The Descent of the Holy Ghost

In this portion of the Word of God we hear about the descent of the Holy Ghost. The day of Pentecost is a day of the most glorious events of salvation, a day when we commemorate that three thousand people were converted by the Lord to the Lord. We know that Pentecost is fifty days after the commemoration of Good Friday and Easter. The name Pentecost is from the Old Testament, and it means “the first fruits.”

We read in the Holy Scriptures that this day followed upon something before. It is not a day which the Lord just gave out of the darkness to the church. No, my readers, then we have a completely wrong perception of it. Something went before it, namely, the Counsel of Peace, where the Lord said, “How shall I place them among the children?” Also Advent, Christmas, Passion, Good Friday, Easter, and Ascension Day made way for the fulfillment of Pentecost. This day is the fruit of what has gone before.

In the first place, we may hear of the work of God the Father, of God the Son, and then of God the Holy Spirit. Shall we have the work of the third Person without the work of the Father and the Son? Then we must say, “Never and never!” One may try to imitate it, but there is no life in imitation. There is only life in the electing love of the Father, the redeeming love of the Son, and the applying work of the Holy Spirit.

Between Ascension Day and Pentecost we see the early church in their dependency.

Let us think for a moment how this day came about. Reverently speaking, if during a church service today the Lord would suddenly descend in power as He then came on the morning of Pentecost, I think many would run out of church for fear of their lives. But on that day of Pentecost, the church was waiting for the Lord's coming. They were, by the grace of God, together in one accord in spirit and supplication. Through the mighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and through that only Mediator, Christ Jesus, the Spirit would be poured out in their midst.

The pouring out of the Spirit had been promised to them, but what do we know about those things? The early church had received a clear promise of the coming of that day, and what would then be the effect, and the fruit, and the purpose of it. Thus there was much that went before.

Who were those who were together, that multitude together in one accord in prayer and supplication? They were all descendents of a fallen Adam. All by nature were under the curse of a righteous God. By nature all were enemies of their own good, and blind for the reality that stands before the door of each and every one. Except we are born again, we shall be lost forever. But then we see the great work of God, who found them and brought them together. He bound them together as beggars. There were Pharisees, there were scribes, there were all kinds of people, both plain and educated, but nevertheless all were wrong. All had been on the broad way that leads to destruction, but here we see the mighty works of the triune God.

The fruits of the Holy Ghost were so manifest in their lives, and they were praying for the fulfillment of the promise of the descent of the Holy Ghost. That is truly a mystery, but we can see how the early church understood the promise. And what was it that they understood? It was that “without Me ye can do nothing.”

Between Ascension Day and Pentecost we see the early church in their dependency. Oh, it is a great grace to live in childlike dependency on the Lord, and we see them in grace and in childlike fear, supplicating, always coming back to the same need. And what was that? “Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come.” If, by the grace of God, the church here in the Mesech of this world is made active by the Holy Spirit, then it prays for the honor of the Father, the honor of the Son, and the honor of His kingdom, and that will be by the power of the holy and ever blessed Spirit.

We think of the great day of Atonement in the time of the Old Testament. What was that day? It was a day of reckoning, a day of settling. That was a day in which truth and justice were on the foreground, a day in which grace and mercy were experienced. However, if we come to that great day of Atonement without the knowledge of sin, it has no meaning. The brazen serpent that was lifted up in the wilderness, what did it mean for those who were not bitten? It was just an idle tale. But what does it say to us?

In our text we see the church together in one accord in prayer and supplication. It is a church that is missing a certain fulfillment, a church which cannot live without that fulfillment. It is a church that is active, by the Holy Spirit, for the very glory of God in the coming of His kingdom. It is a church that looks up, waiting for the Lord, and that is what we may commemorate on Pentecost. “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place,” praying and waiting. It was fifty days after Easter; it was God's time.

There at Jerusalem, “suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” You hear that it first came to the church, to the gathered disciples. They were the first to receive this sudden appearance and work of the Holy Spirit, and it filled both the house and them. It is a mystery, for they themselves were filled with the Holy Ghost. Their whole life in exercise was proof of this.

The Spirit is referred to in the Bible in various places as that “rushing mighty wind.” It does not say that it filled all Jerusalem; no, it filled the house where the church was gathered. It is a message of examination, my readers. Does the Lord at times fill your house with the Holy Ghost? That is to say, is there a people who are in one accord for the need of the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives and in those of their children?

Pentecost means that the church of God, when it is right, has this work and is then praying for the multiplying of that work. It is a personal work of that ever-blessed Spirit, who arrests and leads into the mysteries of God the Father and God the Son. That Spirit convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, giving to believe in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. Then one may say, “He for me!” The Holy Spirit gives to believe that without Him one cannot believe. He gives that one may believe, but also that one must believe. May it be given by the Holy Spirit to experience that blessed grace of faith to believe in God through Christ.

Salvation is peace with God and gives a hope of eternal life; then that church will desire God's glory. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray first, “Hallowed be Thy Name,” and then for the coming of His kingdom. May you receive that your prayers begin in truth with “O Lord, glorify Thy Name.” By nature none can say this, but not even a child of God can say it in truth except by the Holy Spirit. You realize, my readers, that Pentecost does not just happen. The Lord prepares His church for it, and the Lord causes His church to be busy with His glory and the coming of His kingdom.

The effect of the day of Pentecost was seen and feit. It is a sanctifying power. In other words, to say it simply, the greatest sinner, receiving the work of the Holy Spirit, will be sanctified and will choose the ways of the Lord. “They began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The people heard this; they recognized it as divine and supernatural. It was a work from heaven. And we see this effect developing into God's purpose. “The Lord works in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.”

God had a purpose, and neither the world, nor the devil, nor any fallen man could stop or hinder it. What was that purpose? It was the conversion of three thousand souls. What is the day of Pentecost for us, my readers? In Jerusalem everybody became busy with what was spoken by the apostles. Yes, there were also those who were busy with hatred, with wicked accusations and mocking words. But as we gather with our families, what will we talk about? In Jerusalem the entire city was taken up with the message, but how is it with us?

My unconverted fellow travelers to eternity, there is but one step, and the Judge stands before the door. And people of God, what do you talk about? What do our children hear from us? Do our lives have any resemblance to the church before Pentecost? The church before Pentecost was not something they worked out and gained by themselves. No, it was grace and grace alone.

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