What happened at Pentecost, as recorded in the second chapter of Acts? Clearly it was a unique event, tongues of fire, rushing wind, the miraculous gift of languages. It was sudden, Luke says,[2] but what happened on that day did not come out of nowhere. When the crowd stood bewildered at the sound of the apostles declaring the mighty works of God in many languages, Peter corrected their misconceptions and pointed them back to the Scriptures, saying, “this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). What was witnessed in that moment was not merely a curiosity nor chaos, but a prophesied promise fulfilled.
Tag Archives: Pentecost
When He Ascended on High
Among the great events of redemption, the ascension of Jesus Christ is often overlooked. We rightly glory in the incarnation, marvel at the cross, and rejoice in the resurrection. But the ascension can seem merely transitional, like a quiet epilogue, as though Jesus simply went away. Yet the New Testament presents the ascension not as Christ’s disappearance but as his coronation. The ascension is the public enthronement of the crucified and risen Son of God. It is the declaration that Jesus Christ reigns.
Christ’s Conquest Confirmed and Announced
So consequential is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to the Christian faith that the Apostle Paul says that were it not true, then we have believed a lie, our faith is worthless, we should be pitied, and we remain condemned in our sins, eternally unforgiven.[2] If the gospel is good news, absent the resurrection, it’s the worst news ever. “But in fact,” Paul goes on to say, “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20), a witnessed fact in history and a glorious testimony to the power of God.
Who Are the Children of God?
On this Pentecost Sunday, a day on which we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit in fullness upon Christ’s church, I want us to consider within our passage today the indwelling characteristics of the Holy Spirit, and therefore the identifying characteristics, in every believer.
To that end, I want us to think on this simple question: Who are the children of God? Are they the natural descendants of Adam, as the universalists believe? In other words, is every human being a child of God? Or, are they the natural descendants of Abraham, as the Jews of Jesus’ day believed, or as dispensationalists believe today? In other words, is every one of Jewish ethnicity a child of God? Or, how do the writers of the New Testament use the term “child of God,” or do they make a distinction at all?
The Goal of Our Election
In conclusion, let us consider a few ways in which we witness the Holy Spirit’s work in our holiness. First, the Holy Spirit’s work in our holiness is witnessed in delivering us from the “desires of the flesh” (2:16). Since our flesh has been crucified, the Holy Spirit turns our desires from the things of the flesh to the things of the Spirit. This doesn’t mean that the desires of our sinful flesh are eliminated. Surely, the desires of the flesh lurk in the dark recesses of our sinful flesh, but the Spirit leads us away from those dark corners into the light. The Holy Spirit directs us to what we rightly “want to do” (5:17) in Christ. And when we do this we build holy habits, not by self-reliance but Spirit-dependence.
Then to the Gentile
We are not reconciled to a holy and just God by our ethnicity, family, or good works. But, by God’s grace we believe in the divinely-chosen Servant, the soul-pleasing Beloved, the multi-national justice Preacher, the unbroken bruised Reed, the quenchless smoldering Wick, the justice-delivering Victor, our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 