Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Acts 1 | Date: January 9, 2022 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

You’re on mute, Pastor Fred. There we are. I was having trouble getting audio. Well, welcome to all of you. I wish I could be looking you in the eye as I preach today, but that doesn’t work very well on Zoom. A special welcome to several from Word of Life Baptist in Pottsville. They had to cancel today because of weather as well. They have endured a great loss this week: the loss of Kenny Wingle, who suddenly passed away unexpectedly. Been praying for you guys. We miss Kenny. He was a wonderful, faithful brother, and we have wonderful memories of him there.

For all of you who are visiting with us and have not been with us in our morning services, we’re continuing a series of studies in the doctrine of salvation. We’ve been looking at it under three broad categories: that of the Redemption Planned, Redemption Accomplished, and Redemption Applied.

In Redemption Planned, we saw that God has purposed this plan of salvation and has included us in it in his electing decree, determining a people whom he would save and then setting out the process by which they would come to him. And then we saw in the broad category next, Redemption Accomplished, we saw the work of Christ in salvation, primarily his death and resurrection. And now we’re transitioning to the application of salvation, redemption applied—how it comes to be the experience of each of us individually.

To do that, we have to look first of all at Jesus’ ascension. And we’ve spent a few weeks there now looking at Jesus ascended as primarily we’ve looked at Psalm 110, verse one, as prophesied by King David. And so we see Jesus exalted at the right hand of the Father. And then we saw that from the throne in his kingly session, he dispenses the Spirit to us and he makes intercession for us. Those are the two broad categories we’ve seen. Now today we want to explain a little bit further this matter of the gift of the Spirit. So for doing that, we’re going to look at Acts chapters one and two.

I’d encourage you to have your Bibles with you; have them open. There are several times you’ll be needing to look at it specifically at a verse here and there. So if you can have your Bibles, turn to Acts chapter one, first of all. Acts chapter one, and I’ll begin with verse one:

“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during the 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore your kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 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.'”

Now, if you will skip down to Acts chapter two, we’ll begin with verse one. Here we have the realization of the promise that Jesus has just spoken of there:

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound, the multitude came together. And they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that we hear each one of us in his own language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians. We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.’ And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others, mocking, said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

But Peter, standing with the 11, lifted up his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words, for these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants. In those days I will pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above, signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'”

Now, beginning with verse 22 through verse 32, the Apostle Peter appeals to Psalm 16 about the resurrection of Jesus. We’re not going to deal with the resurrection today, so we’ll skip that. We’ve dealt with that before. Skipping down to verse 32:

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

All right, now, as you know, in the setting here, we are 40 days in Acts chapter 1—we’re 40 days after the resurrection of Jesus. He’s speaking to his disciples. He tells them in verses four to eight there about, reminds them of John the Baptist’s prophecy: “There’s one coming after me who’s greater than I. I baptize you with water, he’ll baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” And Jesus tells them that’s coming now; wait here in Jerusalem for that. This is a new moment in redemptive history. What John the Baptist has promised is now coming. And then we get to chapter two and it comes. We have the descent of the Spirit with this miraculous phenomena and then the responses of the people who are just marveling at it all. It’s really a fascinating passage.

There’s nothing like it in the rest of the Bible. Something like tongues of fire, flaming tongues, divided tongues, it says, resting on the apostles. What does that mean? Sitting on their shoulder and dancing? Something like, I don’t know, rushing mighty wind. It’s just this amazing phenomena. People are amazed at it. What’s particularly amazing is that the apostles are speaking to the crowds in their own languages. These are Galileans, and yet everyone there—and we’ve seen all the nations enumerated there in Acts chapter two—everyone there is hearing it in their own tongues. The apostles are preaching, and they’re preaching in previously unknown languages. And those from those areas that speak those languages are hearing and understanding.

Now it’s interesting because the apostles could have just spoken in Greek. That was the lingua franca of the day, and everyone would have understood them just fine. But there was something particular going on here. And to mark it, God gives this amazing phenomenon of the apostles gifted miraculously to speak in tongues. A reversal of Babel, something like that going on. Something obviously fascinating is happening.

The Significance Of Pentecost

What could be the significance of it? Well, verse 11 tells us, in Acts 2, that the apostles were declaring the wonders of God. Clearly, I think, relaying the recent events about Jesus—his life, his miracles, particularly his death and then his resurrection. And everyone’s hearing it in their own language. Verses 12 and following then, we have the responses of the people and they vary. “What in the world is this?” seems to be the majority response. What do we make of this unbelievable event?

And then verse 14 of Acts 2, now Peter stands up to address the crowd. And first of all, he has to answer the charge that these guys must be drunk. And his response is interesting: It’s too early in the day to be drunk. Couldn’t be drunk yet. What kind of barbarian would be drunk at this hour of the day? Can’t be that. So clearing that out of the way, now verse 16, he tells us—Peter says that Jesus—he starts proclaiming about Jesus and the recent events in Jerusalem, but he interprets it in light of Old Testament scriptures.

So first of all, as we’ve read verses 16 to 21, this is what Joel prophesied. Joel chapter two prophesied the coming of the Spirit in great wonders. That just happened today; you’ve seen it. And then verses 22 and following, he talks about the resurrection of Jesus. And he says David prophesied that in Psalm 16. I think we saw that several weeks ago when looking at Jesus’ resurrection. David’s prophecy and Peter’s interpretation of it is ironclad. David spoke of Jesus and his resurrection.

Now we come then to verses 33 and following. And here Peter appeals to Psalm 110, which we’ve looked at several times now, and that’s David’s oracular prophecy, this psalm of the messianic king seated at the throne of heaven. And he comes to the punchline in verse 36, Acts 2:36: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” He’s exalted, he’s the Messiah, he’s the King of the universe, he’s attained the position of universal rule through his successful mediatorial work.

That’s the significance of the event of Pentecost according to the Apostle Peter. What’s significant about Pentecost? Because all of this that you’re seeing and hearing, these miraculous events, it points back to the truth that Jesus has taken the throne of the universe and now he has dispensed his Spirit on his people. That’s the significance of the day of Pentecost. Verses 32 to 36: Christ has been exalted. He’s taken the throne of the universe. He’s asked the Father for the Spirit whom he had promised. He has received the Spirit that was promised to him as a reward for his successful mediatorial work. And now in turn, King Jesus has poured out that Spirit on his people. He’s been exalted to save.

And remember, we’ve looked at this in terms of Psalm 2 and verse 8, where God says to the Messiah, “Ask of me and I will give the nations as your inheritance.” And so now it’s as though Jesus has gone to the throne. And it’s as though he’s saying, “Father, you’ve promised that I could have the nations.” Father says that’s right, and he gives him the Spirit, and Jesus in turn pours out his Spirit to capture the nations and the advance of his kingdom.

Now we’ve seen before also then that this great manifestation of the Spirit should not be and must not be understood on its own. It must be understood first of all as a work of Jesus. This is the work of Christ dispensing his Spirit. It is not something the Spirit of God has done, as it were, on his own. That’s what Peter tells us here in Acts 2 verses 33 to 36. What you are seeing, this fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy of the coming of the Spirit, is the work of King Jesus dispensing his Spirit as King on his people.

There are other hints to the same—that this is a work of Jesus. We’ve seen that in Acts chapter 1: “The former treatise I wrote to you, O Theophilus, concerning the things which Jesus began to do and teach,” well, now the direct implication is this second volume of Luke’s work is what Jesus continues to do. This is his continuing work. And in fact, Jesus makes the same point in Acts chapter one. If you want to look back there, verses four and five, he makes reference back to John the Baptist. You remember John the Baptist prophesied: “He’s coming, he’s here, it’s just around the corner, the kingdom has come, the king is here. I baptize you with water in preparation for that kingdom, baptism of repentance, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” And now Jesus makes reference to that and he tells the disciples in Acts 1, verses four and five, you wait here in Jerusalem and that is what is going to happen. And so then we come to Pentecost, Acts chapter two, and we have this work of the exalted Christ pouring out his Spirit on his people.

Now we should spend a little time back in Acts 1 verse 4 again. Wait for the Spirit. Wait for the Spirit. This is the ancient promise of the Holy Spirit. Joel talked about it as we’ve seen. Ezekiel prophesied it. Isaiah prophesied it. We have wonderful anticipation in the Old Testament that in the messianic age, it will be marked by the prominent work of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist comes and says, that’s coming. He’s coming. He’ll baptize you with the Spirit. It’s been promised. And Jesus now says to his disciples, just before his ascension, you wait here in Jerusalem for that promise to be fulfilled.

Now that raises the question: Why wait? Why not just get on with it? And why wait in Jerusalem? What’s significant about all of that? What’s the purpose? And I think there are at least two answers, and it’s richly symbolic.

Number one—and I won’t spend much time on this at all—but one is because of the significance of Jerusalem. I won’t go into this, but just mention quickly: this is the city of the great king, David. This is David’s greater son now. This is where he will pour out his Spirit. This is the city where the temple is. This is the city where the sacrifices are made ever since David. But moving the ark to Jerusalem, this has been the place of worship. And in biblical typology, Jerusalem becomes symbolic of a new Jerusalem that’s coming, the place of final salvation. You see that reflected, for example, in the songs of Zion in the book of Psalms. This is the place where God works. This is the place of salvation. This is the happening place in terms of God’s redemptive activity. Wait in Jerusalem because of its significance.

But more importantly than the significance of Jerusalem, but tied to it tightly, is the significance of Pentecost. Wait here in Jerusalem because Pentecost is coming. Now, what’s significant about that? In Leviticus chapter 23, we have Moses’ instructions concerning the Feast of Pentecost, one of the three principal feasts of Judaism. You have Passover stipulated, and then count forward 50 days, and then you have Pentecost. Pentecost is the first feast of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. So there’s this tight connection between Pentecost and Passover. Pentecost is dependent on Passover. Passover first, forward 50 days, and then you can have the Feast of Pentecost.

So what was an old covenant feast now becomes a new covenant event because 50 days ago now, Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Remember Jesus crucified on the day of Passover. Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Move forward 50 days, we have Pentecost and the celebration of the harvest that will come. So Pentecost is a gift of the Spirit, and the harvest that is to come by it is not something to be understood on its own. It can be understood only as it’s dependent on the cross work of Christ. The Spirit has come, there’ll be a great harvest, but that is because of its connection to Passover and what Jesus did in his sacrificial work.

In other words then, remain in Jerusalem because this is the place where Jesus died and was raised from the dead. And that is the whole ground of the gift of the Spirit that now comes on the day of Pentecost. The gift of the Spirit flows out of Christ’s sacrifice as King and Priest. All right, in other words then, as I’ve mentioned several times already, this is a major turning point, Pentecost—a major turning point in the history of redemption. Pentecost, the Feast of Pentecost in the Old Covenant, had a symbolism that is now being realized.

In the Old Testament, there’s this long-standing hope that this would be the messianic age. God would pour out his Spirit. Numbers chapter 11, you might remember Moses kind of lamented, “I would that all the Lord’s people were prophets. I wish they all had the spirit.” Joel comes along and says that day will come. Ezekiel comes along and he says the same. John the Baptist comes along and says it’s coming. Jesus says in Acts chapter 1, you wait here, it’ll come. Acts chapter 2, it’s here. That day has come. Jesus is enthroned. He has poured out his Spirit. The age of the Spirit has dawned. The last days, in other words—the days of the eschaton, the last days have begun. The old age is done and the new age has dawned. Certainly there’s still a consummation of this new age that still awaits, but the long-awaited Messiah is here. He has taken his throne. He has poured out his Spirit, and this age of the Spirit so long awaited has now come.

Now the symbolism goes deeper than that. So far as the meaning and the significance of Pentecost, it’s the inauguration of the new age. But once you’ve said that, you have to say, well, then it’s the inauguration of the new covenant. You remember in the old covenant that was given at Sinai, you have the demands of the old covenant: “Do this and I’ll bless you, do this and I’ll bless you. If you don’t do this, I’ll curse you.” And it’s very much—the old covenant—very much a covenant of “do or die.” Paul calls it a covenant of death, an administration of death.

The new covenant was prophesied in Jeremiah chapter 31, for example. It’s not going to be like that old covenant. The old covenant demanded and commanded, but it made no provision for obedience. But Jeremiah says there’s a new covenant coming; it’s going to replace that. Jeremiah says he’s going to write God’s law in your heart. He’ll cause you to walk in my steps and God will do this deep transforming work in your hearts by his Spirit. That’s the new covenant. It’s not like the old.

Now we come to Acts chapter two and we have these tongues of fire, these flaming tongues appearing reminiscent of the book of Exodus, reminiscent of the burning bush, reminiscent of the thunder and the flames of Sinai. At the giving of the old covenant, Moses went up on the mountain, you remember, received the old covenant, and he comes down with this law written on tablets of stone, which in the end could only serve to condemn the people because it made no provision for their obedience. But now it’s not Moses who ascends into the presence of God. It’s Jesus, the exalted Lord, who has ascended into the presence of God. And there he receives not tablets of stone; he receives the Spirit of God whom he now sends to write the law of God on the hearts of his people and to turn their hearts from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. He’s signaling then in all of this that the promised new covenant has finally taken place. The old covenant now is obsolete.

Now the symbolism goes further than that. Once you’ve said all of that—this is the new age, this is a new covenant—we have to see also that this is also the inauguration of a new community. Inauguration of a new community that is a distinctively new covenant community. This is the birthday of the church. Pentecost is a celebration of the first fruits—first fruits of a harvest. The giving of the Spirit was given to create this new community marked by his resurrection power, his presence. This is not a mixed community like Israel was—some believers, some not. This is a new community of people indwelt by the Spirit of God and made his by the Spirit’s work. It’s what Paul calls in Ephesians chapter two, a “new man” has been created.

And I think there’s a hint of this. If you want to look back at Acts chapter one, look at verse 15. There’s just a parenthetical statement here that hints of all of this. Acts 1, verse 15: “In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120).” Now why in the world did Luke think it’s important to throw in that parenthetical comment, “the number of persons was in all about 120”? Why specify that? What significance does it have? Well, as it happens, 120 was the requisite number in that Jewish world for any community to form, to be officially constituted as its own community with its own council, its own government—a new community. And I think Luke is signaling that for us here. This is a new community. Jesus Christ building his church in fulfillment of his promise. Here it has come.

If you want to glance at chapter two and verse two again, we have that strange, probably terrifying sound of rushing mighty wind. “Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” That’s almost certainly the sound of this rushing wind, almost certainly an echo of Genesis chapter one and verse two: “Spirit of God hovering on the face of the waters,” symbolic of the divine presence. That is to say, what God is doing now at Pentecost can be paralleled only in what God did at the original creation. This is a new creation coming, and today marks the day.

Now in all of this—this new age, this new era, this new covenant, this new covenant community being established—all of that in turn describes the church in a distinctive way. It describes the church as an outpost of the eschaton. Yeah, the consummation still has to come. We’re still waiting for the consummation of God’s kingdom. But that age has broken into this age. And the church is an outpost of that age still to come. This is the last days. This is the time of the Messiah. This is the age of the Spirit. This is the age of the new creation. This is a new era, a new community, a new kind of people. There’s been an in-breaking of the age to come, and that’s what the church is. There are all kinds of implications to that with regard to ecclesiology, the doctrine of the church. We have to look at another time. But here that’s set up for us, I think, at the day of Pentecost.

What It Means To Be Baptized With The Spirit

Now let’s probe just a little bit deeper. The significance of Pentecost is seen in the terminology that Jesus uses to describe it and that John the Baptist used. This is the day of spirit baptism. You remember John the Baptist said that: “He will baptize you with the spirit of God.” Jesus came in Acts chapter one and says, you wait here until that promise will be realized. He said, “You’ll be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Well, what does that mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? Obviously it’s a metaphorical term of some kind. What does it mean?

Now, to understand that, we have to look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12. So turn there, please, with me so you can see it. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 12 and 13. If we were gathered together right now, I would be watching to see if you are there yet. The pages are still turning. I’ll give you a second. Oh, Zoom is wonderful, isn’t it? All right, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we’re wanting to know here, what does it mean to be baptized with the Spirit? 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12 and 13:

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body (you remember Paul’s analogy of the church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12; he draws that out at length). All right, just as the body is one and has many members, the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For (here’s the explanation he gives, verse 13) for in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

Let’s read that again, verse 13: “In one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” All right, what’s the significance then of spirit baptism? Three things here that need to be noted. Number one—and follow these carefully, they’re very important to understand it.

Number one: spirit baptism is a work of Christ. Now we’ve already seen that in connection with Pentecost, but we have to see it here as well to emphasize it. Notice the passive voice here: “In one spirit, we were all baptized into one body.” That was the prophecy of John the Baptist, that Jesus would come and baptize. Notice this is not the Spirit doing the baptism. It is Christ doing the baptism. And he’s baptizing not with water, but he’s baptizing with the Spirit. That’s the metaphor. This is a work of the exalted Christ.

All right, number one, spirit baptism is a work of Christ. Number two: the purpose of spirit baptism, Paul says, is incorporation into the body of Christ. Now we’re going to develop this further in coming weeks, this doctrine of union with Christ that’s so essential to the whole idea of redemption applied. But here we have to see it, and it’s an essential part of what it means to be baptized with the Spirit. “So it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” What body? By one Spirit we’re baptized into the body of Christ. He’s speaking of our union with Christ. That’s a detail that John the Baptist did not specify, but he’s telling us here that the Holy Spirit is the bond of our union with Christ. By the Spirit’s presence, by Christ baptizing us with the Spirit, by the presence of the Spirit, we are joined to Christ. We’ll see more about that in a minute. But that’s the second thing we have to see about what spirit baptism is. The purpose of spirit baptism is to incorporate us into Christ, to bring us into union with him, to make us part of his body.

And then number three, we should see here, that spirit baptism is the shared experience of all believers. Verse 13 again: “all, we were all baptized by one spirit, with the spirit into the body of Christ.” Now note there that Paul’s description of spirit baptism is not a second work that comes to super saints later on if they’re good enough Christians. That’s more or less—a bit simplified, but more or less—the Pentecostal doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Spirit baptism is something you receive later on. “Have you received the baptism?” You’ll hear that in charismatic circles. And by that, they usually mean the gift of tongues. But notice here, spirit baptism is something that is common to every believer. And notice also in Paul’s definition in verse 13, spirit baptism has nothing to do whatever with ecstatic experiences. It has to do with incorporating us into the body of Christ and making us his.

So what is spirit baptism? This is what happened on the day of Pentecost. What is it? It is the work of Christ by which he unites us to himself through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Let me say it again: spirit baptism is the work of the Christ by which he unites us to himself through the agency of the Spirit. So Christ has been exalted to save. He’s been enthroned. He’s asked and received the Spirit from the Father. He then pours out his Spirit on his people. And by the Spirit, he has joined his people to himself in an indissoluble union. He makes them his. And now the salvation that he embodies is ours because we are joined to him by the Spirit. I will expand more on that in coming weeks. This is absolutely essential to understanding salvation.

A Functional Unity Of Christ And His Spirit

Let’s move on just a little bit. Once we say that, we’ve implied something further. And it’s something that’s just massively important. If by the Spirit we are united to Christ—if by the Spirit we’re united to Christ—well then Christ and the Spirit must be themselves intimately related in some way. You may have noticed that in the New Testament, or you may have even been confused by it at times in the New Testament. For example, in John 14, the upper room discourse, Jesus says to his apostles, “I will come to you.” He’s telling them he must leave. The next day, he’s going to be crucified. “I will come to you. I won’t leave you orphans. I will come to you. I will come.” And the very next breath, he explains that in terms of the coming of the Spirit whom he will send. “I will come.” And it is, in fact, the Spirit who comes.

Jesus reflects this in the Great Commission. You remember in Matthew 28, verse 20: “I, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Well, how is it that Christ is with us? He’s with us by means of the Spirit of God that he has sent to us. We find it again in Galatians chapter 2, verse 20, a famous verse: “The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith in Jesus Christ who loves me and Christ who lives within me.” By Christ who lives within me? Christ lives within me? How does he do that? He does that by the agency of the Spirit whom he has sent.

You see this often in the New Testament. Regeneration, for example, can be spoken of in terms of the sharing in the resurrection life of Christ or Christ living in us or Christ being formed in the heart. Or it can be spoken of in terms of the reviving work of the Holy Spirit. Raised with Christ or living in the Spirit. These terms tend to be interchangeable. The famous passage in this regard—I won’t take time to turn to it, but in Romans chapter eight, verses nine to 11—we have these several different phrases that are linked. We have expressions like “in the Spirit,” or “the Spirit of God in you,” or “having the Spirit of Christ,” and all of those equal belonging to Christ. And then we’ll have expressions like “Christ in you,” which is the same as the Spirit of God in you.

Now, they’re not two different things. We’re not saying that it’s one thing to have Christ dwelling within and it’s another thing to have the Spirit dwelling within. We’re saying that these two are the same and the two are linked in such a way that Christ now indwells by means of his Spirit. There’s a functional unity of Christ and his Spirit in the life of the Christian.

Now, all of that to say and to emphasize that Pentecost—the gift of the Spirit—is not an addendum, a bonus to the work of Christ. It is Christ himself come to his church by means of his Spirit. All the work of the Spirit of God in this age is and should be understood as the work of Christ, the continuing work of Christ for his people by means of his Spirit. The Spirit of God has not come on his own. He’s the vicar of Christ, the representative, the substitute, the personal agent of the exalted Lord Jesus. Of course, all of this has Trinitarian implications that we’ve talked about before.

Christ now then is giving his life to his people, giving them life, giving them faith, giving them assurance, empowering them—and that is the Spirit’s work in us. It is, in fact, the work of Christ in us by his Spirit. So spiritual life today, resurrection life today, and in the future is found and maintained only in union with the resurrected Christ who has given us his Spirit to make us his.

The Results Of Christ’s Work In Sending The Spirit

All right, now quickly, Acts chapter 2, the end of the chapter, we should return there and see the results of Christ’s work in sending the Spirit. Beginning with verse 37:

“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’ And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’

So those who received his word were baptized. And there were added that day about 3000 souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers. And awe came on every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as many as had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad, generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved.”

So here then is the result immediately of Christ’s sending of his Spirit. Men and women, convinced of their sin, turning to Christ in faith, lives dramatically transformed, sharing in that common faith, sharing in a common interest in Christ, learning and loving the word of the apostles, continuing in the apostles’ word and their teaching, investigating it, continuing in prayer with a mutual love for one another and a mutual concern for one another. That sounds a whole lot like heaven. And in fact, these are the very marks of the age to come. But already, wherever the gospel goes in the power of the Spirit, over and over again, this is what we see: the Spirit’s transforming work in the lives of people everywhere.

And in fact, it’s seen in the lives of the apostles themselves. These men who a few weeks earlier were dejected and confused and afraid and in hiding—and now look at them, bold as you can be. This is what Jesus promised. Acts chapter one, verse eight, we read it: “You’ll receive power after the Holy Spirit has come on you.” Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit, is a gift of empowerment for the service of the Lord Jesus. You remember we saw in Psalm 110 verse three: “Your people will be willing in the day of your power.” Here it is. The Spirit comes and men and women from all walks of life are emboldened into the service of Christ.

The book of Acts tracks this out in terms of the ministry of the apostles, but it also tracks it out in terms of the ministry of all the people there. We read expressions through the book of Acts like “they were filled with the Holy Spirit” or “full of the Holy Spirit.” After reading those expressions, we find they were bold, and they were bold in witness, and there was gospel advance even among persecution, and there was unity in the church and love for one another. The Spirit of God come to do his transforming work in his people.

All of that—the book of Acts is just the initial stages of this work of the Spirit in this new age. It was the first fruits of an evangelistic mission that will be global in scope. “You’ll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth.” Jesus says, go to all the nations and make them my disciples. And throughout the ages, throughout this age, countless men and women have been marvelously transformed by the Spirit of God, just as you have been. Brought to faith in Christ, countless men and women, amazingly empowered to be bold in witness for Christ—ordinary men and women becoming giants in terms of faithfulness and service for Christ, empowered by the Lord Jesus, by his Spirit. And they step up and do the work of the kingdom. And they speak with boldness and effectiveness, and they persevere even under persecution, all in eager anticipation of that great day when the full harvest will come and we will enjoy not just the first fruits, but the full fruits and the final fruits of the Spirit when the Lord Jesus returns.

This day of Pentecost, the gift of the Spirit, marks and defines the nature of this age when the Spirit has come to do the work of Christ in his people individually. And here you can see that we transition to redemption applied to individual men and women. All right, that’s all I have for today. Pastor Greg, would you like to make any comments or would there be any questions?