The Holy Spirit, Pre-Pentecost
The Holy Spirit, Pre- Pentecost
There is the saying that every road leads to Rome. In the case of the Book of Acts, every road leads to Chapter 2 (the birth of the Church through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit). Due to the critical importance of the events of Acts 2, we will devote more time to chapter 2. Our proper understanding of this chapter holds the key to the rest of the book of Acts. The primary event in Acts is the day of the Pentecost. Unfortunately, Acts 2 has for ages divided believers in Jesus into different camps. We must recognize that this is a ploy of Satan to deny us the very essence of the New Testament Church. I plead to you to suspend your pre-conceived notions and let’s give the text a chance to speak directly to us. Most of us have been going by what someone passed onto us without doing our own in-depth study and homework.
Before we get to chapter 2, we must understand chapter one and the essence of what Jesus had said to his disciples. Jesus predicted the events of chapter 2 and gave specific instructions to his disciples to wait for the “gift”. What exactly is this “the gift my Father promised and you have heard me speak about”?
Acts 1: 4-8
4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. God had been speaking to His people in ages past and had spoken through His prophets. So when Jesus talks about the Promise of the Father, he was referring to what had been said and written. There are many references in the OT regarding the promise. However, two stand out within our context.
2. The first is found in Joel 2:28, 32. 28 "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions….. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
3. The second is in Haggai 2:6-9, 6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 8 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
4. Now let’s see what Jesus taught about the promised gift “you have heard me speak”. In John 14:16, 17 and 26, Jesus said, 16”And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Jesus is saying that we will know the Holy Spirit because He will be with us and live in us. What a privilege to be a house for God to dwell in.
5. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit is the truth and will be the one who will testify about Jesus. Remember, Jesus also said “I am the truth”. John15:26, 26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”
6. Jesus also taught that the work of the Holy Spirit will be to convict the world of sin. Thank God that this is the work of the Holy Spirit because you and I will mess it up trying to convict people. John 16:7-11, 7”But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[a] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
7. 1 2"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you (John 16:12-15). The Holy Spirit is our guide and will teach us things we do not know. Aren’t you glad we have a guide and a teacher in the person of the Holy Spirit?
8. Notice that in Acts 1:6 were still concerned with the restoration of the kingdom here in Israel. However, Jesus’ focus had shifted to the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the whole earth through the disciples. Most times, we are seeking to establish our “little kingdoms” here in our “little world” while Jesus is saying there is something even better. What is the “little world” you and I are building through our education, jobs, and retirement and investment accounts? These are nothing compared to what the Holy Spirit wants to build and establish through us in the lives of people.
It is necessary that we understand what Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit because while on earth, He was described as “being full of the Holy Spirit”. The doctrine of the Church on the trinity is becoming very obvious with the events of the Book of Acts. We see the Father, the Son and now the Holy Spirit in full manifestation. We are about to fully enter into the full reign of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2.
Though Jesus taught his disciples about the person and works of the Holy Spirit, they had never before experienced the encounter of Acts 2. In fact, throughout all creation, event of Acts 2 has never happened before. Like the disciples, let’s approach Acts 2 with anticipation knowing that God will surprise us. Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you that you did not leave us on our own. Help us to always obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There is the saying that every road leads to Rome. In the case of the Book of Acts, every road leads to Chapter 2 (the birth of the Church through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit). Due to the critical importance of the events of Acts 2, we will devote more time to chapter 2. Our proper understanding of this chapter holds the key to the rest of the book of Acts. The primary event in Acts is the day of the Pentecost. Unfortunately, Acts 2 has for ages divided believers in Jesus into different camps. We must recognize that this is a ploy of Satan to deny us the very essence of the New Testament Church. I plead to you to suspend your pre-conceived notions and let’s give the text a chance to speak directly to us. Most of us have been going by what someone passed onto us without doing our own in-depth study and homework.
Before we get to chapter 2, we must understand chapter one and the essence of what Jesus had said to his disciples. Jesus predicted the events of chapter 2 and gave specific instructions to his disciples to wait for the “gift”. What exactly is this “the gift my Father promised and you have heard me speak about”?
Acts 1: 4-8
4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. God had been speaking to His people in ages past and had spoken through His prophets. So when Jesus talks about the Promise of the Father, he was referring to what had been said and written. There are many references in the OT regarding the promise. However, two stand out within our context.
2. The first is found in Joel 2:28, 32. 28 "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions….. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
3. The second is in Haggai 2:6-9, 6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 8 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
4. Now let’s see what Jesus taught about the promised gift “you have heard me speak”. In John 14:16, 17 and 26, Jesus said, 16”And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Jesus is saying that we will know the Holy Spirit because He will be with us and live in us. What a privilege to be a house for God to dwell in.
5. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit is the truth and will be the one who will testify about Jesus. Remember, Jesus also said “I am the truth”. John15:26, 26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”
6. Jesus also taught that the work of the Holy Spirit will be to convict the world of sin. Thank God that this is the work of the Holy Spirit because you and I will mess it up trying to convict people. John 16:7-11, 7”But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[a] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
7. 1 2"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you (John 16:12-15). The Holy Spirit is our guide and will teach us things we do not know. Aren’t you glad we have a guide and a teacher in the person of the Holy Spirit?
8. Notice that in Acts 1:6 were still concerned with the restoration of the kingdom here in Israel. However, Jesus’ focus had shifted to the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the whole earth through the disciples. Most times, we are seeking to establish our “little kingdoms” here in our “little world” while Jesus is saying there is something even better. What is the “little world” you and I are building through our education, jobs, and retirement and investment accounts? These are nothing compared to what the Holy Spirit wants to build and establish through us in the lives of people.
It is necessary that we understand what Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit because while on earth, He was described as “being full of the Holy Spirit”. The doctrine of the Church on the trinity is becoming very obvious with the events of the Book of Acts. We see the Father, the Son and now the Holy Spirit in full manifestation. We are about to fully enter into the full reign of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2.
Though Jesus taught his disciples about the person and works of the Holy Spirit, they had never before experienced the encounter of Acts 2. In fact, throughout all creation, event of Acts 2 has never happened before. Like the disciples, let’s approach Acts 2 with anticipation knowing that God will surprise us. Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you that you did not leave us on our own. Help us to always obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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