(Read Acts 2: 1-4)
The day of
Pentecost speaks starkly about what the Holy Spirit does, what His power, role and work are. Also, the day of Pentecost
testifies to what an indescribable honor God bestowed on us—because God led us
into the sphere of His own divine action. He made us partakers of the divine life, even co-laborers with Christ.
To better
open up the majesty of what God bestowed on the Church on the day of
Pentecost, it is in my opinion indispensible to compare the baptism of Jesus
Christ, in which the Holy Spirit played a central role, with what happened on
the day of Pentecost, in which the Holy Spirit again played a central role. It
is one and the same Holy Spirit, and in the sphere of God's plan and purposes
it can't be coincidental that these two events contain such similarities.
In both
events we see God's Spirit doing what God's Spirit does, what is essential to
the Spirit's acts in the sphere of creation. What is it that the Holy Spirit
does?
The Spirit indwells: (look at Romans 8:9-11; 1 Cor.
3:16; Gal. 4:6; John 14:23—about this last one, emphasis on the point that
while the Holy Spirit isn't specifically named in this verse, the whole meaning
of the verse depends on the role of
the Spirit in bringing the presence and power of the Father and Son into our
lives)
The Spirit enlivens and fills with power: (look at 1 Cor. 2:12,13; Gal. 5:16-18, 25;
Eph. 5:18; John 6:63)
The Spirit manifests God's glory: personally, I
believe that the glory that appeared in the tabernacle was a manifestation of
the Holy Spirit; also that the "star" that led the Magi to the house
in Bethlehem where they found the Christ Child was a specific manifestation of
God's Spirit. Also (look at 2 Cor. 3:7-8; 1 Peter 4:14)
The Spirit brings forth a new creation: (look at 1
Cor. 12: 13; 15:45; Titus 3:5)
This is the
Spirit of God who was displayed in the most awesome way in both the baptism of
Jesus Christ and the day of Pentecost.
Let's look
at the familiar passage concerning Christ's baptism (read Matt. 3: 13-17).
The baptism
powerfully testifies of the Trinity which today's holiday especially proclaims [Note: Pentecost is known in Ukraine and
other countries where the Orthodox Church predominates as "Trinity
Day"]. Father, Son and Spirit in one action announce the beginning of
a new day, a new reality, an entirely new order of things. The Father speaks,
the Spirit descends, the Son receives the anointing. This is the official
appointing and empowering of God's Christ before the whole world. This is the
greatest manifestation of the Holy Trinity in world history. We cannot imagine
the depth of the glory of this moment. The Spirit of God anoints the Son of God
in whom dwells all the pleasure of God the Father. Man could never have dreamed
up such a scenario. God astonishes us with the perfection of His self-witness.
And, by the way, witness is also
another key role and work of the Holy Spirit: (read John 15:26).
And so we
return to the day of Pentecost. In light of everything I've said already, what
I want to underline are two aspects of this great day: appointment and honor.
"Appointment"
itself has two aspects: authority and power. Either one without the other is
useless. On the day of Pentecost, God dramatically, in front of the whole
world, fills His Church with power and confirms her authority to preach the
Name and Gospel of His Son.
Concerning
this authority, the Scriptures tell us: (look at John 17:2; Acts 9:27,28;
16:18; Philippians 2:9)
And
concerning this power, the Scriptures say: (look at Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians
2:4,5; Ephesians 3:16)
Together
with the appointing of the Church, the day of Pentecost testifies to the
indescribable honor God deigned to
bestow on His people.
The Lord
God condescended to baptize His Church with the very Spirit with Whom He
baptized His holy Son Jesus Christ, and in so doing declared with stunning
clarity that He receives us in the
name of His Son—receives us, indeed, into the very life and fellowship of His
beloved, risen Son. Who can put that honor, the glory of that, into fitting
words? I can't. I think we all realize how unworthy we are of it, how
infinitely far any of us is from earning such honor, but that's precisely what grace, God's overflowing love, is all
about.
The day of
Pentecost is the holiday of the Holy
Trinity's superabundant, overflowing love, openly displayed in the anointing of
the Church of Christ—anointing for love, for witness, for authority and power,
for fellowship with the Most High and for the glory and joy of the Creator and
our Redeemer forever.
