THIS IS PART OF A MULTI PART SERIES TITLED “THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE”, EXPLORING THE DAY OF THE PENTECOST AND WHAT IT MEANS TO US AS CONTEMPORARY PRACTITIONERS OF THE FAITH.
Today is the day that marks the original day of the Pentecost. We have been attempting to put a theological framework around it these last few weeks so that we can understand its value in our lives in today’s world. Not just relegating it to an experiential thing, but trying to understand its relevance and meaning in a way that cuts through the noise around this day. We were given the book of Acts for this reason, and that’s what we have been meditating on.
Today’s central theme is the word “nucleus”. It’s the only way I can explain what happens when we get baptised in the Holy Spirit. Technically speaking, the nucleus is a very specialised organelle of a cell, and serves as the administrative centre of the cell. It stores the hereditary material, and it coordinates the cell’s activities, including metabolism, growth, synthesis and reproduction.
I find this interesting because this mirrors what happens when we get baptised in the Holy Spirit: an inward reorganisation and internal change that speaks to growth, and much more. Everything we need as believers is planted inside of us, much like we are receiving a new nucleus. We begin to experience the Word of God, instead of just reading it. The Bible comes alive when our centre —when our nucleus — is alive.
The Pentecost is about power and mission
“‘And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard 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 asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ‘”
There’s two things happening here: power and mission. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive power and we receive the mission. There are many Christians that wish to receive the power (the healing, the speaking in tongues, the supernatural), but are uncomfortable receiving the mission. When we try to separate the two, it’s like trying to split the atom: there’s disaster of unimaginable proportions. You cannot separate the two: we receive both together. It is important for us to understand this: the power by itself is an incomplete picture of the glory and kingdom of God. The mission to establish the church completes the picture of God’s plan for the world. The mission isn’t about a building, it’s about carrying the spirit of God and the DNA of God as gifts that we bring into groups of people. These groups then are the church.
Churches aren’t places, see? Churches are people. Within the DNA that God plants in every believer is the power to plant churches, regardless of our personal strengths and weaknesses. A real power that can manifest itself physically and externally in our modern world. Churches are groups of people that bring their God-given and God-planted gifts to bear for the building of the kingdom of God. And it all begins with the power of the Holy Spirit that works through these people. Every believer has this seed planted in them, and trees can grow from that seed. Mighty trees, mighty flowering trees.
The altar is not a fixed place: it’s wherever you are
“‘And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. ‘”
The altar can be anywhere. The altar is where you are. To experience the Holy Spirit, you don’t need visual cues around: no cross, no image needed. The altar is also right now: it’s not bound by time, either. It’s where you are, and it’s when you are.
Focus also on the fact here that they were of one accord. This wasn’t just a discussion or debate about what the prophet of Ezekiel meant or what Genesis meant. They were united, they were together, and they prayed together. That simple, that easy. That’s how easy it is to recreate heaven on earth. Every time we pray and wait on the Holy Spirit, we recreate an altar. Not any more complicated than this.
If you haven’t really experienced the Holy Spirit, you should know that there’s nothing we can or should do to “make it happen”. There is no fabrication necessary, there is no vibe check required, there’s no settings for the perfect lighting condition, that perfect volume of muzak in the background, those sharp projectors, that perfect smoke machine. All they did have back then was the Holy Spirit. That’s it. And that’s exactly what we need even today. If you want to experience this, pray with someone from church who has experienced this, meditate on the book of Acts, and focus on the Holy Spirit. There is a moment in meditating in prayer when you cross a line and you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit: time disappears (you don’t look at your watch when you’re praying) and you enjoy the company of the Spirit of God, and it has nothing to do with a fabricated experience. Make room for this wherever you are, whenever you are. And make room for this every day. You don’t need to reserve a special day or a special hour for this.
Not just signs and wonders
The Holy Spirit is like a new nucleus that gets planted in us, and these are the things we receive:
The gifts of signs and wonders. Acts 2:17-21. Right after this incident, you see Peter healing the man who was couldn’t walk, and he was healed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The power to overcome sin as a result of what Jesus did on the Cross. This is all possible because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the Cross. Hebrews 8:10. This is what happens when we get the infilling of the Holy Spirit: it’s no longer outside us, it’s within us. “I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts”. This goes beyond making empty resolutions; you don’t have to resolve to overcome sin by your strength. With the Holy Spirit in us, God has given us His power to help us overcome sin.
The ability to create community. Acts 2:42. Notice that the church was birthed as a direct result of the day of the Pentecost. “They devoted themselves to teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer”. Within the DNA that was infused into these people at that time was the ability to create community, and this is the church. Not a building, but a community of people. That’s the church.
Why have we been given the signs and wonders?
When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive all of this: there’s power for all of this, and not just one of these. Traditionally, “power” is relegated to the Signs and Wonders part of this trifecta of the gifts that we receive. But it’s not true: power is across all these three, and you can’t split them. The signs and wonders are given to us for the glory of God, to help us overcome sin and to encourage and enable us to build community that points to God. Healings, and more, are given to God’s people to help overcome sin and build community, not to commoditise God. There is a tendency we see in some people to use signs and wonders as a way to point to themselves, to glorify themselves, to put the spotlight on their own names and on their own stages, but there is only one thing signs and wonders should point to: God. Trying to “sell” healings and signs and wonders misses the point entirely: it’s part of an equation that only gets balanced when it helps overcome sin and builds a real community of God.
The signs and wonders were given to us to bring the rest of the Bible to life, to prove that the rest of the Bible must be true as well. You can’t just get healed by the power of God and not recognise that if this is true, so must the rest of the Word of God. If the Spirit of God can conquer death itself, what does this say for God’s ability to handle the rest of our lives? For God’s ability to help us overcome our sin? For the truth that exists in the rest of the Bible? And this healing, this power, this is not given in vain, this is not given for man’s glory: it’s given as part of a mission. To help us overcome our sin, and to help us build real community that will bring glory to God.
Experiencing the tangible presence of God
The day of the Pentecost is about a tangible experience of God’s presence: the Holy Spirit is real and present, here with us today. While there’s so many ways in which we can experience the Holy Spirit, from listening to God’s word being preached, to worship, even to the laying of hands, the primary way of experiencing this is by prayer. It doesn’t have to happen on the day of the Pentecost, this is no annual holiday. This is a call to arms, and an invitation that is open wherever we are, and whenever we are: everywhere, and on any day. Let’s open our hearts and our minds, and invite the Holy Spirit in every day, even in this, the age of reason.
Read part one here: The Spirit-filled Life
Read part two here: Experiencing the Holy Spirit
In this concluding chapter of the series “The Spirit-filled Life”, let’s look at how the gospel is linked to the baptism by the Holy Spirit, and how both these lead to the end times, and the full restoration of God’s kingdom.