LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
The Holy Spirit and Discipleship
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
The Holy Spirit and Discipleship
More than any other New Testament author Luke speaks of the Spirit of God. It has been
observed that the Spirit is the connecting thread which runs through both Luke and Acts. Luke
does this primarily by linking the ministry of the Spirit with the birth of Jesus in Luke 1-2 with
the birth of His Church in Acts 1-2. This parallel structure is also evident in the Spirit-filled
ministry of Jesus and the Spirit-filled minisry of Christ's disciples in Acts. In addition, Luke is also
careful to ground the miraculous work of the Spirit in the Old Testament births and the
prophetic ministry of Elijah and Elisha. Various aspects of the work of the Spirit are outlined
below.
Just as the birth of a child together brings young and old together in wonder, Luke uses the
birth of Jesus and the church to unite the Jewish Old Covenant community of faith with the
flood of incoming New Testament Gentile believers.
The unity of the community in Luke-Acts is highlighted by discussing the role of the Holy
Spirit as inaugurator in the birth of John and Jesus in Luke 1-2 and the birth of the Church in
Acts 1-2. Luke also shows that just as the Great Commission at the end of Matthew acts as an
index to the gospel which proceeded it, the programmic discourse in Luke 4:16-30 serves as a
preface to both the ministry of Jesus and the Church which would follow it. Parallels were
drawn between the Nazareth pericope and the ministry of Paul.
It is important for the modern-day church to realize that it is only through the new birth,
conversion that anyone can enter the covenant community. This was profoundly illustrated by
the importance of the miracle birth as shown in the birth of Isaac, John the Baptist, Jesus and
the believers in the book of Acts.
Jesus’ announcement that the “Spirit of the Lord is upon Me” through the citation of Isa.
61:1 in Luke 4:18 affirms what Luke has already been hinting at by the activity of the Spirit
within the birth stories. Namely, that the Holy Spirit is going to be a major theme within Luke-
Acts. The sermon at Nazareth also underlines the prophetic ministry of Jesus as well as His
intention to minister to the marginalized within the society.
Jesus Himself is closely linked with the Holy Spirit in the opening events of His ministry. The
three episodes of the baptism (where Jesus is filled with the Spirit); the temptation (where
Jesus is led by the Spirit) and now the public proclamation in the community at Nazareth can be
viewed as “an integrated narrative, the launching of the public ministry of Jesus—the
charismatic Christ” (Stronstad 1984:39).
Being “filled” or “full” of the Spirit is a dominantly Lukan term. Jesus is described as being
“full of the Spirit” at the temptation (Luke 4:1) and “full of the joy through the Spirit” (Luke
10:21) when He praised the Father for revealing truth to the humble.
Unlike Matthew and Mark, Luke alone pictures Jesus returning from the desert to Galilee
“in the power of the Spirit” (4:14). Through these unique portrayals of Christ’s public ministry
Luke desires to highlight the important role of the Spirit in the life of Christ and by extension
the life of the Church.
Thus Luke clearly links the decisive role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus and His
disciples. Lest the Gentile believers forget the foundational work of the Spirit in the Old
Testament prophetic ministry of Elijah and Elisha, Luke is careful to draw distinct parallels
between Jesus and these Old Testament prophets.
Luke’s concept of the church is so radical in its constitution that it is only through the
power of the Holy Spirit that the age-old hostilities between the Jew and the Gentile could be
broken down in order to form a new community under the authority of the risen Lord.
The Spirit’s testimony in Acts 2 springs forth on the day of Pentecost when those who had
been discipled by Jesus were united and waiting for the promised blessing of the Spirit.
For the disciples, the ascension marks the end of their apprenticeship and the beginning of
their missionary task for which their discipleship has prepared them. The same Spirit which
Jesus received at the birth of His ministry is given to the disciples at the birth of the church.
Therefore Acts can be seen as the continuation of the Lucan Gospel, not in the sense that it
relates what Jesus continued to do, but how his followers carried out his commission under the
guidance of His Spirit.
The literature of the New Testament reveals three primary dimensions of the activity of the
Holy Spirit: 1) salvation, 2) sanctification, and 3) service. These dimensions are interdependent
and complimentary. However, in the development of Protestant theology, the Reformed
tradition has emphasized the activity of the Spirit in initiation-conversion, the Wesleyan
tradition has subsequently emphasized the activity of the Spirit in holiness or sanctification, and
the Pentecostal tradition has finally emphasized the charismatic activity of the Spirit in worship
and service.
It was preeminently through the Spirit that the risen Christ was present in the community. In
Mark and Matthew the Spirit is not particularly prominent and is rarely linked with mission. Not
so in Luke. Among the evangelists he may be singled out as the theologian of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit in Acts is explicitly cited as the guiding force of the disciples in either directing their
activity (see Acts 2:4c; 4:31; 8:29, 39; 10:19, 44; 11:28; 13:2,4; 15:28; 19:21[?]; 20:22, 28) or
hindering it (16:6, 7; 21:4).
Luke’s concept of the church is so radical in its constitution that it is only through the power of
the Holy Spirit that the age-old hostilities between the Jew and the Gentile could be broken
down in order to form a new community under the authority of the risen Lord. While the Spirit-
induced praise and witness are surely the most evidential fruits of the Spirit’s working, they by
no means exhaust the more foundational work of the Spirit in the formation of the community
itself. This relationship between the foundational and evidential work of the Spirit is more
thoroughly discussed in the following sections which deal with Pentecost.
Just as Jesus acknowledged the work of the Spirit as the basis for his own ministry in Luke 4:18,
Peter stands up and explains to the wondering multitude that it is the Spirit as promised in Joel
2:28-32 that correctly explains their ministry. Peter’s first sermon occupies most of the chapter
(2:14-39) and is bracketed by the corporate meeting of the disciples both before (2:1-4) and
after (2:42-47) Pentecost.
Peter acts as a spokesperson for the Twelve and stands up to explain the gift of tongues which
had provoked both wonder and questioning from the diaspora Jews who had gathered in
Jerusalem for the feast (Acts 2:11-7-13).
Peter‘s spirit-inspired sermon which uplifted the crucified and risen Savior changed the
assembly’s question from “what does this mean?” (Acts 2:12) to “what shall we do?” (Acts
2:37). “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for
you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord our God will call’”
(Acts 2:38-39).
Most importantly, baptism is presented as the means of joining the Christian community (cf.
Acts 2:41). Luke has now traced in his gospel and Acts how the locus of the Spirit’s activity has
moved from the periphery of the Jordan to the heart of Jerusalem. While John focused the
message on preparing his hearers to meet the coming Lord, Peter declares that Jesus indeed is
the Risen Lord. Whereas the response by the repentant crowd and the subsequent appeal to be
baptized by John and Peter are the same, the promised coming of the Spirit as fire in John is
fulfilled in the eschatological “last days” at Pentecost.
