What Changed At Pentecost? (Part 2)

Last week we considered how the Holy Spirit’s work was similar both before and after Pentecost. We noted that the Spirit has always been the source of life for those who believe; has always engendered a love for the character of God, and thus for His Law; has always been constantly with those who believe; has always enabled obedience in those who believe; and has always enabled perseverance in those who believe.

But there are major difference in the Spirit’s work after Pentecost. We will list five, although we will consider the first two together.

1) There is a New Extent to the Spirit’s Work

2) There is a New Entrance into God’s Covenant People

Consider: Before Pentecost, what proportion of the Israelites had been made alive by the Holy Spirit? How many loved God’s law?

Praise God, some did. Those who did, did so by His grace. But the people as a whole were stubborn. Rebellious. Hardhearted. The people as a whole broke the Covenant – again and again. Only a remnant was faithful. Only a remnant had the Spirit.

Jesus then lives and fulfills God’s covenant perfectly – He is the only completely faithful Israelite. He is the remnant. He is faithful Israel.

Now, after Pentecost, others can become part of faithful Israel by identification with Him.

God cleanses them in Christ, as prophesied in Ezekiel 36:25. This cleansing is the new entrance into Israel, into God’s covenant people. You do not have to be born into the covenant to be in the covenant. United to Jesus by faith, you become part of the faithful remnant. Christ is the Israel of God, and since you are in Christ, you are in Israel.

Thus, after Pentecost the extent of God’s people cuts right across every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. As Joel prophesied and as Peter quotes in his Pentecost sermon, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32). Young, old, rich, poor, master, slave, Jew, Gentile, black, white, educated, uneducated – all who say, “By nature I am an object of God’s wrath. In failing to glorify God, I have violated the purpose of my creation. I deserve His punishment. But I believe that Jesus lived the perfect life, fulfilled the Covenant, and died on behalf of all who will trust in Him. I do trust Him. He is my Savior, my Lord, my treasure – Father God, will you shower me with your mercy? Will you give me your Spirit?”

All who turn to Him in that way are saved. That’s the new entrance into His covenant people. That’s the new extent of the Spirit’s work.

3) There is a New Power for Witness

At Pentecost, 3000 people come to faith. Nothing similar had ever occurred. Two thousand years later, what started as a believing community of a few dozen covers the globe. That is evidence of a new power.

Now, in the first sermon on Acts 2, I distinguished between the pouring out of the Spirit on all believers – that is, the baptism of the Spirit or the sealing of the Spirit – and the filling of the Spirit. Filling is a special anointing for a particular task. At Pentecost, the disciples are both baptized and filled.

It is good and right for us to pray for a special filling, a special anointing for witness. But we can have confidence that the Spirit is in every believer, always empowering us for witness. Because of the change in entrance into God’s people and the change in the extent of the Spirit’s work, we invite others into God’s covenant people differently than the Israelites. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, we are now entrusted with a message of reconciliation. We are God’s ambassadors – God makes His appeal through us: Be reconciled to God! Surely that happens only by His Spirit.

So, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us to raise the spiritually dead.

Think of the Great Commission in these terms:

Matthew 28:18-20 [Jesus says:] “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me  (There’s the power). Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, (There’s the new extent and the new entrance) baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus says, “I, the one with all authority, am with you always – so you have the power to disciple all nations – even those held captive by false religions for centuries and centuries. My Holy Spirit will enable you. I will open doors, break down barriers, and bring nations to Myself.” This is the new power for witness post-Pentecost.

I believe this is how we should understand John 7:38-39. Jesus says,

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Rivers of living water will flow out of the hearts of believers in new ways after Pentecost. He’s not saying no one previously had had the Spirit working in his life. Rather, Jesus here speaks of this new power for witness that will flow through believers. His followers will speak and live out these truths by the Spirit’s power in such a way that thousands and then millions will come to faith.

So there is a new extent, a new entrance, and a new power for witness. Those are all dramatic changes. The last two changes represent a difference in degree compared to what was true prior to Pentecost; the Spirit’s earlier work increases many-fold. Furthermore, these last two changes will be true to a greater or lesser extent in different individuals. Some Old Testament saints reflect these truths in powerful ways. But after Pentecost, many more live out these truths.

4) A Deeper Intimacy with the Spirit

We said that before Pentecost, the Spirit was with believers. But as described in Romans 8, this intimacy deepens considerably after Pentecost.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, (Romans 8:15-16)

These pictures of adoption, of being in God’s intimate family, are hinted at in the Old Testament, but become central to the teaching of the New. We can call the Holy God, the One in Whom is no darkness at all, our Daddy! For He loves His people with a tender love, an intimate love. He knows us and delights in us.

We can rejoice, post-Pentecost, in this deep intimacy.

5) Additional Power for Living

We noted that before Pentecost, the Spirit enabled obedience and perseverance in His remnant. But this is true to a much greater extent post-Pentecost.

Think of the disciples. They certainly believed in Jesus before Pentecost. But they give no evidence of power to live out His truths. Instead, they are fearful, hiding behind locked doors.

At Pentecost, all that changes. They are bold. Forceful. They no longer bicker over who is the greatest.

Jesus’ comments in John 14 and 16 help us to see that this difference is not accidental. The Spirit’s coming changes them from the inside. Jesus tells them:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16-18, emphasis added)

Do you see the distinction Jesus makes? Now the Spirit dwells with them. He had to do that, for they could not believe apart from His work. But there is a change coming. An order of magnitude difference. The Spirit will be in them in a new sense post-Pentecost. And we see that change in the book of Acts.

Jesus says something even more striking a short while later:

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. (John 16:7)

That is: “The Spirit won’t come and be in you until after I go away and send Him. His presence in you is more important than My presence beside you.”

These verses help us to see that the Spirit’s granting us power to live is heightened after Pentecost. No one could ever live a life pleasing to God apart from His power. But that power is more pervasive and more prevalent in this age. The disciples themselves show that clearly.

What, then, is the bottom line?

Consider, then, all these changes – all the privileges and power we have today. If believers during Old Testament times loved God so much, lived such faithful lives, and accomplished so much by His power – how much more should we!

He gives us power to become what we were created to be: Healed, accomplished, useful, complete; living in His love, witnessing to His grace. He enables us by His Spirit to be loving, to be generous, to be patient, to be kind. He gives us the responsibility to bring others into His family – and He gives us the power to fulfill that responsibility.

Do you believe Him? Do you trust Him? Have faith in Jesus – and His Spirit will live in you.

[This is an edited, shortened excerpt from the sermon ”What Changed at Pentecost?” preached 10/19/08. The audio is available here. Part 1, last week’s blog post, is here. The two previous sermons on Acts 2, “The Promise of the Father” and “The Crucified is Both Lord and Christ” are also relevant. John Piper’s sermon “How Believers Experienced the Spirit Before Pentecost” is another helpful resource on this topic.]

What Changed at Pentecost? Part 1

Acts 2 describes the events of the day of Pentecost. Before the day ended, God had saved 3,000 people. But if God saved 5,000 people tomorrow, Pentecost would still be a far more important day.

Why? Why should we consider Pentecost to be one of the most important days in the history of the world?

Most Christians would answer: Pentecost is important because on that day the Holy Spirit came. But we know the Holy Spirit was active prior to this day. So what changed? And why is this change so important?

Let’s look at this by, first, considering how the relationship of the Holy Spirit to believers is the same before and after Pentecost. Next week we’ll consider how that relationship changes on this momentous day.

How is the relationship of the Spirit to Believers Similar Before and After Pentecost?

Five ways:

1) The Spirit gives life to those who believe

This statement is true of all believers of all time

Consider Ephesians 2:1-5, one of the most important biblical passages describing salvation:

You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Paul makes clear that he is not speaking only about the readers of this letter, for he says we are by nature objects of God’s wrath. That is, God, as the moral authority of the universe, must mete out punishment in response to our sinful nature, not only our sinful deeds. And since this holds “for the rest of mankind,” this is true of all men everywhere at all times since the Fall. No one is able do anything on his own to change his being under God’s wrath.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. (Ephesians 2:4-5)

“But God!” Only He could change our condition. He makes us alive; He enables us to believe; He cuts through the blinding fog so that we might see Him.

There has never been anyone saved by any means other than by God’s grace through faith. This is true before Pentecost and after Pentecost: The Spirit gives life to those who believe.

2) The Spirit gives love for the character of God, and thus for His Law

The Law is a reflection of the character of God, helping us to know Who He is. So the one who loves God must love His Law.

This is one of the New Covenant promises in Jeremiah 31: That His people will have His Law written on their hearts. There will be an inner change, not only external obedience to rules.

But while Jeremiah 31 is not fulfilled until after Pentecost, there are those in the Old Testament who have a similar inner change – who have the Law on their hearts, who love God’s Law. Consider the following verses:

  • Isaiah 51:7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.
  • Psalm 119:97  Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
  • Psalm 119:18-19   Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!

Note that in Psalm 119:18-19, the psalmist acknowledges that this love for God’s Law is God-given.

So before and after Pentecost, God engenders love for His character, for His Law, in the hearts of people.

3) The Spirit is constantly with those who believe

This is clearly true after Pentecost, as it is another of the New Covenant promises contained in Ezekiel 36:27: “I will put my Spirit within you.”

But hear what David says:

Psalm 139:7-10  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

David is not only saying, “God is everywhere.” He is also saying, “No matter where I go – even if I am being rebellious, trying to flee from You – You are with me, leading me, holding me.”

So the Spirit’s presence with believers was real before and after Pentecost.

4) The Spirit enables obedience in those who believe

Again this is obviously true after Pentecost; it is the Spirit that bears the fruit of love, joy, and peace in believers (Galatians 5:22-23). And Ezekiel had prophesied that God would “cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27).

But before Pentecost, David says, ‘He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:8)

Or as the author of Psalm 119 writes:

Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies And not to dishonest gain. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways. (Psalm 119:35-37 NAS)

The Spirit enabled obedience in believers before and after Pentecost.

5) The Spirit enables perseverance in those who believe

Once again, this is clear after Pentecost; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 and many other passages teach this truth.

But consider the perseverance in faith of Old Testament characters. We have already seen from Ephesians 2 that faith is a gift of God. In Hebrews 11, the author lists many Old Testament characters who display extraordinary faith. After summarizing the difficulties they endured, he concludes:

Destitute, persecuted and mistreated– the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith (Hebrews 11:37b-39a)

This is extraordinary perseverance. And it is the result of Spirit-given faith.

The Spirit has always been at work. No one would ever believe, ever obey, ever persevere apart from the Spirit. As Jesus says in John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” He was speaking to his disciples, using present tense, before Pentecost. And His statement is therefore true of all men, of all times.

Next week: How then does the relationship of the Spirit to believers change after Pentecost?

[This is an edited, shortened excerpt from the sermon ”What Changed at Pentecost?” preached 10/19/08. The audio is available here. The two previous sermons on Acts 2, “The Promise of the Father” and “The Crucified is Both Lord and Christ” are also relevant. John Piper’s sermon “How Believers Experienced the Spirit Before Pentecost” is another helpful resource on this topic.]