The expression of power to destroy the works of the devil is inherent in the kingdom of God and is part of the ministry of the Spirit through us. Baptism with the Spirit is directly related to such power. Bill Johnson says that a gospel without power is no gospel at all. I agree. The New Testament model for preaching the gospel was the declaration that the Kingdom of God had come followed by a demonstration of that truth. Jesus declared, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Lk.11:20). When John the Baptist began to question whether Jesus was truly the Messiah, Jesus told John’s followers, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Mt.11:4-6).
It’s interesting that Jesus did not fit the preconceptions of even John the Baptist when it came to the fulfillment of his mission. Some were being tempted to fall away because Jesus was not using the methodology of the world (power and politics) to establish the kingdom of God on the earth. Today, many believers are much more comfortable with the strategies of the world to build churches than the power of the Spirit. Many church leaders are glad to bring on great music, great sound, state of the art media, celebrity testimonies, and global television productions but balk immediately at the thought of healings, deliverance, and raising people from the dead.
John tells us that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn.3:8). Those works were unbelief, disease, demonic oppression, death before God’s appointed times, bondage, physical disabilities, etc. We know those are the works of the devil because those are the very things Jesus reversed over and over again in his ministry and then gifted his church to do the same. To destroy those works requires power and authority.
Jesus told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received power when the Spirit came upon them. Having received that power they would then be equipped to be his witnesses throughout the world. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is closely associated with the “pouring out of the Spirit” in Acts 2. Jesus told his disciples to wait. They waited together as they had been instructed. Suddenly the sound of a violent wind was heard, fire appeared above the heads of the believers, they began to speak in languages they had not learned, and boldness entered into their hearts. Peter’s explanation for the event was that Joel’s prophecy had finally been fulfilled. “No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18).
In Acts 1:5, Jesus told his disciples that they would be baptized in the Spirit in a few days and that the Spirit would release power in them when they received that baptism. Power was manifested when the Spirit was poured out so the baptism of the Spirit is closely associated with the fulfillment of Joel 2. A close study of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament reveals that the Holy Spirit healed, raised the dead, prophesied, imparted supernatural power, performed miracles, produced dreams, and everything we see him doing in the New Testament. In the O.T., however, the Spirit was reserved for a few prophets, priests, kings, and judges. In the book of Acts that power is poured out in abundance and made available to every believer. In addition, the Holy Spirit takes up residence and goes to work maturing believers so that their character might match the gifts and power God places within them.
I believe this “pouring out of the Spirit on all flesh (all believers)” was the historic moment when the baptism of the Spirit was made available to every believer. Beginning at that moment, every follower of Jesus has the potential to receive great power from the Holy Spirit for boldness and miracles as we bear witness to the reality of Jesus to those around us. (More about that power today in my next blog).
