Acts 1:8 Commentary
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Acts 1:8 Commentary PREVIOUS NEXT Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth: Greek: alla lempsesthe (2PFMI) dunamin epelthontos (AAPNSG) tou hagiou pneumatos eph' humas, kai esesthe (2PFMI) mou martures en te Ierousalem kai [en] pase te Ioudaia kai Samareia kai eos eschatou tes ges. Amplified: But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. (Amplified Bible - Lockman) ESV: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ICB: But the Holy Spirit will come to you. Then you will receive power. You will be my witnesses--in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world." KJV: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Mace NT: but ye shall receive the influence of the holy spirit, which will descend upon you: and ye shall be witnesses for me, in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the remotest part of the earth. NET: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” NIV: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." NKJV: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NLT: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: But you are to be given power when the Holy Spirit has come to you. You will be witnesses to me, not only in Jerusalem, not only throughout Judea, not only in Samaria, but to the very ends of the earth!" (Phillips: Touchstone) TLB: But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power to testify about me with great effect, to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, about my death and resurrection." Weymouth: and yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth." Wuest: But you shall receive power of the kind which God has and exerts after the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be those who testify of what they have seen and experienced, my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and in Samaria and to the end of the earth. Young's Literal: but ye shall receive power at the coming of the Holy Spirit upon you, and ye shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the end of the earth.' BUT YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU: alla lempsesthe (2PFMI) dunamin epelthontos (AAPNSG) tou hagiou pneumatos eph' humas: but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: Ac 2:1-4 6:8 8:19 Mic 3:8 Zec 4:6 Lk 10:19 Rev 11:3-6 Power: Lk 1:35 Lk 4:14, 36, 5:17, 6:19, 8:46, Luke 9:1, Luke 10:13, 19:37 = miracles, Luke 10:19, 21:26, Lk 21:27, Luke 22:69 Ro 15:19 POWER FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE MODERN CHURCH'S GREATEST NEED! See also discussion of A Spirit Filled Church I love Robert Morgan's summary of Acts 1:8 - Acts 1:8 is the key that unlocks the door of Acts and the gates of Christian history. Acts 1:8 represents the last known words of Jesus during His earthly ministry. Verse 9 indicates these are the Lord’s final words before being “taken up.” Luke 24:50-53 says Jesus ascended to heaven while blessing His disciples, but His words of blessings aren’t given. Acts 1:8 are His final words as they were recorded for us. Shouldn’t His last command be our first concern? Acts 1:8 represents the passing of the baton between the Son and the Spirit regarding the divine mission on earth. Jesus indicated in the upper room discourse (John 13-17) that in His physical body He would return to heaven. His presence here would be replaced, so to speak, by the Holy Spirit; and He told the disciples in Luke 24 to tarry in Jerusalem until the Spirit arrived. In Acts 2 we have this arrival, the unleashing of the Holy Spirit upon the church. The book of Acts (and all subsequent Christian history) is the story of what Jesus Christ is continuing to do (see v. 1) on earth through His Spirit working in His church. Acts 1:8 provides the table of contents for the book of Acts. In reading through Acts, it becomes clear that chapters 1-7 describe the gospel’s penetrating Jerusalem; chapters 8-12, Judea and Samaria; and chapters 13-18, the ends of the earth, exactly as outlined in Acts 1:8. Acts 1:8 represents Christ’s agenda for the duration of history till He returns. It’s our personal mandate, and every day of our lives must be spent under its ambition and authority (100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart) A W Tozer - If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what we’re doing in our churches would go right on and nobody would know the difference!...I do not believe in a repetition of Pentecost, but I do believe in a perpetuation of Pentecost— and there is a vast difference between the two. Robert Neighbour on the need for the Spirit - Unless saints know their anointing, they are helpless as babes in doing the will of God. The work of God can only be made powerful through the Spirit of God. "Ye shall receive power, the Holy Ghost coming upon you," was the promise of the Father. Alas, how many churches there are to-day whose only knowledge of the Holy Spirit, is a theoretical knowledge. From the pastor down through the whole membership, there seems to be no Spirit-endued witnesses to the faith. It certainly pays to halt the work until there is a conscious manifestation of the Spirit's working. Service rendered in the energy of the flesh is a fruitless service. The minister himself needs far more than the best that a theological training can give him; he needs far more than oratorical gifts; far more than literary accomplishments; he needs to have his heart and lips touched with a live coal from off God's altar. The young man or young woman who is in preparation for any phase of Christian work, needs more than schools and colleges can impart. In order to be used of God, one must be set on fire by the Spirit of God. "Power belongeth unto God." (Psalm 62:11KJV) It is "by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." (Zechariah 4:6) Stephen was a mighty witness, because he was a man full "of faith and power." (Acts 6:8) The early Church was told to look out from among themselves, men "filled with the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:4, 4:8, 4:31, 9:17, 13:9) Our churches and our mission stations at home and abroad need to demand as their first prerequisite, that those who serve them are people who have heard of the Holy Ghost and who have been "endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49) The factory may be splendidly equipped, but of what use is it all, unless there is power to turn the wheels? The train may stand on the track with every comfort that modern ingenuity can provide, but of what value is it unless the fire is under the boiler, and the power is at hand to run the train? Bill Crowder gives us a pithy Illustration of Need for Power - The first winter that my wife Marlene and I were married was marked by severe blizzards. I can vividly remember one Sunday when we awoke to find that the electricity had been knocked out by an ice storm. Huddled around a battery-powered radio for news on that frigid Sunday, we heard a most unusual announcement. The announcer, before giving the list of church services canceled due to the ice storm, said,“The following churches will be closed due to lack of power.”What an interesting comment! I knew what he meant, but I was struck by what he said.