Christ's Authority and the Sending of the Holy Spirit

We learn from the Bible that Jesus Christ has ALL authority. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, grew up into adulthood, and began to preach at thirty years of age. About three years later, he commissioned the apostles to preach. He said unto them: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus had constantly taught that He came from the Father, and brought His message to man. He came to do the Will of the Father. In John 6:38-40 it says: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The inspired apostle Paul later wrote: “For He has put all things under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:27). This expression is an idiom meaning God placed all authority in His hands, in His care. We need to understand then that Christ’s authority is God’s authority. At the transfiguration God announced: “....This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5) We must ensure then that everything that we do religiously is based upon the authority of Jesus Christ, and not the doctrines of men because Christ said: “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). 

Christ Sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles

Have you ever heard anyone say that they were being directed by the Holy Spirit? Sure, you have. But let’s see if Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to any or all men. Jesus states in John 15:26-27: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” This is what Jesus said as He was talking to His chosen apostles. He never promised the baptism of the Holy Spirit on any person except these. Outside of the apostles and Cornelius in Acts chapter 10, no one ever was baptized with the Holy Spirit. If they were, they could do the very same things that the apostles could do. In reading Acts 2:1-4 we find that Christ’s promise was fulfilled. It says: “Now 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.”

It says in John 16:13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” This passage of scripture clearly says that the Holy Spirit came to the apostles, sent by Jesus, to guide them into all truth. While many have claimed the power of the Holy Spirit in a direct measure, those who so claim are not properly informed as to whom the Spirit was to be sent to in the first place. Luke, the writer of Acts, wrote the words of Jesus in Luke 24:49 which says: “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high". Before Christ’s ascension into Heaven, He told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. They received the Spirit in Acts, chapter 2.

The Bible will not mean anything to anyone if one does not believe that Jesus Christ was given all authority by God the Father and that Christ later sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. The Bible is truly the inspired Word of God, and that is why it is so very important that we believe it and do the will of God in our lives; because, in the end, it is the very words of the Bible, the words of Christ, that will judge us in the last day (John 12:48). Have you allowed God’s word, the Bible, to form your life?