Holy Boldness

things to first century followers of Jesus. He once found a group of dis ciples in Ephesus that seemed to be missing something. He asked them directly, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Obviously, Paul assumed that these believers would know based on some tangible experience whether or not they had received the Spirit. They answered that they had not received the Holy Spirit. Paul followed with a clarify ing question, ‘ “Into what were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they responded. And Paul said, “ John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” ‘ (Acts 19:4) On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. (Acts 19:5, 6). In this passage Paul alludes to what John’s baptism lacked. There was something demonstrable that they had not experienced. John’s baptism brought a measure of grace but not the fulness. Those who have accessed the supernatural graces of the kingdom are greater than John the Baptist not because of greater moral character or effort but due to a greater portion and grace that became available with the coming of Jesus. This empowerment is not something that is being accessed by every believer in this era. As I said, many still live under the old order. Much of the writings of the New Testament are dedicated to teaching people how to transition from the old covenant into the new and access the supernatural life of God through the Spirit. Jesus continued, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matt. 11:12) This is an intriguing statement by Jesus and various teachers have created many inventive interpretations of what Jesus meant by it. So what did Jesus mean by what he said? This provocative verse needs to be interpreted in light of the whole passage. Jesus was introducing the con cept of the presence of the Kingdom. The change that came with Jesus’ preaching of the Kingdom of God shifted the entire landscape because it came with demonstrations of supernatural power. The entrance of the Navigating the Violent Activity of God

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