The majority of mission writers and theologians agree that the work of the Holy Spirit is the key to the mission success of the first century church. As I have shown, many mention various activities of the Spirit, but below are a number of other issues that I believe need pursuing.

The Holy Spirit works through the emotions of joy, fear and surprise to lead people to the truth that Jesus Christ is God come to humanity. Below are these three areas of the Spirit’s work in mission.

In Acts 8 with the revival in Samaria under Philip, "there was much rejoicing in that city." The Spirit caused joy as the inhabitants believed in Christ and received healing and deliverance. The fruit of the Spirit is manifested wherever there is the fruit of evangelism.

There is also a joy in the midst of persecution. After the whipping of the apostles by the Sanhedrin Council in Acts 5 they went out "rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name." In the midst of suffering the Spirit gave the disciples the ability to rejoice in Christ. Also, the churches of Galatia in the center of conflict experienced the Word of the Lord spreading throughout the region as "the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Ac. 13:52, NASB). The joy of the Lord was the strength of the early believers in mission as they were full of the Holy Spirit and faith.

It may seem paradoxical that not only did the Spirit of Jesus bring joy, but he also brought fear. From my point of view, the Holy Spirit produced fear in the church and the outside community after the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. "And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things" (Ac. 5:5, 11). This fear did not stop the church growing, however, since "all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number" (verse 14). This occurred even though the previous verse speaks of the city of Jerusalem as afraid to associate with the people of the Way. God protected his primitive church from hypocrisy by removing the offending couple. The Spirit in mission brought a sense of fear from this event that was used to expand the Kingdom of God.

A similar incident occurred in Acts 13 with the blindness of Elymas. Sent by the Holy Spirit from Syrian Antioch to the Gentiles, Paul, Barnabas and John Mark came first to Cyprus. The Jewish sorcerer had controlled the island with his demonic power and had influence over the leading authority, Sergius Paulus. When Elymas saw that the proconsul was being persuaded by the Word of God, he tried to oppose the missionary party. Then, Paul filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied a negative miracle upon the false prophet that resulted in his blindness. When the Roman governor saw what had happened to his magician he believed in the Lord. This incident suggests yet another example of the Spirit of God causing fear to bring about the expansion of the Kingdom amongst the Gentiles.

Along these lines of the Spirit causing emotional reactions of joy and fear in mission is the Lukan motif of surprise (see Lk. 9:43). Luke stresses the unexpected in his narrative. In Acts 2 is Luke’s repeated refrain of the people being "bewildered," "amazed," and that they "marveled," at the happenings at Pentecost. And "they continued in amazement and great perplexity" (Ac. 2:6, 7, 12, NASB). This then became a door of mission opportunity for Peter to answer their questions as to what all this meant.

Likewise, in Acts 3 with the healing of the man at Beautiful Gate, the people were once again "filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him" (Ac. 3:10, 11). And Peter’s second speech is in direct response to the Jewish audience’s astonishment. The Spirit of surprise working through the miraculous brings awareness to people’s minds of the authority of the ascended Lord. Having been confronted by the unexpectedness of such truth they then had a choice to repent or remain as they were (Ac. 3:19-20).

This same work of surprise is found in Samaria with Simon (Ac. 8:13), in Caesarea with Peter’s companions (Ac. 10:45), and in Paphos with Sergius Paulus (Ac. 13:12). This Lukan motif of awe, wonder and amazement is the work of the Holy Spirit. This operation was to cause people to think on what they were experiencing--to move them towards the realization that Jesus is the Christ whom God had raised from the dead.

I have suggested that emotional changes of joy, fear and surprise are the work of the Holy Spirit to lead people to a new appreciation of the truth of Jesus Christ. In a similar fashion, the Spirit challenges people to new understandings of God’s Kingdom by changes in their worldview. An example of such Spirit-inspired transformation is the movement of Peter’s thinking from mono-culturalism to cross-culturalism. My belief is that it was the Spirit that brought about this change in Peter’s attitude towards Gentiles.

As a disciple of Jesus Peter believed that the Kingdom was exclusively the right of the Jewish people (see Lk. 9:51-56). After the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost Peter gradually changed his mind to see that God’s Kingdom was for all nations. This transformation in Peter’s thinking may be seen from Pentecost in Acts 2 to the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. In this process, the Spirit of God at first used divine revelation from the Scripture (Ac. 2:21; 3:25) and then demonstrations of power (Ac. 8:17) to challenge Peter’s wrong assumptions.

By the end of Acts 9, there is evidence that Peter’s conservative stance is changing. Here we see the disciple boarding with Simon the tanner (verse 43). This is a major shift since no orthodox Jew would be associated with a person continuously unclean by his handling of dead animals. And then came the vision of the unclean beasts where the Spirit confronts Peter’s biases (Ac. 10:19-20). Peter’s old behavior is seen in his declaration to Cornelius that he had never entered a Gentile home before (Ac. 10:28). Then the Holy Spirit fell, and so did most of Peter’s prejudices.

There still remained some dross of racial superiority that needed to be skimmed off and the Holy Spirit used ministry conflict to accomplish this end, first in Antioch through the hand of Paul (Gal. 2:11-21), and then in Jerusalem with the Pharisees who had believed (Ac. 15:7-11). This transformation within Peter’s life took the Holy Spirit nearly twenty years to achieve and this is not including the years of prejudice before Pentecost.

Another aspect that needs further study is the work of the Holy Spirit and mission through the church’s encounter with demonic forces.

In the Lukan narrative, the Spirit empowered Jesus and the church to overcome spiritual opposition. This power to subdue demonic forces was first seen in the defeat of Satan by Jesus (Lk. 4:1-13), and then in his ongoing ministry (see Lk. 4:33-39; 8:2-3; 8:26-39; 9:37-43; 11:14-26; 13:10-17). In summary of this ministry Peter says about Jesus: "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with him" (Ac. 10:38). This strategically placed text stretches back to the mission of Jesus in the Gospel, and then pushes the reader forward in the continuing mission of the church.

This authority over the devil was transferred to the disciples of Jesus. After Pentecost, believers filled with the Holy Spirit exercised this same authority over the demonic (see Ac. 8:6-8). Examples of this are: when Paul confronts Elymas in Cyprus (Ac. 13:9-11), the slave girl with the python spirit in Philippi (Ac. 16:16-18), and the sorcerers in Ephesus (Ac. 19:13-20). In Acts the author shows that the expansion of the Kingdom into new territory is accompanied by an encounter with demonic forces. This is then followed by the defeat of the enemy as the Spirit’s power is shown to be greater than the power of the regional spirits.

This action of the Spirit is one of personal sovereignty as the Spirit’s mission is to glorify Christ and to make him known to people--to bring them into fellowship with him. The Holy Spirit is not a reservoir of power on which we may draw. We cannot control him. He will do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. It is well to remember what Gottfried Osei-Mensah warned the Lausanne Conference in 1974: that is, not to regard the Holy Spirit as little "parcels of power" that people may open and close according to human whim.

Going hand-in-glove with this deliverance ministry was the preaching of the gospel. In Acts 4, the disciples prayed that they might witness with boldness and perform miracles of healing through their risen Lord. Then after the prayer "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the Word of God with boldness." A related aspect to this Spirit-filled speaking is the inter-religious conversation between the believers and people of other religions. The Holy Spirit empowered and equipped the Christian missionaries with boldness in this inter-religious encounter.

As I understand Luke, the Spirit tailored each of the speeches in Acts for the particular audience. The design of Peter’s sermons in chapters two and three is for a devout Jewish crowd. Paul’s speech to the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia is also appropriate for that religious congregation (Ac. 13). Then Paul changes the content of his sermon for the people of Lystra in Acts 14, and the philosophers at the Athenian Areopagus in Acts 17. Authentic theologies for a specific cultural group are not a matter of science alone, but need to be recognized as a spiritual exercise. The missionaries of the first church preached the gospel inspired with the Spirit’s contextualized message for their receptors.

It is also the work of the Spirit of Jesus to bring lost humanity a holistic gospel. Luke is practical and down-to-earth, concerned about economics, social injustice and political power. He is especially conscious of the mission of Jesus and the early church to bring human dignity to the marginalized. It seems to me that Luke places emphasis on mission from weakness and the margins.

In the Gospel of Luke, the writer stresses the Kingdom of God that includes those on the fringe of society--the children, widows, shepherds. Those who are the powerless in the culture are empowered with human worth and dignity. It is the Spirit-directed Messiah who welcomes women, tax collectors, Samaritans and the poor to his banquet table.

Through the eyes of Luke the physician, Jesus’ mission includes the despised Samaritans. Mark does not refer to this hybrid nation, and Matthew but once, and then in a negative tone. Also, it is Luke more than any other gospel writer that sees tax-collectors as a part of the Kingdom, and records more unique instances of Jesus’ ministry to women and the poor.

According to my understanding of Luke, the foundation of the Messiah’s mission to the downtrodden of Jewish society is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The programmatic passage of Luke 4 establishes the pattern of Jesus’ ministry as he quotes from Isaiah 61. It is the Spirit that is bringing the gospel to the poor, release to the prisoners, sight to the blind, and freedom to the broken-hearted. The Holy Spirit upon the Messiah is ushering in the Kingdom, the fulfillment of the year of Jubilee.

A parallel passage to Luke 4 is Peter’s speech in Acts 2. As the mission of Jesus to those on the periphery was established through Isaiah, so the mission of the church is announced by Joel. The prophet had prophesied that the Spirit would come upon all humanity. This would enable not only men to prophecy, but also women (verse 18); not only sons, but also daughters (verse 17). The Spirit would even come upon servants, and not just the leaders of society. In such a patriarchal and hierarchical environment this was a continuance of the social revolution that Jesus had begun. Empowered by the Spirit the church was to continue Jesus’ ministry to the marginalized as they reached across social, cultural and political barriers. The invitation to come and dine at God’s table of freedom and liberty was open to all.

This mission to the marginalized of all cultures continues in Acts via the physically disabled and the poor (Ac. 3, 4), Samaritans and eunuchs (Ac. 8), tanners and women (Ac. 9), and the Gentiles (Ac. 10, 11). In the early church it is the work of the Spirit to develop community based ministries that help human need; for example, the Hellenistic widows of chapter six, the raising of finance by the Antiochian church in Acts 11, and the communal sharing and distribution of goods to those in want (Ac. 2, 4). Community aid is a work of the Holy Spirit in mission.

Community development is the enterprise of the Spirit, as is the development and selection of church leaders. In Acts 13:1-4 and 20:28 the Holy Spirit was the person who selected and appointed people for his mission. Again in Acts 6 there appears to be a democratic election of the seven men, yet they needed to be of "full of the Spirit." The Spirit directs the planning and training of the church.

After the Jerusalem Council the Spirit guided their decision concerning the Apostle’s Decree. The following chapter has the missionary team of Paul, Silas and Timothy directed by the Spirit of Jesus where not to preach the gospel. All these instances indicate that the Spirit’s role in early mission leadership was paramount, and therefore needs further theological reflection.

Another theme of Lukan mission that needs pursuing is that of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. According to Pauline categories, Luke-Acts has many illustrations of the work of the Spirit, such as gifts of healings, discernment of spirits, words of knowledge and wisdom, and prophecy (1 Co. 12:1-11). To expand the borders of the Kingdom, these manifestations occurred as the Spirit willed. As the church enters the twenty-first century and the Islamic nations are still largely without the good news of Jesus, the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit may be one of the answers for the Moslem mission field. Such was the case with the church of the first century in the midst of a hostile religious environment.

Moreover, Lukan mission emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the Holy Spirit and prayer. In the work of Jesus and the early church there is a strong correlation between prayer and mission. Luke sees Jesus praying where other Gospel writers do not: the baptism of Jesus (3:21), the selection of the Twelve (6:12), Peter’s confession (9:18); the Transfiguration (9:28); before the teaching of the Lord’s prayer (11:1); and at the crucifixion (23:34, 46). Luke alone relates two special parables about prayer: the friend at midnight (11:5-8); and the unjust judge (18:1-8). He alone presents the story of the Pharisee and the Publican at prayer in the Temple (18:9-14), and states that Jesus exhorted his disciples to pray during his agony in Gethsemane (22:40).

Why then does Luke include the prayer motif at key junctions in his story? It seems that for Luke it is the means whereby God directs his mission of salvation to lost humanity. Through prayer, God guides the mission of the church and apprehends the dynamic power of the Spirit for salvation history (Ac. 2:42; 4:31; 6:4; 13:3; 14:23). In other words, Luke conceives of prayer as an important means by which God guides the course of redemptive history and prayer serves as an important way in which the divine plan of salvation is made known.

Two paradigmatic passages on prayer and mission illustrate this point. First, at the baptism of Jesus in Luke 3 the narrator links prayer, the Holy Spirit and mission together as a pattern for all the disciples of Jesus to follow. Further, the sentence spoken by God from heaven is a combination of two messianic texts. The first half from Psalm 2:7 is in the context of God commanding his resurrected Son to ask for the nations as his inheritance (see Ac. 13:33). The second part is a quote from Isaiah 42:1. Here again the prophecy concerns the coming Messiah filled with the Spirit who "will bring forth justice to the nations." Both sections of God’s exhortation to Jesus at his baptism come from messianic scripture that speak of his mission to the nations.

Second, in Acts 4 there is a parallel passage for the prayerful church in mission. After Peter and John’s release from the Council the church prays, and in the prayer they also quote Psalm 2. This psalm, and other messianic texts, were in the forefront of the early church’s thinking. The nations were to be the possession of God’s Kingdom as well as Israel (Ps. 2:8-9). Christ was to ask, and the nations would be his inheritance. So with that in mind, the disciples prayed that God would grant them the confidence to speak his Word, and that he would extend his hand to heal through the name of Jesus. "And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the Word of God with boldness" (Ac. 4:31, NASB). And that is what happened as recorded in Acts 4:32-35. Here again we see Luke combining prayer, the Holy Spirit and mission in a way that was to become a pattern for the church’s evangelism (see Lk. 10:21 and Ac. 13:1-4).

As shown above, there are a number of areas that need further study. In summary I would like to suggest that they may described in two main categories from Acts. The Holy Spirit worked in the disciples of the early church to bring: joy in the midst of persecution, paradigm shifts from mono-cultural to cross-cultural perspective, boldness in preaching, contextualization of the message, the selection and training of leadership, planning and development of the church and deep spirituality. On the other hand, the Spirit also worked in the non-Christians through the gifts of the Spirit to empower the weak and the lowly, as well as to create a sense of awe and wonder through the fear of God and the joy of the Gospel. These are some of the areas that need further theological reflection.

World War II saw the end of colonialism as new nations emerged with their own sovereignty. Subsequently, there was a decline in Western mission as institutions were turned over to national churches. Since the 1940s there has been a numerical shift in world Christianity from the West to the East and from the northern to the southern hemisphere. Accompanying this shift was the emergence of majority world missions.

At present old mission patterns are in transition from long-term to short-term mission, from mission to church agencies sending missionaries, as traditional and modern societies move towards postmodernity. In this changing world of increased urbanization, population, cultural pluralism and technology, the challenge before the church is to equip mission leaders for the future.

The church also is in transition as it struggles to regain its lost status in society while wrestling the internal decay of moral values and financial support. Thus, there is a growing need for the church to redefine its role in the mission enterprise. In this world of theological and ethnic pluralism, resurgent Islam and Hinduism, and the increasing gulf between the haves and the have-nots, there is a call for the church to revitalize its sense of mission.

To respond effectively to our pluralistic world, the church will need a broader understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in mission. In areas such as community development, urban mission and applied church growth, the writings of Luke on the role of the Spirit in mission will be invaluable to help the church rediscover its mission identity and be the light and salt to our changing world.

It has been over twenty-five years since I experienced the light of the Holy Spirit in my life. My understanding of the blessed Spirit has grown yet no more precious than my first experience of his presence sitting in the lounge room of that home group with tears flowing down my face. My desire is to see people from every tribe and tongue and nation experience the eternal presence of the Spirit in their lives. How can we intentionally foster the influence of the Holy Spirit to mobilize the churches in mission in the world? To do this, the scholars and the people of the church need to continue to grow in their biblical understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. In this way we can better recognize and cooperate with what the Spirit of Jesus is already doing in his Kingdom.