The Gift of the Spirit Purifies the Heart
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin M Overfield
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000
The Gift of the Spirit Purifies the Heart
Acts 15:7-9, "... that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the
gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness,
giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference
between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."
When Peter says that God gave them, the Gentiles of Cornelius'
household, "the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us", he is saying that
these Gentiles had received the vary same experience as the apostles, with
the rest of the 120 in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. He is saying
that these Gentile had received "the promise of the Father", "the baptism
with the Holy Ghost and with fire", the outpouring and infilling of the Holy
Spirit.
In order to understand a little better, we should visit Acts chapter 10.
Here we find Cornelius walking in all the light that he had: "A devout man,
and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the
people, and prayed to God alway." (verse 2). Such a description of a man,
and his household, by the Word of God shows that he knew God.
If we compare the description of Cornelius with that of Job (Job 1:1),
we would see that God would readily testify for him. Yet, we see that God
desired to do something more for him. That something happened like this:
"the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." (Acts 10:44). Then
Peter testified for Cornelius and his household in the same chapter that
they "have received the Holy Ghost as well as we" (Acts 10:47).
Now let's come back to Peter's much later testimony on behalf of the
same people. He said further that this gift of the Holy Ghost, given to
these Gentiles, was a "purifying" of "their hearts". This word PURIFYING
means to "cleanse from the defilement of sin" (Vine's Dict. of N. T. Words).
All who truly serve God, who have not experienced this "purifying"
"baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire", find that there is some
"defilement" of sin remaining in their hearts. Anyone who would deny the
existence of such defilement John says "deceives" himself (I John 1:8).
The real difficulty with many Christians is in deciding when one may be
cleansed from this defilement, "our old man", "sin that dwelleth in me",
"the carnal mind" -- there are other names for this sin nature (Romans 6:6;
7:17; 8:7). According to the Bible, and especially this account of
Cornelius' baptism with the Holy Ghost, we may certainly be purified or
cleansed from our sin nature in this life.
Peter spoke of this purifying as happening at the same time that
Cornelius and his people had received the Spirit. Really, he is describing
the same experience in different words. For the receiving of the gift of
the Spirit is the positive side and the purifying of the heart is the
negative side. Though the negative in this case, removal of the defilement
of sin, is for all practical purposes a
positive thing.
Lastly, Peter said that they were purified "by faith". A person may pray
intensely, perhaps for a long time, in seeking God for this cleansing
baptism with the Holy Ghost, but he must receive it by faith. John Wesley
said something like this, "If by faith, then why not now?" Much can be said
about the conditions for having our hearts purified, but the primary
condition is faith coupled with obedience.
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin." (I John 1:7).
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how
much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him?" (Luke 11:13.)
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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