Act 1:8-11 “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. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
In verse seven, we are told it is not for us to know the times and seasons the Father has put in His own power. The word translated here as power means ability or authority. In other words, this power resides in God. It does not come from any outside influence.
We read in verse eight that we shall receive power. This is a different Greek word than the one used in verse seven. The meaning of the word translated as power in verse eight refers to force, specifically miraculous power, and implies the miracle itself (see Strong’s). The power mentioned in verse seven is inherent with God while the power in verse eight is given by God.
We do not have power in any spiritual sense that is generated by us. The disciples performed numerous miracles after the Holy Ghost came upon them. While we may not perform the miracles they did, receiving and being led by the Holy Ghost is still a miracle of God’s grace in our lives today. We receive power to believe and testify concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ after we have received the Holy Ghost.
The power of the Holy Ghost brought a mighty change to the lives of the disciples. Up to that point, Jesus had charged the that they should only go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat 10:5-6). After the Holy Ghost came, they were told to go to the farthest reaches of the world. Today, we are called to follow the leadership of the Holy Ghost and be witnesses of Jesus Christ wherever the Spirit bids us go.
When Jesus had finished giving the disciples these instructions, He was exalted (taken up) as they looked on. He was carried upward in a cloud. They were left standing and gazing up, following His ascension until He disappeared from their earthly sight. While they were focused on His disappearing into the clouds, two holy messengers stood by them.
There are several connotations of the phrase “stood by.” One of the ideas conveyed is to be ready or aid. God always provides us with assistance when we are dealing with things hard to be understood. He also directs our attention to where it needs to be.
These two men asked the disciples why they were just standing there looking up into the heavens. Jesus had already told them to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the Father. After the coming of the Holy Ghost, He had further set before them a great labor. They were not going to accomplish any of this standing there gazing into heaven.
As disciples today, it is sometimes tempting for us to dwell on what eternity is going to be like. We spend so much time gazing into “heaven” that we fail to do the things God has set for us here in His kingdom. God’s eternal Heaven is beyond our ability to comprehend, though we certainly believe it to exist. However, in His kingdom here on earth, we can handle the earnest of our inheritance and sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.
We look forward to the day that Jesus will come and call all of God’s children to our eternal home. At the same time, we should realize that when we are filled with the Spirit here it is the same Jesus they watched ascend into heaven that moves in us. He promised that He and His Father would dwell in us, and that did not change when He ascended in the clouds. Every time we truly worship God, it is by the power of this same Jesus.
May God bless us all to rejoice in our heavenly places in Christ here while we wait for that final Heaven!
