Untitled Sermon (19)
As we think about the last step of Bible study, correlation, we kind of have to pull together what we’ve already done in the passage and then look to see how that fits with other things that are going on on that theme in the Scripture. So for example, with Acts 1:8 we have a passage that told the disciples that they were to wait to be clothed with power from on high before they took the message out as witnesses to Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
It’s clear that this passage marks a turning point in the program of God, that the gift of the Spirit coming down from above to indwell and enable the disciples to carry out the commission and mission that God has given to the Church is the focus of this passage.
It’s also clear that the application for us is to realize that we’ve been indwelt with the Spirit of God. That gives us the capability to walk with God, gives us the capability to be witnesses on His behalf, gives us the enablement that we have to be bold and strong as we share the gospel. That we share in the benefits the disciples also receive, because the Spirit indwells us as well.
Correlating Acts 1:8 with Other Texts
For New Testament Believers
Now one of the ways that we know that the Spirit indwells us as well is through correlation. Correlation connects a given passage to other passages that are in the Scripture. And so if we were to think about Acts 1:8 and how it correlates, we would think about texts like John 14–16, the Upper Room Discourse, where Jesus tells the disciples that He must go away in order that He can send another—what He calls the Comforter: the one who is able to indwell, the Spirit of God, who will teach the community all things. Or another text—say, like Romans 8—that talks about walking with the Spirit of God. Or texts in 1 Corinthians and also in other parts of the Epistles of Paul that talk about the indwelling work of the Spirit that makes the individual believer a temple of God and makes the community of believers, as well, a sacred temple of God, because the Spirit of God indwells both the individual believer as well as the community.
A New Covenant Blessing
Another point of correlation is to keep your eye on who it’s talking about. The gift of the Spirit indwelling people is not something that everybody has. Only those who believe, who have faith in Jesus Christ, receive the gift of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. That’s another point of correlation. The text doesn’t automatically apply to every human being who walks the earth. The benefit that’s being talked about is something that believers receive.
Another feature of correlation is to keep your eye on where promises like this and texts like this and themes like this fit. The distribution of the Spirit of God is very much related to the promise of the new covenant, the idea that God would write His law on the hearts of His people—that’s from Jeremiah 31—in the new covenant.
In fact, Luke 3:16 has John the Baptist say, “I’m not the Christ, because I only baptize with water, but there’s one coming after me—I’m not worthy to untie the thong of His sandal—He’s going to baptize with the Spirit and fire.” What John is telling us in this passage is, the way you can know that the new era of promise and fulfillment has come, the way you can know that the new covenant has come, the way that you can know that the salvation that was promised by God has come is, the Messiah will bring the Spirit of God to the people of God. That’s exactly what happens in Acts 2, and that’s exactly what Acts 1:8 is anticipating.
As we think about the last step of Bible study, correlation, we kind of have to pull together what we’ve already done in the passage and then look to see how that fits with other things that are going on on that theme in the Scripture. So for example, with Acts 1:8 we have a passage that told the disciples that they were to wait to be clothed with power from on high before they took the message out as witnesses to Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.