“But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth”
(Acts 1:8).
With Jesus entering heaven, seated on the throne; at the right hand of God;
wearing the heavenly garments of the Great High Priest – He intercedes for His bride
– the Church. That occurs in heaven. On earth…who is the bride?
The Church – those that are added constantly to the ever growing number of
God’s people. The mustard tree is growing (Mark 4:31, 32).
While the interceding work is being done in heaven, the “adding work”
is being done on earth. Here, on earth, the work is being done by two
witnesses: the Holy Spirit and the Church. Both the Holy Spirit and the Church
are Jesus’ witnesses.
The Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus by glorifying Him (John 16:14) and by
empowering the Church to be a witness. The initial empowering of the Church,
occurred on the day of Pentecost – a Jewish holy day. It was the day when the
Holy Spirit came. His coming was accompanied by heavenly manifestations as
described in (Acts 2:1-8).
In his speech, Peter explains what was happening, but then he gets to the main
point and the main point was, “Jesus of Nazareth…” (Acts 2:22).
The heavenly manifestations were not
it…were not the thing…were not the important thing. The important point of
the whole manifestation was Jesus of Nazareth. The Holy Spirit did not come to
bear witness to Himself, but to Jesus and to empower the Church to be a witness
to Jesus.
The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to be a witness of Jesus by giving
the “power” to speak. They
were empowered to come into the open and speak. Not hiding anymore, not fearful
and locked inside – but openly and boldly stating the facts.
Peter was empowered to be a bold witness of Jesus: His work and His exaltation. Salvation was offered in His name. Still is..