Pentecost

The Comforter Is Come!

Lev. 23:15-16

The Feast of Pentecost is the fourth of the special feasts recorded in Leviticus 23. Fifty days following Firstfruits, the Feast of Pentecost occurred.

You will notice that Pentecost occurred on the 50th day, which would put it on the first day of the week, the Lord's Day. Firstfruits and Pentecost both occurred on the first day of the week. For Christians, this is the Lord's Day. The Feast of Firstfruits commemorates our Lord's resurrection from the dead, and the Feast of Pentecost commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit. By His resurrection and by His sending of the Holy Spirit, our Lord has consecrated the first day of the week in a very special way.

You will also notice that the priest was to offer a new meal-offering (see Lev. 23:16). Pentecost brought into the world something new—the Church. God had always had His people on this earth, but the Church is a very special people. Jesus said, "I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18).

"Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth deals [parts]" (Lev. 23:17). It goes on to explain that the loaves would be made of fine flour, baked with leaven. This is rather interesting because the Jews were not to bring their offer­ings with leaven. We discovered that leaven is a picture of sin, and yet these two loaves were to be baked with leaven! Why? Because the loaves pic­ture the Church, and there is sin in the Church. Not until the Church arrives in heaven will it be sinless. How can God accept a sinful people? On the basis of the sacrifice of Christ, illustrated in the many sacrifices named in Leviticus 23:18,19. These sacri­fices picture the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The burnt-offering pictures complete consecration—He gave Himself completely. The sin-offering, of course, speaks of our Lord Jesus dying for our sins. And the peace-offering—the fact that Jesus, through His death, has made peace with God.

The fulfillment of all of this is recorded in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. If you put together Acts 2 and Leviticus 23, you will learn some beautiful lessons about the Holy Spirit. Four activities of the Spirit are recorded in Acts 2.

First of all, the Holy Spirit came. Then the Holy Spirit baptized. Third, the Holy Spirit filled. Fourth, the Holy Spirit spoke.

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they [the apostles and the other believers] were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost [Spirit], and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4).

I. The Spirit Came

On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit came. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit had not minis­tered on earth before Pentecost. The Holy Spirit worked in creation. "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). The Spirit of God empowered men of God to serve Him. The Holy Spirit came upon different men of God—judges and kings, warriors and workers to accomplish His purposes. Of course, the Holy Spirit had worked in the life of Christ. The Holy Spirit had conceived the body of Christ in the womb of Mary. The Holy Spirit had anointed and empowered the Lord Jesus for His ministry on earth. When our Lord preached in Nazareth, He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor" (Luke 4:18).

So the Holy Spirit had ministered in creation, in the history of the Jewish nation and in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. But now the Holy Spirit was going to come in a new and special way.

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither know­eth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16,17). The Holy Spirit had dwelt with the apostles in the Person of Jesus Christ. But after Pentecost, the Spirit would live in them. Furthermore, this dwelling would be per­manent, not temporary.

In the Old Testament age, the Holy Spirit had come upon men temporarily to accomplish a special work, and then He would depart. For example, the Holy Spirit empowered King Saul, but when Saul sinned against God, God removed the Holy Spirit. This explains why David prayed in Psalm 51, "Take not thy holy spirit from me" (v. 11).

We don't pray that way today because God will not take His Holy Spirit from us. Jesus said, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" (John 14:16).

Keep in mind, then, these two special truths. First, the Holy Spirit would indwell people, not just come upon them. Second, the Holy Spirit would be a permanent resident, not a temporary visitor. You may ask, "Why didn't the Holy Spirit do all of this sooner?" Because God has His calendar. The explanation is given in John 7:37,38.

"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water." Now, here's the explanation: "(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)" (v. 39). You see, God has His timetable. First, Passover—the Lamb was slain. Then the Lamb was raised from the dead—that's the Feast of Firstfruits. Now, 50 days later, the glorified Lamb of God sends the Holy Spirit. He could not send the Holy Spirit until He was glorified, and of course, He could not be glori­fied until He was crucified. His glorification involved being crucified and buried, being raised from the dead and then ascending back to heaven that He might send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came, and He came right on schedule.

II. The Spirit Baptized

Now, second, the Holy Spirit baptized. We hear a great deal these days about "the baptism of the Holy Spirit." We must get our facts from the Bible, not from men's experience. We read in Acts 1:4,5: "And, being assembled together with them, [Jesus] commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John [John the Baptist] truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." This promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. John the Baptist announced that the Lord Jesus Christ, who was greater than John, would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

Please notice that Jesus said nothing about the baptism of fire. John the Baptist had said, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matt. 3:11). My own personal conviction is that the "baptism of fire" is a future baptism of judgment that is going to come upon this earth to those who have rejected the Saviour. Our Lord said nothing in Acts 1 about a baptism of fire, but He did talk about the Holy Spirit's baptizing the believers. This baptism of the Spirit must be important, or it would not be found in all four Gospels and also in the Book of the Acts.

The word "baptize" has a twofold meaning. There is a literal meaning and a figurative meaning. Many words in our language have both literal and figura­tive meanings. We say that someone is "going through the waters." Well, that could mean he is wading out in a trout stream or that he is going through times of difficulty. You see, there is a literal meaning, and there is a figurative meaning.

Now, literally, the word "baptize" means "to submerge, to immerse." But figuratively it means "to be identified with." When the Holy Spirit came at Pen­tecost, He identified the believers with their glorified Head, the Lord Jesus, and formed the body, which is the Church. Now, this truth is amplified in I Corin­thians 12:13: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free." The Spirit of God formed the body of Jesus Christ on earth—the Church—when He came at Pentecost. Of course, there had already been individual believers on earth, but they had not yet been formed into a spiritual unity. Now they were united into one Body.

So the Spirit baptized. This meant that the believ­ers were united in a spiritual unity, identified with their glorified Saviour in heaven. This helps us understand why the priest brought two wave-loaves. You see, at Firstfruits they brought a sheaf—individual grains; but at Pentecost, these grains had been ground, they had been made into flour, they had been baked into two loaves. The loaves speak of the corporate body—the Church—not individual grains but grains united to each other.

I meet believers who say, "Oh, I can be a good Christian without the Church." I want you to know you are a part of the Church whether you like it or not. When you were saved, you were baptized by the Spirit of God into the Body of Christ. And whether or not you meet in a local assembly, you are still a part of the Body of Christ, and you ought to meet with other believers to worship, to witness, to work and to glorify the Lord.

But why did the priest bring two loaves? Because believing Jews were baptized into the Body of Christ at Pentecost (Acts 2), and in Acts 10 believ­ing Gentiles were baptized into the Body of Christ. "To the Jew first" is God's program. There was one baptism by the Spirit, but it took place on two different occasions.

Why was there leaven in these loaves? Because there is sin in the Church. The Church is not per­fect. God recognizes this fact and encourages us to purify our lives. But some professing Christians stay away from the church because the church is not perfect. You have heard the old saying: "Well, I'm not going to go to church there are hypocrites in the church!" The answer, of course, is "Well, there's room for one more!" No one is perfect. The Church is made up of imperfect people on their way to heaven.

At Pentecost, the Church was born when the Spirit came and baptized believers. You and I are a part of that wonderful fellowship because we have trusted Christ as our Saviour.

III. The Spirit Filled

The third activity of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is found in Acts 2:4: "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." The Holy Spirit came, the Holy Spirit baptized, and the Holy Spirit filled.

The classic text on the fullness of the Spirit is Ephesians 5:18: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." Never confuse the baptism of the Spirit with the filling of the Spirit. I've heard preachers say, "Oh, it makes no difference what you call it as long as you have the experience." I don't believe that for one minute. If I go to my doctor, I want him to use the right termi­nology. If there's something wrong with my gall bladder, I don't want him talking about my lungs or my liver. Bible terminology is accurate, and we do not have the privilege or the right to change the words that God has written, inspired by the Holy Spirit (see I Cor. 2:12,13).

The baptism of the Holy Spirit happens once. The Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost and baptized the Jews into the Body of Christ and later baptized the Gentiles into the Body of Christ. When you were saved, the same Spirit baptized you into the Body of Christ. There is no repetition of the baptism of the Spirit.

There is, however, a repetition of the fullness of the Spirit. In the Book of the Acts you read that the believers were repeatedly filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:4; 4:8,31). We do not read that they were repeatedly baptized by the Spirit.

Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to be baptized by the Spirit of God. But we are commanded to be filled (see Eph. 5:18). The fullness of the Holy Spirit requires our cooperation. The baptism of the Spirit occurs when you trust Christ as your Saviour, once and for all. The baptism of the Spirit is a single experience. The fullness is a repeated experience. We are commanded to be filled. We are not commanded to be baptized. The baptism of the Spirit is a collective experience. It puts me into the Body of Christ. The fullness of the Spirit is a personal, individual experience, giving the believer power for witness and for Christian living.

Why were the apostles and the other believers filled with the Holy Spirit? Primarily that they might witness by word and by deed. Acts 1:8 makes that very clear. The task of the Church is witnessing. We are all commanded to be witnesses, and we should seek to win as many as we can. Witnessing is the work of the Holy Spirit through the believer. Some people have a very special gift of soul winning. They are able to lead people to Christ easily because they have a gift. Not every Christian can reap the harvest, but all can sow the seed. If we are filled with the Spirit of God, we can bear witness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, how do you know if you are filled with the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 5 tells us, in verses 19 and following, that we will be joyful: "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." We will be thankful: "Giving thanks always for all things unto God in the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." And we will be submissive: "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you find it easy to remember Scripture, because the Holy Spirit reminds you. When you are filled with the Spirit, you have a desire to witness, and the witness comes from God. It's not something you manufacture.

The Spirit filled these believers, and because they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they went forth giving bold witness for the Lord. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me," promised the Lord Jesus in Acts 1:8. We need this today.

I preached in a church recently where, before the service, the elders of the church knelt in prayer. They prayed for the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that all who were sharing in the ministry of the Word might have power to bear witness to Jesus Christ. We had a wonderful service!

To be filled with the Holy Spirit requires cleansing. We must confess our sins and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We must want to be filled for the glory of God—not to enjoy a selfish experience.

IV. The Spirit Spoke

The fourth activity of the Holy Spirit is also recorded in Acts 2:4 the Holy Spirit spoke. "They all were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." The men were not controlling the Holy Spirit—the Spirit was controlling these men. When you are baptized by the Holy Spirit, you belong to Christ's Body. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, your body belongs to Him. Then He can work through you.

This whole subject of tongues has created many problems for people. If you will read Acts 2 very carefully, you will discover, first of all, that they were praising God in tongues they were not preaching. The believers were sharing with the people "the wonderful works of God" (v. 11). The tongues were used for the purpose of praising God. Second, when Peter stood up to preach, he preached in the Hebrew language, not in tongues. So keep in mind that the gift of tongues at Pentecost was for the purpose of praising God and bearing witness of what He had done, not for preaching the gospel. Something else is true: These tongues were known languages. There are 16 different geo­graphical places mentioned in Acts 2:7-11. "Every man heard them speak in his own language" (v. 6). The Greek word translated "language" gives us our English word "dialect." They heard them speaking in their own language. They asked, "And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" (v. 8).

The believers did not speak in some "heavenly language." They did not use some brand-new language. The Holy Spirit used the tongues of believers to praise God in languages that were already in use.

The gift of tongues is not an evidence of either the baptism of the Spirit or the fullness of the Spirit. Nowhere do we find this in Scripture. When I was converted, I was baptized instantly by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. I did not speak in tongues, but I want you to know I was soundly converted. The Spirit of God came into my life and bore witness to me that I was a child of God.

The baptism of the Spirit is not evidenced by tongues nor is the fullness of the Spirit. There are multitudes of believers who have been filled with the Holy Spirit and served in great power, yet they have never spoken in tongues.

Nor are tongues an evidence of spiritual maturity. The church at Corinth had a great deal of speaking in tongues, and yet they were very immature, worldly and carnal. Don't let anyone confuse you. If someone says, "If you are baptized by the Spirit, you must speak in tongues," do not believe him. You were baptized by the Spirit when you were saved. If they say, "Well, if you are filled with the Spirit, then you will speak in tongues," that statement is not biblical. Not everyone is going to have a gift of tongues. In fact, I Corinthians 12:30 makes this very clear. "Do all speak with tongues?" Paul asked. And the answer is, according to the structure of the Greek, no. Not everybody speaks in tongues.

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 12, 13 and 14 how this gift of tongues was supposed to be used. Some people have asked me, "Do you think God could give the gift of tongues today?" I think God is sover­eign, and God can do whatever He wants to do. There are those who believe that this gift was removed and cannot come back. I understand their position, but I don't necessarily defend it. I do not believe that every believer has to speak in tongues. I do believe that God can, if He wants to, give a gift of tongues. But we must not make this a test of anything.

There are some people who have had a false experience—a counterfeit experience. Not everybody who thinks he is filled with the Spirit is really filled with the Spirit. He might be fooled by the spirits! Satan is a great counterfeiter. We must exercise spiritual discernment.

The Spirit of God can use your tongue to praise God and to witness to the lost. Sad to say, some people have their tongues set on fire from hell (see James 3:6). There are Christians who go around gossiping and criticizing, creating problems in their family and in their church. Their tongue is "set on fire of hell." The apostles had their tongues set on fire from heaven, and they gave powerful witness to Jesus Christ. When Peter preached the gospel, filled with the Spirit, God used his tongue, and 3000 people came to know Christ as their Saviour.

The important thing is that we are filled with the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God has come—that is a settled matter. The Spirit of God has baptized believers into the Church—that, too, is a settled matter. The Spirit of God can fill us, moment by moment, and enable us to glorify God. The Spirit of God can speak through us in languages people understand.

Has your tongue been set on fire from heaven? It is not important that you have some miraculous ecstatic experience. It is important that the Holy Spirit use you to bear witness to Jesus Christ and to share the gospel with the whole world.