How Did the Holy Spirit Work in the Early Church? Understanding Acts 4:29-33

What specific passage does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focus on in this sermon?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones focuses on Acts 4:29-33, which describes how the early Christians prayed after Peter and John were threatened by the Jewish authorities. The passage shows their prayer for boldness to continue preaching Christ and the subsequent filling of the Holy Spirit that enabled them to speak God's word with power.

What were the early Christians praying for in Acts 4?

The early Christians were primarily praying for boldness to continue preaching Christ despite being prohibited from doing so by the authorities. As Lloyd-Jones explains: "Now, Lord, behold their threatens, and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy words by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus." They weren't praying for personal deliverance from trouble but rather for the ability to continue their gospel mission.

What are the two main ways the Holy Spirit works according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the Holy Spirit works in two main ways:

1. He enables the preacher to preach with power and authority: "He gives what is taught, called in the New Testament. He gives unction, he gives anointing, he gives clarity of understanding. He gives freedom and clarity of speech. He gives an authority."

2. He works on the listeners: "The Holy Spirit doesn't only act on the preacher. If he only acted on the preacher nothing would happen. He acts also on the listener." This is seen in Acts 2 when the listeners were "pricked in their heart" and asked what they should do to be saved.

What does it mean when Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguishes between "convicting" and "convincing"?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes a crucial distinction between the Holy Spirit's work of "convicting" and "convincing":

• Convicting: This means establishing the charge or truth about Christ, which the Holy Spirit does for everyone. Just as a court can convict someone who still protests their innocence, the Spirit can bring the truth to bear on someone who still rejects it. "The fact that the prisoner in that dock doesn't agree with the verdict doesn't make the slightest difference."

• Convincing: This goes further, where the person not only hears the truth but accepts and believes it. "Here is a man who agrees with the sentence. Here's a man who pleads guilty. He's not only convicted, he's convinced."

What three things does the Holy Spirit convict the world of according to John 16:8-11?

Based on Jesus' words in John 16:8-11, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of:

1. Sin: "Of sin because they believe not on me." The greatest sin is rejecting Christ, showing "the blindness that failed to recognize him" and "the blindness that made them blind to their need of him."

2. Righteousness: "Of righteousness because I go to my father and ye see me no more." This means both that Christ is proven righteous through his resurrection and ascension, and that only through him can we receive true righteousness.

3. Judgment: "Of judgment because the prince of this world is judged." The Holy Spirit shows that Satan has already been defeated through Christ's death and resurrection, and that judgment is coming for all who reject Christ.

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones warn against separating the Word from the Spirit?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns against two dangerous extremes:

1. Emphasizing only the Word (intellectualism): "There are some people who put their emphasis only on the word. These are the intellectuals... their word doesn't affect anybody. It may affect them in making them proud of their own great knowledge."

2. Emphasizing only the Spirit (emotionalism): "Then there are people who put the whole of their emphasis upon the Holy Spirit. They're not interested in the word... A man must never let himself go. He must never jettison the intellect and the reason and the brains that God has given him."

He insists that the two must always work together: "Holy Ghost. Word of God. Word of God. Holy Ghost. These two, and my dear friends, these two things must never be separate."

How does the defeat of Satan prove itself in daily Christian experience?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the very fact that anyone believes the gospel is proof that Satan has been defeated. Since 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 tells us that "the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not," every conversion represents a victory over Satan's power:

"Every man who ever believes this gospel does it in spite of the devil. Every time a man believes the devil is defeated... The fact that a single person has ever believed this gospel is a proof that the prince of this world has been defeated and cast out and judged."

This is also shown in the believer's deliverance from Satan's power: "We are all under the dominion of sin and Satan by birth... And there's only one thing that can ever deliver us from that, and that is this gospel preached with the unction and authority and power of the Holy Spirit."

What is the ultimate purpose of the Holy Spirit's work according to this sermon?

The ultimate purpose of the Holy Spirit's work is to glorify Christ. As Lloyd-Jones states: "The Holy Spirit is sent to glorify him. Our Lord himself said that he shall glorify me, and he always does." The Spirit takes the facts about Christ (the "wonderful works of God") and presents them, shows their meaning, and applies them to human hearts.

The Spirit's work results in people being freed from Satan's power and brought into God's kingdom: "Free to believe God, free to enjoy God, free to worship God, free to pray to God, free to live in a manner that is worthy of the glorious liberty of the children of God."