March
11, 2003
YOU
SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN
THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU
"But
now I go away to Him who sent Me,... Nevertheless I tell you
the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if
I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you" (John
16:5, 7, NKJV).
Jesus
was soon to return to His Father and your Father and My Father
(see John 20:17). Although the disciples were confused about
Christ's talk of leaving them, Jesus was looking forward with
joy at the prospect of returning to His Father, and with apprehension
of what He yet had to go through, to carry out the plan of
salvation one more step toward completion. The death, resurrection,
and ascension of Christ were critical events in the outworking
of the plan of salvation.
Jesus
said, "It is to your advantage
that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not
come to you" (John 16:7). According to God's plan,
Jesus was to complete His work on earth and ascend to the
Father's throne before the Spirit could come mightily upon
His followers. Christ's departure was for the disciples' benefit
and advantage. In His incarnate body Jesus could not be everywhere
present, but through the medium of the Spirit, Jesus could
be with each one of His followers at all times and in all
places. Thus Jesus could say, "Lo,
I am with you always, even to the end of the age"
(Matthew 28:20).
Following
His resurrection, Jesus told Mary while yet near the garden
tomb, "Do not cling to Me, for
I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren
and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and to your
Father, and to My God and your God' " (John 20:17).
Then
for many days following His resurrection, Jesus "presented
Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs,
being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). Then during
His final assembly with his followers, Jesus "commanded
them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise
of the Father and He said, 'John truly
baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy
Spirit not many days from now' " (Acts 1:4, 5).
The disciples
still were wondering about the fulfillment of Christ's coming
kingdom and they asked, "Lord, will You at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?" And He said to them,
"It is not for you to know times
and seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
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 1:6-8).
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