Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient (advantageous) for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
The disciples were feeling sorry for themselves in John 16:6, because Jesus had told them in Matthew 16:21, that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Jesus’ disciples had been with Him 3 ½ years seeing miracle after miracle performed. They saw blinded eyes opened, the dead raised to life, the dumb speak, lepers healed of leprosy, the sea calmed, water turned into wine, the sick healed of palsy, five thousand fed with five loaves and two fishes, and etc. In as much as they experienced Jesus performing all of these miracles, they had total dependency on His bodily presence. In their minds, I am sure they were thinking what will they do, who will they depend on now? Who will teach and guide us? Who will stand by us as we preach and teach?
But Jesus assured the disciples with the truth. He told them, it is expedient (advantageous, more beneficial, useful, helpful, worthwhile, advisable, profitable, and good for you) that I go away (go to Calvary): for if I go not away (go to Calvary), the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) will not come unto you; but if I depart (go to Calvary, rise the third day, and ascend into heaven), I will send Him (the Comforter) unto you.
The only requirement for the Holy Spirit to come to earth and take up permanent residents in a human body was for Jesus Christ to go to the Cross, rise the third day, to pay the debt of sin owed by humanity. The Holy Spirit came to earth to continue the work that Jesus Christ finished.
The Greek word for “Comforter” is “Parakletos,” and means “One called to the side of another to help.” The word another; in another Comforter, means one of the same kind. The Holy Spirit is a person (the third person of the Triune Godhead), He exercises the attributes of personality, the mind (Romans 8:27), Will (I Cor. 12:11), feeling (Eph. 4:30). Personal activities are ascribed to Him: He reveals (II Peter 1:21), teaches (John 14:26), witnesses (Gal. 4:6), intercedes (Rom. 8:26), speaks (Rev. 2:7), commands (Acts 16:6-7), testifies (John 15:26). He can be grieved (Eph. 4:30), He was lied to (Acts 5:3), and blasphemed (Matthew 12:31, 32). The Holy Spirit makes possible and real the continued presence of Christ in the Church. Without the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Church, it is just a social gathering. When men bring into the Church their own programs and ideas, they are saying to the Holy Spirit, we don’t need you. It is very obvious that the largest part of the Church is functioning without the leading, and presence of the Holy Spirit. When the Cross of Christ is preached, the Holy Spirit will point out the era that’s in the Local Church. The Holy Spirit Works only within the parameters or confines of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is why Jesus told his disciples in John 16:7, Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient (advantageous) for you that I go away (go to Calvary’s Cross): for if I go not away, the Comforter (Helper or Advocate) will not come unto you; but if I depart (go to the Cross, rise the third day, and ascend into heaven), I will send him unto you.
Welcome Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-4
1. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
2:1 Pentecost was an annual Jewish festival, also known as the “Feast of Weeks,” or the “Day of Firstfruits,” a celebration of the first buds of the harvest. Jewish men were required by law to go to Jerusalem three times each year to celebrate the major feasts (Deut. 16:16): Passover in the spring; Pentecost (Greek pentekosto, “fifty”) seven weeks and a day later (Lev. 23:15, 16); and Tabernacles at the end of the harvest in the fall. Leviticus 23 details the dates and rituals of the Jewish festival calendar. Those who became Christians on the Day of Pentecost were the firstfruits of a vast harvest of millions of souls. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came to earth in a completely new dimension, all made possible by Jesus’ Finished Work on Calvary’s Cross. Jesus told His disciples in John 16:7, for if I go not away, (go to Calvary’s Cross) the Comforter (the Holy Spirit)will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. It is a must that the object of our faith be in what Jesus accomplish on the Cross in order to have a consistent working of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, this is God’s Spiritual Law (Romans 8:2).
2:2 As of a mighty rushing wind: Not a wind, but like the sound of a wind (John 3:8), suggesting the mighty but unseen power of the Holy Spirit. With- out the power of the Holy Spirit working in a local Church, it will not be recognized by God as a model of the early Church that is in the Book of Acts. It was the Holy Spirit that established the Church on the Day of Pentecost.
2:3 Tongues like as of fire: John the Baptist foretold how the Holy Spirit Baptism would be accompanied by wind and fire in (Mat. 3:11-12). Jesus Christ is always the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, which is a separate work of grace (separate and apart from our salvation experience or Born Again experience). We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at salvation, but not the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, it is not a package deal. This outward manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s coming was another sign of His power. Acts 1:8, says, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
2:4 This is the initial fulfillment of Isaiah’s and Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit’s arrival in Isaiah 28:9-12; Mark 16:17; John 15:26; John 16:13; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5; Acts 1:8. Jesus was instructing them not to begin their mission until they receive the promise. The first phrase in verse four, says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, means everyone that were in the Temple on the Day of Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit. All means All! The word “filled” in the Greek is “pletho” and means “to soak up as with a sponge,” to “imbue, influence, supply, accomplish, furnish. To soak up as with a sponge with the Holy Spirit, and etc. With the receiving of the Holy Ghost is to receive power. “Power” as Jesus uses it in Acts 1:8, in the Greek Text is “Dunamis,” and means “Miracle-working Power.” It means “to make able or possible” that which was not heretofore so! As well, it is “Inherent Power which is capable of reproducing itself like a dynamo (II Peter 1:3). This means that the power plant has moved inside the Believer, which is exactly what has happened. The Holy Spirit Who is God, literally comes to abide in the Believer (Jn. 14:17). Welcome Holy Spirit, all made possible by what Jesus Christ did on Calvary’s Cross. The evidence of this power or anointing operating in a individual is not determined by emotional outbursts, but only by the Word of God.
As God, Jesus didn’t need to be anointed by the Holy Spirit, but as man He did, so if Jesus as man needed to be anointed by the Holy Spirit, how much more do we? Jesus came out of the wilderness in the Power of the Spirit, and when He stood up to read out of the book of the prophet Isaiah, He read, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (oppressed).
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. When these things are taking place in a Minister’s ministry, it is obvious that he or she is anointed by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
The second phrase in Acts 2:4, says, And began to speak with other tongues, which means other languages, or languages different from their native language. These languages are unknown to the speaker, but known some where in the world. This is not a learned language, but a language given by the Holy Spirit as evidence that one has been Baptized with the Holy Spirit. The only requirement for a person to be Baptized with the Holy Spirit is to be Born Again. This experience is separate and apart from the initial salvation experience. This experience is a separate work of grace. When a Believer is Baptized with the Holy Spirit the evidence is speaking in other tongues, there are no exceptions! The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is for all Believers regardless of what Denomination they are affiliated with. For the promise (the Baptism with the Holy Spirit) is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Called to be saved. (Acts 2:39).
Phrase three of Acts 2:4, says, As the Spirit gave them utterance, means that the Holy Spirit initiated the utterance. I believe there are several reasons that a Believer fail to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. One is, I believe unbelief plays a big part of a Believer not receiving the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Another reason is, the person is waiting for the Holy Spirit to speak for them. The Holy Spirit will not speak for you, He will give you the utterance, but you have to speak what He gives you. The Believer is afraid of what the language might sound like. However it sounds, and no matter how many words you speak, as you use daily what the Holy Spirit gives you, He will add to your language. The same way that we receive Salvation is the same way we receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and that is by Grace through Faith. Everything that we receive from God comes to us through Grace and Faith, and the means by which we are afforded Grace and Faith is through the Finished Work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross. Who He is and what He has done on Calvary’s Cross. In seeking the Father for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, you simply ask Him by Faith in what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on Calvary’s Cross (Luke 11:5-13). If you will read Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5; 1:8; 2:1-13; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7; I Corinthians 12-14. These Scriptures should help you to believe that the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is for you, if you believe the word of God.
Romans 3:3-4, says, For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. The problem is always of man, never of God! Anything preached other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified (the cross), is presenting another Jesus, influenced by another spirit (a different spirit), is produced by another gospel (a different gospel) II Corinthians 11:4.
Welcome Holy Spirit
