Title: The Double Portion: What Elijah Left Behind
Speaker: Pastor Kevin Quirk
Date: 1st July 2026
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Summary:
“If you get a drop of God inside you, that will revolutionise your life.” This episode opens with the dramatic account of Elijah being taken up in a whirlwind and Elisha asking for a double portion of his spirit, then uncovers a deeper meaning hiding inside a story most of us have read before.
Working through Second Kings chapter two, the episode shows that the mantle Elisha picked up was never really about a magic cloak or simply passing a role to the next person. It points forward to Jesus, who was taken up to heaven and left behind something far greater than a garment: the empowering Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word used for that mantle carries the sense of glory, splendour, and magnificence, a small clue tucked into the text about what God actually gives.
The second half turns practical. When we receive the Spirit, we tear off the old covering of self righteousness and good works, and God wraps us in a robe of righteousness instead. It is a gift, not a reward, and the episode closes on the quiet confidence that comes from knowing your record is clean.
Key Points:
- The story of Elijah and Elisha foreshadows Jesus being taken up and leaving the Holy Spirit behind, not just handing on a role.
- Elisha’s request for a double portion mirrors the promise that those who believe will do even greater works through the Spirit.
- Receiving the Spirit means discarding our old self righteousness, described as filthy rags, and being clothed in a robe of righteousness we could never earn.
Reference Scriptures:
- 2 Kings 2
- John 7:33-34
- John 13:1
- John 14:6, 15-16, 20
- Isaiah 64:6
- Isaiah 61:10
- Romans 4
- Hebrews 10
- 2 Corinthians 5
- 1 Timothy 2