 1, Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and then they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). What Jesus was saying in essence is, I have called you, I will equip you to do the job I have called you to, and then I will send you to do that work. This equipping was not a momentary equipping. This had been a three year personal investment by Jesus and now He was giving them the final piece. They needed the Holy Spirit to be able to accomplish this work.

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When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.  And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.

Acts 2:1–6

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When I went to work at the prison, I spent some time as a cadet before I went off to basic training. I was in the prison, I did a lot of work, but I had just begun my training and I had no authority. After I completed my last test, I had all the training, but I lacked one thing, I did not have a badge. That badge signified my authority, my power, to do the work that I was being sent to do. Such was the Holy Spirit upon the church. He was their authority to go into all the world. Please do not mistake this analogy, I am not saying the Holy Spirit is little more than an inanimate object. He is SO much more that I do not have time to discuss in this one post.

The work Jesus was calling His disciples to do was far greater than any amount of teaching could prepare and equip them for. In God's plan, the gospel not only needed to be preached, but it needed to go all over the world and very quickly. There was no way for Jesus to teach all the doctrine and also languages needed by His disciples to accomplish this task by natural human means. What He was about to do was supernatural. God had also orchestrated all of these events to coincide with the Passover. The significance of this holiday to the Jews, and the fact that Jews had already been scattered all over the known world, but returned to Jerusalem for this celebration, in essence resulted in all the world coming to the disciples. When the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak in every language needed to preach to those people, it was for the sake for the lost hearing the gospel. It was not about the speaker, but about the one of whom they spoke (Jesus).

A short list of what the disciples were given on the day of Pentecost follows: the seal of their salvation, remembrance of all that Jesus taught them, words to preach, boldness to stand, teaching of the mysteries of God, authority to go, unity with believers, a greater love for God, and fruit of God's presence in their lives. As we continue through the book of Acts, you will see that they needed all of this, not for a long successful ministry that would develop slowly over time, but for the immediate need and reaction of the world around them.

Here is the point of all of this. The Holy Spirit did not come into believers to draw attention to Himself. He came to draw men and women to Jesus. The same is true for the believers that He equipped to preach the gospel. While God used them in mighty and miraculous ways (and He still does), the focus is never on the believer. Our job is to point people to Christ. This is why Paul said that He wanted all the believers to have all the gifts, but he would much rather they all had the gift of proclaiming the word of God. It is the word of God that brings people to salvation. It is the word of God that calls people out of sin. It is the word of God that strengthens believers to be witnesses. So, Paul exhorted Timothy, and us, "Peach the word" (II Timothy 4:2).

Father, the same Spirit that was given to the church at Pentecost is given to us at salvation. Help us to understand this, appreciate this, and trust this so that we will follow the example of the disciples and go be witnesses. Increase our faith in You so that we go. When fears arise, remind us of the words of Jesus when He taught of the work of the Comforter in our lives.