WHOM HE POURED
OUT UPON US RICHLY: ou execheen (3SAAI) eph hemas plousios: (Pr 1:23;
Isa 32:15;
44:3;
Ezek 36:25;
Joel 2:28;
Jn 1:16;
7:37;
Acts 2:33;
10:45;
Ro 5:5) (Eph 4:2;
3:8)
Do you sense
the Spirit at work in your life?
Solomon provides a clue as to why you may not sense Him and how you can
immediately rectify the situation...
Turn to my reproof (Hebrew =
shuv/shub = basic meaning is movement back to the point of departure. Cp
Pr 1:25,30 6:23, 10:17 12:1 29:1 Ps 145:1,
2 Timothy 3:16 {note}
Word of God reproves, see note
Revelation 3:19 = reproof
evidence of Jesus' love, see note
Revelation 2:4),
Behold, I will pour out (Hebrew = naba' = gush forth; an uncontrollable
or uncontrolled gushing forth) my spirit (Spirit) on you; I will make my
words known to you (cp Jn 7:17 14:21 Ps 25:14). (Proverbs 1:23)
(Comment: See also verses on repentance - 2Ki 17:13, 2Chr
30:6, Isa 22:12 ,Jer 25:5 ,Ezekiel 14:6, 18:31, 33:11, Da 4:27 , Hosea 14:2
, Joel 2:12 , Mal 3:7, Mt 3:2, Lu 13:2-3, Acts 3:19, 8:22,17:30, 26:20,
repentance beautifully illustrated - see note
1Thessalonians 1:9)
Isaiah
prophesied of the outpouring of the Spirit...
Until the Spirit is poured out upon
us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fertile field (cp note
Romans 8:21)
and the fertile field is considered as a forest. (Isaiah 32:15)
(Comment: Partial fulfillment at Pentecost Acts 2:1-3, 17, Joel
2:28 but awaits complete fulfillment of Zech 12:10, Ezek 37:14, when
"all" Israel {actually the "1/3" in Zech 13:9} will be saved {see note
Romans 11:26}.
Thus this promise anticipates its complete fulfillment with the
conversion of the nation of Israel when Christ returns.)
'For I will pour out water on the
thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on
your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants (Isaiah
44:3) (Comment: God's sovereign and immutable
promise is to pour His Spirit upon Israel and in so doing to change the
character of His people from those in Adam to those in the Messiah. The
Holy Spirit is symbolized by life-giving water a figure often
appropriated in the NT (see Jn 1:33 3:5 7:38-39).
Ezekiel
also prophesied of the outpouring using a different figure of speech...
Then (When is then?
see notes
Romans 11:26;
11:27.
This is the New Covenant in His blood - Lu 22:20 1Cor 11:25) I will
sprinkle clean water on you ( The ultimate fulfillment is best seen in
note
Hebrews 10:22),
and you will be clean (Prefigured in the feast of Israel by the Day of
Atonement in Lev 16:30 23:26-32. The fulfillment of the this Day is when
Israel repents and looks to their Messiah in a future glorious day - see
Zech 3:9 12:1,10-13 13:1 14:9); I will cleanse you from all your
filthiness and from all your idols. (Ezekiel 36:25)
(Comment: It is tragic that the Jewish commentary, the Mishnah The
"missed' the true meaning of this profound verse. E.g. Rabbi Aqiba said
"Happy are you, O Israel. Before whom are you made clean, and who makes
you clean? It is your Father who is in heaven, "as it says, And I will
sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean Ezekiel 36:25).
Joel
prophesied that...
And it will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and
daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men
will see visions. (Joel 2:28)
(Comment: In Acts 2:17 Peter did not state that Joel's prophecy
was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. The details of Joel 2:30-32 {cp.
Acts 2:19,20} were not realized at that time. Peter quoted Joel's
prediction as an illustration of what was taking place in his day, and
as a guarantee that the sovereign, faithful, wholly trustworthy God
would yet completely fulfill all that Joel had prophesied. The time of
that fulfillment is stated here {see Hosea's prophecy "the sons of
Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king"
Hosea 3:5}, i.e. in the latter days when Israel turns to the LORD. {See
Ge 49:1})
Jesus came
and explained that belief in Him as the Messiah would bring about the
fulfillment of the outpouring of the Spirit on both Jew and Gentile
alike after He (Messiah) had been crucified, buried, resurrected and
ascended...
Now on the last day, the great day of
the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty,
let him come to Me and drink. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture
said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' But
this He spoke of the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were to
receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified. (John 7:37-39)
Paul
explains this outpouring of the Spirit in Romans writing that...
hope does not (absolutely negation)
disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out (the
perfect tense
conveys = "has poured in and still floods our hearts" - The image
is of a shower of rain soaking parched ground. So God soaks our parched
hearts with His love through the work of His Spirit) within (KJV
"hope maketh not ashamed" - We will never be ashamed by this hope for it
is sure and steadfast - see notes
Hebrews 6:18;
6:19)
our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us (One of the Holy
Spirit's main roles is to "make us deeply and refreshingly aware that
God loves us.") (see note
Romans 5:5)
(Comment: An earthly illustration of our hope which does not
disappoint: about the boy and his father who were planning a fishing
trip for the next day. That evening as the father was putting his son to
bed, the boy hugged his father's neck and said, "Daddy, thank you for
tomorrow.")
Whom (3739)
(ou) of course in context refers to the Holy Spirit (see note
Titus 3:5).
Note the 3 Persons of the Godhead - Whom = Spirit, He = Father, Savior =
Jesus. Once again we see that although the word "trinity" (first coined
by Tertullian) does not occur in the Scriptures, the three Persons of
the Godhead are clearly delineated and each has a distinct cooperative
role in the work of grace, each performing His special function in the
salvation of our soul. To disbelieve (note I did not say to not be able
to fully comprehend!) the Trinity is a very serious theological error.
Poured
out
(1632) (ekcheo from ek = out + chéo
= pour)
means literally to flow out, to gush forth or to pour out . The inherent
idea is to cause something to be emitted in quantity.
Used of literal
pouring out of liquids = wine from wineskins in Mt
9:17; Mk 2:22 and Lu 5:37; Jn 2:15, Acts 1:18.
Used of literal
pouring out of solids - coins of the moneychangers in John 2:15,
bowels of Judas in Acts 1:18.
Holy Spirit
poured out - Acts 2:17-18, 2:33, Acts 10:45; love of God poured
out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit; Titus 3:6
To pour out
blood is an idiomatic way of saying to murder (of righteous
blood shed Mt 23:35, Luke 11:50, Acts 22:20; see note
Romans 3:15.
Figuratively in
Jude 1:11
Woe to them! For they have gone the
way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed (ekcheo) headlong into
the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Of the blood of
Christ...
Mt 26:28 for this is My blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of
sins. (also in Mark 14:24)
Mark 14:24 And He said to them, "This
is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
Luke 22:20 And in the same way He
took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured
out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Of the wrath of
God poured out in the 7 bowl judgments: see note
Revelation 16:1;
16:2;
16:3;
16:4;
16:6;
16:8;
16:10;16:17
Ekcheo denotes both abundance
and diffusion. It refers to a lavish outpouring to the point of
overflowing.
Figuratively
ekcheo describes experiencing
something in an abundant manner and so to fully experience.
Ekcheo is
found 16 times in the (Matthew;
John;
Acts 3x;
Romans;
Titus;
Revelation 9x)
and some 125 times in the
Septuagint (LXX).
The translates ekcheo: pour, 1; pour forth, 2;
poured, 10; poured forth, 1; pours, 1; shed, 1. The 10 uses of ekcheo
in
Revelation 16
is notable as this chapter expounds the pouring out of the the wrath of
God in the seven bowl judgments.
Poured out
is in the
aorist tense
which points to a completed act of outpouring in the past. This past
outpouring would certainly appear to be an allusion to
Pentecost the initial outpouring of which Joel foretold and Luke
documented declaring...
"And it will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and
daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men
will see visions. (Joel 2:28)
"Therefore having been exalted to the
right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of
the Holy Spirit, He (Jesus) has poured forth this which you both see and
hear. (Luke 2:33)
Nevertheless, since Paul writes
"on us" (and he was not saved in Acts 2 on Pentecost) he has a broader audience in mind as
he discusses in
Romans 5:5
where he explains that...
hope does not disappoint, because the
love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the
Holy Spirit Who was given to us. (see
note
Romans 5:5)
For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free,
and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1Cor 12:13)
However, you are not in the flesh but
in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (see
note
Romans 8:9)
(Comment: Note the two names of the Spirit, thus Christ is God as is the
Holy Spirit. Furthermore the presence or absence of salvation for a man
is determined by the presence or absence of the Holy Spirit. Regardless
of works, religion, or ritual, men are lost if they do not have the
indwelling Holy Spirit.)
Paul's point is that the Spirit is
poured out on each believer when they experience the new birth. In a
very real sense, the Spirit's work in each believer as a member of the
Body is a continuation of the Pentecostal outpouring.
Richly (4146)
(plousios) pertains to that which exists in a large amount
with the implication of its being valuable in large amount. God has not
held back but poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly
upon every believer. Paul is emphasizing that the Holy Spirit is
given to us freely and generously, and that the Holy Spirit is always
available to help us. God always gives extravagantly. He is never
niggardly nor stingy, and so it follows that every inadequate experience
of our new life in Christ and failure to experience the abundant life
led by the Spirit is always due to some human impediment. In other
words, we believers can never blame God for our experiential "short
fall", as if He had not given us adequate provisions to walk in newness
of life as more than conquerors in Christ Jesus! It is not that we
can't live the victorious Christ life but it is sadly all to often
that we simply won't live that new life. As Peter reiterates...
His divine power has granted (perfect
tense) to us
everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true
knowledge (which clearly implies we are daily in the Word of Truth, the
only source of this true knowledge) of Him who called us by His
own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted (perfect
tense) to us His
precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you
might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world by lust. (see notes
2 Peter 1:3;
1:4)
How many of us genuinely experience
what Jesus promised when He declared...
"He who believes in Me, as the
Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living
water.' But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in
Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified. (John 7:38-39) (Comment: Too many times my
innermost being feels more like a stagnant pond! But clearly these
passages document that this is not Jesus' fault nor the Spirit's fault
but is my own fault, as I far too often choose to walk according to my
will rather than according to the good and acceptable and perfect
will of God!)
THROUGH JESUS
CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR: dia Iesou Christou tou soteros hemon:
(Titus
1:4;
Jn 4:10;
14:16,17;
16:7;
Ro 8:2)
Through
(1223)
(dia) is a
preposition indicating instrumentality or the mode by which something
was transferred, in this case referring to the abundant, copious, rich
outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the "Conduit" of
our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "medium"
through Whom the Spirit's presence is secured to every believer without
exception.
A Simple Study...
"Through Him"
Consider the following simple study
- observe and record the wonderful truths that accrue
through Him
- this would make an edifying, easy to prepare Sunday School lesson - then
take some time to give thanks for these great truths by offering up a
sacrifice of praise...through Him.
John
1:3 [NIV reads "through Him"],
John 1:7, John
1:10,Jn
3:17,
Jn 14:6,
Acts 3:16,
Acts 7:25,
Acts 10:43,
Acts 13:38-39,
Romans 5:9 [note],
Romans 8:37 [note],
Romans 11:36 [note];
1Cor 8:6,
Ephesians 2:18 [note],
Philippians 4:13 [note],
Colossians 1:20 [note],
Colossians 2:15 [note],
Colossians 3:17 [note],
Hebrews 7:25 [note],
Hebrews 13:15 [note],
1 Peter 1:21 [note],
1John 4:9
Would you like more study on the
wonderful topic of through Him?
Click
the
NT uses of the parallel phrase through Jesus or see
(John 1:17, Acts 10:36,
Romans 1:8,
Romans 5:1;
5:2
Romans 5:21,
Romans 7:25,
Romans 16:27,
Gal 1:1,
Ephesians 1:5,
Philippians 1:11,
Titus 3:6,
Hebrews 13:21,
1 Peter 2:5,
1 Peter 4:11,
Jude 1:25)
All things are
from Him, through Him and to Him. To Him be the glory forever.
Amen.
Our
points out once more the personal appropriation of Jesus as Savior on
the believer's part.
Savior (4990)
(soter
from sozo = rescue from peril > from saos = safe;
delivered) is the One Who as the agent of salvation rescues those dead
in their trespasses and sins, functioning as a Deliverer and Preserver.
It is worth noting that in verse 4 the title "Savior" was applied to the
Father...
But when the kindness of God our
Savior and His love for mankind appeared (see notes
Titus 3:4)
This truth of course clearly
underscores Paul's belief in the deity of Christ.
