17th May 2024
Lessons from Pentecost
‘…when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth…’
John 16:13 (NIVUK)
The Christian church continues to commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, but what are some of the truths he guides us into? Let me suggest that the events on Pentecost, described in Acts 2, provide us with some clear pointers.
The necessity of the Holy Spirit: We cannot preach the gospel without the Holy Spirit living in us, empowering us for the work of witness and mission. Jesus told his disciples to preach to all nations, but first, they had to wait in Jerusalem until the Day of Pentecost when they would be ‘…clothed with power from on high’ (Luke 24:49). The church needs power, it needs enthusiasm (literally, God in us) for the work set before it.
The diversity of the church: God’s activity is no longer focused on one ethnic group, rather the gospel is to go into all nations and is to be preached to all people. Jesus, as the second Adam, is for all humanity. The diverse languages of Pentecost (Acts 2:6-11) are a miraculous picture of the worldwide scope of the work.
We live in a new age, a new era: Peter called it the last days (v.17) but we might also call it the age of grace and truth, or the church age, or the age of the Holy Spirit and the new covenant. The new creation and the reign (kingdom) of God have been inaugurated and are to be lived out in the power of the Spirit. We share in the life of the Triune God because the Holy Spirit lives within us.
The church’s message is to focus on Jesus Christ – crucified, risen, and ascended, bringing salvation and forgiveness: Peter’s message on Pentecost highlighted all these aspects of the gospel: the crucifixion (v.23), the resurrection (vv.24-32), the ascension (vv. 33-36), and forgiveness (v.38). The sermons that follow Pentecost, recorded in the book of Acts rehearse these basic truths again and again, and the letters of Paul give further explanation of the theological significance of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit unites all believers into one body, and the church grows through preaching about Jesus Christ: As Jesus was preached on Pentecost, around 3,000 people came to faith (v. 41). The church that was birthed on that day was characterised not only by the gospel mission, but also by discipleship, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer (vv. 42-47). We are not saved by doing these things, rather, the Spirit leads us into such expressions of our new life in Christ. We live and work by the power of the Holy Spirit: it is God within us who brings the joy of salvation, perseverance in the face of persecution, and the love that transcends cultural differences within the church.
The tower of Babel resulted in a confused individualism, but Pentecost reveals the church as the community of the Spirit implying a re-connectedness. The apostle Paul’s metaphor of the church is a body having many parts, each is different but needs the others (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). And all this is achieved through love (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13), which is poured into us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
Prayer
Loving Father, may the Holy Spirit, fill our lives, and set our hearts on fire with the warmth of your love. Inspire us to new beginnings. Help us as part of your universal church to reach out to others with the good news of Christ, and to bring hope to those in distress. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Barry Robinson
About the writer:
Barry Robinson is a minister in Grace Communion International and Regional Pastor for Southern England, the Midlands, and Wales
Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church