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The Holy Spirit and the Apostles
Keith Sharp
The story goes that a fellow had been told to find how to be saved by
simply letting the Bible fall open where it may, reading the passage that he
first saw, and following it. So he let his Bible fall open, and the first
verse to catch his eye stated, "Judas ... went and hanged himself."
The surprised seeker decided this was surely a mistake and tried again. This
time he read, "Go and do likewise." Taken aback, he tried one more
time. This time the passage commanded, "What you do, do quickly."
Shocked and disgusted, he gave up and concluded he couldn’t understand
the Bible.
The Bible study habits of many professed believers in the Bible are little
better. Many pay absolutely no attention to the context of passages. It is
especially important to note to whom the Lord is speaking in a verse. The
Lord plainly commanded, "Make yourself an ark
of gopherwood..." (Genesis 6:14). Have you
built a 450 foot long, three story barge yet? Why not? You realize that the
Lord directed this charge to Noah because a universal flood was coming and
that later God promised never to destroy the earth by water again. You
understand this command doesn’t apply to us.
I believe that many passages about the work of the Holy Spirit that
professed Christians apply to themselves in reality apply exclusively to the
apostles. What was the mission and work of the Holy Spirit through the
apostles?
What Are Apostles?
The term "apostle" primarily means "ambassador,
delegate, messenger" (Arndt & Gingrich.
99). The New Testament mentions several classes of apostles. Jesus is
God’s apostle to the world (Hebrews 3:1). Christ selected twelve to be
His apostles whom He sent "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel"
under what is usually termed the Limited Commission (Matthew 10:1-7). Eleven
of these, plus Matthias, He later sent as His apostles to the world through
the Great Commission (Mark 16:14-16; Acts 1:1-4,8,15-26).
Still later Christ added Paul to this group as the special apostle to the
Gentiles (1 Corinthians 15:8-9; Romans 11:13). Other men besides the apostles
of Christ were apostles of the churches, i.e., they were sent out by
congregations (Acts 13:1-3; 14:14,26-27).
What Was Their Mission?
Our study pertains to the third of these classes of apostles, those of the
Great Commission. These apostles had a unique mission.
They were to bear witness of Jesus to the whole world through the power of
the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-3,8). To be qualified for
this work, they had to have accompanied the Lord throughout His personal
ministry and to have seen Him after His resurrection (Acts 1:21-26). Bearing
witness was not telling some subjective conversion experience. It was
relating what they had seen and heard as credible evidence that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God (Acts 10:40-42; 1 John 1:1-3).
Once a wreck occurred in front of my house late at night while I was
asleep. I went out, saw a man crawling out of an overturned van, made sure he
was alright, and called the police. When the police arrived, I asked them if
they needed me to stay outside. An officer asked, "Did you see
anything?" When I said, "No," he told me I could go back to
bed. Unless you have seen the raised Lord, you cannot witness for Him.
Further, they were His ambassadors to deliver with authority His will to
the world. Paul, in connection with his work as an apostle, called himself an
ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 6:17-20). Earlier in
Second Corinthians, Paul had asserted that God had "shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ" (4:6). Paul declared of His gospel, "For I neither received
it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus
Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). His message was not "the word of
men... but... in truth, the word of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Upon
the basis of this claim to divine inspiration, the apostle described himself
as an ambassador. An ambassador officially represents and is the spokesman
for his government. This gives authoritative weight to His message. The
apostles were the official spokesmen for the King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"The authority of the message rests on the fact that Jesus Christ
Himself speaks in the word of His ambassador" (Bornkamm.
6:682).Thus the apostle Peter placed "the commandment of us, the
apostles of the Lord and Savior" on an equally authoritative footing
with "the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets" (2
Peter 3:1-2).
An ambassador is given credentials to prove his authority. Thus, Paul and
the other apostles demonstrated their right to speak for Christ by exercising
" the signs of an apostle... in signs and
wonders and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12).
Paul was the last apostle of Christ, the final witness of the resurrected
Savior (1 Corinthians 15:8-9). His was an exceptional case, "as ... one
born out of due time" (Ibid), since he had not been an earthly companion
of Jesus. Paul was specially selected to witness and represent Christ to the
Gentiles (Acts 26:15-18; Romans 11:13).
How Were They Equipped for Their
Work?
Immediately following the Last Supper and just before going to the Garden
of Gethsemane, Jesus engaged in a long, private conversation with His
faithful eleven apostles to prepare them for His impending death (John
13:1-4, 21-30; cf. Mark 16:17-21). He promised them:
And I will pray the Father, and He will give
you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but
you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you
orphans; I will come to you (John 14:16-18).
The word "Helper" ( KJV,
"Comforter," Greek, "Parakletos")
was used outside the New Testament of "a legal adviser or helper or
advocate in the relevant court" (Behm. 5:803).
Twice in the New Testament it has this sense (John 16:7-11; 1 John 2:1). John
is the only inspired writer to use the term. The other three times he uses
the word, he uses it to mean "a helper, succorer,
aider, assistant"
(Thayer. 483). Jesus employees this word four times of the Holy Spirit (John
14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7) and John once of Christ (1
John 2:1). All four times the Master called the Holy Spirit the
"Helper" occur in His conversation with
His apostles after the Last Supper. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit in His
role as "Helper" to none save His apostles.
The work the Holy Spirit as Helper would do for the apostles
makes this clear. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in My name, He will teach you all things...." (John 14:26). The
Holy Spirit as "Helper" did the work of revelation, making known to
them all the truth of the Gospel.
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; ... He will glorify Me, for
He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the
Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare
it to you (John 16:13-15).
He also inspired their memories, so they could recall infallibly what
Jesus did and taught. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will... bring to your remembrance all things that I
said to you" (John 14:26). Thus, writing perhaps close to sixty years
after the events recorded, the apostle John recalled the details of lengthy
conversations of the Lord. In this way they were able to testify (bear
witness) of Christ.
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 (John 15:26-27).
He would even reveal future events to them, so the apostles of Christ, as
the prophets of old, could infallibly foretell future events. "However,
when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, ... He will
tell you things to come" (John 16:13).
Anyone who claims to have the Holy Spirit as Helper should be able to do
what the apostles did. He should have a perfect knowledge of the Gospel,
remember infallibly all that Jesus did and taught, unerringly foretell future
events, and perform mighty wonders and miracles, even the raising of the
dead.
Their Work Accomplished
The apostles with the Holy Spirit as their Helper accomplished all the
Lord promised they would be able to do.
They received, revealed, and wrote down for us all the truth of the gospel
(Ephesians 3:1-7). This is a once-for-all-time revelation, never to be
repeated (Jude 3), is not to be altered in the slightest degree (Galatians
1:6-9), and is completely sufficient for our spiritual needs (2 Timothy
3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:2-4). There is no room for modern revelations.
They bore witness to Christ (Acts 2:32), and their testimony is recorded
for our use (John 20:30-31).
They prophesied the future (e..g.,
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). Their teaching and testimony were miraculously
confirmed (Mark 16:17-20; Hebrews 2:1-4) and has been preserved for us (1
Peter 1:22-25). Once God’s Word was in inspired men, the apostles and
prophets; now it is in an inspired book, the Bible.
Conclusion
The apostles with the Holy Spirit as Helper completed the work the Lord
gave them to do.
The result of their work is the New Testament, our complete rule of faith
and practice, and all the
guidance we need to please God and go to heaven.
Anyone who would alter this inspired standard is accursed of God. Do not
listen to those who claim further divine revelation. Do not seek a subjective
experience as evidence the Holy Spirit is speaking to you personally. Make
the standard of faith the Lord gave to us through His apostles by the help of
the Holy Spirit, the New Testament, your guide and stay. It will safely lead
you to the heavenly home.
Works Cited
Arndt, W.W. and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament.
Behm, Johanes, Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Friedrich, trans. and ed,
Geoffrey W. Bromiley
Bornkamm, Gunther, TDNT.
Thayer, J.H., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
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