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Acts Study #8: Introduction to the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts
Hechos Estudio #8: Introducción a la Doctrina del Espíritu Santo en el Libro de los Hechos
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All Bible quotations and the arrangement are found exclusively in the Kingdom Study Bible version, published by Jehovah Has Spoken Publishing Ministries. It is published for free in PDF format on this website.
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“This is the work of Jehovah! It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23
Acts, Chapter 1.1: Many Jews of the Diaspora believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1 - 2:47)
§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave his Great Commission and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot (1:1 - 26)
¶Opposite The Lord gave his Great Commission to his first church (and all future churches) to take the Gospel to the entire Earth (1:1 - 8)
¶Opposite The apostles cast lots to choose an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot (1:9 - 26)
§Complement Peter preached the Gospel to foreign-born Jews and about 5,000 confessed Jesus as their Messiah (2:1 - 40)
¶Unique God poured out his Holy Spirit upon the apostles; and this miracle brought many foreign-born Jews around them (2:1 - 13)
¶Complement Peter preached that the miracle of speaking in foreign languages came from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:14 - 21)
¶Complement Peter preached that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was also from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:22 - 28)
¶Opposite Peter pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Jehovah as proof of the resurrection of Jesus (2:29 - 36)
¶Opposite Peter called the Jews to repent and turn to their Messiah; and be baptized as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins (2:37 - 40)
§Unique The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new believers (2:41 - 47)
¶Complement After baptism, the new converts continued in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles (2:41 - 43)
¶Complement The spiritual growth of the new converts resulted in more souls being saved, which were added to the Assembly (2:44 - 47)
§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power, and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot
¶Opposite Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power to carry out his Great Commission
Unique The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. 1:3To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen by them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
Complement And, being assembled together with the apostles, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; but “wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me:
Complement “for John truly baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Opposite Therefore, when they came together, they asked him, saying, “Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Zion again to Israel?” And he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own authority.
Opposite “But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria; and unto the uttermost part of the Earth.”
This is the fourth in a series of topical studies on the doctrine of Baptism in the Book of Acts. The doctrines of Baptism and the Holy Spirit are closely related, so both must be understood together for a correct understanding of the Bible. After this study, we take a topical look at how these two doctrines were practiced in the Book of Acts; and then we will go on into a detailed study of the Golden Ratio design of the Book of Acts.
Now let us consider a very brief introduction to the doctrines of the Holy Spirit.
Understanding the Biblical role of the third Person of the Trinity in our lives is basic to an ability to walk with Christ daily. Satan is very busy these days, spreading false teaching about the Holy Spirit far and wide. But the Word of God gives us the right answers, if we read it in its context; and that is where the Golden Ratio design of the Bible is of the greatest help to the Believer in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit dwelled WITH Believers before the Crucifixion of Christ
The Holy Spirit is not a “force”, as claimed by many false teachers, but a Divine Person, and is addressed as “He” by the Lord Jesus on numerous occasions in the Gospels.
“If you love me, keep my Commandments; and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may remain with you forever: even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him, nor know him. But you know him: for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.” John 14:15-27
Notice that Jesus said (He was speaking to his disciples in the upper room before the crucifixion): “He dwells WITH you, and SHALL BE IN you.”
Before and up to the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit dwelt with Believers (including Believers under the Old Covenant like David, Samson, and others). Occasionally, the Holy Spirit dwelt IN Believers (e.g. Numbers 27:18), but it was not the normal situation. When God wanted to use Believers in a mighty way, He would come upon them and “clothe” them in the Holy Spirit.
“Then Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath; and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he tore him apart as he would have torn a kid; and there was nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.” Judges 14:5-6
“Then the Spirit of God clothed Amasai, who was chief of the captains, saying, “We are yours, David, and on your side, you son of Jesse; peace, peace to you; and peace to your helpers: for your God is helping you.” 1 Samuel 12:18
This is what happened on the Day of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit came upon the Believers in the first Assembly (or church), and He empowered them to speak in foreign languages that they had never previously studied nor spoken.
“And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly a sound came from Heaven like a rushing mighty wind; and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And cloven tongues like fire appeared to them; and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit; and they began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Acts 2:1-4
So one of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit is to “clothe” or “come upon” and empower Believers to do works that they are unable to do in their own strength.
The Holy Spirit dwelt IN Believers permanently after the Crucifixion of Christ
The other main ministry of the Holy Spirit toward Believers is to “indwell”, or dwell in, them.
The Holy Spirit did indwell Believers occasionally during the Old Covenant; however, Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to indwell his apostles after his resurrection, but before the Day of Pentecost:
“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit right now.” John 20:22, Kingdom Study Bible
This is a teaching that is not heard often in churches today, because most translations simply say, “Receive the Holy Spirit”, which doesn’t communicate well that this is a command! The original Greek word for “receive” is in the imperative, which is a command.
So from that moment on, the Holy Spirit indwells all Believers in Christ at the moment that they received Christ as their Savior (i.e. they were Born again).
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to benefit from it:” I Corinthians 12:7
Up until that moment, the Holy Spirit had not indwelt the apostles, but they had been Believers in Christ long before that time. So the apostles were the first to experience the blessedness of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Today, when a sinner repents of his sins and accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior by faith through prayer, there are several important things that happen instantaneously (for simplicity, this is not a complete list):
1) Their sins (past, present, and future) are forgiven, because of their faith in the Finished Work of Christ on the cross, where their sins were laid on Christ and put away forever.
“Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the passing over of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, so that God might be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.” Romans 3:25-26
2) The sinner is “Born Again” into the Family of God. That is to say, they are no longer part of the sinful family of Adam and Eve, but they instantly become part of the Family of God, which is composed of all of the Saints of God from all Ages. In other words, they have a new Father, and now become subject to his discipline.
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom every family in Heaven and earth is named...” Ephesians 3:14-15
3) The new Saint is permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
“that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also after you believed in Christ, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the down-payment of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:12-14
Do you understand the clear teaching of the apostle Paul? “After you believed in Christ, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise...” According to the teaching letter of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians, there is no delay after a sinner believes in Christ: they are immediately sealed with the Holy Spirit, “which is the down-payment of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.”
This means that we receive the Holy Spirit as a down-payment from God during the rest of our earthly life until our body dies and we pass into the presence of Jesus Christ forever and ever.
In summary: the Holy Spirit comes into and DWELLS within sinners immediately after they repent and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Afterward, the Holy Spirit comes UPON Believers for POWER, when the right conditions are met.
Here is another twist: During the Book of Acts, there were some Believers in Jehovah under the Old Covenant who were already saved, but who had not yet believed on Jesus Christ as their Messiah. In those cases, they did not pray to receive Christ in order to receive the Holy Spirit, because they were already the children of God. This is what makes understanding the Bible a challenge, because unless you grasp the transitory nature of the period between the Old and New Covenant, these instances will be confusing.
Here is a list of examples that I will leave it to you to look up for yourself: Acts 2:38-39, 4:4; 8:36-37, 10:44, etc.
As we study through the Book of Acts, we will examine each case in detail. I cannot do it in this one short study.
We will examine in the next study how the practices of water baptism, speaking in tongues, and the laying on of the apostles’ hands changed over the first thirty or so years that are covered by the Book of Acts. You may be surprised at what you will learn, because it will probably be different than what your preacher told you, especially if you attend a charismatic or pentecostal church.
How to be saved
The Bible clearly states that salvation can only be obtained if we repent and believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.
Luke 13:3: “I say to you, no; but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Romans 3:21-24: “But now, the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed (being testified by the Law and the Prophets), even the righteousness of God as it is through the faith of Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
It is impossible to keep the Law of Moses! The sole purpose of the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments) is to make you understand that you are a sinner who has sinned against God. It cannot make you righteous in God’s eyes:
Romans 3:19-20: “And we know that whatever the Law says, it says to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be shut, and everyone may become guilty before God; therefore by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified in His sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin.”
Sins can only be paid for by the finished atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross! We cannot pay for our own sins with our suffering, neither in this life nor in the fictitious place called “Purgatory”!
Romans 3:23-26: “For all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has publicly exhibited, to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of past sins, through the patience of God; to declare, I say, at this time his justice; that God may be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.”
Here is how you can be truly saved TODAY, and know that you have Eternal Life, right now!
The Bible says,
“that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart, man believes into righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made into salvation: for the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for it is written, “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13
Are you ready to do that? If so, then find a place to pray privately, and pray this prayer with all of your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ:
“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! You are my only hope for salvation! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, you were buried, and you rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”
If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.
Hechos Estudio #8: Introducción a la Doctrina del Espíritu Santo en el Libro de los Hechos
¡Si está utilizando un teléfono inteligente, por favor, gírelo al modo horizontal! ¡Gracias!
Todas las citas bíblicas y el arreglo se encuentran exclusivamente en el Reino Estudio Biblia (REB) en español, publicada por los ministerios editoriales Jehová ha hablado.
Está publicado de forma gratuita en formato PDF en este sitio web.
No hay costo ni obligación de descargar este PDF, y ningún la publicidad.
“¡Esta es la obra de Jehová! Es maravilloso a nuestros ojos”. Salmo 118:23
Hechos, Capítulo 1.1: Muchos judíos de la Diáspora creído al evangelio de Jesús Cristo (1:1 - 2:47)
§El complemento Introducción: Jesús dio su Gran Comisión y los apóstoles eligieron un reemplazo para Judas Iscariote (1:1 - 26)
¶Lo opuesto El Señor dio su Gran Comisión a su primera iglesia (y todas las iglesias futuras) para llevar el evangelio a toda la tierra (1:1 - 8))
¶Lo opuesto Los apóstoles echan suertes para elegir un apóstol para reemplazar a Judas Iscariote (1:9 - 26)
§El complemento Cuerpo: Pedro predicó el evangelio a judíos nacidos en el extranjero y unos 5,000 confesaron a Jesús como su Mesías (2:1 - 40)
¶Único Dios derramó su Espíritu Santo sobre los apóstoles; y este milagro atrajo a muchos judíos nacidos en el extranjero (2:1 - 13)
¶El complemento Pedro predicó que el milagro de hablar en idiomas extranjeros provenía de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:14 - 21)
¶El complemento Pedro predicó que la crucifixión y resurrección de Jesús también provenían de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:22 - 28)
¶Lo opuesto Pedro señaló el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo desde Jehová como prueba de la resurrección de Jesús (2:29 - 36)
¶Lo opuesto Pedro llamó a los judíos a arrepentirse y volverse al cristo, y ser bautizados como señal del perdón de sus pecados (2:37 - 40)
§Único Conclusión: La asamblea en Jerusalén comenzó a expandirse rápidamente con muchos creyentes nuevos (2:41 - 47)
¶El complemento Después del bautismo, los nuevos conversos continuaron en la enseñanza y la comunión de los apóstoles (2:41 - 43)
¶El complemento El crecimiento espiritual de los nuevos conversos resultó en la salvación de más almas (2:44 - 47)
§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power, and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot
¶Opposite Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power to carry out his Great Commission
Unique The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. 1:3To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen by them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
Complement And, being assembled together with the apostles, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; but “wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me:
Complement “for John truly baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Opposite Therefore, when they came together, they asked him, saying, “Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Zion again to Israel?” And he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own authority.
Opposite “But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria; and unto the uttermost part of the Earth.”
Introducción
La traducción al español de este estudio está pendiente.
¿Exactamente cómo y cuándo naciste de nuevo?
He aprendido por experiencia que aquellos que se niegan a responder lo hacen porque nunca han nacido de nuevo; no tienen idea de lo que significa, y por eso no pueden responder.
Si ese es tu caso, entonces tu destino eterno en este momento es el Infierno; y más tarde, el Lago de Fuego.
Afortunadamente, podemos cambiar nuestro destino eterno del Infierno al Cielo, si nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados y recibimos a Jesucristo como nuestro Salvador personal.
Primero, debemos creer que Jesús es el Hijo de Dios; que fue crucificado por nuestros pecados, que fue sepultado y que resucitó de entre los muertos al tercer día.
Romanos 10:8-11: “Pero ¿qué dice? “La Palabra está cerca de ti, incluso en tu boca y en tu corazón”, es decir, la Palabra de fe (que predicamos), que si confesarás con tu boca al Señor Jesús, y creerás en tu corazón que Dios le levantó de los muertos, tú serás salvado: porque con el corazón, el hombre cree para justicia, y con la boca, la confesión se hace para la salvación: porque la Escritura dice, “cualquiera que en él creyere, no será avergonzado”.
Entonces, debemos arrepentirnos de nuestros pecados e invocar el Nombre del Señor Jesús para salvarnos.
Romanos 10:12-13: “Porque no hay diferencia entre el judio y el gentil: porque el mismo Señor sobre todo es rico a todos los que le invocan: porque está escrito, “Cualquiera que llamará sobre el Nombre del Señor será salvado”.
Juan 1:12: “Pero cuantos le recibieron, él les dio autoridad para convertirse los niños de Dios: incluso a aquellos quien creen sobre su Nombre”.
Cuando hacemos eso, entonces nacemos de nuevo instantáneamente en el Reino de Dios.
Estas listo para hacer eso? Si es así, entonces busca un lugar para orar en privado y haz esta oración con todo tu corazón al Señor Jesucristo:
“Señor Jesús, sé que he pecado contra TI. ¡No soy bueno y usted eres justo! Creo que moriste en la cruz por mis pecados, fuiste enterrado y resucitaste de entre los muertos al tercer día. Quiero que vengas a mi vida y seas mi Señor y Salvador. Por favor entra en mi corazón ahora mismo. Perdóname por todos mis pecados y salva mi alma. En el poderoso Nombre de Jesús, oro, ¡Amén!”
Si se apartó de sus pecados y aceptó a Jesucristo como su Señor y único Salvador desde el pecado, por favor envíeme un mensaje a través de Facebook y hágame saber que lo ha hecho, para que pueda orar por usted y alegrarme con usted en lo que Dios tiene hecho en tu vida. Amén.