The Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles

We left off this series looking at how the Scriptures and Tradition as as whole have understood the Holy Spirit on that wonderful feast we call Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell down upon the disciples in power, an event which our Scriptures interpret as a great fulfillment of the promises of the Prophets. Today we’ll look at what happened next, and how the Spirit was understood to function in the rest of the book called the Acts of the Apostles, which its author, Luke the Evangelist, saw as the second half of his work.

That’s as good a place to start as any. For just as Luke’s Gospel begins with the manifestation of the Spirit in prophecy as a sign of what God was going to do in and through the infants John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, so too does Acts begin with the manifestation of the Spirit in prophecy at Pentecost as a sign of what God was going to do in and through the Apostles and the nascent Church writ large. So now it’s time to see just what that looked like.

Unsurprisingly, throughout Acts, the Holy Spirit works in and through the Apostles in exactly the same ways as it had in the Gospels in and through Jesus. First there are some linked themes surrounding inspired speech: Prophetic inspiration through dreams, visions, and ecstatic speech; bold speech in preaching the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection and the coming of the Kingdom of God; and what we might call speaking truth to power. Here are some sample texts for each of these themes:

Guidance, Speech, and Works of Power

While many instances of this theme, as we’ll see below, involve providing the Apostles with the right words to speak in critical moments, the Holy Spirit gave the Apostles wisdom for how to act, or what to do next:

• Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” (8.29)
• Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while it was being prepared he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. …. [Later], while Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” (10.9-11, 19-20)
• While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them…. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.” (13.2-4)
• For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden … (15.28)
• Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia and then to go on to Jerusalem. (19.21)
• And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. (20.22-23)

Note the wide range of ways the text speaks about the Spirit’s guidance. Even the same general plan of Paul traveling to Jerusalem can in one verse be talked about in collaborative terms (”Paul resolved in the Spirit”) and in another in the most directive terms (”as a captive to the Spirit…”). At first this may seem a bit confusing, but if we think back to the Wisdom traditions surrounding the the continuity between the Holy Spirit and human spirit, it starts to make sense: A heart and mind in alignment with the Holy Spirit will make holy, God-empowered decisions. So the distinction between explicit outer direction from the Spirit and an implicit inner prompting begins to break down.

As Peter’s Pentecost sermon suggests, another major theme, especially towards the start of Acts, is an inspiration to boldness of speech. Just as Jesus had promised the Seventy as they were heading out on their mission, the Holy Spirit also gives the Apostles the words to speak when their authority, ministry, or even life are questioned:

• And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts. 4.29-31)
• As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. (5.41-42)
• But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? (13.9-10)

This boldness in speech had a twofold effect: First, as a (badly needed) defense in courts of law, but second — and more importantly — as a means of delivering what was emerging as the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection and the coming of the Kingdom of God, of which their prophetic speech was a sign.

But the Apostles’ words weren’t the only sign of the Kingdom the Holy Spirit empowered. Their words were accompanied and reinforced by miracles, including healing (3.1-11, 9.33-34, 14.8-10, 19.11-12, 28.7-9), exorcism (16.16-18), miraculous escapes (12.7-17, 16.25-26), and even raising the dead (9.36-41, 20.9-12).

Community Life

So far, the focus of this post has been on the Apostles themselves. And that stands to reason, since Acts is about them. But the gift of the Holy Spirit wasn’t just for the select few. As Peter put it in his Pentecost sermon:

Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him. (2.38-39)

And many heard and accepted this message:

• Those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (2.41-42)
• And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (2.48)
• Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement [paraklesis, cf. John 14-15] of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (9.31)

As the Church grew, the Holy Spirit became the quintessential marker of Christian identity. This is the second major set of themes about the Holy Spirit in Acts. So undeniable was the descent of the Spirit upon new believers that it was enough to overcome ancient and fiercely-guarded boundaries between Jews and Gentiles, ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’:

• Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8.14-17)
• While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” (10.44-47; cf. 11.12-16, 20-24; 13.48-52; 15.8-9: “And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us, and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.” )

And this was not just about ‘adding numbers’, but genuinely transformed ways of living and being together in community:

• All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. (2.44-47)
• Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. (4.32-34)

As the shocking stories of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5.1-10) and Simon the Magus (Acts 8) show, this community life was taken with the utmost seriousness. To abuse, blaspheme, or mislead the Holy Spirit was a dangerous game.

God did not leave this new community without leadership, roles, or responsibilities. And these had everything to do with the Holy Spirit. While we’ll see more of this in the next posts, here in Acts, we have reference to the Holy Spirit in creating the role of deacon to take care of practical community needs (Acts 6.1-6), and in appointing the overseers (bishops) of a local church (20.28)

I framed this post in terms of Acts being a ‘part 2’ of Luke’s Gospel. And I think that’s a helpful way of looking at it, particularly when talking about the Holy Spirit. Just as how in Luke the Holy Spirit had moved in signs and wonders at the births of John the Baptist and Jesus and worked powerfully in and through Jesus, in his ministry of healing and prophetic teaching, so too does the Holy Spirit descend in signs and wonders upon Jesus’ disciples — old and new alike — in Acts, setting them apart as ‘Christians’ and empowering them to live radically new lives.

In the next post, we’ll see how this understanding of the Holy Spirit unfolds in the Epistles.