What Is Pentecost?
By Paul E. Lowenberg
No treatise of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is complete unless the origins of this New Testament phenomenon are thoroughly studied. The Holy Spirit is more than just the Third Person of the Trinity. His unique place in the growth and development of the Church goes beyond the doctrinal relationship that is in the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is sent from the Father; He is obtained from the Father by the Son; He is poured out by the Son (Acts 2:33).
The Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters moved with such power and conviction at Pentecost that men were pricked in their hearts and cried out in inquiry, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Men and women were filled with this Spirit (Acts 2:4). He was to abide with the believer forever; He was to be the Comforter (John 14:16,17), the Teacher, the faithful Guide. He is the glorifier of Jesus (John 16:14) and the reprover of men (John 16:8). He was to empower men to be witnesses (martyrs) (Acts 1:8). Believers were to be sanctified by the Spirit (1 Peter 1:2). The Word of God was to be given through holy men as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). And the Spirit was to affirm our relationship to God as His children (Romans 8:16).
Considering the tremendous and far-reaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, it is not difficult to understand Jesus’ statement, “It is expedient [to your advantage] . . . that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7). As long as Jesus was with them, the Holy Spirit was not in them. Until that time came, they had been little more than spectators; but they were to become participators. They had been observers, but they would become leaders and witnesses. They had accompanied Him; they then would go for Him. They had heard Him; afterward they were to proclaim Him.
It was on the Day of Pentecost that this unique potential was released within the lives of those who were baptized in the Spirit. They became the plenipotentiaries of the kingdom of God and the King. They were to continue what Jesus had begun. This brings us to the question posed in the title of this article: What is Pentecost? It is more than just the day when God initially poured out the Holy Spirit. It is more than just a gracious experience of the Spirit’s baptism.
Pentecost is a prayer
In John 14:16, Jesus said, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” Jesus knew the deepest needs of the men who followed Him. He knew their weaknesses, their temperaments, and their misguided zeal. He had observed them closely for 3 years. He knew exactly what they needed. In His high priestly prayer He said, “I pray for them” (John 17:9). Only the abiding fullness of the Spirit could transform these men and make them fit representatives of a new passion, a new Kingdom; for this He prayed.
Pentecost is a promise
While standing with His disciples on the Mount of Olives just before His ascension, Jesus declared, “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you” (Luke 24:49). Earlier He had said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13). The Father had promised this enrichment. Jesus further promised that He personally would fulfill this promise. They could depend on that.
The intrepid Baptist, preaching to the astonished crowd at the Jordan River, said, “One mightier than I cometh . . . he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Luke 3:16).
Pentecost is a prediction
Israel’s great prophet Isaiah prophesied of the coming Holy Ghost. “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring” (Isaiah 44:3). The prophet Zechariah assured Israel that, though they were surrounded by destructive enemy forces, God would come to their aid. “And I will pour upon the house of David . . . the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10). While this event may follow the Church Age that terminates with the rapture of the Church, nevertheless it is one of the major predictions of the Spirit’s outpouring.
Joel added a great word in his lively prophecy, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” (Joel 2:28). At the great outpouring on the Day of Pentecost, Peter supported and substantiated the dramatic events of fire, wind, and other tongues, quoting Joel’s words to the astonished crowd (Acts 2:16). “This is that,” Peter announced.
Pentecost is power
One of Jesus’ great promises was, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses” (Acts 1:8). The Greek word martyres, translated “witnesses,” is used occasionally in the New Testament of those who have witnessed even unto death (Acts 22:20; Revelation 2:13; 17:6). To face the angry opposition as representatives of Jesus Christ, they would need an abundance of inner strength. To conquer their own fleshly temptations and control strong human passions, they would need a special enduement of divine power. The weak would need to be strong; the faltering, courageous. The foolish must now be wise; the bashful, bold. The double-minded must become persons of strong convictions. This, the fullness of the Spirit would impart to them.
They must have power to face a cunning and hostile enemy. They must have power to contend uncompromisingly for the faith. They must have power to perform miracles and to preach the Word of God unflinchingly. Their own inner weaknesses and fears could become overwhelming obstacles that must be triumphed over. This power had been vouchsafed to them if they maintained a life filled with the Holy Ghost.
The Book of Acts is a reliable testimony of the power imparted to ordinary and unpredictable men whose lives were controlled and energized by the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost is praying
Prayer is almost synonymous with the Holy Spirit. Paul exhorted the Ephesians to pray “always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). Jude likewise encourages his audience to build themselves in their faith, “praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 20).
Praying in the Spirit is the highest order of prayer possible. The preposition “in” indicates location. The believer has moved into the area of the Spirit, he is surrounded by the Spirit, he is wrapped around by the Spirit, he has moved into the Spirit’s realm. This is not an in-and-out or off-and-on experience. Jesus uses the word “abide”: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). So many prayers are not answered because people have not learned to abide in Christ, to pray in the Spirit. They have not learned to abide in God’s Holy of Holies.
Paul adds a further enlightening word in Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
What a startling and humiliating discovery—we know not how to pray as we ought. Our own unspirituality overwhelms us. But we have a Helper, One who comes to our assistance. He puts utterance to our sighs, words to our groanings, and prays out His will through us.
In 1951, I was leaving Japan. We had started a church in Osaka, a city leveled by American pinpoint bombing. My flight back to Shreveport, Louisiana, was scheduled. The closer the time came for my flight home, the more disturbed and restless I became about flying on this particular airline. I tried to secure an alternate flight but was told there were no vacancies on any airline out of Japan for 30 days. Feeling so sure I must not fly the first airline, I resigned myself to wait the 30 extra days. Yet 6 hours later, I had a seat on another airline.
Arriving in San Francisco, I learned the other flight had crashed on an island in the Aleutians. My father, who lived in Canada, was extremely disturbed about my safety, though he knew absolutely nothing about my dilemma. Moved by the Holy Spirit, he gave himself to prayer—prayer in the Spirit. He literally prayed me off one plane onto another so I could come back to my family and ministry.
This is an example of prayer in the Spirit that the Holy Spirit would teach us and that should be sought by all Christians.
Pentecost is purging
The purpose of Christ coming to earth was to secure a bride out of the earth who would be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing (Ephesians 5:27). The Hebrews letter urges believers: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (12:14). The Holy Spirit is to make men holy. We are to partake of His holiness (Hebrews 12:10) and perfect holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Sin was judged severely in the Early Church. Both Ananias and Sapphira died for their duplicity. They had lied to God regarding the offering they brought to Peter (Acts 5:1–11). Elymas the sorcerer was struck blind for opposing Paul’s testimony to Sergius Paulus, a Roman deputy (Acts 13:8–12). The record reads, “Then Saul, . . . filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said . . . now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season” (verses 9–11). John the Baptist had predicted earlier that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire (Luke 3:16). Fire purifies, cleanses, purges. We used to sing, “Thou Christ of burning cleansing flame, send the fire, send the fire.”
Pentecost is preaching
One of the most outstanding features of Pentecost is that it produced instant preachers. The disciples preached with eloquence and authority, brilliantly using Old Testament truths to support the message of Christ’s death and resurrection. A few days before, they had disappeared in the shadows and forsaken their Lord when He needed them most. Now they confronted those same authorities who crucified the Lord, telling them that with wicked hands they had crucified and slain this God-approved man (Acts 2:22,23). They exhorted them, “Repent, and be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ . . . and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (verse 38). The only answer to this radical transformation is the infilling of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Christ resurrected.
This was not a dramatic, isolated experience. In Acts 4, we read that the apostles were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin. “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost . . .” (verse 8). We must assume it was already a fresh infilling, subsequent to Pentecost. In the great prayer meeting that followed, it is again recorded, “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). In each case, the filling of the Spirit was followed by inspired and convincing preaching. Preaching was the method God used to spread His Word.
In the Nazareth synagogue Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach” (Luke 4:18). In His post-resurrection meeting with His disciples He said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). In Paul’s last charge to Timothy he said, “I charge thee therefore before God . . . preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:1,2).
Pentecost is preaching—anointed preaching, gracious preaching, inspired preaching, intelligent preaching, sincere preaching. It is preaching the grace of God, the love of God, the power and mercies of God, the judgments of God, and the blessed hope that God holds out to all men everywhere.
Pentecost is God’s final answer to the last-day lukewarmness and the falling away. Pentecost is hearts aflame, lives totally dedicated, motivated by a burning passion to preach Christ and Him crucified to our world before He comes again to set up His great everlasting Kingdom. Go and preach.
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Paul E. Lowenberg is a former executive presbyter of The General Council of the Assemblies of God and superintendent of the Kansas District Council. He resides in Springfield, Missouri. |
