In Part 1 of this post, we were focused upon the Passover Meal celebrated by Christ and His disciples in an Upper Room during the Feast of Unleavened Bread in which the Jewish nation remembered their deliverance from the land of Egypt when the blood of a lamb was applied to the doorposts of their homes.
John 16:28-33 are the closing words of Jesus to His disciples. He says to them, “I have come from the Father and come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father. His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly to us and not in figures of speech! Now we know that You know all things, and have not need for anyone to question You; because of this we believe [without any doubt] that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now [at last] believe? Take careful notice: an hour is coming, and has arrived, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, leaving Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you will have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.] {Amplified Version}
Jesus closes the Upper Room discourse with a prayer (John 17) to His Father.
This prayer is referred to, as His ‘High Priestly Prayer’.
I recommend that you read John 17.
Having considered all of this, is there something that stands out as being more important than the coming of the Holy Spirit?
END OF PART 1.
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50 days after Jesus’ resurrection, Jerusalem is celebrating Pentecost.
PART 2.
During the forty days between Christ’s resurrection and His ascension back to the presence of His Father, Christ revealed Himself to His followers.
On the morning of His resurrection, “…after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdelene and the other Mary, came to see the tomb. {Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-10; John 20:1-8} And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.”…”the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold I have told you. So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” (Matthew 28:1-10 NKJV) {insert mine}
We are witnessing the fulfillment of the Upper Room discourse unfold and take place just as Jesus said.
The Apostle Paul recounts these events in I Corinthians 15:1-8, NKJV.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas (Peter), then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (insert mine)
Luke, writing his treatise about the life of Christ shares in Acts 1:1-3 NKJV,
“The former account account I made, O Theophilus, all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
Luke has written about Jesus Christ the Lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world (John 1:29); justified the wrath of God (Romans 5:6-11); conquered death, hell, and the grave (I Corinthians 15:55-57; Revelation 1:18); dethroned Satan of his authority (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15;) and has accomplished a total victory through His death on the Cross.
For forty days, Jesus has been interacting with His disciples; and now the day has come for His departure back to His Father.
Luke writes, Acts 1:4-11 NKJV,
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken away up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Jesus ascended into heaven.
Now what?
Do what He had commanded them to do?
Acts 1:4, Do not depart from Jerusalem; wait for the Promise of the Father; “which He said, “you have heard from Me.”
Acts 1:5, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
I wonder if they pondered what that meant?
Is the coming of the Holy Spirit important?
Absolutely.
However, there is something else taking place that preempts its importance.
What can be more important than the coming of the Holy Spirit?
Let’s find out.
Jesus is ‘prepping’ them for the Day of Pentecost reminding them of what He had shared with them.
Acts 1:12,13a, 14- NKJV, “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey (less than one mile). And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying”…”These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (insert mine) (boldness mine)
Acts 1:15-26 records the events that took place from the day of Christ’s ascension to the Day of Pentecost.
Some noteworthy thoughts.
Vs 15-Peter (petros*) stood up in the midst of the assembled disciples that numbered around 120.
Vs 16-Peter (petros*) addressed them, regarding the fulfillment of the Scripture that was previously spoken by the Holy Spirit through David regarding Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus.
Vs 21-Peter (petros*) told those in the upper room that it is necessary to fulfill the Scripture found in Psalms [Psalms 69:25; 109:8] to choose another to fill Judas’ vacancy.
Vss 21,22-give to us the qualifications for the persons to be considered. The timeline begins with the baptism of John and concludes with the ascension of Christ.
Vss 23-26, two people are chosen; they pray to the Lord for guidance; and in vs 26, they cast lots. This way of making the selection is not wrong. It was a common method used in the Old Testament.
What is the significance of including this?
There is a new ‘governing’ coming.
The Old Covenant has come to an end; and there is a New Covenant.
Something new is about to happen.
In an upper room, things are in ‘order’; the disciples have been ‘obedient’; and the Day of Pentecost has arrived.
In an upper room, “…they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1)
They were where Jesus had commanded them to be; and there was ‘order’ and there was ‘obedience’.
These two words are critical for a healthy Church, the Body of Christ.
‘order’ and ‘obedience’ allows the God’s Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
Jesus lived His earthly life in a human body governed by the Holy Spirit carrying out whatever His Father asked Him to do. That is ‘order’; and He did it with perfect ‘obedience’.
Wherever Jesus went His Father’s Kingdom came and His Father’s will was done on earth just as it is in heaven.
In God’s Presence, everything is about ‘order’ and ‘obedience’.
This is not legalism; this is the Essence of Who God is.
Reflect upon these words, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
His commandments are His ‘order’; keeping them is our ‘obedience’; our reason for doing so is because we love Him.
Q: Where did Jesus say these words?
A: In the Upper Room to His disciples at the Passover Meal.
Acts 2:2 NKJV, “And suddenly”, the words that Jesus shared with His disciples in the Upper Room, when they were celebrating the Passover Meal, are fulfilled in an upper room on the Day of Pentecost.
{Note: All of this happened, most likely, in the same Upper Room where the disciples waited for the Promise of the Father, in the city of Jerusalem.}
Being redundant.
The words regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit are fulfilled.
The promise of the Father has come in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
The words spoken by John the Baptist have been fulfilled.
John the Baptist said that Jesus is the baptizer in/with the Holy Spirit.
Again, I would like to encourage you to set aside your doctrinal teaching surrounding what took place on the Day of Pentecost, and continue with me as I proceed.
On the day of Pentecost, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter stood up with the other eleven and explained what was taking place to those assembled. (Acts 2:14-36)
Peter told them that what they had seen and heard had been prophesied by the prophet Joel.
Acts 2:17-21 NKJV,
Peter said, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My servants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven about and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.”
Q: In the above passage, what is ultimately most important?
A: “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”
The Holy Spirit has come.
Q: What do you associate with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost?
Q: What have you been taught?
Q: What has been the emphasis of the teaching that you have received?
Q: Are you comfortable with Pentecostalism? Charismatics? Spirit-filled believers?
Q: Are you doctrinally a ‘cessationist’ or a ‘continuationist’?
(Big words but important regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit and His ministry in the Church.)
I want to make a bold statement.
There is a lot of teaching, division, and misunderstanding regarding the purpose and work of the Third Person of the Trinity in the church today.
Please understand my heart.
I want to challenge you with a thought that I am understanding to be more significant and more important than all of the teaching surrounding the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe in the importance of the Holy Spirit?
Absolutely.
I am not a cessationist; but a continuationist.
Setting aside my theology…
All theology, belief, and personal experience,regarding the Person of the Holy Spirit is extremely important.
However all of our objective and subjective understanding of the truth that is taught in the Word of God regarding the Holy Spirit, is secondary, I believe, to this truth.
What truth is that, you ask?
Let us read carefully Peter’s closing words on the Day of Pentecost.
Acts 2:32-36 Amplified Version
“God raised this Jesus [bodily from the dead], and of that [fact] we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this [blessing] which you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, yet he himself says, “The Lord [the Father] said to my Lord [the Son], sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” [Psalms 110:1] Therefore let all the house of Israel recognize beyond all doubt that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (Messiah, Annointed)–that Jesus whom you crucified.
Peter said that God (the Father) has made Him (Jesus) both Lord and Christ–this very Jesus who you crucified. (inserts mine)
Peter declared that Jesus, who was crucified has been made by God, both Lord and Christ.
My question was, Is there something that stands out as being more important than the coming of the Holy Spirit?
The answer is yes, Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified, is both Lord and Christ.
The Head of the Body of Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ. (See Ephesians 1:18-23; Colossians 1:13-20; Ephesians 5:17-33; I Corinthians 12:12-14)
It is important to understand Christ as the Head of the Church.
Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, is the One who said, I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
Ephesians 1:22, everything is put in ‘subjection’ to Christ’s Headship. (emphasis mine)
Colossians 1:17-18, Christ existed before all things, and in Him all things are held together; Christ is the Head, the [life-source and leader] of the body, the Church; and He is the beginning the firstborn from the dead... (emphasis mine)
Ephesians 5:21, be “subject to one another out of reverence for Christ”; verses 22-33 discuss the living out of being ‘subject’ to one another.
I Corinthians 12:12-14, we are all members of the Body of Christ.
Verse 12, says “For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many for [only] one body so it is with Christ.”
It is interesting to note, that when Paul talks about the Body of Christ, and each of us having our unique placement in the Body, there is no mention of any of us being the Head.
Why?
Christ is the Head.
In order for the Body of Christ, and each of us, as members in particular, to function properly we must be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
In order for the Church to be an authentic representation of Jesus Christ, the Body of Christ, here on earth, the members of the Body must be submitted to the Head of the Body, the Lordship of Jesus Christ; then the Body of Christ will be ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit, walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
In order to be ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you personally must be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life.
Everything that surrounds the coming of the Holy Spirit; and everything that the Lord Jesus Christ wants to accomplish through the members of His Body will only take place orderly and obediently if the members of the Body, believers in Jesus Christ are submitted to Him and governed by the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost has come.
On the church calendar, Pentecost is remembered 50 days after celebrating the resurrection of Christ.
Q: Is the Body of Christ, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ submitted to Christ, as the Head of the Church, committed to living according to His Lordship ‘orderly’ and ‘obediently’, manifesting His life, governed by the Third Person of the Trinity, Holy Spirit?
Or is the Church not fulfilling living the life of the Body of Christ that it should be because it is not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; and therefore not governed by the Holy Spirit?
Strong questions, but they need to be asked.
The Church began proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ, submitted to Him, ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling what the Spirit of God, living in ‘order‘ and ‘obedience‘.
Acts 2:40-47 shows us the first fruits of that ‘order’ and ‘obedience’.
Is this lifestyle still happening today?
If the Church is not living in ‘order’ and ‘obedience’, then the Church is not being ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit.
If the Church is not being ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit, then it is not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, If the Church is not living in ‘order’ and ‘obedience’, then it is not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Strong words, but, are they true? (Transitive Property of Congruence)
The Church only functions properly when it is ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit.
{Q: Why did Paul write letters to the churches that he had founded? They had departed from the Lordship of Jesus Christ; they were embracing another gospel; they were focused on the wisdom of the world; they had left their foundation of ‘Christ crucified’; in short, they were not following the Lord in ‘order’ and ‘obedience’; therefore, they were not ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit but governed according to the wisdom of the world; the words of false teachers; and the whims of their own souls. They were not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ-yet they were Christians; those who had called upon the name of the Lord and were saved. Paul wrote the letters to the Churches so that they would come into doctrinal alignment , and ‘for reproof’, ‘for correction’, and ‘for instruction in righteousness’. (2 Timothy 3:16)}
The Holy Spirit ‘governs‘ those that are ‘submitted‘ to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
I want to close returning to Matthew 16:13-18.
Jesus said that He would build His Church upon the confession of faith(petra-immovable rock) that was spoken by Peter(petros-small stone).
What was Peter’s(petros) confession of faith(petra)?
Matthew 16:16, Peter (petra) said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Those words are the ‘petra’(the solid rock) upon which Christ will build His Church.
Go back and reread Acts 2:32-36, what is the ‘petra’ of Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost?
What did Peter communicate under the anointing of the Holy Spirit?
Peter’s ‘petra’ was ,“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (NKJV)
What is the Godhead doing on the Day of Pentecost?
The coming of the Holy Spirit got everyone’s attention.
B.U.T. (Believers Understand This) the centrality of the message is Jesus, and Him crucified, who God made both Lord and Christ.
In Matthew 16, Jesus responding to Peter’s confession of faith, told Him that flesh and blood had not revealed what he said to him, but that it was God the Father. I believe that revelation came by the Holy Spirit.
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood, filled with the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, and preached the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:37-39 records the response of those that heard the anointed words of Peter.
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them. “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (NKJV)
Acts 2:40-47 tells us what happened and how the Church was birthed into existence on the Day of Pentecost under the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Body of Christ, ‘governed‘ by the Holy Spirit.
This is a time when believers in the Lord Jesus Christ need to examine themselves and see if they are in the faith.(2 Corinthians 13:5)
Strong words: I want to encourage you as a believer to examine yourself.
I am not questioning your salvation.
I am asking you to stop and ask yourself, does my life reflect the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
Am I seeking to live in ‘order’ and ‘obedience’ to the Word of God?
Am I ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit?
Or am I doing my own thing, saved, waiting to go to heaven?
Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26, NKJV)
This challenge follows Christ’s interaction with His disciples asking them what men are saying about who He is?
Peter said that Jesus was the “Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Jesus’ response to Peter’s words was that upon this confession He would build His Church.
In effect, Jesus’ words to deny oneself, take up your cross and follow Me , is His ‘order’ that requires your ‘obedience’ if you want to be His disciple.
The follower of Christ, who responds ‘obediently’ to His ‘order’ acknowledges the ‘Lordship‘ of Jesus Christ, and will be ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit.
That disciple will learn to walk by the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh.
That disciple will experience ‘God’s Kingdom come’, and ‘God’s will be done’ in their life on earth as it is in heaven.
Impossible?
No, that is what it means to be conformed to the image of Christ.
This is the life that the Apostle Paul, saw before him, cried out for, and pressed forward to obtain (Philippians 3), and wrote letters to the churches he had founded to focus their attention upon; specifically ‘Christ crucified’, the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to be ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit.
The hour in which we are living necessitates our diligence to focus on the Lord, to study His Word, and to walk in the Spirit.
This comes from submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, being ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit, learning to walk after the Spirit ‘orderly’ and ‘obediently’.
Be blessed in your walk with the Lord, a brother in Christ, deo
Living Words of Encouragement 