THE
SPIRIT “UPON” PROPHETS "The Spirit As
The Giver"
rev
03/14/2016
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Misinterpretation of Acts 5:32
“I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy”
(Acts 2:17b). “[God] testified against
them by Your Spirit, by Your prophets, but they would not give ear”
(Nehemiah 9:30b, MKJV).
Question
to ponder: When we consider God's purpose for mankind, does He
want all men to be prophets or to give ear and obey the prophets?
Introduction:
How God Made Prophets
In appointing persons to
reveal God's Word, the Bible clearly points out that God bestows His
Spirit upon them, such as Moses in the OT or the apostles in
the NT. Such are called "prophets." They prophesy.
We
seek to answer
the question, “On the day of Pentecost did Peter promise
obedient ones the power to prophesy in Acts 2:38?”
The
Preposition “Upon”
“I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17).
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The word “upon”
is a preposition in
grammar. This
means it is a
“relationship word.” I
always used the illustration
of a table when teaching
my students about
prepositions.
Any thing's relationship
to that
table can be expressed with a preposition. The thing can be over,
under, around, in, by, upon, etc. In
the Bible, as in all
literature, prepositions
are important in our
properly understanding
what was occurring
in any event. “Upon”
(epiG1909)
according to Strong's
Greek definitions is
a “downward pressure or a resting upon
an object.”i
So, the Holy Spirit
rested
upon
Jesus's apostles.
A special ability of
the Spirit rested upon
all
prophets.
The
Spirit “Upon” and Prophesying
The Scriptures used by the
audience on that day of Pentecost in the first century (Acts 2) was
the Greek Old Testament canon (called LXX or Septuagint).ii
When Peter quoted from the book of the prophet Joel and from
the Psalms by David, he quoted from the Scriptures that the audience
used. When the Scriptures (prophets of OT) foretold what and how
the prophesying on this day would come about (in
Acts 2:17), they described the Holy Spirit as coming "upon"
people. Not going"in" or
“into.” Peter explains to us in 2 Peter 1:19-21,
that prophets were led or carried by God's Holy Spirit.
This
is sensible since the Holy Spirit (in Greek pneumaG4151,
in Hebrew, rûachH7307)
is one person of the Godhead. He is not liquid or gas to be parsed
about within the bodies of men. viiiHe is the one that
distributed and parsed the “grace gifts” according to 1
Corinthians 12:7, ERV, "The Spirit gives
this [grace gift] to each one to help
others." The Spirit is the Giver of gifts! If this is true then Acts 2:38 refers to the "gift" from the Spirit since the Spirit gives the gift. Also,
the passages that refer to the Spirit "in" us is speaking metaphorically. The gift represents its giver and is "in" the recipient.
Even
the incarnate Jesus had the Spirit “upon” Him and not
“in” Him. Jesus said that He fulfilled Isaiah's
prophecy, “In whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my
Spirit upon Him” (Matthew 12:18; John
1:33). The expression “put my Spirit upon” is
commonly used throughout the Bible. It is used to describe
extraordinary (miraculous) powers being bestowed on
“prophets” of God. It is expressed as being
"upon" the persons so employed: "upon"
Moses (Numbers 11:17); "upon the [Moses'] elders"
(Numbers 11:25); "upon the apostles" (Acts 1:8); but
"notiii
upon the disciples" (i.e.,without laying on of the apostes' hands,
Acts 8:16).
My
conclusion is that the “Spirit
upon” always meant
that the recipients became prophets
with power to prophesy
God's message.iv
The
Spirit “Upon” Makes a Prophet
I
cannot over-emphasize that the expression "Spirit upon"
was used when God would have someone teach by prophesying. "And
Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the
LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit
upon them!" (Numbers 11:29). If this be
true, then any interpretation of Acts 2:38 as being “the Spirit
upon” would require that everyone is required not only to
repent and be baptized but must become prophets. Moses said that's
not the way God works (Numbers 11:29).
A
Prophet Is God's
Mouth
What is a Bible “prophet”?
Strong's Dictionary defines the Hebrew word “prophesy”
(na^ba^'H5012) as “speak (or sing) by inspiration (in
prediction or simple discourse)” and the Greek equivalent in
Acts 2:17 is προφητευωG4395
is “to foretell events, divine, speak under inspiration.”
The Spirit “upon” meant that the persons were inspired
by the Holy Spirit by Him resting on them and became consequently
God's spokesperson.
A
prophet is the mouthpiece for the Spirit of God. Even as God
explained to Moses that Aaron “shall be to thee instead of a
mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God” (Exodus
4:16). “And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee
a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet”
(Exodus 7:1). The path of the prophecy is
illustrated by Moses
(as “god”) → Aaron (as
prophet, special
messenger)
→ Pharaoh (as
target
of
message).
Therefore, GOD
→
PROPHET (inspired
Messenger)→
MANKIND(target
of
message).
As prophets Abraham and Job
could pray inclusively for another's salvation (Genesis 20:7; Job
42:8). God talked to His prophets directly as He did with
Moses, or in a vision or a dream (Numbers 12:6) or by His Spirit
(Acts 8:29). God's prophet performs signs and wonders (Deuteronomy
13:1) to prove His message being from God. Note: There are persons
that lie and say they are God's prophets and are not (Deuteronomy
13:1-5).
The
Spirit Teaches Others Through Prophets
God
chose to instruct
His creation by
His Spirit but through other
human
beings. The
purpose of the pouring out God's Spirit is clearly said to
make known His teachings to mankind.
“Turn you at my reproof: behold, I
will pour out my spiritv
unto you, I will make known my words unto you”
(Proverbs 1:23). Literally, in the Septuagint,
“I will teach you.”
David had the Holy Spirit upon
him from the time of his anointing (1 Samuel 16:13). He later
explained this
purpose, “The Spirit of the Lord
spake by me,
and His word was in my tongue.”
The Spirit is the Giver of Words but it
is through His Prophets to others!
"Thou
gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them" (Nehemiah
9:20). Did the Spirit instruct directly? No. Moses was their
teacher (Exodus 18:15). Interestingly, the Spirit was
upon Moses (Numbers 11:17). The Spirit Instructs! But
He instructsbygiving those
He is upon, the power to
speak.
The Spirit witnesses
through prophets. The Spirit witnessed through the twelve (Acts
5:32) who spoke to thousands as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Indirectly, it was the same purpose with Cornelius' family and
friends. The Jews were hesitant in teaching the Gentiles. The Spirit
was poured out upon themvi
when Peter began to speak to them. Their prophesying taught
Peter and the Jews that the Gentiles were no longer considered to be
unclean but suitable to hear the words
of the Spirit (Acts 11:15).
The
Spirit is the Giver of Inspired Teaching! That's why we say the Bible
is inerrant with verbal inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16). At the same
time we can understand that the Spirit nowhere gives inspired
interpretation to the hearers.
Prophesying
In
Both Testaments
Peter
said they preached the gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down (1 Peter
1:12) which is a “firm word of prophecy” compared
to the
former prophecy of
the Old Testament)
as, “For prophecy was not borne at any time by the
will of man, but holy men of God spoke being borne along by the Holy
Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21, MKJV).
God's
Spirit is always “UPON”
prophets.
And not “inside
them.”
The King James Version of the Old Testament has around 220
references to “spirit” and it appears that about half of
them uses the preposition “upon” (in Hebrew,
alH5920 meaning “top;
highest”). When the
Spirit was “upon”
anyone, the result wasprophesying
for the Lord. When the prophet wrote down the words from the Spirit, we have inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16). Such inspired gifts were
to cease (1 Corinthians 13:10).
At this point, I would suggest that where the Bible does speak of Jesus or the Spirit being "in" us,
it would be representative through the Word, the Spirit's gift. Just as Jesus is in us, the Holy Spirit would be in us.
Romans 8:10, "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."
1 John 4:13, "in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us."
Similarities
Of Signs
WithThe
Spirit "Upon" In The Testaments
There
are similarities of God
sending
Mosesas
prophet to Israel and of
Jesus sending
the twelve
to the whole world. He
verified
their prophetic
missions with signs.
Signs
With Moses
Both
Moses and the twelve apostles were given signs to confirm their
commission. Moses is attracted to the unconsuming fire in the bush.
Moses was told, “And
thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewiththou
shalt do signs”
(Exodus 4:17). Moses is commisioned as spokesman for God but
not without signs. God
assures him, “Certainly
I will be with thee and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have
sent thee”
(3:11) and in Numbers 11:17 God declared that “the
Spirit was upon”
(al, epi)
Moses.
Signs
With Apostles
In
a similar way, the twelve received power for signs (e.g., Mark
16:20): a sound from Heaven, tongues like fire upon them, their
speaking unlearned foreign languages (Acts 2), and a lame man is
healed (in Acts 3), etc.
The ones sent prophesied with
signs. That is, they witnessed and spoke God's message with
inspiration and without error. They were inspired and continued under
inspiration to write Scriptures just like the ancient prophets had
done (2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
Jesus
to His apostles, “But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and
you will be my witnesses”
(Acts 1:8, ESV). The
Pentecost audience could not be witnesses of a resurrection that they
had not seen. The evidence is that Acts 2:38's gift is not speaking
of what the apostles received.
Summarizing.
(1)
The Spirit was to come upon the waiting apostles. Never
does the Scripture say the Spirit was “coming upon" the
listeners; including
Acts 2:38! (2)
The apostles were commanded to take the Holy Spirit (John 20:22,
“receive”, aorist imperative). (3) Power was to be taken
with the coming of "the Holy Spirit upon"
(Acts 1:8). The audience was never told to take power. (4) As
predicted by the prophet Joel, the Spirit came "upon" the
apostles. Peter tells the Pentecost audience that what they were
seeing and hearing was the fulfilment of this prediction.
The
taking of the "gift of the Holy Spirit" in Acts 2:38 was a
responsibility for the audience. This they were instructed to do just
as much as their repenting and their being baptized. There is no
waiting, praying, solicitation, coming of the Spirit “upon”,
nor availability of any powers. They were to take or receive the
gift. This they apparently did. They
received the word, which was "of the Holy Spirit." "And take(G1209) the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17).
CONSEQUENCE: If
“the gift of the Holy Spirit” means “upon”
like was “upon”
the apostles and Moses, then all
would have been
made prophets
and would not need the apostles
nor Scriptures. There
would not have been any apostles' doctrine to continue in. All
would have had the ability of signs. But
there is no evidence of
this; therefore, to believe this would violate the faith of Hebrews
11:1. “Faith is
the evidence of things not seen.”
-
Gaylon West
THROW
OUT THE LIFELINE
http://www.BibleStudyLessons.net
Other articles in this series, The Gift of the Holy Spirit:
ii
http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/tips/what-bible-did-jesus-use-11638841.html.
http://www.jesus.org/birth- of-jesus/genealogy-and-jewish-heritage/what-bible-did-jesus-use.html.
"Before there was a New Testament, the Bible of the first
Christians (the writers of the New Testament and the early Church)
was a Greek translation of the Old Testament. The general term used
to designate that translation is 'Septuagint.' "
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/07/heres-something-about-the-bible-of-the-first-
christians-i-bet- many-of-you-didnt-know-youre-welcome/
iiiThe
Samaritans had been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ but they
received not the Spirit until the apostles prayed and lay their
hands upon them. Before Acts 6 there is no record that the
apostles had done this to anyone.
iv
Examples: 1. Moses plus seventy bore the burden of the people
and prophesied by the Spirit that rested upon them (Numbers 11:17,
25, 26); 2. the Spirit of God came upon Balaam (Numbers 24:2) who
prophesied; 3. the judges had the Spirit of Jehovah come upon
them; they governed Israel for God (Judges 3:10, 6:34, etc.); 4.
“the Spirit” came upon King Saul, he prophesied (1
Samuel 10:6, 11) and upon Saul's messengers, they prophesied (1
Samuel 19:20); 5. finally, the Spirit instructed Israel via the
instruments of God's prophets (Nehemiah 9:30).
vii
God's Spirit Is Among Israel, Not “In” nor
“Upon” -- Isaiah 63:11 is used to prove that
the Spirit was placed into Moses. Greek original: “ το
αγιον-
to them."
He put His Holy Spirit “in
the midst
of them ” ;
i.e., the congregation of Israel (the ASV properly translates it).
This is parallel to Haggai 2:5, “According
to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt,
so My Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. ”
Again,
the ones conveying the Words of the Lord of Hosts are identified as
“ by
the former prophets ”
(Zechariah
7:12). Jesus promises
the
Spirit of Truth “shall
be in
you [apostles] ”
(John 14:17), He
would be in them as they were in Him (metaphors).
The
Greek
preposition
“ ΕνG1722 ”
translated “ in
you”,according
to Strong's,
“denotes
(fixed) position
and
(by implication) instrumentality,
that is, a relation of rest;
(including
(up-)
on)”
“in
the prophets”: Greek cheirG5495
“instrument
of the prophets”; Ancient Hebrew Lexicon & Strong's:
“hands.”;
“thy prophets: Heb. the hand of thy prophets” (Nehemiah
9:30, Treasury
of Scriptural Knowledge).
viii
Romans 8:9,10 "Spirit of God dwell in you"; "if Christ be in you" (v. 10); etc. "In" (G1722) according to Thayer's greek Dictionary, is used for various meanings, including "of the instrument, means, efficient cause."It obviously is used metaphorically by influence from the Sword of the Spirit (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17) in such passages for not only is the Spirit "in" but so is "God in" and "Christ in" people according to the passage.
See also https://centeredonchrist.substack.com/p/does-the-spirit-of-god-dwell-in-you
The word “upon”
is a preposition in
grammar. This
means it is a
“relationship word.” I
always used the illustration
My
conclusion is that the “Spirit
upon” always meant
that the recipients became prophets
with power to prophesy
God's message.
