Tarrying for the Spirit
Prior to his ascension, Jesus told his disciples to “tarry” or wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. In some churches, this command has become a doctrine applicable to all or most Christians – that the believer must “tarry” before the Lord for extended periods in prayer and even fasting until his or her mind or spirit enters a stage more conducive to God’s Spirit before receiving the gift of the Spirit.
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In Luke’s account, the Greek term rendered “tarry” in many English translations represents the verb kathizô, which means simply to “sit down, set; to wait.” It is the same verb used in the second chapter of Acts for the tongues of fire that “sat” on each of the 120 disciples. There is no sense of meditating or struggling with internal conflicts inherent in the word itself.
The English term “tarry” captures the real sense
since it means to “wait, linger, to stay” in a particular place or state. In
short, Jesus told his followers to WAIT in the city “UNTIL you are
clothed with power from on high” – (Luke 24:49).
Likewise, in the first chapter of Acts,
Jesus told his disciples that they would “be baptized in the Holy Spirit not
many days hence.” And this empowering gift would set them apart to become “my
witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth.”
He said nothing about the disciples engaging in
extended prayer, soul-searching, contemplation, etc. It was simply a matter of
time before the Spirit was poured out – “until,” “not many days hence.”
PENTECOST
We certainly do find
the disciples engaged in prayer and other spiritual endeavors between the
ascension of Jesus and the arrival of the Spirit. And 120 disciples were
assembled in prayer when the Spirit fell. Considering all that had transpired since
the death of Jesus, time spent in prayer was appropriate and expected.
But the Spirit was
poured out at once “when the day of Pentecost had fully come.” That is,
the arrival of the gift marked the fulfillment of what the original feast day had
foreshadowed. The prophetic moment had arrived; therefore, the new people of
God experienced the promised gift of the Spirit – (Acts 2:1-4).
Moreover, all 120
disciples received the same gift characterized by the same supernatural
phenomena at the same moment. This was a COLLECTIVE EVENT, and it is difficult
to imagine how all 120 penitent believers achieved the right spiritual state at
the same moment in time, assuming that it was necessary to do so before they
could receive the Holy Spirit.
At the end of his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter exhorted the crowd to “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus.” Everyone who did so would “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter did not
indicate that some individuals must first spend time in meditation and personal
reflection, or that they needed to enter a state of mind more open to the
Spirit before they received the gift – (Acts 2:38).
CAESAREA AND EPHESUS
At the house of Cornelius, while Peter was still
preaching, the Spirit fell on the Gentiles in his audience, and they ALL
began to “speak in tongues and magnify God.” According to the Apostle,
they had “received the Spirit the same as us,” namely, as the disciples
did on the Day of Pentecost – (Acts 10:44-48).
Again, Cornelius and his family received the gift
while Peter was speaking. This description allows no time for extended prayer
sessions or serious soul-searching before the outpouring of the Spirit. It
happened spontaneously, and presumably, at the prompting of the Spirit of God.
Likewise, in Ephesus, the Spirit “came upon”
the twelve disciples of John when Paul laid hands on them, and they “spoke
in tongues and prophesied.” The Spirit responded to the Apostle’s prayer,
and nothing is said concerning these men first spending time in extended prayer
or of their need to purge certain sins from their lives before they could
receive the Spirit.
The event in Ephesus happened as the result of Paul’s prayer and actions, the laying on of hands, and not due to any preparatory effort by the disciples of John – (Acts 19:3-7).
And in his epistles, while Paul certainly talks
about believers having the Spirit of God, he does not discuss how they first
received it, though in places he seems to link the receipt of the gift to their
initial conversion – (e.g., Romans 8:15, 1 Corinthians 2:12, Galatians
4:5-7, 2 Timothy 1:7).
God is sovereign and can do whatever He pleases.
And there may be cases when He requires an individual to undergo expended
repentance and prayer before He grants them the gift of the Spirit.
Nevertheless, the requirement to engage in such
things, to “tarry” in earnest before the Lord for extended periods, is not
discussed in Scripture.
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