Part 4: The Charismatic Witness

A. The Spirit and Creation
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the
Spirit [Hb. ruach] of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3
And God said, “Let there be
light,” and there was light. (ESV Gen. 1:2-3)
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath [Hb. ruach] of his mouth all
their host. 7
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8
Let
all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he
spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. (ESV Ps. 33:6-9)
B. The Spirit and Recreation
And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration
[Gk. paliggenesia, “renewal” NIV/NLT, “new world” ESV] when the Son of Man will sit on His
glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (NASB
Mt. 19:28)
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ
from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you… 18 For
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is
to be revealed to us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be
revealed… 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth
right up to the present
time. 23 Not only so,
but we ourselves, who
have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait
eagerly for our
adoption as sons, the
redemption of our
bodies.
24 For in this
hope we were saved.
(
NIV Rom. 8:11-24)
It is impossible for
those who have once
been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5
who have tasted the
goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age,
6
if they fall away, to be
brought back to repentance… (NIV Heb. 6:4-6)
C. The Spirit as a Deposit of the Resurrection
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in
him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until
we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV Eph. 1:11-14)
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens… 4
For we who are in this tent groan, being
burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be
swallowed up by life. 5
Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has
given us the Spirit as a guarantee [“guaranteeing what is to come” NIV]. (NKJV 2 Cor. 5:1-5)

A. Holy Spirit Given for Bold Proclamation
Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me
speak about. 5
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit…
8
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. (NIV Acts 1:4-
8)
“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your
word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are
performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the
place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (ESV Acts 4:29-31)
B. Holy Spirit Given as Confirmation of the Cross and the Day of the Lord
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and
Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart,
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to
them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for
your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save
yourselves from this crooked generation.” (ESV Acts 2:36-40)
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God
appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” 44 While Peter was
still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. (NIV Acts 10:42-
44)
Some men came down
from Judea to Antioch
and were teaching the
brothers: “Unless you
are circumcised,
according to the
custom taught by
Moses, you cannot be
saved.” 2
This brought
Paul and Barnabas into
sharp dispute and
debate with them… 7
After much discussion,
Peter got up and
addressed them:
“Brothers, you know
that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message of the gospel and believe. 8
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted
them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9
He made no distinction between us
and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by
putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to
bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they
are.” (NIV Acts 15:1-11)
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the
body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set
aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for
nothing!” 3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ
was clearly portrayed as crucified.
2
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you
receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3
Are you so foolish?
After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4
Have
you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5
Does God give you his Spirit
and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you
heard? (NIV Gal. 2:20-3:5)
C. Walking According to the Spirit
Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3
For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh4
though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5
circumcised on the
eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the
law, a Pharisee; 6
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law
blameless. 7
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8
Indeed, I count
everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake
I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that
which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- 10 that I
may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like
him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (ESV
Phil. 3:2-11)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2
For the law of the
Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3
For God has done
what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4
in order that the righteous requirement
of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit.
5
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6
To set the
mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (ESV Rom. 8:1-6)
D. The Revelation of the Spirit
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–
17 the Spirit
of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you
know him, for he lives with you and will be in you… 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I
have said to you. (NIV John 14:16-26)
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I
proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with
you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3
I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much
trembling. 4
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with
a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
5
so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but
on God’s power. 6
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the
wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7
No, we speak of
God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory
before time began. 8
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would
not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has
heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–
10 but God has
revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (NIV 1 Cor. 2:1-10)