“Resisting the Holy Spirit"
Acts 7:1-60
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit…” [Acts 7:51]
Acts 7 covers a lot of real estate, historically and in sheer verses; 60 to be exact. We will read all 60 verses this morning but will focus on the latter ten, which warns against resisting the Holy Spirit.
We have seen in these Acts of the Holy Spirit how the witness of the Spirit comes upon a person to empower them. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes 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 1:8]
Jesus commanded His disciples to wait for this empowerment [ref. Acts 1:4]. The Spirit came alongside them during His earthly ministry [ref. John 14:7]; the Spirit came in them after His death and resurrection [ref. John 20:22]; and the Spirit came upon them with power for the ministry [ref. Acts 1:8; Acts 2]. Stephen was ministering in the “upon them” power.
Notice, however, that Stephen was a Hellenist [a Grecian Jew] and was giving the formal Jews [particularly the Sanhedrin] a history lesson. It was more than a history lesson; however, it was a word of knowledge on their character. “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did, so do you.” [Acts 7:51]
Stephen exposed their history of resisting the Spirit. Over time their hearts became hardened and insensate to God, and yet they were religious.
What a warning for us. Can we, too, be religious and resist the Spirit?
One thing to note in the book of Acts is that there were no books or articles yet written on how to build the church. The Epistles were even yet to be. Church planting and church building was one hundred percent Spirit led and therefore radically different than today. Examples include Paul’s conversion, the Spirit-upon the house of Cornelius [a Gentile], the Jerusalem Council [ref. Acts 15]. These reveal a great difference between God’s plan and man’s.
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” [1 Corinthians 3:19] “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” [1 Corinthians 2:14]
We’d be wise to continue in a Spirt-filled life and learnedness, and in all humility allow God’s Spirit to lead us in building our church.
