In 1:8 the Lord went on to say, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the remotest part of the earth.” To receive power is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (v. 5) for the fulfillment of the promise of the Father (v. 4).
To have the Holy Spirit upon us is different from having the Holy Spirit in us (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit was breathed into the disciples on the day of the Lord’s resurrection to be the Spirit of life to them essentially. The same Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost to be the Spirit of power economically. As for the Spirit of life, we need to breathe Him in as the breath. As for the Spirit of power, we need to put Him on as the uniform, typified by the mantle of Elijah (2 Kings 2:9, 13-15). The former as the water of life requires our drinking (John 7:37-39); the latter as the water for baptism requires our being immersed. These are the two aspects of the one Spirit for our experience (1 Cor. 12:13). The indwelling of the Spirit of life is essential for our life and living; the outpouring of the Spirit of power is economical for our ministry and work.
Literally, the Greek word for “witnesses” in Acts 1:8 means “martyrs.” Witnesses are those who bear a living testimony of the resurrected and ascended Christ in life. They differ from preachers who merely preach doctrines in letters.
In His incarnation Christ carried out His ministry on the earth, as recorded in the Gospels, by Himself to sow Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God only in the Jewish land. In His ascension He carries out His ministry in the heavens, as recorded in Acts, through these witnesses, these martyrs, in His resurrection life and with His ascension power and authority to spread Himself as the development of the kingdom of God from Jerusalem, as a start, unto the remotest part of the earth, as the consummation of His ministry in the New Testament. All the apostles and disciples in Acts were His martyrs, His witnesses, of this kind.
In verse 8 the Lord was indicating to His disciples that they should care for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them and then be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the remotest part of the earth. The disciples, however, were occupied with the traditional concept concerning Israel, Moses, and keeping the law. Here, in a brief way, the Lord was telling them that they needed a great transfer, a dispensational transfer. He seemed to be telling them, “You disciples need to be transferred dispensationally. You need to be transferred economically from the Old Testament to the New Testament, from the kingdom of Israel to the kingdom of God, which is the church. Forget Israel and take care of the church. You also need a transfer from the law to Christ, that is, to Me. Instead of Moses and the law, you have Me. You should no longer be keepers of the law; now you should be living witnesses of Me, living witnesses of the resurrected Christ. I am the One speaking to you, not Moses. Is the law with you in such a living way as I am? I am here as the living One, the resurrected One. You were with Me for three and a half years. Then you saw My death and My burial. You even saw My empty tomb, and then you saw Me in resurrection. Right now I am here with you in resurrection. Forget about Moses and the law. Do not be keepers of the law—be My living witnesses.”
The disciples may have had difficulty understanding their need of a dispensational transfer. Many Christians have a problem with this today. When they read this portion of the Word, they do not see the matter of the economical transfer. Many of us also need such a transfer. Although you may have been saved for years, have you ever considered how to be a living witness of Christ? I doubt that many believers have thought about this. Instead, many try to keep the commandments in the New Testament. They desire to be commandment keepers as the lawkeepers, but they may not have the concept that they should be witnesses of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, they need a dispensational transfer.
Although we are New Testament people, we still may have an Old Testament concept. We need to be transferred out of the Old Testament concept into the New Testament economy. This means that we need a transfer out of the law and into Christ. We need a transfer from being law-keepers to being Jesus-witnesses. I hope that the Spirit of revelation will show you that you need such a transfer. The Lord’s word indicating the need of a dispensational transfer was also part of His preparation of His disciples.