Word of Salvation – Vol. 25 No. 23 – February 1979

 

The Gift Or The Baptism With The Holy Spirit

 

Pentecost Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk, Th.Grad. on Acts 2:1-4, 37-39

Scripture reading: Acts 2:1-42

Psalter Hymnal: 393; 390; 400; 383; 170:3, 4

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

When a gift has been promised to you, you then look forward to receiving it. You look forward to it even more when you already know a little bit about that gift. So it was with the disciples after the ascension. We know from the teaching of Scripture on the baptism with the Holy Spirit that it was promised to the disciples before Pentecost.

We want now to look at this gift or baptism of the Spirit as it was given on Pentecost day and what it means for the Church.

Someone once said that the Reformed faith does not believe in the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Nothing could be further from the truth than that. Certainly we want to believe that there is a baptism with the Holy Spirit, and we want to believe it is a Scriptural way.

From the book of Acts we learn that the disciples simply had to wait in Jerusalem until the promise from the Father came upon them. The gift that was promised was the Holy Spirit. Jesus would baptise His people with or in the Holy Spirit. They did not have to seek it or fulfil a number of conditions for it. It would come from heaven, from the grace of God. And the gift of the Spirit would bring power upon them, power not just for the sake of power, but power to be Christ’s witnesses. The purpose of the Spirit- baptism is to enable believers to be Jesus’ witnesses to bring the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. The Church, you see, has been charged by Christ, the Head of the Church, to preach in Jesus’ Name repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. And to enable the Church to do just that, Christ sent the Church His Spirit.. Through His Spirit, Christ would continue His ministry from heaven.

Well, that is what we learn from Acts 1, and now we go on and look at the actual fulfilment of the promise of the Spirit.

We find a description of this in Acts 2. This chapter first tells us what happened when the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 believers. The 120 believers were those who were waiting for the Pentecost event. And those believers began to speak in other languages and many people from different countries who were in Jerusalem heard about the mighty works of God.

Then Peter stood up and addressed the crowd, which had a remarkable effect upon the listeners, and they asked Peter and the other apostles what they were to do. And Peter told them they had to repent and be baptised in Jesus’ Name for the forgiveness of their sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And those who received Peter’s words in faith and were baptised were about 3,000.

That, in short, is the story from Acts 2.

And now we want to look further at one or two points from this passage that will help us further in our understanding of the gifts or the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

We call it ‘the gift’ or ‘the baptism’, for Jesus Himself spoke of it in that way, but it is of course the same work of the Spirit that is referred to. The gift is the baptism.

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Of particular interest is that Acts 2 speaks about two separate groups of people: the 120 believers in verses 1 to 4, and the 3,000 who came to faith in verses 37 to 39. We will first look at the first group and then at the second; note the differences between them, and then find out which has the most meaning for us, which group is the one for us to follow.

So, the preaching, then, deals with the gift or the baptism with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; and firstly, we look at the 120 and how the baptism with the Holy Spirit came to them, and then, secondly, at the 3,000 and how the baptism or the gift of the Spirit came to them.

Luke makes it clear in the opening verse of Chapter 2 that Pentecost came when God deemed it was time. It is a remarkably sober announcement. It does not speak of any requirements or conditions that the disciples fulfilled, but just simply, “When the day of Pentecost had come…!”

And when it came they were all together in one place, presumably waiting, as they were told to do by Jesus. And suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind. The gift of the Spirit comes all of a sudden. And it came from heaven.

The disciples were just sitting in the house where they were staying and all at once the Holy Spirit came. There was nothing gradual about it. The disciples did not come to it in a gradual way, they were not even praying, but just sitting. “Where they were sitting”, says Luke in verse 2, not where they were praying, or kneeling, or seeking.

We make this point not because we want to make a big thing out of nothing, but just so that we take careful note of what Luke tells us.

Luke was a historian who took care to say precisely what had to be said.

So, the coming of the Spirit was sudden and from heaven. There was nothing in the spiritual conditions of the disciples that prompted the Spirit. He came “Suddenly… from heaven….!” That’s the first thing we have to notice.

Then we further note that the Spirit came upon every one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, says verse 4. The tongues, as of fire, came on each of them. No one was passed over, none were left out. The gift of the Spirit did not come to some who were ready for Him in some way, and not on others who were not ready. No, each one received the gift. They were all filled with the Spirit. There is no teaching in Acts that suggests that the Holy Spirit comes only in part.

The Bible does not support the teaching that the Holy Spirit comes to a believer at the time of his regeneration and conversion and then leaves to return at a later stage when the converted person is more worthy, or more clean, or more sanctified.

The Holy Spirit, when He comes, comes to fill. The full and complete Holy Spirit is given. He cannot come in part, not half or two-thirds, but fully. Whenever the Holy Spirit comes He comes to fill, not only to cause something to happen and then leave; He comes to dwell and not simply to visit.

And then we read that they “began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” There is, as you are probably aware, a variety of opinions as to what the nature of these ‘tongues’ is, here on Pentecost day. Some hold to the opinion that this gift of tongues spoken of in Acts 2 is the same as the gift of tongues spoken of by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. And it would mean then that the 120 believers here on Pentecost spoke in an unintelligible speech, but that those who heard them in faith knew what was being said.

This might have been the case. However, it seems that the gift of tongues as spoken about by Paul in his Corinthian letter was quite different to what took place here on Pentecost. Here, in Acts 2, it is said that they spoke in other tongues, or other languages, and they didn’t seek this, it just came to them.

Those in the multitude heard the disciples speak in their own respective languages. It was not an unknown tongue, for they distinctly heard them in their own language talking about the mighty works of God. It is true that there were some people in the crowd who ridiculed it all and scoffed at the disciples, suggesting they were drunk. And some, therefore, conclude that the disciples must have spoken in unintelligible speech, in an ecstatic manner.

But it is doubtful if the scoffers brought up the charge of drunkenness because of a strange speech which they could not figure out. People who are drunk might throw out some strange sounds and mutter away to themselves. But their words can be very clear, too, even though they don’t make much sense. It is more likely that these scoffers charged the disciples with drunkenness because the preaching of Christ and praising God seemed nonsense to them. Moreover, the sound like the rush of a mighty wind, and the appearance of tongues as of fire must have all seemed very strange to these scoffers.

We, therefore, take the “other tongues” with which the disciples spoke as being other languages. And that actually gives Pentecost a tremendous meaning. For we must remember that Jesus poured out His Spirit upon the Church to enable her members to be Jesus’ witnesses.

The Gospel of salvation had to go out into the world. The Church has a mission-task to fulfil. That is very clearly the Will of God. And nothing could serve this purpose better than to proclaim the great deeds of God in the world’s languages. So the gift of the Spirit is to want others to know God’s deeds in Christ. The Holy Spirit moves men to praise the mighty works of God.

And thus, the 120 believers received the gift or the baptism with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Now, it is most important to notice what things disappeared and what stayed. The sound of the mighty wind and the appearance of fire disappeared. It is even very difficult to know why these signs were given. Many are of the opinion that the wind symbolised the driving force of the Spirit and the fire the power and warmth of the Spirit. This could be the meaning, but whatever it was, the signs disappeared.

And even the speaking in other languages disappeared. Luke does mention tongues twice further on in Acts but they are not spoken of as “other tongues” and were probably the same type of tongues as in Corinth.

So, all that is remarkable. The signs of the Spirit’s coming, the wind, the fire, and the other languages disappear and are not heard of again. But the Spirit stayed! The zeal to witness and the praising of God stayed,: The gift remained upon all. The Spirit was not withdrawn, and that’s most important to remember, for it is very comforting to know that.

But now how should we look upon these 120 believers and upon what happened to them? They received the gift or the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and God’s Word tells us that this gift or baptism with the Holy Spirit is also meant for every believer after Pentecost, and so, also for us (cf.vss.17 & 18). Are then these 120 believers an example for us? Should we say, “as it happened to them, so also, in like manner it should happen to us”? Can we, too, expect a mighty wind, a fire, and a speaking in other languages?

Well, before we answer that, let us look at the gift or baptism with the Holy Spirit as received by the 3,000 who came to faith and of which the verses 37 to 39 speak.

In verse 37, we read that Peter’s listeners “were cut to the heart”. Peter’s sermon did something to them. They responded to it by asking “Brethren, what shall we do?” They obviously were troubled by their sin. Peter’s sermon made them aware of that. And all that Peter did was to bring home to them the message of Pentecost. And this Pentecost message was not so much a preaching about how to come to the fulness of the Spirit, nor about the steps required in order to possess the gifts of the Spirit.

No, Peter first told them some straight facts about the Holy Spirit which was the fulfilling of Joel’s prophecy. The Spirit is poured out by God upon all flesh. These are the last days and some great things will happen before the Day of the Lord comes. But then Peter moves away from the Spirit and preaches a mighty sermon on Christ Jesus.

In fact, this preaching of Christ and His salvation is the work of the Spirit. The Spirit is drawing attention, not so much to Himself, as to Christ. That’s the ministry of the Spirit, a Christ-centred preaching! Peter pointed out that Christ was the Messiah and he made his hearers feel very guilty when he firmly told them that they had treated Christ shamefully when they rejected Him and crucified Him. Yes, it was the foreordained plan of God that Christ should suffer and die, but nevertheless they were fully responsible for their contemptuous behaviour towards Him. They had refused Him in Whom all their hope of salvation rested. What hope of salvation was left to them now?

It was a Christ-centred sermon with some good straight talk and it troubled their consciences. And so they asked what they had to do, now that they were realising their hopeless condition. And so Peter brings the healing message for sick and dying souls, lost in sin.

“Repent and be baptised everyone of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Let them repent of their sin and turn to God, let them submit to baptism in the Name of Jesus, confessed as Messiah. Then their sin would be forgiven, yes, more, they too would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit which had been given to the apostles themselves only an hour or two before.

Notice how Peter is moved by the Spirit to be a witness of Jesus! Notice that he is doing what Jesus told all His disciples to do and for which they would receive power from the Holy Spirit – preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name (cf.Luke 24:49). First, there is the call to repentance. A complete change of heart is required, a spiritual right-about turn. They had rejected Christ but they were now to recognise and believe Him as the Messiah, the Saviour from sin. Repentance is very much necessary for salvation.

Then there is the call to baptism and here Peter is referring to Christian baptism with water. His hearers were familiar with this baptism with water for John the Baptist had preached a baptism of repentance unto forgiveness of sins: As John’s converts were required to receive baptism in water as the outward and visible sign of their received forgiveness, so also Peter’s convicted hearers were now required to submit to it.

So John’s baptism was the same as Christian baptism instituted by Christ. But Christian baptism is also more. It is to be administered in the Name of Jesus Christ, and it is connected with the gift or the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Christian baptism with water does not give you forgiveness of sin and the Spirit baptism, but it is a sign and seal that forgiveness of sin and the Spirit-baptism have been received from Christ. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour is from the Holy Spirit Who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the Christ-centred Gospel and Who con- firms this faith in us by the use of Christian baptism (cf.Heid.Cat. Q&A 65).

And this faith says that sins have been forgiven and that one has been baptised by Jesus with the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, the Church. This is receiving the gift of the Spirit, and Peter further said that this gift is also “promised to our children and to all who are afar off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Him.” The promise is for all those who come to faith and also to their children.

God is the God of the covenant and He will call to faith even those who are yet to be born, to all those, far or near, whom He wills to save. So those who repent of their sins and believe in Christ receive forgiveness of sins and the gift or baptism with the Holy Spirit. And that means full salvation. Christ forgives sins and gives His Spirit. Salvation – it is full and complete. And Christian baptism is simply a sign and seal of that full and wonderful salvation.

But now, in conclusion, we come back to our earlier question: the gift or baptism with the Holy Spirit was received by the 120 and the 3,000 – which of these is a pattern and norm for us?

The answer is with the 3,000.

The way the gift or the baptism with the Holy Spirit came upon them is also the way it comes upon every believer after Pentecost. With the 120 was the rushing sound as of a mighty wind and the appearance of tongues as of fire and the speaking in other languages. But those signs disappeared. It made Pentecost a unique event. It would not happen like that again.

Moreover, the 120 were already born again, they were already believers and they had to wait for the Spirit ten days.

And to say that we today must also first be reborn and believing and waiting before we, too, can receive the fulness of the Spirit in the Spirit- baptism is to make a grave mistake.

Our circumstances simply cannot be compared to those of the 120 believers. For their circumstances took place in a time of God’s history of salvation that will not be repeated. They were believers before Pentecost and were placed into the time after Pentecost. The gift or baptism with the Holy Spirit was not yet given before. Pentecost; it came with Pentecost. The 120 happened to be in an unusual position. They are in that respect very much different from us, for we are believers after Pentecost.

And therefore, if we want to learn how Christ gives His Spirit to these who come to faith in Him, then we must look to the 3,000 who, like us, came to faith after the Pentecost event.

They received no spectacular signs of a wind and a fire and other tongues. They were people who were brought to faith through the Christ-centred preaching, and who, upon their repentance of sins received forgiveness and were baptised by Jesus with the Spirit into the body of Christ, the Church. The gift of the Holy Spirit’s fulness came when they repented and believed, when they were reborn and converted, and not at some later stage after especially seeking it. Most of us have received the sacrament of Christian baptism with water in the Name of our triune God. That sacrament God has given so that it may confirm our faith in salvation in Christ. Well, then, let us be believing, let us firmly believe that Christ has it forgiven us our sins and baptised us with His Holy Spirit.

And but let us be Jesus’ witnesses and praise the mighty works of God.

AMEN.