What Does The Coming of The Holy Spirit Mean?
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But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, 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 male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
This is the first of almost 30 sermons in the book of Acts.
Two questions asked in this text: “what does this mean?” and “what shall we do?”
Peter is about to answer the question, “what does this mean?”
Important contextual info:
The crowd was made up of people who converted to Judaism in order to be a part of the family of God. They had to learn Hebrew, adopt the Jewish customs, become circumcised, move to Jerusalem, disown their own family and family customs, etc.
The people were not used to hearing the things they were hearing in their native language because these things were normally spoken in the Hebrew language. This was essentially desecrating the tradition of keeping God’s word undefiled from other languages.?????????
Now, they are amazed because they are hearing the glories of God in their own native tongues which essentially inferred that God was bridging the cultural and ethnic divides and seeking to sanctify and pour out his presence upon all people of the earth. This was a huge deal.
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost means three things:
God is Fulfilling His Promise to Save and Empower His People!
God is Fulfilling His Promise to Save and Empower His People!
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, 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 male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
God made promises through the prophets. Beloved, God keeps His promises.
If you are not saved, you can be! God has made a way!
If you are saved and you want to be used by God to see other people saved, you can be empowered! The Holy Spirit is available to you for empowering.
God has unique ways he wants to use you for the purposes of advancing Christ’s kingdom!
Just as God delivered at Pentecost on promises he made before, God will deliver on other promises he has made that will find their fulfillment in the future!
You can trust God to finish this work he has started in you.
You can trust God to send Christ back for you!
Jesus is The Resurrected Lord and Messiah Who Can Save You!
Jesus is The Resurrected Lord and Messiah Who Can Save You!
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Peter explained the simple gospel message.
His Miracles and Death - Acts 2:22-23
His Resurrection - Acts 2:24-32
His Exaltation - Acts 2:33-35
He is Lord and Christ - Acts 2:36
Jesus is the only way to salvation.
David died and stayed dead, therefore, he could not be the Lord who could save.
Jesus died, resurrected, and sent the Spirit, therefore, he is the Lord who can save you!
God used the works of wicked men to bring about the greatest event in all of history!
God is the only one who can take a terrible situation and mold it for the best situation.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 2
Peter’s application of the title “Lord” (Joel 2:32) to Jesus points to his deity.
You Must Turn From Your Sin and Call Upon Jesus!
You Must Turn From Your Sin and Call Upon Jesus!
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
The people hearing are cut to the heart by the Word of God coupled with the Holy Spirit.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The people cut to the heart realized they had a need.
Sermons from John Piper (1990–1999) Repentance, Forgiveness, and the Gift of the Spirit
When the people say, “What must I do?” it’s clear that they feel a need. They are saying, “I need something. What must I do to get it?” Peter gives two explicit answers in verse 38 to what they need—what we need.
He says they need forgiveness and they need the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The People were commanded to repent.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 2
Repentance includes a change of mind that ends up trusting God