Chapter 184—The Spirit’s Power
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
.
Christ’s visible presence was about to be withdrawn from the disciples,
but a new endowment of power was to be theirs. The Holy Spirit was to be
given them in its fullness, sealing them for their work.
In obedience to Christ’s command, they waited in Jerusalem for the
promise of the Father—the outpouring of the Spirit. They did not wait in
idleness. The record says that they were “continually in the temple, praising
and blessing God” (
Luke 24:53
). They also met together to present their
requests to the Father in the name of Jesus.... Higher and still higher they
extended the hand of faith, with the mighty argument, “It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us” (
Romans 8:34
)....
The disciples prayed with intense earnestness for a fitness to meet men
and in their daily intercourse to speak words that would lead sinners to Christ.
Putting away all differences, all desire for the supremacy, they came close
together in Christian fellowship. They drew nearer and nearer to God....
These days of preparation were days of deep heart searching. The
disciples felt their spiritual need, and cried to the Lord for the holy unction
that was to fit them for the work of soul saving. They did not ask for a
blessing for themselves merely. They were weighted with the burden of the
salvation of souls. They realized that the gospel was to be carried to the
world, and they claimed the power that Christ had promised.
During the patriarchal age the influence of the Holy Spirit had often been
revealed in a marked manner, but never in its fullness. Now, in obedience
to the word of the Saviour, the disciples offered their supplications for this
gift, and in heaven Christ added His intercession. He claimed the gift of the
Spirit, that He might pour it upon His people.
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