ACTS 2:1- 21 “WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PENTECOST FOR TODAY”?

 

I want to draw our attention to the significance of the interventions of God in the history of the world, following the fall of man into a sinful state.  We are thinking here of the interventions whereby God Himself directly intervenes in the fallen world, first by sending His Son, Jesus Christ (the Messiah),  to save the world and then, secondly  by the sending of the Holy Spirit to remind the world of Jesus saving work.   

The Christian calendar follows these momentous events as we think about the birth, baptism,  crucifixion and death, resurrection, ascension of Christ the Messiah, followed by the descension of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost – 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ, 10 days after His Ascension.   These momentous events may be compressed into a period of about 35 years.  

With the cross and the resurrection weekend behind us and having remembered the Ascension of our Lord 10 days ago, we remember the next big event on the Christian calendar: Pentecost. All these are holy days on the Christian calendar. We have reduced them to holidays. Once again, significant words have suffered attrition over time. We speak about Christmas and Easter and Ascension holidays.  Pentecost has never been a public holiday in South Africa, since it always falls on a Sunday. In many countries, it is observed as a public holiday known as Whit Monday.[1]

 PENTECOST

 ‘Pentecost’   is taken from the Greek word for "50", because this feast occurred fifty days after the Passover. Pentecost, in Jewish circles is known as the Feast of the First-fruits or Feast of weeks, marking the completion of the barley harvest. 

It pleased God to send the Holy Spirit at this time to gather in the first fruits from among the nations presently in Jerusalem for this feast.  This would also be the start of a world-wide missionary movement bringing in a great world-wide harvest of believers, a people for God’s own glory- a work which continues in our own day, for the Holy Spirit who was sent from God has not been withdrawn!

Before His ascension the Lord Jesus had instructed the disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father … the Holy Spirit! Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

 ACTS 1:1-21

In Acts 2:1 we read, “When the day of Pentecost arrived[2]…”. It was that day of which Jesus, and the prophets before Him e.g. Joel 2:28-32 and John the Baptist (Lk. 3:16) had spoken.  John the Baptist prophesied that Christ would baptize His disciples with the Spirit (Wind) and with Fire. That day had now finally and fully arrived.

The waiting disciples were together in prayer (Acts 2:1) when suddenly the Holy Spirit came by way of a sound (a rushing wind) and by sight (divided tongues of fire. Fire is a symbol of both cleansing and judgment). 

The words for wind and spirit are the same in the Greek language – Pneuma. The rushing wind is the Spirit – the Holy Spirit- universal and invisible, but undeniably present and powerful.

Those on whom the tongues of fire rested “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance “(2:3,4). 

"Filled with the Spirit" is the same as being “baptized with the Spirit” (cf. 1:5).

The tongues[3] here are human languages.  Jews from various nations (see 2:9-11) were gathered here providentially for the Feast of First fruits.  The list contains nations east and west, north and south of Judea and each hears the message in their own languages. They are at first bewildered and then astonished that each person can hear the declaration of God's mighty works in his or her native language. Each one can speak a foreign language without having previously learned it. Each one present is able to hear the gospel in their own tongue. This is Babel (Genesis 11:9) reversed. "What does this mean?" (2:12) is a logical question to this phenomenon.  Some glibly assume that these people are drunk (2:13,15).   This causes quite a commotion.

 The Explanation

In 2:14- 21 Peter explains what was seen and heard. He loses no time to direct his hearer’s attention to Joel 2:28-32. He shows them that this text is the fulfilment of what they see happening before their very eyes. 

1. The Holy Spirit who in the OT was given to specific individuals—such as kings, prophets, or judge, for limited times and specific tasks is now poured out on all flesh – men and women alike.

2. While Joel uses the phrase "afterward" (Joel 2:28), Peter intentionally translates it in Acts 2:17 as "in the last days." Pentecost marks the official beginning of the final era of redemptive history. The "last days" period is the current church age, spanning from Jesus's first coming and the outpouring of the Spirit until His second coming.

3. Joel connects the outpouring of the Spirit directly with prophetic activity: "they shall prophesy... see visions... dream dreams."  Keep in mind that this must all be connected to the truth of the gospel – not any prophecy, not any vision, not any dream – the gospel must be in it!   

At Pentecost, this happened immediately when the disciples were enabled to declare the gospel in languages they had never learned. The Holy Spirit enabled them.  

4. Joel’s prophecy concludes with a wonderful promise: "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."  The door of salvation was opened to Jews and Gentiles alike. This continues  until the end of time before the Lord returns. That time will be preceded by wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below ( Acts 2:19-20 cf.  Luke 21:25,26)

So far for our text. What is the significance of Pentecost for today?

 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PENTECOST

 1. Pentecost is another confirmation that God is acting in this world.  God has acted in sending His Son. He continues to act by the Holy Spirit who brings all that Christ has taught to the church’s remembrance (Jn 14:26). The sovereign Spirit is constantly at work. Why does this need to be stressed?  We need to be reminded that God has not abdicated His work. We do not think that we must help Him out or manipulate situations.  I will say something in point 5 about that when I shall remind us that the Holy Spirit cannot be turned into a franchise.  

Pentecost reminds us that God’s work – and supremely the church begins with God and is sustained by God. 

Waiting on Him in prayer is key. 

Working what He commands in the Scripture is key.   

Dear church, let us learn to keep in step with the Sovereign Spirit (Gal. 5:25). “I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). 

Remember that God is working in the world by His Spirit!   

 2.  Pentecost is all about Jesus and His work!  Jesus Christ is the main point of Peter's Pentecost sermon (see 2:22ff). The climactic event is Christ's exaltation (2: 33-36).  The Holy Spirit constantly draws our attention to Jesus and reminds us that we are to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). This is a huge work and for this reason the disciples needed power for witnessing.  Pentecost is the amplified  testimony  of the Holy Spirit working in and  through ordinary people, men and women testifying to the Lord Jesus Christ in accordance with 2:17. It was the Holy Spirit’s  power by Peter’s  preaching  Christ that brought 3000  souls  into the kingdom in one day (2:41). The Holy Spirit was there to accelerate the work of God in the world.  Supremely then Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit  is  there to point us to Jesus  (John 16:13,14).

 3. Pentecost is the inauguration of the church's gospel witness to the whole world. The effect of the Spirit's coming would be that   those that were converted would be His witnesses to the end of the earth.  This typically happened when the people   from the nations present in Jerusalem at the Feast of First fruits /Pentecost heard the gospel in their own language and were converted and in turn took this gospel out into their respective worlds. This remains our great commission. It forms part of RRCC’s vision.

 4. Pentecost  leads to the formation of the church in the world. Those that are converted through the Spirit empowered gospel witness join the church. The Bible knows nothing of church-less believers. The true church is made up of the assembly of God’s saved people from among the Jews and the gentiles (Eph. 3:1-11). Every local church ought to be a microcosm of that great reality. To that end we labour and strive at RRCC. The church is the people of God, indwelt by the Spirit of God. She is God’s plan, God’s missionary movement to bring this gospel about Jesus to the nations. 

5.  A WARNING : Pentecost is not a franchise – not a monopoly of the Holy Spirit- not the domain of certain churches. There has been a tendency to get hold of the Spirit’s power and to monopolize Him, like the story of Simon Magus in Acts 8:19 who wanted to buy the power of the Holy Spirit from the apostles. He thought of them as the franchise holders. For this he received a stern rebuke from Peter. 

We have somehow been led to believe  that  living  in the days of the outpoured Spirit   has brought us an  intensification of spiritual experience,  and of spiritual insight, and  a heightening of spiritual power. The church is constantly bombarded with this by false teachers who unsettle our hearts, always making us feel that we have too little of God’s new franchise now in the hands of these super apostles as Paul called them (2 Cor 11:5). I am also afraid that theories of superior sanctification and  accelerated holiness  as a result of a second experience of the Holy Spirit  have confused Christians  and have drawn us away from  focusing on God’s work in the world.

Certain churches and teachers teach  that we do not have the Holy Spirit if we have not experienced a so called ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit'  – an experience subsequent to conversion.  You are frowned upon in certain circles  if you have not spoken in tongues , if you have not participated in ecstatic behavior in worship, if you have not received  the laying on of hands of a super apostle, if you have not been  to deliverance services or  healing services, if you have not been  in a service that is 'loud'  by way of amplification,  huge TV screens, dazzling light effects, smoke machines etc. 

All these things remind us of the  frenzied activities of the prophets of Baal when contrasted with the calm, prayerful  spirit of  Elijah in 1 Kings 18:20-40. Sadly, the work and the gifts of the Holy Spirit have been turned into man- manipulated fiasco in many a modern church! 

And much of it is trading on the spiritual laziness of Christians who want to have  an instant experience rather than the daily  pursuit of diligent trust in God.  

I remind you that we do not have too little of God!  His grace  is sufficient for every situation. 

• But we do have too little faith! And we must ask God for it. 
• We do have too little obedience, too little time, too many of our own agendas that constantly replace our devotion to God! 

The Holy Spirit convicts us of these sins (John 16:8). And we must constantly repent before God of it. We note that  Peter will struggle with cowardice after Pentecost as before; Ananias and Sapphira will deceive and false doctrine will trouble the church in Corinth, Galatia and throughout history!  We must learn to rest in Christ’s finished work for us – for this we do not need a  franchise Christianity. We need to believe the Bible and  do what it says, and our God will provide all our need according to His riches in glory!

 So, what was Pentecost?

1.     The historical Pentecostal event  was an initiating event. As such it is unique and unrepeatable. It was a great miracle authenticating the birth, death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ.  All God's people  were freed to speak about the  gospel of God.

2.       It was an equipping and empowering of the church for its work of bearing witness to the Lord Jesus Christ in the world (Acts 1:8) with  the help of the poured out Spirit. In that sense it was a new work. Before Pentecost the church was largely confined to the Jews. Now, because of Pentecost the church spans the world. This work continues until Jesus returns. And we are called in the power of the Holy Spirit to continue to do the work of proclaiming the  gospel of God in this world. You will never have to worry about   spiritual power for the task at hand. If you are born again, you have all God’s authority and power with you, and according to the gifting with which God has equipped you. You speak. He does the rest. Sometimes 3000 converts in a day in that corner of God’s vineyard, sometimes one a year in another vineyard!  Still the  angels rejoice when a single sinner  comes home ! Amen

 

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[1] The Monday after Pentecost is a public holiday in: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, The British Virgin Islands, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Monaco, Montserrat, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Switzerland, Togo and Ukraine.[3] In many of these countries, Whit Monday is known as "the second day of Pentecost" or "the second Whitsun" [ SOURCE: Wikipedia]

[2] sumplerousthai,   lit ‘ to fill completely  ‘ [NIV came;  KJV ‘ fully come’ ]; see also Lk 9:51)

[3] γλῶσσα (glōssa);  plural form γλῶσσαι (glōssai). In Acts 2, the word represents known languages

JOHN 16:5-15 WHAT IS THE PRIMARY WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ?

 

Pentecost1 Sunday is celebrated 50 days after Christ’s resurrection and 10 days after the Ascension. It is the Sunday on which the church remembers that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples who were gathered in an upper room (Acts 1:13), waiting for what Jesus called “the promise of the Father” - the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4).  

Acts Chapter 2 reflects the historical account of that occasion, when the Holy Spirit came upon those disciples, transforming them from timid, fearful followers to bold and powerful servants of Christ. The Spirit of God who came to dwell with them and in them made all the difference.  Compare for instance pre – Pentecost Peter in Luke 22:54ff with post- Pentecost Peter in Acts 2:14ff.  Now if the Holy Spirit is sent to empower us (Acts 1:8), then how does He do that?  First, some introductory comments and background.    

  

Jesus reminds the disciples that when He goes, the Holy Spirit must come. He promises that He will not leave them as orphans (Jn.14:18). The disciples are understandably anxious at this time (Jn.14:1-6). They are uncertain about a future without Jesus. Therefore, Jesus comforts them with the promise of sending them the Holy Spirit. He would be with them and in them (14:17). But what is it exactly that the Holy Spirit will do in them and among them?  

Please notice that Jesus says nothing in these key passages [in John 14:15-26 and 16:7-15] about the giving of spiritual gifts- the frequent emphasis associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit. These are in a sense a secondary issue. There is something far weightier and more primary that the Holy Spirit has come to do.   Let us see what Jesus says concerning Him, in terms of His names and His work.  

We will not dwell much on the names. He is called

(i) The Holy Spirit - Jn.14:26

(ii) The Helper (ESV) or Counsellor (NIV)  Jn.14:16,26;16:7

(iii) The Spirit of Truth: Jn. 14:17; 16:13  

We will focus on His work threefold work in terms of

(i) 16:8-11 Conviction

(ii) 16:12-13 Guiding into Truth

(iii) 16:14-15 Glorifying Jesus 

 

1. 16:8-11 HIS WORK OF CONVICTION  

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The Holy Spirit does the work of conviction (Gr. elencho lit. shaming a convicted person) "When He (the Helper/Counsellor) comes, He will convict the world (16:8). This needs some explanation.  A convicting Helper/Counsellor?  Is this not a contradiction?  No!  Why?   He is both! He helps and counsels us by convicting us. In order to help and counsel, He must first convict us of that which stands against us – that is our sinful nature! In this regard He does the same work as a surgeon, who in order to help us, must first cut away that which causes us trouble.   

This is the primary role which the Holy Spirit fulfills in the whole world. “He will convict the world...” Since He is the Spirit, He is not limited by a physical body, and therefore He can do this work globally. He can be everywhere at the same time. He is omnipresent.  

He convicts the world in three ways?  i.e.  concerning sin, and righteousness and judgment (Jn. 16:8-11).  Let's consider these each in turn: 

1. He convicts the world of sin, because the world does not believe in Jesus (16:9)  

Here we are reminded that all people in this world are by nature sinners.  

Genesis 3 explains the origin of sin in man. Sin manifests itself in the fact that (i) all people do sin (Rom. 3:23) and thereby incur God’s wrath, and in the fact that (ii) all people refuse to accept God’s gracious offer –Jesus, the Lamb of God - God’s atoning sacrifice.  The truth about us is that we are hardened and self-righteous. Without help we will never see the truth about ourselves. We are dead in our sins and transgressions (Eph.2:1)   

Jesus says that we need the convicting work of the Holy Spirit to pierce our spiritual deadness and our spiritual hardness. The Holy Spirit awakens in us a consciousness of true guilt, leading us to true repentance, trusting in Jesus alone for our righteousness and salvation, restoring us to fellowship with our heavenly Father.  

We have a wonderful example in the book of Acts 2.  The Holy Spirit came in response to God’s promise at Pentecost - the Hebrew Shavuot – The Feast of Weeks, (a feast of thanksgiving for the ingathering of the wheat harvest), which happens 50 days after the Passover (Easter). On this day the Holy Spirit starts His remarkable work of ingathering from many nations that have come to Jerusalem for this feast.  He uses Peter to preach a sermon in which 3000 people from among the nations are convicted of sin. They cry out, "What must we do?" (Acts 2:38). The answer is given: "repent and be baptised, every one of you…”.  Now, why do they cry out,” What must we do “?  It is not simply Peter’s sermon that does it!  This is the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, acting upon the preaching of His Word.  

The 3000 have been helped by the Holy Spirit to see their sin! Their hearts are exposed by the preaching of the Word.   They now beg for a remedy!  What does the preacher do?  He helps them by looking to the remedy - looking to Jesus – “repent and be baptized, every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…”.  

Understand then that the preacher cannot bring about true heartfelt repentance or conviction, unless the Holy Spirit convicts the hearers of guilt.  

The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus to convict the world of sin. Those who see, hear and believe are helped and counselled to 'stop being the world'. So then, thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to help us to understand the nature of sin.  

Pray that the Spirit of conviction will also rest upon us! 

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3. 2. He convicts the world of righteousness because Jesus is going to the Father (16:10)  

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We have seen then that the Holy Spirit convicts the world regarding sin because the world does not believe in Jesus. But, what about this one?  

Here is the answer: The religious leaders, and the nation of Israel in general did not regard themselves as sinful, but as righteous - one might say, self – righteous, because   they possessed the Law of Moses. They prided themselves to have Abraham as their father.  The same is true for the world we live in. When you speak to a person about their sinfulness and of their need for a Saviour, people are quick to respond, "But, I am basically a good person” i.e. “I am righteous…. I am self-righteous.”    

You will remember that Jesus frequently challenged this superficial view of righteousness e.g. the story of the rich young ruler (Mk 10:17ff).  All of us, by nature are self- righteous, and all of us need to be helped by the Holy Spirit to see this that our self- righteousness will not stand before God.   

Now, the reason why the Holy Spirit convicts the world of its ‘righteousness’, is because Jesus is going to the Father where they will see Him no longer (16:10).  So, we see that the Holy Spirit continues the convicting work of Jesus - but now on a global level!  How does He do that?  The Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, proclaimed by preachers of the Word in various settings, acting now in the whole world (even to you today), being the omnipresent Spirit, convicts the entire world of its self- righteousness.  God’s word – God’s righteous standard, when preached to self – righteous people, by the power of the Holy Spirit, are helped to see that they fall short of the righteous life that God requires.  The result is that they call out, “What must we do to be saved?”   The preacher, by the Holy Spirit points them to Christ, whom they must embrace by faith. When anybody comes to Jesus this way they will be saved. And they will be declared righteous.   

Thank God for the global work of the Holy Spirit convicting people of their self -righteousness! 

3. 3. The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (16:11) 

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How do we understand this?  The world, because of its sinfulness, has distorted standards of judgment.  At one point, in John 7:24, Jesus needed to reprimand the Jews (i.e. the world of His day) to “stop judging by mere appearances, and to make a right judgment.”  

The grossest misjudgement that our world is guilty of is that it judged Jesus to be a criminal and on that account crucified Him.  What a gross, faulty judgment! This shows us how the world's judgment can be so profoundly wrong and so morally perverse.  

The Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of its false judgments, which essentially are inspired by Satan and his demons. Satan is the originator of all false judgment, for he is the father of all lies. He is the father of those who echo His values (Jn.8:44).    

But now, because of   Christ's triumph on the cross, the ruler of this world who governs the faulty thoughts of this world is defeated!  He is judged!  

The Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of following false judgment - following bad and unreliable guides- all inspired by Satan, who because of the cross is now condemned and defeated. The Holy Spirit teaches us that the only true judgment and infallible authority comes from the Word of God – from Jesus the living Word.  

Thank God that the Holy Spirit who is in us and with us, helps us to discern the lies of Satan when we turn to the truth of God’s Word.  

 

2. 16:12-13 GUIDING US INTO ALL THE TRUTH  

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The Holy Spirit will not speak on His own authority. He speaks, reaffirms and reminds us only that which Jesus has said. See also 14:26. The Holy Spirit will not bring anything new. In Christ God's complete revelation in terms of what we need to know was made known (cf. Hebrews 1:1-3)  

 

3. 16:14,15 GLORIFYING JESUS  

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Ultimately this is the overarching reason why the Holy Spirit would come: to bring glory to Jesus - by making Jesus and His saving work known!  This is clearly stated in 16:14,15 and this is entirely in keeping with the central message of John’s gospel (see John 20:31). Everything else we learn about the work and the person of the Holy Spirit flows from this grand truth and is subject to this principle. 

  

SUMMARY AND APPLICATION 

Can you now see why we need to be thankful for Pentecost?

And why we have a duty to remember this event in our church calendar?

Can you now see why we ought to be thankful for the intervening and convicting global ministry of the Holy Spirit?  

Despite all this persistent hardness found in our world,  the merciful voice of God empowered by the Holy Spirit goes out into the entire world and into entire generations.

None of us would listen, if we had not been divinely prompted and enabled to listen.

The Spirit of God issues the effective call, which the sheep (the elect) ultimately will hear (See John 10:3).  

This then is the primary work of the Holy Spirit:  To glorify Jesus by bringing a stubborn people like us to faith and repentance, possessed of a true righteousness, and fit for entrance into the presence of the King.

Blessed be His Name!