PENTECOST IN SEPTEMBER (ACTS 2)
We believe (chorus)
Call to worship:
pastor michael champoux
Joel 2.28-32
song:
Let your kingdom come
Historical reading:
pastor andrew loginow
Nicene Creed
song:
His mercy is more
Van der Harst baby dedication:
Pastor brett eckel
Confession & Pardon:
pastor zachary mcguire
Doxology
song:
Christ the sure & steady anchor
Sermon:
Dr. alex loginow
PENTECOST IN SEPTEMBER (ACTS 2)
Introduction
Most of you know that before Bethany and I moved back to Michigan 10 years ago I was the pastor of a small rural church in Fordsville, Kentucky. There was a certain member of that church named Link Midkiff. Ole’ Link would sit on the front row left side (if you’re looking out from the pulpit). Link would fall asleep every week during the sermon and if I ever preached past noon somehow miraculously Link would wake up and he’d stare at me and start tapping his watch like so.
Well one day Link comes to me and asks me if Bethany and I wanted any turnips. The truth is that I did not want any turnips but I was a young pastor trying to connect with an older member of my congregation who was sometimes of the opinion that I can be longwinded so I said, “sure.” So Link says, “meet me at my farm tomorrow.” So the next day Bethany, myself, and baby Alex, Jr. loaded up in our Ford Explorer and drive over to Link Midkiff’s farm. When we arrived Link said, “come on out to the field and you can get your turnips.” So we drive out to a section of his crop field parallel to the road and Link gets out of his car and I get out of mine and Link says, “alright, here we are; dig ‘em up and they’re all yours.”
I think this goes without saying but I was under the impression that I was driving over to Link’s house to pick up some turnips that I would take home, let sit for a while, and subsequently throw away for the sole purpose of endearing myself to Link Midkiff. Now I find myself in Link’s field, digging up turnips that I don’t even want. I don’t know if Link was ribbing me, or if that’s how southerners gift each other vegetables, but I came away from that experience with 3 things – (1) a story; (2) a lesson learned; and (3) the first fruits of Link Midkiff’s turnips, which sat in our kitchen until they rotted and we threw them away.
The first fruits are what Acts 2 is all about. Acts 2 is about Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ to reap the first fruits of Christ’s kingdom. Pentecost means 50 because Israel celebrated Pentecost 50 days after Passover and for the last 2,000 years Christians celebrate Pentecost 50 days after Easter. In Exodus 23 and Leviticus 23 yhwh commanded Israel to observe Pentecost – also called the feast of weeks, or the day of first fruits (Num 28.26), or the feast of harvest (Lev 23.22). Pentecost is 1 of 3 annual feasts that required all able-bodied Jewish men to travel to Jerusalem to the temple to offer sacrifices (Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Booths). Pentecost was the holy day every year when God’s people offered the first fruits of their wheat and they remembered the giving of the Torah (Gen – Deut).
Now Acts 2 reveals to us that the reason Israel practiced this feast for hundreds of years was to point forward to Jesus sending the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is the celebration of the final coming of the Holy Spirit to gather God’s people. We have already read Acts 2 and it is lengthy so we will divide the passage into 3 sections and make some observations from each section. This is how we will divide the text: the 1st section, verses 1-13, we’ll label this first section, “The Holy Spirit.” The 2nd section, verses 14-41, we’ll label that section, “The Gospel.” The 3rd section, verses 42-47, which we’ll label, “The Church.”
The Holy Spirit (Acts 2.1-13)
Acts 2 picks up 10 days after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 1. Jesus ascended 40 days after his resurrection and Pentecost is 10 days later, 50 days after the resurrection of Christ. Verse 1 in the ESV reads, when the day of Pentecost arrived…But the Greek text more accurately reads, “and in the fulfillment of the day of Pentecost.”
The word arrived in the ESV is the Greek word, συμπληροῦσθαι, which is better translated as “fulfilled.” A well-respected Greek lexicon defines συμπληροῦσθαι as, “to come to the end of a period of time, with the implication of the completion of an implied purpose or plan.”[1] Verse 1 is telling us that the meaning of Pentecost, the meaning of the feast of weeks, was fulfilled on that day in redemptive history. The reason that yhwh commanded Israel to practice the feast of weeks for hundreds of years was to prepare the world for the day we’re reading about 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and 10 days after the ascension of Jesus Christ.
Pentecost is the fulfillment of the promise made in Ezekiel 36.27 where God declares in the new covenant, and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Peter says Pentecost is the fulfillment of God’s promise in Joel 2 to pour his Spirit out on all of his people. Pentecost begs the question that Christians often ask – what is the difference between how the Holy Spirit worked under the old covenant versus how he works under the new covenant? What is the difference between how believers were saved under the old covenant versus the new? What is so special about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost?
The answer is the difference between 2 distinct works of the Holy Spirit – regeneration and indwelling. Regeneration refers to the work of the Spirit wherein he makes us spiritually alive. Because we’re born with a sin nature the Bible uses different word pictures to describe our spiritual condition – dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2.1); blind; deaf; heart of stone (Ezek 36.26) – all of these metaphors reveal that apart from the work of God we are naturally adverse to God. Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit where he changes our affections from the posture of against Christ to the posture of loving Christ. The Spirit raises our hearts from spiritual death; he opens our spiritual eyes; he opens our spiritual ears; he transforms our heart of stone into a heart of flesh.
Regeneration always precedes faith. Every person in the history of the world who has ever believed God’s promise, believed because the Holy Spirit first worked regeneration. This was true in the Old Testament under the old covenant and is still true today. Regeneration did not change because of Pentecost.
What changed at Pentecost is the other work of the Holy Spirit: indwelling. Under the old covenant the dwelling of the Holy Spirit was communal – the Spirit dwelt in the tabernacle and the temple and the people would gather to where God dwelt. There were special occasions when the Spirit would indwell particular individuals for a special work – prophets, priests, and kings – but it was never permanent. 1st Samuel 16.14 tells us that yhwh removed his Spirit from King Saul. King David begged yhwh not to take his Holy Spirit from him (Ps 51.11).
But under the new covenant God promised that his Spirit would permanently indwell every individual believer. This is what happened at Pentecost – Jesus sent the Holy Spirit fully and finally to not only regenerate believers but also to permanently indwell us. Ephesians 1.13-14 says that we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. At the baptism of John Jesus of Nazareth was the 1st human to be permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit and after Pentecost, the Spirit permanently indwells every believer.
Luke then uses vivid imagery to describing the apostles speaking in tongues or languages, which was the sign Christ gave to verify the coming of the Spirit. There was a sound like a mighty rushing wind; divided tongues as of fire appeared. Throughout Scripture fire represents the presence of God (think of the burning bush in Exod 3). In Matthew 3.11 John says he baptizes with water but Christ will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. In Luke 1 Jesus promised that after he ascends the Father would baptize them in the Spirit. All of this imagery describes this sign, proving the baptism of the Spirit: the apostles spoke in different languages so that all of the visitors to Jerusalem could understand them. Pentecost is when Christ baptized them in the Spirit and fire and speaking in different languages is the proof.
Pentecostal and charismatic Christians have misinterpreted tongues to mean speaking in unintelligible languages. Some Christian traditions even claim that if one does not speak in tongues he or she is not saved. That is not what Scripture is saying. Tongues in Scripture refer to actual languages not unintelligible languages. That’s why in verses 6 and 11 all of the visitors hear the apostles speaking in their own language.
Why was speaking in different languages the sign Christ gave for Pentecost? Speaking in various tongues points to the reality that God’s kingdom is no longer merely Israel but now it is comprised of the nations. That is why the 12 apostles speak various languages because the gospel is going to go to the nations (Acts 1.8). Jesus sent his Spirit to collect his elect from all nations. In response to this scene the crowd to ask if the apostles are drunk and in verse 15 Peter’s like, “we’re not drunk, it’s 9a!” Why did this scene cause the crowd to wonder if the apostles were drunk? The best response I’ve heard is that the apostles were so happy; the apostles had so much joy, that everyone assumed they had to be drunk.
The Gospel (Acts 2.14-41)
Moving to our 2nd section in verses 14-41, the 1st thing we should note is that just like we saw in Acts 1: Scripture is once again fulfilled and Scripture is all about Christ. In his sermon Peter quotes Joel 2, which Pastor Mike read in our call to worship, Peter also quotes Psalm 16 and Psalm 110. All of those passages (like every passage in the Old Testament and the entire Bible) are about Jesus and each of those passages is fulfilled on Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost. And the content of Peter’s sermon further proves the point.
From these passages Peter preaches the gospel. The gospel is the good news of God’s salvation of sinners; the gospel is the announcement of the reversal of the curse. The gospel is the message that God is our holy creator and that we have sinned against God and deserve eternal conscious punishment in hell. Peter tells us that Jesus did mighty works, wonders, and signs to reveal that he is God incarnate; Jesus is truly God and truly man; Jesus is the Christ promised from Genesis 3.15.
Even before God created the world the Holy Trinity made a definite plan for Jesus to die and for God to raise him up. In his life Jesus never sinned but he had to die for the sins of his people. God’s just penalty for sin is death and Jesus had to pay our penalty. But Peter goes on to say that it was not possible for death to hold Jesus and that’s because Jesus never sinned. The only power that death has over anyone, the only reason death can keep us in the ground is because we deserve to die because we sin but Jesus never sinned so death could not hold Jesus.
So on the 3rd day Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead and 40 days later he ascended to the right hand of the Father where God made him both Lord and Christ. It is from the right hand of God that Jesus then poured out the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit could not permanently indwell God’s people until the work of Christ was finished because God cannot permanently dwell with sin but since we are in Christ, and Christ has no sin, God can dwell within us. That’s what happened at Pentecost.
In verses 37-41 we see that hearing the gospel is not enough, there must also be a response to the gospel. Verse 37 says that when the crowd heard the gospel they were cut to the heart. This is the work of regeneration we mentioned early – the Spirit opened their eyes to believe. Peter then tells the crowd to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. This promise is for those who believe and for their children. This gospel is to be passed down through the generations.
To repent means to confess that you are a sinner and turn from your sin. You can only do so when the Holy Spirit has worked regeneration and indwelt you and that is revealed by your faith. How do you know that you have faith in Jesus? Do you have the knowledge, assent, and trust? Do you know that God is holy; that you are a sinner, and that it is only through the person and work of Jesus that you are saved?
That knowledge is the starting point but it is not faith. Faith also includes assent. Do you actually think those things are true? Do you actually believe that God is holy and that you are a hopeless sinner apart from the person and work of Jesus?
But knowledge and assent both fall short of saving faith. The key element of saving faith is trust. Do you trust in Jesus? Do you trust Jesus with your eternal destiny the same way that you trust that chair you’re sitting in to hold you up right now? Do you trust Jesus the same way you trust drinking water – with the understanding that you have nothing to offer water other than the reality that without water, you will die? Are you betting all of eternity on the fact that it’s all on Jesus or else you’re going to hell? Transfer your trust to Jesus; repent and believe the gospel.
When you trust Jesus, your first act of obedience is to be baptized. We practice believer’s baptism here at Christ Community Church meaning we baptize people after they confess faith in Christ. There are other Reformed churches (Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed) that practice infant baptism based partially on verse 39. We’re not mad at those churches because even though we practice a different mode of baptism we both believe baptism has the same meaning: it is a sign of the new covenant picturing our identification with the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Church (Acts 2.42-47)
In the final section of Acts 2, the church, we see that this group of baptized Christians live their lives together in the local church and Luke gives 4 timeless marks of the local church. The church has always devoted themselves to: (1) the apostles’ teaching, which refers to orthodox Christian doctrine, a Christ-centered reading of Scripture, and the preaching of the gospel. (2) Fellowship – more on that in a minute. (3) The breaking of bread, which specifically refers to the other sacrament, the Eucharist. And (4) the prayers; the church has always practiced and discipled others to practice prayer.
Fellowship is the Greek word κοινωνίᾳ, which means, “an association involving close mutual relations and involvement.”[2] It is the picture of a group of rowers all rowing in the same direction. Fellowship does not merely refer to coffee before a Bible study or a dinner in the gym but pictures all of us working together in the same direction. The rest of the chapter gives us a picture of how the early church practiced κοινωνίᾳ. These verses have been divisive for Christians in recent history because it seems to be describing the early church living in a socialistic way. Christians on the far left have used this passage to argue for a type of Christian socialism and Christians on the far right have either argued that this is not what the text is describing or at least even if it is, we don’t have to live this way.
Is the socialistic communal living in this passage descriptive or prescriptive or neither? It is no less than descriptive and if you deny that you are letting your politics influence your hermeneutics. The text is clear that the early church were selling all of their possessions and living together and supporting each other. The question is whether the passage is prescriptive – does Acts 2 command church socialism?
The answer is no and yes. Does Acts 2 command us to live in a socialistic way, especially influenced by modern socialism? No. Other passages in Scripture affirm and defend the reality of personal property. Other passages command men to work to provide for their families. Personal financial responsibility and personal property are affirmed and defended in Scripture.
But there is a sense in which these verses are prescriptive and that is because Pentecost is the fulfillment of Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23 is where yhwh commands Israel to practice Pentecost (the feast of weeks) and part of that command is:
And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God (Lev 23.22).
In Matthew 25, speaking on the final judgment Jesus teaches something similar when he says this:
Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt 25.41-46).
In James 2 the Apostle James teaches us:
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it…14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead(Jas 2.8-10; 14-17).
At least in part, the fellowship that we have with one another is that we take care of one another. If a brother or sister has a need, we do whatever we can to meet that need at our own personal cost. If your understanding of Christianity is not in line with that kind of fellowship then you stand opposed to the early church, you stand opposed to the church throughout history, and most importantly, you stand opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
But Pentecost should create that kind of fellowship in the church because Pentecost is where we finally and fully have fellowship with God. Pentecost is the celebration of the final coming of the Holy Spirit to gather God’s people. The Father and the Son have sent the Spirit to indwell all of God’s elect, the church, through the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments. There is a harvest of people from all the nations who have been predestined before the foundation of the world. Through the Spirit and the Word the ascended Lord Jesus is collecting his harvest and unlike Link’s turnips, Jesus wants his harvest and he will keep us forever.
[1] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 637). New York: United Bible Societies.
[2] Ibid.