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As of publishing, this coming Sunday is Pentecost, so we thought it would be great to have a conversation about Pentecost, and the role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism. You can listen to the podcast and follow the notes below.
What is Pentecost?
In the Jewish calendar (see Leviticus 23), Pentecost is the āFeast of Weeksā. Itās held 50 days after āFirstfruits.ā At āFirstfruitsā you have tasted the goodness of the coming crop. At āPentecostā the harvest comes in.
In the New Testament, Jesus rose on the day of āFirstfruitsā. He was the Seed who went into the ground (on Good Friday) and came up again (on Easter Sunday). His new life guarantees a rich harvest of resurrection.
The first ever Pentecost happened in Exodus ā 50 days after the Israelites came out of Egypt. On that day Moses came down from the mountain with the law and he judged idolatrous Israel. 3000 people died on that first Pentecost. In Acts 2, the Spirit comes down from on high and brings life ā on that day 3000 people are reborn!
What does Acts 2Ā teach us about the Spirit?
The Spirit comes through the Word ā especially preached. (v14ff)
The Spirit is associated with the last days (v17).
The Spirit is the triune life of God poured out (v33).
The Spirit is a gift for the unworthy (v38).
What does the rest of the Bible teach about the Holy Spirit?
The Spirit is the LIFE of God.
TheĀ SpiritĀ of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives meĀ life. (Job 33:4)
TheĀ SpiritĀ givesĀ life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to youĀ ā they are full of theĀ SpiritĀ andĀ life. (John 6:63)
Through Christ Jesus the law of theĀ SpiritĀ who givesĀ lifeĀ has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
If Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, theĀ SpiritĀ givesĀ lifeĀ because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)
And if theĀ SpiritĀ of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also giveĀ lifeĀ to your mortal bodies because of hisĀ SpiritĀ who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)
What does the Spirit do in the life of God?
1. He joyfully declares the Fatherās overflowing love:
You are my Son who I love, with you I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:16-17)
2. He joyfully declares the Sonās glad dependence:
At that time Jesus,Ā fullĀ ofĀ joyĀ through the HolyĀ Spirit, said, āI praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. (Luke 10:21)
3. He gives life to the Son
Through the Spirit of holiness [Jesus] was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4).
What does the Spirit do in our life?
1. He joyfully declares the Fatherās overflowing love to us:
Godās love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)
2. He joyfully declares our love as sons back to the Father:
The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.Ā And by him we cry, āAbba,Ā Father.ā (Romans 8:15)
3. He gives life to usĀ
If theĀ SpiritĀ of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also giveĀ lifeĀ to your mortal bodies because of hisĀ SpiritĀ who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)
Everything that the Spirit is in Godās life, He becomes in our life! The Spirit sweeps us up into the Sonās communion with the Father. By Him we āparticipate in the divine natureā! (2 Peter 1:4)
How doĀ we get the Spirit wrong?
The three main trinitarian heresies all have implications for how we see the Spirit:
Arianism: The Spirit is a non-Person.
Here we see the Spirit as anĀ It,Ā aĀ Force,Ā an abstractĀ Power.
Modalism: The Spirit is the same Person (as the Son / Father)
Here we forget that the Spirit unites us to Jesus and brings us before the Father. Instead modalists (eg Oneness Pentecostals) imagine that we have an unmediated relationship withĀ GodĀ (undifferentiated). Thatās not the gospel!
Tritheism: The Spirit is a detached Person
Here we think of the Spirit as another source of blessing. We imagine that we can have some blessings from Jesus but we need to go to this otherĀ power called the Spirit
to get certain blessings.
If we keep looking to Jesus we wonāt go too far wrong!
What does this mean for our Christian walk?
Letās pray for the Spirit Himself (not just His fruit). But letās come to Jesus to know the Spirit ā thereās no other Way.
Letās be Spirit-filled which meansā¦
centred on Jesus,
obsessed by the word,
overflowing with words of our own,
walking by faith not works,
trusting Christ not our flesh,
looking to the future when the Spirit will raise not only us but the whole world. Then even the deserts will bloom.
TheĀ SpiritĀ [will be] poured on us from on high, and theĀ desertĀ becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. (Isaiah 32:15)