The Ministry of the Spirit in the gospels was to fill, lead and empower Jesus. He in turn promised his successors that they would enjoy the same ‘success!’ His promise to his intimates was that after he left them, the same Spirit that empowered him would empower them and succeeding generations of believers in the same way. This Holy Spirit would dwell within them ministering to them and through them enabling them to be what the Apostle Paul would later come to call Ministers of Reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:19). He is the regenerator, empowerer, teacher, leader, comforter, encourager, and intercessor for us and multiplies this ministry to others through us (2 Cor 1:3-7).
In the community of the Spirit humility doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself it means thinking of yourself less. Consequently, one of the more observable features of the gospel accounts is that Jesus, who is to be worshipped nonetheless deferred glory to the Father. Now we see in Acts that The Spirit, who is also to be worshipped, refers glory to the Son. In many respects this aspect of how the Godhead interacts is one of the more interesting insights that Luke offers. Humility, giving credit to another, is proof positive of whether one is enamored by the love of power or the power of love.
The point seems to be of such importance to Luke that he tells us that Herod met his death for refusing to acknowledge God and receiving worship (Acts 11). This is by no means a concept confined to the pages of the New Testament. In the book of Daniel there is the chilling story of Nebuchadnezzar, who was yet another king who learned one of life’s hardest lessons whilst walking on the roof of his palace (Dan 4 – entire chapter) – his subsequent divine humiliation is a lesson for all.
This conflict lies at the heart of many of the controversies in Acts, and is most starkly illustrated in the contrast between Simon Magus and Philip (Acts 8), moreover in Acts 14 when the people of Lystra encounter the power of love in Paul, their response is to worship him yet, when he and Barnabas refuse to accept their adoration their reaction is to stone them! At the heart of Luke’s message then is this most important and topical motif namely that man is not made to receive worship – he is made to give it. To God alone be the glory. Not only is God the only Person worthy of worship he is the only person whose self-worth and self-esteem is not altered by the presence or absence of it.
How apt that Luke should add such a caveat before exposing our venial hearts to the potential and the power of the Spirit. As if to underscore the importance of humility, readers cannot help but notice that no miracle in Acts is attributed directly to the Holy Spirit. Yet not a single healing, prophecy, or sermon would have been efficacious or even possible but that men were ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ (e.g. Acts 4:8).
In our Grace Central Lectures we have been examining the healngs in Acts and one of the more interesting features is that of all the miraculous events in Acts none of them are accredited to The Holy Spirit. No one is healed or saved or in the name of the Holy Spirit, all the glory goes to Jesus. Acts is about the full river of God's saving action in history, flowing straight into the community of the Spirit, in Jesus and the Holy Spirit but the flow of that river can be impeded whenever Adam becomes A-dam blocking the river of grace with the barrier of self-interest. As far as the Spirit is concerned, all the glory goes to Jesus. Yet Acts is still very much a book of the ministry of the Holy Spirit with Jesus as the source of authority. As we venture into the realm of the miraculous lets keep that in mind.
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