The Work Of The Holy Spirit In The New Testament Church Part 3

Because believers sometimes do not know what they should pray for as they ought, the Holy Spirit helps them to pray. He intercedes for them with God for that which He knows accords with God's will (CP Ro 8:26-27; 1Cor 2:11). Groanings which cannot be uttered in Ro 8:26 refers to prayers to God expressed inarticulately. This points to the intercessory prayer of the Holy Spirit being uttered by believers praying in tongues. The expression of believers' hearts and spirits are taken by the Holy Spirit and made into effectual prayer (CP Ac 2:4; 1Cor 14:14; Eph 6:18; Jude 20).
This is not an exhaustive study, but shows something of the vast sphere of operation of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament church. It is apt then to close the study on His empowering of believers for their witness to Christ in the world (CP Lu 24:46-49 with Ac 1:4-5, 8). Being endued with power from on high, means being baptised in the Holy Spirit. The sure evidence that this has occurred is the recipient's ability to talk in tongues (CP Ac 2:1-4; 10:44-46; 19:1-6). When they are baptised in the Holy Spirit, believers are empowered to cast out demons; take up serpents; not be harmed if they drink any deadly poison; heal the sick; raise the dead; make the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak, etc. In fact, they can do everything and more, that Jesus himself did in His earthly ministry (CP Mk 16:17-20; Jn 14:12-14). This empowering by the Holy Spirit is the inherent right of every believer in Christ throughout the church age, from the day of Pentecost onward (CP Ac 2:37-39). All that are afar off in V 39, includes believers today. (For a more detailed study on the baptism in the Holy Spirit see Lesson 4, Baptism in the Spirit, in author's book Foundational Truths of the Christian Faith, Signs and wonders in God's redemptive plan, in Advanced Studies in the Christian Faith, (Volume 1), and comments on Mt 3:11, Mk 16:17-18, Lu 12:49, Jn 3:3, Jn 3:5, Jn 3:8, Jn 7:37-39, Jn 14:12-14, Jn 20:22, Ac 1:8, Ac 2:1-4(a), Ac 2:1-4(B), Ac 19:11-12, Ro 8:26-27, 1Cor 12:1-11(A), 1Cor 12:1-11(B), 1Cor 13:8-12 in A Question and Answer Study of the New Testament).