Setting the scene — Psalm 104:27-34
John 14:8-17 — How the Holy Spirit is one with Father and Son
Acts 2:1-21 — The Spirit of God comes with roar of wind and flames
Romans 8:14-17 — Life in the Spirit is knowing who we are in Jesus
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Setting the scene — Psalm 104:27-34
27-28 All creatures look to You to give them their food at the proper time. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
29-30 When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the ground.
31-32 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works — He who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33-34 I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the Lord.
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John 14:8-17 — How the Holy Spirit is one with Father and Son
Jesus explains how in the Trinity He is the representation of the Father
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
“Show us the Father” — Philip didn’t understand that in Jesus he was seeing the very embodiment of God.
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
“Such a long time” — a close three-year relationship.
10 “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work.
“The Father living in Me” — Jesus begins to explain how, despite bitter opposition, the Holy Spirit makes real His claim “The Father and I are one”, John 5:18, John 10:30.
11 “Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
“Believe Me” — the idea of distinct persons within the Trinity who indwell one another contradicts human logic. It is by faith we believe Jesus and His oneness with the Father — then with the eyes of faith we see it.
12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
“Do the works… and greater things” — because Jesus was going to Father, then to send the Holy Spirit. Now Jesus’ works would be continued by ordinary but empowered people. Pentecost set the scene with more believers added in a day than during all of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The story of the early church is how Jesus’ works continued and multiplied.
13-14 “And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it.
“In My name” — which means praying in faith the prayers that Jesus would pray — and that He can intercede for us in heaven. “Name” stands for the whole person and their values.
15 “If you love Me, keep My commands.
“Keep My commands” — first to love God and love others, Matt. 22:37-39. Loving Jesus and loving His ways are inseparable.
16-17 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.
“Another Advocate to help you” — the first of an important series of passages in John about the imminent sending of the Spirit. Advocate is a legal term like defence barrister but broader e.g. Counsellor, Comforter, Encourager.
• For further study, John 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-15, 1 John 2:1.
Reflection
SUMMARY The three central thoughts in this passage are that (1) Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him; (2) His followers are to keep His commands, something that those who believe in Him will be motivated to do; and (3) this is a continuing partnership with Jesus continues through the Spirit of Truth.
APPLICATION Each of these strands is difficult to understand in a cerebral way. The key is to take spiritual view, in which they can be seen to weave together as three strands of one spiritual truth. As believers who know and love Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus will continue to do Jesus’ work, in us and through us.
QUESTION How does the Holy Spirit enable Jesus-like actions in us?
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Acts 2:1-21 — The Spirit of God comes with roar of wind and flames
The gathered crowd hear the disciples praising God in many different dialects
1-2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
“Pentecost” — one of the three great pilgrimage festivals, fifty days after Passover.
“Together” — meaning (1) physically assembled and (2) united in mind and spirit through their engagement together in prayer as Jesus had instructed.
“Wind” — breath or wind is a symbol of God’s Spirit, Ezekiel 37:9, 14, John 3:8.
3-4 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
“All of them” — the public start of this new fellowship of unity, power and witness is marked by phenomena associated with God’s presence, including storm sounds, the appearance of fire, the infilling of the Holy Spirit and uttering praise of God in unlearned languages.
“Fire” — a symbol of divine presence, as at the burning bush, but also associated with judgment, Exodus 3:2, Matt. 3:12.
“All… were filled” — a dramatic transformation for the 12, and probably all of the 120.
“Began to speak in other tongues” — the infilling of the Spirit comes in various ways but the release of a ‘heavenly’ prayer and praise language is typical.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
“God-fearing Jews” — devout Jews made pilgrimage for Passover and Pentecost from time to time.
6-8 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?
“Each one… their own language” — dispersed Jews spoke Greek and Aramaic along with their regional languages.
9-11 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
“Visitors” — from Persia to Egypt to Rome. There was a big population of Jews in Alexandria, and also in Rome.
12-13 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
“Made fun of them” — attempting to explain astounding miracles.
14-15 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
“Nine in the morning” — or the third hour. Jews attending a festival would fast until mid-morning at least, so the accusation was ridiculous.
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“Spoken by the prophet Joel” — literally, “this is that..”. Peter’s sermon, the first of about 30 speeches in Acts, begins with explaining how the miracle was an initial fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy, which was well known to the Jewish hearers.
17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
“In the last days” — marking the beginning of the era of ‘last days’ in which we also live. By contrast, before this time the Spirit of God anointed certain prophets, priests and kings for their role. What Joel saw (other prophets also) was the Holy Spirit being conferred more widely, on all kinds of people.
18-20 ” ‘Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
“Before the… Day of the Lord” — Joel’s prophecy extends to the final return of the Messiah in judgment, which will conclude the end time era that Pentecost introduced.
21 ” ‘And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ “
“Everyone who calls” — all people are summoned to recognise their sinful independence and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ. This same message, taken up by Paul also, was repeated consistently throughout the Mediterranean world.
Reflection
IN PRACTICE Peter has the qualities of a leader who has learned hard lessons, but public speaking and teaching from the Scriptures was unfamiliar territory for a fisherman — especially in front of a huge and ethnically-diverse crowd who are demanding answers. Peter explains clearly and succinctly by use of ‘this is that” references from the Scriptures which explained perfectly what was happening — a revelation that may have surprised him as much as the crowd.
APPLICATION Jesus had told them (John 14:12) that they would go on to do “greater things” than He had done. And here, in front of the crowd who had participated in this Pentecost outpouring, Peter had begun to see the truth of this! By the time the long and tiring day was over and 3,000 of the hearers had been baptised as believers, Peter and the other fishermen had seen another kind of miraculous catch, and Jesus’ greater works had clearly started to happen.
QUESTION What limits what you could do, for Jesus and by His Spirit?
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Romans 8:14-17 — Life in the Spirit is knowing who we are in Jesus
The Spirit reveals how we become children of God through spiritual adoption
14-15 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
“Adoption to sonship” – a big theme in the post-resurrection NT. By spiritual rebirth through faith, we become “new creations” with a new identity in Christ. We have a new, unearned spiritual status being adopted as children of God, no less.
• For further study, read 2 Cor. 5:17, Galatians 4:4-7, Gal. 6:15.
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
“We are God’s children” – in the Greek-Roman world, formal adoption conferred the same rights, and inheritance, as a natural child, e.g. Caesar Augustus was the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.
“Co-heirs with Christ” — everything belongs to Christ, but by grace we get to share what is His. We also get to share mockery, ridicule and worse in a world dominated by sin.
Reflection
SUMMARY Some decades after Pentecost, Paul teaches one of the foundational freedoms of new life empowered by the Spirit of Jesus. Through spiritual rebirth we become ‘family’ — described as co-heirs with Christ — and partners with Him in both pain and privilege.
APPLICATION Knowing who we are is how we pray prayers of spiritual authority that come from an awareness of the spiritual stature that has been conferred on us.
QUESTION What is a big prayer you have felt unable to express up till now?
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PRAYER Thank You, Father, that You did not leave us alone when Jesus returned to glory by Your side.
And thank you that by the Spirit of Jesus we can know Him like those first disciples, so close He is a part of us.
How we value the help of the Helper! Amen.
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