By Dr Jeanette Pinto –
Dynamite is a high explosive made of nitro-glycerine, sorbents and stabilizer and is typically moulded into sticks. It was patented by the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, who coined the term dynamite from the ancient Greek word dynamis, meaning ‘power’. Dynamite and power go hand in hand. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples that “before they could be His witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth”; they must first receive the dynamis or power of the Holy Spirit. The Etymology of the word spirit (from the Latin spiritus meaning “breath”) appears either alone or with other words, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament.
What is this special power and breath and where does it come from? We often hear of many people who are ‘powerful’, ‘drunk with power’, or ‘power crazy’; and many others who devote their lives to achieving this goal. However this type of power can never satisfy the soul or bring joy or peace. The world’s power is temporary, leaving a person hungry for more. The power of the Holy Spirit is the power of God. He is a real person who came to reside within Christ’s true followers after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.The Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, has appeared throughout Scripture as a Being through and by whom great works of power are made manifest.
In describing the power of the Holy Spirit, the Bible paints quite a different picture, in (Corinthians 12: 8-11) Jesus told His disciples that before they would be able to evangelize the world, they must receive the dynamis of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit possesses a dynamite-like power that works within a believer to blast out anything that is unlike God. It is not a power that exalts one person above others. It does not manipulate or control others. Instead, the Holy Spirit uses His power to break us so that He might remake us. The more we get self out of the way and yield our will to His, the more powerfully He is able to pour Himself out through us to others, and the more powerfully He is able to transform our lives. We are merely the conduits, the channels through which God’s power flows and moves.
The Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles ten days after the Ascension of our Lord; and this day is called Whitsunday, or Pentecost. Just as it empowered the Apostles, it empowers us to be witnesses of God’s love, to live in a way that pleases God, to meet fully the demands and pressures of life, and to resist temptation. The power of the Holy Spirit is the only power that is sufficient to win spiritual battles against our own selfish desires and the wiles of Satan. One needs to ask God to free you from the desire to control others and to lead you to become a clean vessel that can transmit His power. Ask Him to do the same for your spouse, your children, your co-workers, and your friends.
The power of the Holy Spirit was manifest among all the believers of the early church through the dispensation of spiritual gifts such as fear of the Lord, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, wisdom, and more. All those who put their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately and permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11) It is this indwelling that gave the frightened cowardly Apostles the courage and determination to speak out boldly about Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
Stephen, the martyr, is a perfect example of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. Stephen was filled with faith and this power (Acts 6:5, 8) and did many wonders and signs before the people, who were unable to resist the power of the Spirit in him (Acts 6:10). When he was falsely accused and put to death, the same power enabled Stephen to die with faith and glorify God to the end. There are 17 such Bible verses about examples of life in the spirit.
What does the Holy Spirit really do? It infuses people with a consuming fire of love of Jesus Christ so that we may live in the truth. He inspires, acts as a guide and Counsellor. He is constantly in our thoughts, also confronts and reverses the deceptive assumptions of the flesh in our lives.
How does one receive the power of the Holy Spirit? Firstly become a child of God, pray and ask for the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to live victoriously in you. Secondly be open to the challenges that we face when we spread the gospel of Jesus. Thirdly speak about Jesus whenever an opportunity arises for this power is not a one-time phenomenon. In fact, the Bible talks about how the disciples repeatedly sought God from time to time for refreshing.
The Holy Spirit in the Apostles and prophets is an entirely distinctive work. It inspired John by bringing all things to his memory exactly as spoken by Jesus when he was with them on earth. The Holy Ghost does not inspire the flesh it inspires the spirit as it inspired the spirit of John to write all those things which he in the flesh and in the spirit witnessed concerning Jesus and the Christ. To bear witness is to write in a book all things Jesus said. The effect of the Holy Spirit’s working in our lives should be such, that He is the deciding factor in all of life’s decisions. Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away. Christ stays in the past; the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church simply an organization, authority, a form of domination. When the Dynamite power of the Holy Spirit lives in you, then you will always and everywhere live and remain a faithful witness of Jesus Christ.
Dr Jeanette Pinto, an educator for the past 5 decades, headed the Department of History was Vice Principal of St. Xavier’s College Mumbai, and retired as Principal of Sophia College, Mumbai. She is a counsellor and conductor of Personal Enrichment Programmes for students and teachers.
Dr Pinto set up the Human Life Committee in the Archdiocese of Bombay. As a sex educator she has given talks on Human Sexuality in India and abroad. In 2014 she received the Rachana Outstanding Woman of the Year for her Pro-life work presented by the Diocese of Mangalore. She has attended many National and International Pro-life conferences and given talks at other fora on various women’s issues.
Dr Pinto is author of a couple of books, her most recent ones are titled: I’m Pro-Life Are you? & Sex Talk: Parent to Child. She has also written a number of articles on a variety of themes and subjects, which have been published in research journals, The Examiner and other Catholic publications.