Our current inductive, verse-by-verse study through the Book of Acts has brought us to Chapter 19 where we find Paul ministering (the word in the original Greek simply means "serve" or "serving") in Ephesus (in what is now Turkey). Our study has also brought us back to the basics of our faith in the face of many modern-day pressures to abandon these basics. In his own teaching on this passage, Pastor Ed Taylor rightly highlighted this point by stating, " The Spirit of God works through the Word of God in the people of God." In other words, the Holy Spirit always uses and adheres to the Word of God (the Bible) in empowering us to understand Scripture, do battle against the forces of darkness and to live our faith boldly and without compromise. 

On the subject of basics and the fact that the Holy Spirit will ALWAYS work in concert with God's Word, our study of Acts 19 actually brings us back to Acts 1: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  (Acts 1:8 -- added emphasis)

Aside from the gift and promise of our salvation by being born again in Christ (John 3:1-21), there is no greater give than the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  Once we are saved and belong to God, the Spirit takes up residence in our hearts forever, sealing us with the confirming, certifying, and assuring pledge of our eternal state as His children. Jesus said He would send the Spirit to us to not only be our "strength and power" (2 Samuel 22:33) but, for those who are born again in Him, to also to be our Helper, Comforter, and Guide. On this Jesus said, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever" ( John 14:16 ). The Greek word translated here "Counselor" means "one who is called alongside" and has the idea of someone who encourages and exhorts. When we repent of our sin and come into a genuine, life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with God in Christ, the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the hearts ( Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 12:13 ). 

It is not the point of this study to get into some of the controversies that have crept up over the centuries since God's Word (the New Testament) was written down and canonized (what we call the "canon of Scripture"). However, our verse-by-verse, inductive study through Acts once again brings us to a subject that had caused much NON-ESSENTIAL division amongst believers. Accordingly, and before we get too much further, let me share the statement of faith of this ministry as it relates to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit:  We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, Who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ (John 16:8-11; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:26, 15:13,16; II Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 9:14). We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer (those who have been born again in Jesus Christ) and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide (John 6:13, 14:16-17, 16:8-11; Romans 8:26). Separately (and here is where some division occurs), we believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a distinct and separate experience to that of regeneration, occurring either subsequent to or simultaneous with salvation, evidenced by a greater dynamic in the Christian's life, enabling that person to be a bold and more effective witness. The supreme evidence of the Spirit-filled life is the fruit of the Spirit, love. We believe in the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit in regard to the decent and orderly exercise of all biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the instructions given to us (I Corinthians 12-14) Again, stay with me here.   

Regardless of where you stand on the doctrine of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, He still has a role in the life of the believer.  And how then can we access the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Let's take a look at just three of these roles (among many): 

(1) He is the revea ler of truth within us to help and enable us to understand and interpret God's Word. Jesus told His disciples that "when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth" ( John 16:13 ). He helps open our minds and hearts to the whole counsel of God as it relates to Christian worship, doctrine and living. 

(2) The Holy Spirit is the giver of spiritual gifts. In his first letter to church in Corinth (1  Corinthians 12), Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,  describes the spiritual gifts given to believers in order that we may function as the body of Christ on earth. All these gifts, both great and small, are given by the Spirit so that we may be His ambassadors to the world, showing forth His grace and glorifying Him.

(3) The Holy Spirit is our source of strength and power. In opening this study, I shared Acts 1:8 --  "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Again, this is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which Jesus taught, practiced in Acts and was clarified in the epistles. Understand we're not talking about some kind of "super power" (although God imbued Samson with that kind of superhuman strength in accordance with His will and purpose) and definitely not some kind of false "name it and claim it" power (see Is the Word of Faith Movement Biblical?). Nor am I referring to an unbiblical exercise of spiritual gifts. 

The Greek word for "power" as it relates to the Holy Spirit is dunamis and is used 120 times in the New Testament (God's Word). It biblically refers to "strength, power, or ability" and is the same root word used for the English words dynamite and dynamic. The context if Scripture is clear: it is the Holy Spirit that empowers the born again believer to overcome a very powerful enemy and to live in obedience to God no matter what comes against us. 

Teaching on this, Dr. Michael Youssef wrote: " In my own life, I often find myself crying, 'Lord, help me. Lord, strengthen me. Lord, enable me. Lord, give me Your power!' What am I really asking for? I want the power to live in a way that is 100 percent pleasing to God. I want God's power working in my life to defeat the spiritual enemy who continually seeks to bring about loss, destruction, and an end to blessing in my life--that thief who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.  In seeking God's power to bring about these works, I am seeking the same things that all who deeply desire to follow the Lord Jesus seek. In my own strength I will surely be defeated. But in the strength of the Holy Spirit, armed with the whole armor of God--the belt of Truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet that are sure because of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit--I will be able to stand firm (see  Ephesians 6:14-17 )."  AMEN!

* I've included some additional resources for you below and of course I encourage you to study 1st and 2nd Corinthians in particular while asking the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to you. 

So do you have that power?  Let's briefly break down these first ten verses in Acts 19 verse-by-verse to help make sure you do:

(Vs.  1-2 ) In Ephesus, Paul finds some disciples who appear to have not yet received the Holy Spirit. The controversy that comes up here stems from the fact that since every true believer receives the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation, were these "disciples" really saved?   Clearly, the Holy Spirit prompted Paul to investigate (Spirit-led detective work). In their reply, these Ephesian disciples showed that they had very little knowledge of God's nature as revealed in Jesus. One of the viewpoints Bible scholars and teachers have on this is that Paul rightly discerned (clarity given to him by the Holy Spirit) that something was missing with these twelve -- that they were discouraged and even defeated. Why? As we will see in a moment, Paul discerned that they lacked the fullness and power of the Spirit. In response, he made sure they were in fact saved, taught them the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and water baptized them again (vs. 5-7) at which point the Spirit came upon them to empower and strengthen them.  

(Vs.  3-4 ) Here Paul distinguishes between the baptism of John and baptism in the name of the Jesus. These Ephesian disciples had only a rudimentary knowledge of the Messiah and His ministry (that which could be gained through the message of John the Baptist).  Paul points out that John's baptism was one of repentance, not necessarily faith unto salvation. 

(Vs.  5-7 ) The twelve Ephesian disciples believe on Jesus, are baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit with His gifts.   Having been completely prepared by their response to the preaching of John the Baptist, they are ready to fully embrace Christ and are baptized in Him.   The fact that Paul saw it necessary to baptize them in the name of Jesus (after they had already been baptized in the name of John) demonstrates that Paul did not consider that these twelve disciples had a true, saving faith in the person and work of Christ before this. Moreover, we see here that  knowing at least something of the person and work of Jesus is essential to salvation -- we cannot put saving faith into something that we have no understanding of.

(Vs.  8-10 ) Paul, acting under the direction of the Holy Spirit, eventually leaves the synagogue and begins to teach in a borrowed school building (How many church plants start out meeting in a school?). So why did Paul leave the synagogue after initially teaching there for some time?  The context here is that some influential Jews who rejected the Gospel drove him out, and God used that "trial" to lead Paul to the school of a Gentile teacher identified as Tyrannus. In turn, the Holy Spirit empowered those whom Paul led to a saving faith in Christ (WIN) and taught (DISCIPLE) to carry the Gospel throughout the region (SEND) -- to wit, the work of the ministry as described in Ephesians 4:11-12.  In short, the lost were saved, trained and sent out to repeat!

While the Spirit led me to entitle this message, "A Cop's Power," it is important to understand that this same "Holy Spirit Power" is available to EVERY genuine believer in Christ (and likewise UNavailable to the unbeliever). However, just imagine what God can do with a sold-out-for-Christ officer who is policing (serving, protecting, leading) under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit!  

So again I ask: Do you have that power in your life? If not, NOW is the time to repent of your sin, come to a genuine faith in Christ and then ask the the Holy Spirit to empower you!  Here's how: