Just as a review, let’s look at what is made available to us:

1. (Post 80) Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness; (2 Cor 5:20-21).
2. (Post 81) Jesus took our death that we might have His life; (Rom 5:10).
3. (Post 82) Jesus experienced Hell that we might experience Heaven; (Eph 4:9, 10).
4. (Post 83) Jesus took our lost and homeless condition and gave us an eternal home; (John 14:2).
5. (Post 84 and 85) Jesus took our weakness and gave us strength or power; (Acts 1:8; Eph 3:14-16).

Authority for Weakness

Today we will look at the fact that Jesus took our lack of authority and gave us His authority; “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and overall the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). (Note: Serpents and scorpions are symbolic of demonic forces.)

Authority

What does it mean that Jesus has given us authority? The word authority in this verse is the Greek word “Exousia.” Both Dynamis and Exousia are translated as power in the New Testament. Dynamis, as you know from our last post, is explosive miracle-working power, which is made available through His Holy Spirit (Acts:1:9). Exousia is a power that also comes from God and is supernatural boldness or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.

As Believers, we have the authority to act as a representative of Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors of Jesus; therefore, we operate on His behalf (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are empowered to be ambassadors for Christ because we are citizens of Heaven, and the Kingdom of God is in us (Philippians 3:20). In a natural sense, ambassadors represent their countries and speak for their President, King, or Ruler. In the same spiritual sense, we speak for our King- King Jesus!

Authority and Boldness.

Knowing we have His authority gives us boldness! There is a strong correlation between being filled with the Holy Spirit and courage! Now, remember being filled means to be influenced or controlled by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 states that we are “… not to be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”. Just as too much wine can cause boldness, being filled with the Holy Spirit produces boldness to represent God. This idea of being committed to represent God reminds me of an old story I heard called “Moody’s Monopoly.”

A committee of ministers in a certain city was discussing the possibility of having D.L. Moody, the famous 19^th-century evangelist, to serve as the evangelist during a city-wide evangelistic campaign.

Finally, one young minister who did not want to invite Moody stood up and said: “why Moody? Does he have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit?”

There was silence. Then an old, godly minister spoke up: “No, he does not have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly of D.L. Moody.”

Do you see it? Moody was submitted and yielded to the Holy Spirit; He was Baptized in the Holy Spirit!  He was a true ambassador of Christ because he knew that he was a citizen of Heaven. The true meaning of Spiritual Authority is to boldly proclaim the Kingdom of God!

Boldness

In Acts 3, you may recall that Peter and John healed, in the name of Jesus, a lame man by the gate beautiful. Then in Acts 4, we see that this miracle created quite a stir. Leading many to believe in Jesus and others to resist Him. The priests, captain of the temple, and Sadducees came upon Peter and John, and they were disturbed that they “taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”

As a result of their teaching, they were thrown in jail. “5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

In the face of such intimidating leaders, Peter verse 8 says, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them.” In plain language, Peter surrendered to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and spoke with authority. He didn’t worry about what man would say or do; he only cared about obeying the Holy Spirit. This act would be seen as boldness or authority by others. In verse 13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

The religious leaders tried to figure out what to do with Peter and John and finally decided to command them (18) them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  That is all we are called to do, be a witness to Jesus.  In other words, speak what you have heard, seen, or know in the Spirit.

Prayer for Boldness

It isn’t easy being a Christian who is not ashamed of their faith. There will be times when we are challenged and tested. When we face these kinds of difficulties, we are to stir up the Holy Spirit in us.  Remembering the words of Peter found in verse 29, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

Here is the conclusion which each of us must face, “Do you have the Holy Spirit, or does the Holy Spirit have you?”

Finally, keep your focus on what is essential!

In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus sent out 70 followers with instructions. In particular to heal the sick in body, soul and Spirit. Luke 10:17 “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (sickness, disease, fear, and depression), and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.”

Pray for Boldness that comes from understanding your Authority from Heaven!

The beginning of the Christian Church started on the day of Pentecost. The term Church means “the called-out ones” these are the believers in Jesus Christ. The Church started in a powerful explosive way with the Holy Spirit being released into the Believer. In the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit was “on” or “with” a person. Now in the New Covenant the Holy Spirit “lives in” the Believer. 

The Church, as we know it today, did not start until the Day of Pentecost, 40 days after Jesus rose from the grave. Before the crucifixion, Jesus ministered in the synagogues as an Old Testament Prophet. He preached that the Kingdom of God was present in the hearts of Believers, which, as you can imagine, did not go over well with Jewish teachings. In the beginning, they tolerated Jesus, but as time passed and the followers of Jesus grew, the Jewish leaders felt threatened, and they looked for ways to expel Him.  

What Jesus taught was “new wine,” but it was received in “old wineskins” and, therefore, rejected. This means that God was doing a new thing, and the religious Jews preferred the old familiar ways! As Jesus said in Matthew 21:42, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” This verse was a reference to Psalm 118:22 and meant that the devout Jews who trusted in their religious practices stumbled over the message of Grace and Faith that Jesus taught. 

Prelude to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The gift of the Holy Spirit did not happen without prior notice. It was foretold in the Old Testament (read Jeremiah 31:31) and foretold by Jesus beginning in John 7:37, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Then in Acts 1:4, Jesus said, “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” The term “promise of the Father” is found in Luke 24:49. Jesus said, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued (put on) with power from on high.” 

Let’s take a look at the term “Baptized with or in the Holy Spirit.” The word Baptized means to be totally immersed or submerged. In the case of Water Baptism, you are fully submerged in water. In Spirit Baptism, you are immersed in the Holy Spirit. In other words, you are surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

While Jesus ministered with His Disciples, He spoke of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. After His resurrection, He mentions it again in Acts 1:9, “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.”

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

“you shall receive power”.

The word Power is Dynamis in the Greek and it means; force, miraculous power, a miracle itself: — ability, abundance, meaning, mighty deed, worker of miracles, power, strength, violence, mighty wonderful work. We get the word dynamite from Dynamis.

We are referring to supernatural works of God. No matter how talented or gifted you are, your natural ability can only take you so far.  When your natural ability has run-out, that is when the power of God takes over.

“when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”.

The word “eperchomai” in the Greek means; to arrive, come, occur, impend, attack, or influence. The Holy Spirit of God somehow invades the person and empowers that person to do supernatural acts. 

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 describes the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which are supernatural in origin. “The word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” 

There are other gifts as well such as the ministry gifts of the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the commitment you make to God to allow Him to direct your path in your personal life and in your ministry life. An important part of that is the knowledge that all believers are called to the Great Commission, which is to make Jesus Christ known by words and deeds.

“You shall be witnesses to Me.”

Let’s continue by looking at the phrase, “you shall be witnesses to Me”. The word Witness comes from the Greek word martys; which means a witness, a “martyr,” to record or witness. Here are two scripture verses to help us understand the word witness.

• Luke 7:22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”
• Acts 4: the Jewish religious leaders commanded Peter and John not to teach in the name of Jesus. “19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

A witness is one who speaks what he or she has personally heard or seen! Boldness to speak out is what is required. To boldly speak as to what God has shown or done in us is to be a witness to Jesus Christ.

“in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria”.

We need a little geography lesson here. The Kingdom of Israel was one nation, but after King David passed away, the country was split into two parts. It was divided into Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah, and Samaria was the capital in the north, Israel. Judea is the Roman/Greek name for Judah. 

So, the phrase “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria” refers to everywhere Jesus ministered while on earth. While Jesus ministered to the nation of the Hebrew people first, He didn’t end there.   Jesus made it clear that the Gospel be preached to the ends of the earth. 

If we extend this model to our circumstances it means, we are responsible for our village, town, city nation first, then to take the message of the Gospel to the “ends of the earth!”

Conclusion:

Some try to teach that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was for the Apostles only, and when they died off, so did the work of the Holy Spirit.  How can we believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is no longer available to us as believers when the scriptures say in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” God does not change! 

To overcome this kind of negative thinking requires faith. In the Kingdom of God, if you don’t believe it, then it will not be possible. You get what you believe for! The opposite of faith is doubt, distrust, or denial.

Faith is believing in the unseen faith is the key to unlocking what has already been provided for you by God’s grace. Remember, faith doesn’t create the supernatural; faith makes it available.

Keep in mind that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are not our way of doing things. It was His idea that faith should unlock the gifts of Heaven. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance of things unseen!” That means it is not about figuring things out or human logic. To the natural mind, faith may seem foolish and unreasonable, but you are putting your trust not in logic but in the One who makes the promise. Don’t worry about how God will accomplish it; rest in the confidence that He will achieve it.

Let me close with the words of the Apostle Paul, probably the greatest of the Apostles of Christ. He said in          1 Corinthians 2, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

In episode or post 80, We said that the Bible teaches that Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness (2 Cor 5:20-21). We have been forgiven of our sins in the past, the present, and the future. While this is difficult to comprehend, we must accept by faith that Jesus is able and in fact, did forgive us of all of our sins.

In episode or post 81, we examined the fact that Jesus took our death that we might have His life; (Rom 5:10 Hebrews 2:9). Our death, which meant eternal separation from God, has now become eternal life with God.

We have received Heaven instead of Hell.

Today we will look at the truth that Jesus experienced Hell that we might experience Heaven. Before we were born-again, we deserved Hell, but because Jesus took our punishment, we have been given Heaven. That was the exchange.

As Jesus hung on the Cross and took on the sins of humanity, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). This moment represents His experience of what Hell was like, burdened with the sins of humankind and separated from Father God. However, this experience of Hell could not hold the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

How did this exchange take place?
The book of Hebrews was written to a Hebrew audience. In particular to  Jews who were very familiar with the Sacrificial System. It is in this context of the Law that Hebrews 13:11-12 are understood. “11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the Sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate”. 

What does this mean? Jesus was identifying with the Hebrew practice of making a “sin offering.” “Inside the sanctuary,” the Temple priest would take an unblemished animal and lay hands on its head (Jesus was unblemished by sin). This was done to transfer or impute the sins of the priest and the sins of the people to the animal. (As believers in Jesus Christ our sins have been imputed or transferred to Him). The priest would then kill the animal, drain its blood, (Jesus shed His blood for us) and then the sacrificial animal containing all the sins of the people was taken “outside the city” to be burned. (Jesus was taken outside the city not to be burned but to be buried).

Jesus stripped Satan of his power over believers in Jesus Christ and led captivity captive.

On the Cross, Jesus took our sins upon Himself and He accomplished two more important things for us. 

He stripped Satan of his power over those who are born-again. Remember, Hell is for those who are not in the New Covenant purchased by Jesus Christ.

• Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers (demonic), He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
• Luke 10:18-20 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions (demonic), and overall the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.”

Jesus also led “captivity captive.”
As a side note: Sheol (OT), Hades (NT), and Hell (NT) represent the same place. Old Testament theology believed that Hell had two areas, the place where the unrighteous dead went called Gehenna and a place where the righteous dead went called Paradise or Abraham’s bosom (The account of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31).

Ephesians 4:7-8 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’” 

Jesus led those who were in captivity in Paradise or Abraham’s Bosom. These would be the Old Testament saints who were righteous under the Law and awaiting the coming Messiah or Christ.

What the Devil intended to be a defeat for our Lord Jesus turned into a glorious victory for our God and the people of God!

Conclusion

You are (1) forgiven and (2) therefore have eternal life with God in Heaven, and (3) Satan with all of his demons have no power or authority over you!

God’s gifts are received by faith.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes (the promise), and in Him Amen (the confirmation, so be it), to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (or down-payment).

Remember all of the exchanges that the New Covenant provides are already present and available to receive as a result of God’s grace. However, they must be received by faith, that is we must believe it and then we must live our lives as if we believe. Not in doubt, fear, uncertainty or confusion. “For we walk by faith and not by sight”! (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Grace means that we receive that which we don’t deserve, and at the same time give to the Lord that which we do deserve. We receive His righteousness or right standing with God the Father and give to Jesus the punishment we deserve. The scripture tells us that none of us are righteous in our own merit or behavior, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”! (Romans 3:23)

Exchange

This is where the idea of exchange takes place. By our faith in Jesus, we receive all the blessings and pass on to Jesus all of our sins and the consequences of our sin. Now what is important to understand is that we are talking about spiritual things, not necessarily natural things. The spiritual realm is much more important than the physical because the spiritual is eternal, the physical is temporal or temporary (2 Cor 4:18). 

The Spiritual Kingdom

As Christians, we live in the Kingdom of God while still here on earth. Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then in John 3:5, “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

His Kingdom is in us. 

In Luke 17:20 Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus took our sins and gave us His forgiveness

As we mentioned in the last post the first exchange of grace that we receive by faith, was that; Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness. The Apostle Paul states the following fact in 2 Cor 5:20-21, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.

1. Sin vs. sin? – the symptom of sin vs. the root cause of sin! Instead of covering over sin as in the Old Covenant, Jesus took our sins and replaced our sin nature with the Holy Spirit who is righteous!

An Exchange; Life for Death

Today we will look at the second example of the gift of grace that we receive by faith and that is, Jesus took our death that we might have His life; “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom 5:10; see also Heb 2:9).

You see because we have been forgiven, we are reconciled with God. God’s intent is that we live forever with Him. That was His intention at the beginning with Adam and Eve. Remember Genesis 2:16 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” What did God mean when He said, “you shall surely die”?

We are Spiritual Beings

When God created mankind, He created them as triune beings- spirit, soul and body (Genesis 2:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12). In the Garden of Eden before sin, mankind was to live in fellowship with God for eternity, but when Adam and Eve sinned death crept in. Normally when we think of death we think of physical death, separation from the body, but Adam and Eve continued to live until they were 930 years old, (Genesis 5:5). So, what did God mean “you shall surely die? I believe God was speaking of spiritual death or separation from God! After all, doesn’t sin separate us from God? We learn that from Adam and Eve’s behavior after they recognized their disobedience, they separated or hid from God.

When we say that Jesus took our death and gave us life, we really mean that, spiritually, we are restored or reconciled with God and will live eternally with Him in heaven.

Now, why does Jesus make this gift of grace available to us? It is because we agree with Him when He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. There is no other way. Others may claim they know the way, but you have decided and accept by faith that Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Because of our faith in Jesus and what He did for us, we can release the “fear of death” because it has been swallowed up by life in Christ which is eternal.

The Amplified Bible put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15: 

“53 For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us, this nature that is capable of dying] must put on immortality (freedom from death).

54 And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory.

55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

56 Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [upon the soul] through [the abuse of] the Law.

57 But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Conclusion:

Our trust is in one who is alive, for Jesus rose again! Because He lives, we can be confident that we will live too. 

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”.