Answers Bible Curriculum Year 3 Quarter 3 Lesson 8
This week in Sunday school, we look at the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. What did Jesus promise about the Spirit’s coming? What did the Spirit actually do when he came? And how does the Spirit work in believers today?
Our main text for this lesson is Acts 2:1-42.
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we’ve reached another turning point in our study through the Bible over the last two and a half quarters we have been studying a life and work of Jesus in the Gospels but now Jesus work has been finished his lived died risen again and ascended to the right hand of God in heaven Jesus has fully accomplished what the father sent him to do in his first Advent but what happened next did the disciples obey the charge given to them by Jesus and if they did how did they do it I mean we’ve seen these disciples they’re weak in faith slow to understand how could they actually do what Jesus commanded well we know they didn’t do it on their own strength they had help divine help someone came to help them to be a witness to the world and if you’re a Christian today you have that same helper whom are we talking about but God the Holy Spirit topic of our lesson today is the coming of God the Holy Spirit in our lesson today we want to investigate three main questions before is Ascension what did jesus promised his disciples about the Holy Spirit second what happened when the Holy Spirit came and third what does the Holy Spirit do for believers today as you know and Christian be today in America the Holy Spirit is usually misrepresented or underrepresented and the people ascribe things to the spirit which are not really from him or out of caution or neglect they don’t even talk about the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit is God one of the persons of the Trinity he’s not a force he is a person he asked personality I hope you all excuse the error I made in my email when I referred to the Holy Spirit as an it I tried not to do that but I did it was a mistake in English we normally refer to spirits as things but the Spirit is a person we want to know more about this person of the Godhead so we can understand the spirit better and also live more wisely and more empowered lives let’s pray before we continue and we look at this amazing happening of God Oh Lord my god I prayed that you’d help me to be able to explain this word by your spirits please work among your people now work in me and work in your people make us more like Jesus show us more of Jesus help us to understand the truth of your word in Jesus name Amen right please open your Bibles to John chapter 16 this is where we’re gonna start our investigation today looking at what Jesus told his disciples about the spirits coming you should know that you already know that the spirits coming it was not really a surprise the Old Testament foretold it will mention had a little bit later and Jesus did – and one of the places where that is quite explicit is John chapter 16 remember Jesus is having a conversation with his disciples at the Last Supper besides giving him the Lord’s table as a memorial of Jesus’s work he also has this extended conversation with the disciples in which he teaches them more he comforts them and he also tells them what is about to happen and some of his words involved the Holy Spirit look at John 16 verses 5 to 15 so that’s page the housing ad if you’re using the Pew Bible let’s read what Jesus says verse 5 but now I am going to him who sent me and none of you asks me where are you going but I tell you the truth it is to your advantage that I go away for if I do not go away the helper will not come to you but if I go I will send him to you and he when he comes will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin because they do not believe in me and concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer see me and concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged I have many more things to save you but you cannot bear them now but when he the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all the truth for he will not speak on his own initiative but whatever he hears he will speak and he will disclose to you what is to come he will glorify me for he will take of mine and will disclose it to you all thing all things that the father has are mine therefore I said that he takes of mine and will disclose it to you great we’re just gonna look at this section of the text starting and making observations Jesus says that he’s going to him who sent him who’s that the father Jesus is going to the father and this makes the disciples feel sorrowful and long without the other things that Jesus said about his own coming death and being separated from them but notice how Jesus seeks to comfort his disciples he tells them that it is actually to their advantage that you go away that would seem unthinkable to the disciples wouldn’t it I mean Jesus you have all authority you have the words of life you’re in the Messiah we’ve come to know that you are God why can’t you stay with us what what would be great about you leaving us wouldn’t we say the same if we were there with the disciples but Jesus says no you’ll actually gain something better by my leaving what will they gain Jesus says they will gain the helper he says if I don’t go the helper cannot come to you but if I go I will send him to you now who is the helper it’s somewhat implicit here that it’s the Holy Spirit but this is even clearer if we go back earlier in the conversation just flip a page or two back to John chapter 14 John 14 verses 16 to 17 Jesus says something else about this helper verse 16 at John 14 Jesus says I will ask the Father and He will give you another helper that he may be with you forever that is the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or Naaman but you know him because he abides with you and will be in you so this is pretty direct who’s the helper it’s the Spirit of Truth notice that Jesus says that he’s another helper so who’s the first helper it’s Jesus himself yeah and it couldn’t be anybody else the father sent Jesus has a helper and now another helper will come and that is the Holy Spirit notice of what else jesus says though the world cannot receive this helper since it does not see him or know him but he says the disciples know him and why is that because Jesus says he abides with you and because he will be in you know that’s poignant he currently abides with you but he will be in you notice also about 10 verses down in John 14 verses 25 to 26 Jesus says something else verse 25 these things I’ve spoken to you while abiding with you but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you so notice here the Spirit is called the helper again but note also what Jesus says the Spirit will do specifically when he comes he will teach the disciples all things and he will bring to their remembrance all that Jesus said so quite clear in this conversation in John that the helper is the Holy Spirit interesting that he is called the helper right he’s one who gives help or gives aid did you know that the Holy Spirit is the helper now this does not connote anything about inferiority on the part of the helper we already see that Jesus is a helper you always call it a helper in the Old Testament and that’s a good thing because who needs a lot of help we do man does we’re in desperate need of help but God’s God is our helper and God sends a helper this same word is also the one that appears in 1st John 2:1 when it says if any man sins we have a helper it’s not translated helper translate advocate or intercessor with the father same word and and advocates just another sense of being helper now back in John chapter 16 notice what Jesus says the helper will do when he comes it says in verse 8 he will convict the world of sin righteousness and judgment now these terms are explained in the words that follow verses 9 to 11 what is the sin that Jesus has in mind about which or of which the Spirit will convict the world not believing in the Sun now other sins really are are that at their core not believing in the Sun he says something about judgment on their ruler of this world who is the ruler of this world this is Satan in a sense God is the ruler at this world God’s the creator and ruler of all things but usually when the New Testament uses this raised ruler of this world it is referring to Satan and his Co rulers the demons he’s called Satan is called the Prince of the power of the air even the god of this world small G God has allowed him to rule this evil world system and this fallen world in a sense but Jesus or rather the Holy Spirit testifies that the world the ruler of this world has been judged Spirit testifies to judgment on Satan and really Satan’s brood all those that belong to him now notice the Jesus has more to say it and to teach his disciples but he says they’re not ready they cannot handle more truth so what does Jesus say that will happen the spirit will be the one to guide the disciples into all the truth notice also though Jesus says the Spirit will say nothing on his own initiative by the way where have we heard that kind of phrase before someone who does nothing on his own initiative Jesus himself did jesus said that in regard to the father in John 8:28 he says when you lift up the Son of man then you will know that I am he and I do nothing on my own initiative but I speak these things as the father taught me so you can see something here about the roles of the persons in our triune God they’re all equal in substance and glory that’s very evident when we look at the various scriptures related to them but they take on different roles the father gives to and charges the son the son gives to you and charges the spirit and the spirit gives to you and charges whom he gives to us and he lays charges on us father and the son finish to us via the spirit and minister to his people now so the Spirit will take what is Christ and give it to Christ’s disciples and note that this includes Jesus says telling the disciples what is to come and also glorifying the son spirit is chiefly concerned with the glory of the son now here in this passage Jesus doesn’t tell specifically the disciples when this spirit will come only that it will be after Jesus goes away but he gave a more specific word in the beginning of the book of Acts so switch over to acts now Acts chapter 1 I think this is our first time in the book this is where we’re gonna be for some time now in the coming lessons Acts chapter 1 verses 4 to 8 we get some final words from Jesus you remember axes Luke’s account written to Theophilus a Gentile Christian dignitary and he’s recounting in the beginning of Acts the resurrection of Jesus Jesus commissioned to his disciples and Jesus ascension notice the words of Jesus’s Commission recorded by Luke starting in verse 4 acts 1:4 gathering them together he commanded him not to leave jerusalem but to wait for what the father had promised which he said you heard from me you heard it 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 were asking him saying Lord is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel he said to them it is not for you to know times or epochs which the father has fixed by his own authority but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth notice a few things from these verses notice Jesus specific command to his disciples stay in Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit and how long will the disciples have to wait Jesus says it’s not many days from now Jesus describes their coming of the Holy Spirit like a baptism he says it’s similar to John’s baptism John baptized in water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and what would the disciples receive with the spirit power power for what well the context is the task Jesus has given it now what is that task to be Jesus’s witness everywhere in the world they will be empowered for that task now imagine you heard these words yourself as one of those disciples there at Jesus’s ascension talk about anticipation something new and amazing is about to happen and it’s about to happen to you by God so we can summarize the promises Jesus gave his disciples about the Holy Spirit it promised that the Spirit would come after his death resurrection and ascension it promised that it would come upon them in an immersive way an intimate way he promised the Spirit would teach them all his truth promised the Spirit would cause them to remember his truth and promise the Spirit would empower him empower them to declare his truth now were jesus promises fulfilled they were and you don’t have to wait very long in Acts to see their fulfillment let’s now look the actual coming of the Holy Spirit in chapter 2 we’re gonna read verses 1 to 24 the section continues after that we’ll summarize some of the things later in the chapter but we’re just gonna read verses 1 to 24 this is our main passage for today the coming of the Holy Spirit look at verse 1 when the day of pentecost had come they were all together in one place and suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting and there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves and they arrested on each one of them and they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit was giving them utterance now there were jews living in jerusalem devout men from every nation under heaven and when this sound occurred the crowd came together and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language they were amazed and astonished saying why are not all these who are speaking Galileans and how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born parth ian’s and Medes and Elamites and residents Mesopotamia Judea and Cappadocia Pontus and Asia Phrygia and Pamphylia Egypt and the districts of districts of Libya around Chiron a-and visitors from Rome both Jews and proselytes Cretans and Arabs we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God and they all continued in amazement and great perplexity saying to one another what does this mean but others were mocking and saying they are full of sweet wine but Peter taking a stand with the eleven raised his voice and declared to them men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem let this be known to you and give heed to my words for these men are not drunk as you suppose for it is only the third hour of the day but this is what was spoken of through the Prophet Joel and it shall be in the last days God says I will pour forth of my spirit on all mankind and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams even on my bondslaves both men and women I will in those days pour forth of my spirit and they shall prophesy and that will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below blood and fire and vapor of smoke the Sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come and it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved men of Israel listen to these words jesus the nazarene a man attested to you by god with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst just as you yourselves know this man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death but God raised him up again putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for him to be held in its pallor now we have to stop there just for the sake of no trying to bite off too much but I feel a little bit bad about that because the sermon continues and we’re just writing in the middle of it still let’s stop for observations and see what we notice first of all when is this happening says in verse 1 this is the day of Pentecost what’s Pentecost did anybody explain that yeah Roy yeah thanks for week yeah Oh we’ll say more about that when we get to the interpretation step but this is the feast of weeks this is one of the three ordained feasts that God gave to Israel through Moses this feast oh I I should say so being one of those three special feasts all Jewish males were to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast and to worship God and many of them were taking their families but if they lived a long distance and weren’t able to take their families that would be just the males who go now why is it called Pentecost here and not the feast of weeks oh I should mention an alternate name for the feast of weeks is the feast of firstfruits this is a particular feast that that would take place at the beginning of harvest and you would take some of the first things you harvested and offer them as sacrifice to God and give thanks to them to God really mentioned that it was also a time for celebrating the law given to Moses that’s a tradition that developed among the Jews it wasn’t actually something from that wasn’t a parameter from Moses but that became a tradition also at this time now this took place 50 days after Passover that’s something that Deuteronomy tells us he says once you have Passover count certain number of days and then you’re gonna have this other feast and that’s where we get the name Pentecost that’s just Greek for 50th and to cost us so we can see how the timing of the events maybe even just looked at sit together Jesus died at Passover he spent a full day in the tomb and then he was on the earth forty days after he rose so this event Pentecost would be about nine days after Jesus’s ascension indeed not many days just as Jesus said and as Roy mentioned Pentecost explains why so many Jews from all over the world are in Jerusalem they are there celebrating one of the God ordained feast the feast of weeks or firstfruits now bris one mentions day verse one who is the day well pronouns almost always refer to someone who was just mentioned or a group that was mentioned earlier and so if we go back into chapter 1 and there are two groups that we could look at there’s that 12 apostles but then there’s a larger group of disciples in chapter 1 verse 15 we hear of a hundred and twenty disciples of Jesus both men and women gathering together in one place to replace Judas with God’s new chosen apostle Matthias and they do that by proposing two different names and then casting Lots that see who the Lord chose so which one of these groups well verse 1 of chapter 2 says they were all gathered together that’s reminiscent of that same language from chapter 1 verse 15 this is likely not just the 12 apostles but actually the whole group of believers 120 there with the apostles that’s men and women young and old the disciples are included there so these events that take place in chapter 2 it involves this entire group these would be the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem by the way when the Spirit later falls on the Gentiles in the book of Acts it does so in a similar way to how it is presented here it doesn’t fall on the leaders it falls on everyone who’s present all those who believe in Jesus so I think we’re talking about the day in Chapter 1 or chapter 2 verse 1 is actually the 120 disciples now for them to all be gathered in one place which is where the passage says they are there sitting in a house it must be a somewhat big house as it’s pretty difficult to get 120 people into a small room but they’re all together in one place though maybe not everybody’s in the same room they are in the same house but then notice the dramatic coming of the Holy Spirit there’s this very arresting sight and sound first there’s a sound sound like a rushing wind that filled the whole house now doesn’t say it was a wind it was a sound like the wind now you know what the howling of the wind sounds like when it’s extremely windy outside you just hear that incredible rush that rush of air even when it’s really loud it can sound like a train such was the sound of the Spirit as it came into the house and this great sound verse 6 tells us got the attention of the crowd so it was quite loud but there’s also a sight tongues of fire or what appeared to be tongues of fire they weren’t actually fire but something like that appeared above each of the disciples all 120 of them now text doesn’t mention that the crowd saw these these tongues of fire these things like tongues of fire it’s possible it was a sight only for the believers in the house but they occurred they this sight these tongues of fire were distributed to each person and it remained above their heads and then what did the disciples begin to do they began to speak in other tongues now the word translated tongues here means just that it can refer to the organ inside your mouth that helps you speak or it can refer to a language the language that your mouth speaks now we still have that idiom in English it’s kind of outdated now so you don’t hear too often but someone might say he spoke in a foreign tongue so I did not understand him it’s not saying that the tongue in his mouth was foreign he’s saying the language was foreign I didn’t understand his language so the disciples when they speak in tongues what he’s saying is that they spoke in other languages now can you imagine 120 people after the sound of rushing wind they come pouring out of this house and they’re all speaking in various languages to the assembled crowd people who are witnessing this notice something big something strange something awesome has just happened and notice that languages that they speak are known languages because they’re understood by those who witness them verse 8 says the people were marveling because they recognized the people who are speaking these languages were galilaeans now many of Jesus’s followers were indeed from Galilee that was where he made his base of operations that’s where he did much of his ministry what’s the stereotype about galleons yeah uneducated its kind of the way that this is not appropriate but northerners in the United States might characterize southerners and they have that Southern drawl they say y’all we say oh you know they’re not as well educated that’s not actually true but that’s the way that people treated the people from galilee at that time they had this regional accent sounded unsophisticated to other people so they figure Galileans were uneducated so these people are marveling the crowd is marveling that these people are they seem to be Galileans but they’re able to speak all these different languages and of so many different regions in and around the Middle East we won’t talk about each one of those locations but just know that’s all around the Middle East and even into the western part of the Mediterranean or central Mediterranean not every one of these places by the way necessarily spoke a different language there perhaps different dialects and everyone is hearing them in their own languages the ones in which they were born how is this possible from galilaeans and what was it that the disciples were declaring in these languages verse 11 says they were speaking of the mighty deeds of God and the crowd Marvel’s been on everyone in the crowd there’s some who say these people are full of sweet wine that is they’re drunk and notice who gets up to speak to the crowd it’s Peter with the eleven other apostles standing next to him what does Peter say he first deals with the ridiculous assertion of drunkenness he says basically guys it doesn’t make sense it’s only the third hour of the day in other words it’s 9:00 a.m. it’s way too early for people to be getting drunk by the way when he says these men come on Peter first of these men that doesn’t actually exclude women from the number the word in Greek is actually just a pronoun that means these but it is masculine and you can’t have masculine and feminine in the same pronoun so even though he uses the masculine both masculine and feminine are covered in the concept so he’s not saying just a particular group of men was speaking but actually all of them all the people who were speaking says they can’t be drunk but then besides saying that’s ridiculous he points out this is actually in in keeping with what Joel said in his prophecy he quotes a lengthy section of the book of Joel Joel chapter 2 verses 28 to 32 now you should know something about this prophecy from Joel know something about the context in Joel when he says these things right before in the context is what God is going to one day do for Israel when the verses that precede the ones quoted by Peter here in his sermon Joel declares that God promises that Israel will one day repent and seek God God also promises to deliver Israel from invading enemies God promises abundant material prosperity for Israel and then we get the verses that Peter quotes Joel prophesized that God’s Spirit would be poured out on all mankind all kinds of people will be receiving and declaring the Word of God and it’s exactly what Jesus disciples were demonstrating men and women young and old all declaring the truth of God there is something else that joel mentions though and that’s included in what Peter quotes something about the day of the Lord now that term especially the latter prophets is very loaded with meaning the day of the Lord is the culmination of history it’s a day of final judgment and final rescue and you can see even the way the day of the Lord is described and what Peter quotes this is a time where even the Sun and the moon are gonna be affected there’s blood and all kinds of signs on earth it’s the time of judgment he says these things are coming to pass – and as Joel says Peter says therefore God says all those who repents all those who call in the name of the Lord they will be saved they will be delivered from the judgment so these are very poignant words from Peter but doesn’t just address the name the nature of the miracle and it’s not drunkenness this is the spirit at work but he also takes the opportunity to address the crowds greatest need he speaks to them about Jesus and this is not a very seeker sensitive message it tells the crowd or rather he reminds them that Jesus did many miracles that prove Jesus was from God and then he bluntly tells them they themselves the Jews they and their leaders nailed Jesus to a cross and killed him but he clarified that so this was always part of God’s plan and God raised Jesus from the dead it was impossible for him to stay in the grave and then in the section we didn’t read Peter goes on to show that all this was really foretold in the Old Testament not only the death and resurrection but this one whom they crucified is Messiah and God I looked down to verse 36 in chapter two kind of like a concluding point in his sermon or the conclusion of the introduction is sermon rather verse 36 Peter says therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified Wow how’s the crowd react to that oh look at the next two verses 37 to 38 now when they heard this they were pierced to the heart instead to Peter and arrest the Apostles brethren what shall we do Peter said to them repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so we can see that people were convicted of sin righteousness and judgment one thing and many of them do exactly what Peter tells them to do they repent verse 41 says that 3,000 that day received the word were baptized and added to their number what number really the number of the church what we’re seeing here is the church being established at Pentecost now what is the church it’s not a building the New Testament word for it is assembly yeah that’s what it literally means assembly ex-ac it just means assembly these people were being added to the Assembly of Jesus disciples of true believers all right so we’ve made our observations on the passage let’s talk through some interpretation questions now all right first one’s kind of basic here did Jesus promises about the Holy Spirit come to pass they did consider the pronounced difference in the disciples before and after Pentecost Peter especially last time Peter had a chance to publicly witness faith in Christ what did he do he denied him three times go down curses on himself it went out and wept bitterly that’s not a very great disciple of Jesus but now he who once denied Christ speaks boldly for Christ and on behalf of all the disciples his message is bold it’s accurate it shows a deep understanding of the Old Testament in Christ’s ministry this is so different remember how many times in Jesus’s ministry he had to say to his disciples do you still not understand don’t you get it yet or are your hearts hard but here Peter understands and he’s able to declare God’s truth and com4 way to the crowd this is the power of God’s Holy Spirit on a Christian now let’s get to a question that Roy was actually alluding to before why is Pentecost a very appropriate day for the Holy Spirit to come it’s the beginning of the harvest indeed this is the feast of first fruits now there’s a practical aspect of this row I mentioned this what a great time for the spirit to come because there are a ton of people in Jerusalem there’s a ton of people for the apostles to be witnesses to and this miracle that involves speaking in languages speaking in various tongues and that would be a lot less dramatic if you didn’t have a lot of people from all different places Feast of Pentecost makes this miracle stand out and its awesomeness but in a theological sense Pentecost is extremely appropriate because it is in the feast of firstfruits we see the firstfruits of a worldwide gospel harvest it’s very appropriate that the spirit would come at this time there are other ways that we can see firstfruits here the the spirit itself the Spirit Himself is a kind of firstfruits of what is to come for the believer the disciples themselves are firstfruits ROI are you going to say something hmm yeah that’s yeah it’s interesting point Roy we mentioned that you’re you mentioned and we mentioned that the tradition of they were celebrating the giving of the law to Moses and it does it in a in a sense parallel or correspond to the coming of the spirit which was really the the fulfillment acknowledging the fulfillment of the law as you said that people are not going to be living under the law if they were true followers of God they’re not going to be living under the law anymore because it was fulfilled you can also make a parallel between this this supernatural gift to Moses in the law and now the supernatural gift of the Spirit it actually enables one to obey the law so there are a number of parallels Pentecost and God’s wisdom was the perfect day for the Spirit to come and we could see the significance of that and its various ways now technical question about that how these speaking in tongues works that the disciples speak in one language that was automatically translated into other languages or did they take turns speaking in various languages or do they they separate and speak to various peoples in in in different languages all at the same time how did this work well the text is not very explicit about how it worked exactly but I think the best understanding is this was not one language being understood by various speakers this was actually many languages being spoken either in turn or two different groups each each of the disciples spoke in one unique language at a time I say this is the best understanding because when we get to the book of Corinthians and Paul regulates the use of tongues in the church the church at Corinth he warns that tongues should not be used without an interpreter of the tongue an interpreter of that language which means that the words are not automatically understood by everyone or by every every listener it has to be someone who actually understands that language who can interpret it for the rest of the congregation so there having only people speak of one known language whenever they speak in this miraculous way at a time and then by the way and this probably doesn’t even need to be said but what we see in acts about this gift of languages does not does not correspond with what passes for speaking in tongues today it’s different this is speaking in known languages meant language that can be understood by men anyway so it was one language at a time now here’s the bigger question was Peter saying that Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost or if not is Peter taking the scripture out of context at first we might want to say that Peter is declaring the prophecy of Joel has been fulfilled but what’s the problem with saying context of that prophecy whole bunch of things that were supposed to have happened to Israel which have not happened Joel said the spirit out point would come after Israel repented and was delivered from its enemies this has not happened in fact this message itself is a call for Israel to repent and obviously the day of the Lord’s judgment has not yet come there’s nothing that happens to the Sun and Moon so how could maybe Joel’s prophecy is not being fulfilled but the prophecy says something about the spirit and the Spirit is clearly going for that Pentecost so what do we do with this do we need to reinterpret the meaning of Joel’s prophecy in a way that’s different than the context of Joel would lead us to understand now some interpreters would go this way it would say you’ve got to let the New Testament reinterpret or show you what the meaning the Old Testament is even if it contradicts or nullify the original sense but there’s a better way there’s a better answer to this question that doesn’t violate normal hermeneutics and open the door to eisegesis what is the better way to explain the apparent fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy here on the day of Pentecost hmm okay I think you said something very viable Paul a lot of times you hear teachers interpreters talk about a prophecies immediate fulfillment and future fulfillment or near fulfillment or far fulfillment that can be a little bit misleading because some prophecies that are the things that the near factor of the prophecy is not really fulfillment of that prophecy but there is a sense that there’s a there’s a near value to a prophecy and then there’s a far value what I would say is that what we see here is a preview of the ultimate fulfillment after all this is the feast of firstfruits is it not Peter’s not saying that everything that Joel declared was now fulfilled but he is saying that well what Joel wrote is beginning to be fulfilled or is being fulfilled in a preview sense because the disciples themselves are the firstfruits of what will one day be true of the whole nation he says remember this prophecy that Joel said about how all the nation and even all peoples on everything and be filled with the spirit look it’s beginning to happen if you want to experience this Israel then what must you do you must repent and the judgment is gonna come it’s still gonna comment if you want to be spared from that judgment you’ve got to repent such a view I think I see your hand Roy well I’ll get you just a second such a view this idea of being a preview or the beginning of an ultimate of sumit this is the same sense we see actually in a number of prophecies in the Old Testament I think it’s that it’s the best way to understand that for consider one that we all know Jeremiah 31 the prophecy of a new covenant is that fulfilled in the church we would want to say yes obviously Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant he said at the Last Supper this is the new covenant in my blood we’re part of new covenant aren’t we that prophecy is fulfilled well remember Jeremiah 31 says explicitly that the New Covenant will be made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah you remember we looked at this together in Sunday school Jeremiah prophesied that one day the law of God will be reign on all the hearts of the Jews so that no one would need to teach his neighbor any more about God they will all know God as that happened no clearly not but it has begun to happen there are first fruits of that New Covenant promise being fulfilled a remnant has been saved and had the law written on their hearts from Israel but the full harvest has not yet come and it won’t come until all the elect Gentiles have also been gathered in this is why Paul explains what he does in Romans 11 and around that section that’s why Paul says all Israel will be saved so what Paul’s saying or not Paul Peters saying here about the prophecy from Joel being evidenced or being fulfilled it’s not that everything that Joel said wasn’t still but it is a the firstfruits of the ultimate of filming of the prophecy okay Roy what were you gonna say hmm yeah you sent a number valuable things really though you also bring to my mind how I’m the phrase that we have seen the Old Testament will say in the last days or there’ll be a phrase that talks about things that are gonna be towards the end that is a broad term and when the Prophet to use that they can refer to things that are happening right at the very end of history and things that are leading up to that so there’s a lot of discussion in the New Testament about how believers live in the last days and yet the last days that we live in are not quite as late as the last days of some of the other things they’re gonna take place like these these incredible judgments but this is the beginning of the last days and the beginning of many of the film fulfillments just as you were saying ROI of prophecies a blessing from God and also prophecies of judgment alright let me get to some other big questions so we have time for each one of them though we cannot answer either these next two questions in a full way I just want to broach them how different is the spirits ministry in the New Testament compared to the spirits ministry in the Old Testament that’s a big and difficult question I’m only gonna say a few things in answer to it but it is one that even how many teachers and theologians are gonna have slightly different perspectives on difficult question to answer but let’s just say some things at a basic level there is both continuity and discontinuity in the spirits ministry between the Testaments in the Old Testament for example we see the Holy Spirit affecting individuals in three main ways that is they receive and understand God’s revelation and wisdom they speak God’s revelation to others and they are empowered and emboldened to do God’s will it’s usually what we see and we see the same things in the New Testament the receiving of God’s wisdom and revelation speaking it to others and being empowered and emboldened to do God’s will that’s really what we’re even seeing from the Apostles and Peter at Pentecost moreover though not stated explicitly in the Old Testament New Testament teaching about salvation shows us that the Spirit was functioning in a similar way or even the same way when it came to producing salvation person in the Old Testament spirit regenerated someone the spirit was working to sanctify a person in the Old Testament this corresponds with what Jesus says the Spirit is with you but there are also clear differences between the ministries of this the Ministry of the Spirit between the two Testaments and Jesus says he is with you but he will be in you there is a difference moreover those in the Old Testament who were said to be empowered or those who were clearly empowered by the Old Testament they were few in number never was poured out in a great way and even when the Spirit came upon a person or group of people it was very often temporary there was not a permanent thing did not permanently end well and even though the Spirit would work in and through people the Spirit would always said they come upon a person never to actually remain in them or indwell them so the ministry the Holy Spirit the New Testament is actually not totally new but there are striking differences and great enough differences that Jesus said his disciples having the spirit after my ascension is better than having me stay bodily on the earth so there is consistency but there’s also a great difference and even great the difference is wonderful for those who exist after the spirits coming but what does it mean for us today this is the final interpretation question I want to consider how different is the spirits ministry at Pentecost from the Ministry of the Spirit now again big question only answer in a very basic way few things to say oh but I do have some verses for you to look up as as a homework for you verses that talk about the spirits ministry today and you can study these on your home we know that God’s I’ll show you the verses in just a second we know that God’s powerful spirit was not only confined to the Apostles we have all 120 disciples being used powerfully by the Spirit at this time and even in this sermon Peter promises the crowd that if they repent the people will receive the Holy Spirit as well this was not some gift for the super spiritual or for the leaders it’s for all Christians but on every Christian is given the same manifestation of power as the apostles were we will see as we go to the book of Acts the Apostles were empowered to do miracles to speak prophecy and even write God’s inspired inerrant perfect Scripture these are not abilities given to every Christian and the New Testament in church history both indicate that the miraculous sign gifts that the Spirit gave to the church in its infancy they passed away after accomplishing their purposes nevertheless you if you’re a Christian we as Christians have received the same powerful spirit to permanently into Ellis and that spirit functions in a similar way as it did even at Pentecost as in the Old Testament today the Holy Spirit empowers us to understand God’s wisdom and revelation in the scriptures to speak God’s revelation to others and it empowers us to bold and righteous action we can even be more specific based on what the New Testament says you’re a bunch of verses these come from the workbook and you can study these on your own I would encourage you to do so they’re in the workbook if you if you have the workbook but if you don’t you can copy them down here are some of the things that the New Testament specifically says that the Spirit is still doing today spirit still gives people new birth in Christ and it changes a dead center into a child of God at conversion the Spirit baptized as a person once and for all into Christ into and into all of Christ’s blessings there’s no need for a second baptism of the Spirit that’s an unbiblical teaching you were baptized into the spirit at conversion since Pentecost that is the experience of all believers the Spirit continues to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment the Spirit serves as a seal and a guarantee of the Christians eternal inheritance the Spirit produces fruits of righteousness in the Christians heart and life through to the spirit the Spirit causes one to obey Christ causes a Christian to experience fellowship with God the spirit brings a bond of fellowship to believers a bond that is greater than any produced by worldly means unity through the spirit and the spirit empowers men and women young and old for the use of spiritual gifts for the edification of the church and these are for everyone these things I’ve just mentioned they are for all believers doesn’t matter who they are what their life station is how old they are but these blessings come with sober responsibilities indeed the Spirit comes upon every believer but the believer is then charged not to grieve the Holy Spirit not to grieve the Holy Spirit with sin believers are exhorted to walk in the spirit via obedience to God and believers are warned not to desecrate the temple of the Holy Spirit which is our bodies and how does one desecrate the temple the Holy Spirit not with fast food not with even tattoos or cigarettes but with sin that’s how you defile the temple the Holy Spirit that’s what 1st Corinthians 6 points against not just individually but the church as well both are referred to as the temple of the Holy Spirit we are actually stones in God’s living temple so again your homework if you choose to accept it is to go through these passages know what they say about the work of the Spirit in the believers life and in the world because this is true of you if you’re believer now as we wind down here if you’re a Christian consider how blessed you are to have received God’s Holy Spirit since the garden man has been desperate to find a way to be reconciled to God to dwell in God’s presence again Israel sought this blessing seemed to receive this blessing but could not have God remain in their midst because of sin but because of Christ and his work God has removed all barriers between his people and himself their sin has been paid for therefore God’s Spirit just dwell near his people but actually in his people if Jesus were on earth it’d be wonderful but because he has a human body he could not be everywhere at once we couldn’t be with all of us but now that we have the spirit just as Jesus said Christ is always with us each one of us no matter where we are whether in California whether New Jersey whether anywhere on earth whether or even in space wherever you go if you’re in Christ the Spirit is with you it is indeed Emmanuel God with us he will never leave us not to the end of the age not even to the end of the age and what a privilege what a gracious God how wonderful it will be has Joel prophesied and as others prophesied when Christ’s kingdom comes and all Israel is baptized into God’s Spirit and they and all the nations the remnant of the nations that are still around they in all the nations of the world that will one day come God’s Spirit we poured out on every nation and on all the Jews we are the firstfruits of that and we want to see more of that I want to see more of a harvest for God but it will come in an even greater way I praise the Lord but our responsibility is clear we are to cooperate with the Spirit we are to walk in the spirit we are to obey the spear we got to let God’s Spirit work powerfully in US and through us so a few questions to think about as we end considering application number one do you have the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit is a wonderful blessing but he only belongs to true believers do you have the Holy Spirit if you will turn from idols from self and self-righteousness you too will receive the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sins through Christ if you do have the Holy Spirit do you walk in the spirit and in his power well because of sin idolatry lack of faith do you quench and grieve the spirit we have not received the spirit of sin weakness or timidity but of power look how powerful it worked in these first believers and we say well you know Peter he’s a he’s an apostle but he wasn’t just the only one being empowered by the Spirit and he’s just a man it wasn’t him it was the spirit and you have the same spirit power the Holy Spirit is not just for your pasture for those super Christians it’s for you you had that same spirit of holiness in power so are you taking advantage of him you are responsible to cooperate with the spirit so brothers and sisters at Calvary are you doing it then finally do you thank and praise God for the Holy Spirit many faithful believers in the throughout the millennia have not received what you have received God gave them their own perfect provision in that time but you have something even better does your heart overflow with gratefulness to God for his spirit for the gift of his spirit or do you take the spirit for granted do you take all of God’s salvation for granted being where such an attitude if you find yourself thinking that ask yourself where your you’ve really come to have salvation because the grandeur the salvation realities should affect us in a big way in fundamental ways the nothing is we can take for granted now this lessons day may have generated a lot of questions I can’t talk everything that there is to say about the spirit in one lesson but wanted to at least broach the things in a basic level do you have other questions please email me of course you can always ask pastor one of the other elders as well so the church is officially established at Pentecost and we’re gonna see a lot more about the church as we move through Acts everything is just amazing look at the great power and manifestation of the Spirit and God is glorifying himself and he will continue to do that as we move through Acts but sometimes in an unexpected way next time I’m going to talk about the persecution of the Apostles it’s actually how God’s gonna glorify himself in another way in the church that’s it for this week let’s pray as we close our God our great God Yahweh thank you for the Holy Spirit thank you God for dwelling in us O God we know that we have along with this great gifts and blessing we have a responsibility we cannot live in sin we cannot live nonchalantly we cannot live in an idolatrous way and claim to have the Spirit Lord your spirit is grieved by such things we will not enjoy fellowship with you may not even have you if we live in such a way it’s gone I pray that the people at Calvary would be walking in the spirit being obedient being sensitive to the spirit to obey all that your word declares cooperate with the spirit as they subject themselves to your word confident God that you will help them to understand it we thank you for those those great blessings those undeserved grace is God preacher bless calibrating the rest of their time of worship and teaching today in Jesus name Amen all right you’re welcome see you next week