Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - May/68

Contributor - H. Van Farowe

Title - The Basic Need of Spiritual Power

Topic - Meditation

"And, behold, I send the Promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high" Luke 24 : 49

One of Jesus last words to His disciples before He ascended to heaven contained a magnificent promise and a decisive command. The promise was the gift (to them personally) of the Holy Spirit and the command concerned where they were to stay until the Spirit was given.

Just how basic and important this gift would be can be seen from the word of the text, "endued". To be endued means to be clothed. Clothes are essential to a person. Without clothes a person may become terribly sunburned, frost-bitten, or be greatly embarrassed. Without being clothed with power from on high a follower of Christ also has great deficiencies. He will suffer from the power of Satan and be embarrassed and discouraged by his lack of productivity in the kingdom. He will fail badly in his aspiration to honor Christ. The "works of the flesh" will be prominent in him, such as "emulations, wrath, strife . . . envying" etc. but the "fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith. meekness, temperance" will be too weak.

The power for Christlike service is not found in us but only in the Spirit. Archbishop William Temple pointed this out in these words, "It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can't. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can't. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like that. And if the Spirit of Christ could come and live in me, then I could live a life like that."

Certainly, the Spirit of God lives in believers and can fill them. It was Jesus Himself who so promised. As our text says this was also the promise of the Father. "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" The Bible says in Psalm 93 : 1, "The Lord is CLOTHED with strength . . ." Being clothed with strength He is able to clothe us with power from Himself. It was Christ's fervent desire, of course, that His disciples would have their many deficiencies counter-balanced by the filling of the Spirit. He knew them well as He does us.

But in order to receive the benefits of power man must obey certain directives. If man wants to benefit of the power of the wind on the sea,, he must build his ship a certain way. If he is using a power driven saw he must operate according to the directions of those who made it. If the early disciples were to be blessed with the power of the Spirit they needed to "tarry . . . in Jerusalem" till that power was given. They couldn't leave the place of Ascension thinking they were equipped now to effectively witness to the One they loved. Knowing He was the Son of God (for they were witnesses of His resurrected person) they were, nonetheless, not yet ready to victoriously go forth as His soldiers. They would not be in a state of readiness until AFTER the Spirit was poured out.

Though there need not appear to us "cloven tongues like as of fire" we must experience Pentecost too. As Dr. Harold Ockenga has written, "for an individual or for a church to seek for and wait for certain gifts of the Spirit in order to prove that they have been filled with the Spirit is in error". But, he said, "we do look for the spiritual experience which the apostles received".

And, for this, some conditions are necessary. First, one must acknowledge to God his personal incompleteness and insufficiency apart from the enduement. Let him confess this in sincerity after realizing that Pentecost is a basic need for spiritual power.

Secondly, he must offer himself to God, disposed to be His without reserve. Let him be sure he is not holding back at any point but willing, or inclined to be made willing, to be a servant of the Spirit each day.

Thirdly, faith must be exercised. Faith that believes the promise, repeated time after time in Scripture. The disciples waited with their minds upon the words of promise. Their faith was shown by their being together "with one accord" and in prayer.

Pentecost occurred historically just as truly as did the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. But obviously we have too often given it a lesser place. If Jesus, in His final instruction, commanded His followers to wait for it, let us also rest on the promise and appropriate this grand gift for His honor.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.