Holy Spirit

The first martyr

Stephen’s appointment to oversee the business of the church in Jerusalem was based on his reputation for accurate testimony about Jesus’ life; as well as the fact that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and had the spiritual gift of wisdom (Acts 6:3). Luke identified Stephen as being “full of faith and power” and noted that he “did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:8). As a result of his notable achievements, Stephen’s activities were opposed by certain synagogue members that were most likely jealous of his promotion to a position of leadership (Acts 6:9-10). Stephen was falsely accused of blasphemy, a crime that was punishable by death. When he was brought before the Jewish council to defend himself, Stephen chose to use his trial as an opportunity to preach the gospel to the high priest of God’s temple (Acts 7).

Stephen began his defense by recounting the history of God’s chosen people. With amazing clarity and detail, Stephen reminded the Jewish council that God had been faithful in keeping the covenant he first made with Abraham and then,  later reaffirmed with Abraham’s descendants just before they entered the Promised Land. As he transitioned to his explanation of the New Covenant that was formulated through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, Stephen focused on the analogy Jesus used when he was asked for a sign of his deity (John 2:18-19). Stephen declared, “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands” and then he turned the table on his accusers by stating, “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it” (Acts 7:48, 52-53).

Stephen’s abrupt accusation caused the Jewish officials to be “cut to the heart” (Acts 7:54). In other words, they became fed up and took immediate action to silence Stephen regardless of the consequences. Stephen’s stoning made it look like he had been found guilty of blasphemy, but in reality, he was murdered by an angry mob. Luke said of this incident, “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul” (Acts 7:56-58).

Preaching the gospel

The arrival of the Holy Spirit was marked by an unusual display of spiritual capability. Luke said, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). Luke’s phrase “as the Spirit gave them utterance” meant that their spirits were completely under the control of the Holy Spirit; the words they spoke were His words, not their own (note on Acts 2:4). The fact that the Holy Spirit enabled these men to speak in languages they had not previously learned might not seem all that impressive, but it had particular relevance here because as a result of this miracle there were numerous people of different nationalities and languages that gathered together afterward who were able to pass on the gospel message they heard more effectively (Acts 2:5-12).

Peter’s Pentecostal sermon was the first instance of anyone preaching the gospel after Jesus’s death and resurrection. His message, which was probably delivered to an audience of at least ten thousand people, focused on the fulfillment of prophecy and the bold declaration that “Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32). Peter concluded his sermon with this statement, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Although Peter’s cutting remarks may have been offensive to some of the people that were gathered together to listen to him preach, his message resulted in about three thousand people accepting Jesus as their savior (Acts 2:41) and a remarkable transformation began to take place in Jerusalem. Luke described what was happening with a simple formula that is still followed today by some fundamentalist churches. Luke indicated the body of believers “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). In other words, they gathered together regularly to hear the gospel preached to them, they celebrated communion, and collectively prayed for each other.

An unusual aspect of the early church’s behavior was their communal living. Luke said, “all that believed were together, and had all things in common; and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men, as every man had need” (Acts 2:44-45). The purpose of this type of living arrangement may have been to facilitate the preaching of the gospel. Since men were typically the only members of the household to earn a living and they had the primary responsibility of preaching the gospel in the early days of the church, sharing resources enabled more families to survive with less income coming in. Even though people weren’t forced to sell their homes and give the money to the church (Acts 5:4), there may have been a collective movement that made it seem like everyone was expected to. Luke’s account of the situation pointed out that everyone “did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,” meaning one of the side effects or end results of preaching the gospel was thankfulness and unity among believers.

We are one

Jesus’ final prayer for his disciples included a petition for his Father to keep them intimately connected to each other. He said, “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11). Jesus’ spiritual connection with his Father while he was on Earth made it possible for them to operate as if they were a single person. There was essentially no differentiation between the thoughts of the Father and the thoughts of the Son. Jesus’ request that his followers be one just as he and his Father were one meant that the totality of Christian believers would be acting as if they were a single entity, what is sometimes referred to today as the “body of Christ” or “the church.”

The primary reason Jesus wanted his disciples to experience the same kind of unity he had with his Father may have been so that they would work together to build God’s kingdom rather than through individual efforts. In order to understand the oneness that Jesus was praying for his disciples to receive, you would have to look at the result of the Holy Spirit’s coming on the day of Pentecost. It says in Acts 2:1-8:

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord and in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

The supernatural filling of the Holy Spirit resulted in a type of communication that was much more effective than what is possible today through language translation. In essence, what was happening was that the words were being spoken and heard without any translation being necessary. The meaning was understood perfectly as if there was no language barrier, even though the people came from different countries and spoke different languages.

Jesus explained that the reason he was asking his Father for the unification of all believers was so that they would be a testimony to everyone that he had indeed been sent by God to save the world (John 17:21). Jesus went on to say that unity would lead to the completion of his ministry and be a sign of God’s love for all who have accepted him as their savior (John 17:23). Jesus concluded his prayer with a petition for his disciples to be with him in heaven. He said, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). This particular request was probably motivated by Jesus’ close connection with his apostles. Rather than making them wait until he returned to Earth, Jesus wanted his disciples to be reunited with him as soon as they were deceased. The apostle Paul suggested this would be the case when he said, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Trading places

Jesus’ departure from Earth must have caused his disciples to wonder how they could continue their work without him. Jesus talked about a person that would take his place whom he referred to as the “Helper” or “Comforter” (John 15:26, 16:7). He told his disciples, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27, ESV). Jesus went on to explain that it was necessary for him to leave in order for the Helper to take his place. He said, “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. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7, ESV).

Jesus’ declaration that the Holy Spirit would come from the Father in his name (John 14:26) was meant to explain why there was a need for a third person to be involved in the execution of God’s plan of salvation. Even though Jesus substitutionary death on the cross was sufficient enough to pay the penalty for every person’s sins that would accept him as their savior, there was still a need for individual repentance and personal acceptance of God’s free gift of salvation. Therefore, Jesus told his disciples that the Helper a.k.a. Holy Spirit would “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8) and went on to say, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13, ESV).

Jesus indicated the Holy Spirit would be with believers forever and said, “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17, ESV). The intimacy Jesus shared with his followers was expected to be enhanced by the indwelling capability of the Spirit that would come into the world after his departure. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26, ESV). In other words, the Holy Spirit would act somewhat like a memory bank of the words Jesus spoke while he was on Earth. Whenever there was a question about Jesus’ directions concerning the work that needed to be done, the Holy Spirit would remind his disciples of the instructions they had received from him. In the same way that Jesus had lived among and communicated with his disciples, so the Holy Spirit would be directly involved in the work that they were doing.

Jesus’ description of the process whereby the Holy Spirit would enter into the world that he was departing was that of a woman giving birth to a child. He said, “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for the joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21, ESV). From that standpoint, Jesus made it sound like the Holy Spirit was his Son, in the same or similar way that he was the Son of God. Although the Bible makes it clear that all three persons of God were present at the creation of the world, we know that Jesus was not in the form of a physical man when Earth came into existence. Therefore, it seems likely that the Holy Spirit was also in a different form in the beginning. The Holy Spirit had to enter into the world just as Jesus did through some type of material process, but instead of a human birth, Jesus indicated the Holy Spirit would be born through his human death.

Holy Spirit

The triune nature of God made it possible for Jesus to leave Earth and yet remain present with his followers. Jesus described his connection with his followers this way:

Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. (John 14:19-21, ESV)

The Greek word translated manifest in John 14:21, emphanizo (em-fan-id´-zo) means “to exihibit (in person) or disclose (by words)” (G1718). Emphanizo is also translated as appear and show. The root word of emphanizo is emphanes (em-fan-ace´) which means to be “apparent in self” (G1717). What Jesus likely meant when he said he would manifest himself was that he would be seen in the behavior of the believer that is living according to his commandments. In other words, believers that act like him are making it seem as if Jesus is still living with us in this world.

Jesus told his disciples that his absence would not prevent them from continuing his work. In fact, Jesus promised them they would be able to do even more than they had before. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:12). The work Jesus was referring to was probably the spreading of the gospel. During his three-year ministry, Jesus visited much of the territory that was promised to Abraham and his descendants, but the goal of his ministry was to spread the gospel throughout the entire world (Matthew 28:19). Even today, some 2000 years later, there are still people that do not have the Bible available to them in their native language.

Jesus indicated another person was going to come and help his disciples achieve their mission. He said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:15-17). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was a completely new and different way of connecting with God. Before Jesus died, the Holy Spirit was not living in the world. The possibility that God could live inside a person was a phenomenal breakthrough that Jesus’ disciples were most likely unable to comprehend.

Jesus briefly explained to his disciples how this new relationship was going to work. He told them, “These things I have spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:25-26). In a nut shell, what Jesus was telling his disciples was that they didn’t have to worry about forgetting the things he had taught them. Jesus’ identification of the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17) meant that he was the essence of God’s word being brought to life within the born again believer. With the exception of John, this fantastic revelation likely went over the heads of all of Jesus’ apostles. It probably wasn’t until after the day of Pentacost, when the Holy Spirit arrived on the scene (Acts 2:1-4), that the reality of Jesus’ promise actually set in.

Spiritual work

Jesus’ parable of the talents illustrated the concept of spiritual work. He began his lesson by stating, “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey” (Matthew 25:14-15). In order to convey the point he was trying to make, Jesus used an example that dealt with something his followers were familiar with. The idea that the master of a household would leave his home and go on a long journey was not that unusual in the time period in which Jesus lived. Today we think of business trips lasting no more than a week or two because we have airplanes and internet connections that speed up everything we do. It is likely that the image Jesus was creating was a trip from Israel to Spain or perhaps China, which could have taken months or even years depending on the mode of travel.

Jesus indicated talents were distributed to the man’s servants according to their “several ability” (Matthew 25:15). The Greek words idios (id´-ee-os) and dunamis (doo´-nam-is) have to do with miraculous power that is divided up among individuals with each one getting his particular portion or unique part (G2398/G1411). Jesus was probably referring to the gifts of the Spirit that are identified in 1 Corinthians 12. The Apostle Paul associated spiritual gifts with the Holy Spirit and said, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). The phrase “profit withal” comes from the Greek word sumphero (soom-fer´-o) which means “to bear together” (G4851). Sumphero is derived from the Greek words sun (soon) and phero (fer´-o). “Phero, as a verb, means ‘to bear, carry’ and is rendered ‘being moved’ in 2 Peter 1:21, signifying that they were ‘borne along,’ or impelled, by the Holy Spirit’s power, not acting according to their own will, or simply expressing their own thoughts, but expressing the mind of God in words provided and ministered by Him. It is used also of ‘bearing or bringing forth fruit'” (G5342). Jesus used the Greek verb phero when he talked about bearing spiritual fruit in his parable of the sower (Mark 4:3-8).

Jesus indicated in his parable of the talents that there would come a day when the man’s servants would be held accountable for their use of his resources while he was gone. He said, “After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them” (Matthew 25:19). The two Greek words that are translated reckoneth, sunairo (soon-ah´ee-ro) and logos (log´-os) are associated with the collective use of God’s word. It could be that reckoning has something to do with a replay of what Christians have said (or not said as the case may be) about Christ during their lifetimes. Jesus made it clear in his explanation of the parable of the sower that the seed that was being sown in the field was the word of God going out into the world (Luke 8:11; Matthew:13:38). Therefore, the spiritual work of spreading the gospel is what Jesus expected each of his followers to be doing while they were waiting for his return.

First priority

Jesus taught that God’s kingdom must be given first priority. In his parable of the great supper, Jesus described the result of putting a lower priority on spiritual activities. The men that were originally invited to a great supper or banquet excused themselves from attending because they had other things to do. As a result, the host had his servant bring in others who were willing to accept his invitation (Luke 14:21). At the conclusion of his parable, Jesus stated, “For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper” (Luke 14:24). In other words, the men that were originally invited, but didn’t come, wouldn’t be invited back to the man’s (Jesus’) house.

Jesus went on to explain that there was a cost to discipleship. He told the large crowd listening to him, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Jesus wasn’t talking about the free gift of salvation that God offers to the world. His invitation to “come to me” had to do with his work of transforming the Earth. Jesus said, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Before Jesus’ death, the cross was not associated with sacrifice. It was an emblem of severe punishment for crimes that were committed against the Roman government. What Jesus likely meant by “bear his cross,” was a willingness to go against the dictated behavior of human authorities. Today we might think of this as doing what is politically correct or following the prescribed rules of our culture.

Jesus used two examples to drive home the point that God would finish the work he started because he had already set aside the spiritual resources he needed to complete it. Just as the host of the banquet was able to fill his dining hall with alternate guests (Luke 14:22-23), God’s kingdom is open to anyone that is willing to serve him. Jesus concluded his lesson with an admonition to his listeners to keep a continual focus on being useful to God. He said, “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?” (Luke 14:34).

The Greek word translated savour, moraino (mo-rah´-ee-no) was being used figuratively by Jesus to describe someone that is stupid or foolish (3471/3474). Moraino is related to the word musterion (moos-tay´-ree-on) which stands for a secret or mystery “(through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites)” (3466). Musterion is a unique word in the New Testament. “It denotes, not the mysterious (as with the Eng. word), but that which, being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by divine revelation, and is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God, and to those only who are illumined by His Spirit.” Jesus probably used the word moraino in connection with salt losing its flavor so that we would understand that our usefulness to him has to do with our supernatural understanding of God’s kingdom.

Son of God

The one thing that differentiated Jesus from every other person that had or ever will live on this planet was his biological connection to his heavenly Father. Jesus was considered to be the offspring of God. In other words, he was conceived by genetic input that was transferred to Mary through the Holy Spirit. The angel of the Lord explained it to Joseph, Mary’s future husband this way: “The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:20). The Greek term translated conceived, gennao means “to procreate” (1080). The figurative sense of the word gennao means to regenerate or be reborn, especially in a spiritual or moral sense. It was most likely the unique and unusual conditions of Jesus’ birth that prompted him to tell Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Jesus stunned the Jews when he told them, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Afterward, the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus because they couldn’t comprehend how a man could be equal with God (John 10:33). The idea that God could exist in human form was beyond their wildest imagination. Jesus explained to them that he was equal with God because he had the same abilities. Jesus’ supernatural power was evidence of his divine character (John 10:25). The central point of Jesus’ argument was his divine appointment to be the Savior of the world. He stated, “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” (John 10:36). The point being that Jesus was merely stating the truth and could not lie to them about his true identity.

Jesus’ final plea to the Jews was in a sense a desperate attempt to get them to consider the facts before them. He said, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him” (John 10:37-38). Jesus’ declaration that his Father was in him was probably not meant to mean that he carried God’s genetic code inside him, but that the spiritual connection between the two of them surpassed human relationships. Prior to Jesus’ birth, God was able to be with his people, but not in them. The key component that Jesus added to having a relationship with God was the spiritual union that enable God to dwell in rather than with his people. Jesus’ statement that he and his Father were “one” (John 10:30) may have been a reference to the spiritual union between them, which was so intimate that they were considered to be one person.

Spirit of God

In response to the their accusation that he was casting out demons using the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24), Jesus introduced the Pharisees to the third person of the Godhead, whom he referred to as the Spirit of God and Holy Ghost. Jesus associated the Holy Ghost with the kingdom of God and said that his work was evidence that God’s kingdom had come to earth (Matthew 12:28). One of the key statements Jesus made that clarified the Holy Ghost’s equality with God is found in Matthew 12:31. He said, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” Jesus went on to say, “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:32). In this statement, it appeared that Jesus was giving the Spirit of God a status above himself because he attributed a higher degree of severity to sins that were committed against the Holy Ghost. Most likely, it was the Holy Ghost’s power that differentiated him from Jesus and made his equality with God indisputable.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees because they tried to give Satan credit for doing the good works that should have been attributed to the Holy Ghost. Using the illustration of a tree that can only produce a specific kind of fruit (Matthew 12:33), Jesus argued that it would be impossible for Satan to do anything good. Relating his argument back to the Pharisees, Jesus said, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35). Jesus indicated that the words we speak are evidence for or against us having a relationship with God and used the Greek word argos, which is translated idle (692), to refer to words we use that are not inspired by the Holy Ghost. In other words, you could say, idle words are words spoken that are useless with respect to God’s kingdom. Jesus emphasized the importance of every word that comes out of our mouth and declared, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Paradigm shift

An important change that happened in the way Jesus’ disciples thought about their relationship with God compared to the rest of the Jews was their freedom from religious regulations. After sharing a meal with some of the outcasts of Jewish society, Jesus was asked, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?” (Mark 2:18). This question was intended as a criticism of Jesus’ leadership and showed that the freedom his disciples experienced was perceived to be sinful behavior. Taking it a step further, Mark said about Jesus, “And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?” (Mark 2:23-24). These two incidents captured the paradigm shift that began to take place almost immediately after Jesus’ ministry started. Jesus’ response to the criticism he received was his first attempt at explaining a key aspect of Christianity; the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the action by which God takes up permanent residence in the body of a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus used two common staples of Jewish life to illustrate this concept. He said, “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles” (Mark 2:21-22). The old garment and old bottles could have represented the nation of Israel; and the new cloth and new wine, the gospel message Jesus brought to God’s people. Likewise, the old garment and old bottles could have represented individuals such as the scribes and Pharisees that were unable to receive salvation because they weren’t able to let go of their religious traditions. But, more than likely, Jesus was referring to the sinful human heart as the old garment and old bottles that would tear or burst if God were to try and take up residence there.

The prophet Jeremiah said of the sinful human heart, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). In the discourse in which he stated, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), the LORD directed his people to “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed: and make you a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 18:31). Later, in a prophecy to Israel, God said through the prophet Ezekiel, “A new heart also will I give you: and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Jesus’ presence on earth and constant fellowship with his disciples was only a foretaste of what would be possible after his death. Although it wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven that his followers were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), all those who believed and were baptized were “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6); meaning they were given a new heart that enabled them to discern spiritual truth.