The Pentecost Transformation
The heart of the gospel message is that the Triune God invites everyone everywhere into the Divine-human relationship through salvation in Jesus Christ.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus promised that another Advocate, the Holy Spirit, would arrive to support and empower his disciples to do even greater things than he had done (John 14 -16).
This article examines Acts 2 and explores seven transformational shifts released through Pentecost.
1. The Historical Shift of Pentecost
The resurrection and ascension of Christ, and subsequently the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, represents a transformative shift in the nature and dynamics of the Divine-human relationship.
Luke meticulously narrates the historical development of the early church throughout the book of Acts. Luke shows how God’s progressive work of redemption is “climaxed in Christ,” that salvation is made available exclusively through Christ, and that all humans can be saved “without adopting the customs of ethnic Israel.”[1]
Acts Chapter 2 describes the Holy Spirit’s spectacular theophany and the church’s subsequent birth at Pentecost. The Christian movement released at Pentecost forever changed the history of the world.
2. The Shavu’oth Pilgrimage
In Acts 2:8-12, Luke lists a diversity of ethnicities, cultures, and languages, representing the far-flung Jews of the diaspora who were making pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Fifty days after Passover, Jews from many nations gathered to participate in the festival of Shavu’oth (aka. Feast of Weeks or Pentecost), one of the biblically mandated Pilgrimage Feasts.
These religious events of the Hebrew liturgical calendar serve as annual prophetic reminders that all time is God’s time.
Shavu’oth, described in Leviticus 23:15-22, is an eschatological symbol that God desires to bless all nations and promises to redeem his people.[2] The redemption of all people from every nation was also the eschatological vision foreseen in Isaiah’s prophetic writings (Is 66:8-24).
3. The Redemption of All Nations
The seeds of God’s multi-ethnic offer of relationship are represented by this initial group of nationalities assembled from Asia, Africa, Arabia, and Europe (Luke 2:9-11).
This detail regarding national identity is vital because, as the Africa Study Bible comments, “Acts shows that Christianity is not a European religion. Jesus never entered Europe. God sent the message first to Asia, Africa, and then Europe. Because of this, we can deny the claim that “Jesus is the white man’s God.”[3] God’s action to proclaim the universality of the good news to many nations and extend his offer of salvation to those far off supports the theological truth that God invites everyone everywhere into relationship.
4. A Release of Spiritual Vitality
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit released “spiritual vitality” [4] that inspired the disciples to speak in tongues and “divine utterances,” [5] declaring the wonderful works (Greek: megaleios) of God in multiple languages (v. 11b).
The action of God’s Spirit at Pentecost is the miracle that enables the gathered multinational diaspora to hear and understand God’s glories in their heart language.[6]
Eleazar Fernandez reflects that “where diaspora people are, so are many languages, Pentecost can be understood as “a miracle of hearing, of understanding and, therefore, of caring.” [7]
These first believers cared for the lost and were fueled by the missional purpose of communicating the gospel message that “Jesus saves.” The redemption of the world is the nexus of the church’s missionary call.
5. The Mission of God Transformed Into a Collaborative Effort
At Pentecost, the mission of God transformed into a collaborative effort employing the outreach of both God and those who love and worship him, the ekklēsia, or body of Christ.
The people of God represent a diverse collective both in identity and function.[8] The body of Christ includes a plethora of cultural gifts, each highly valued and unified in worship by God’s Spirit.[9]
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the apostles, and the Early Church fulfilled Jesus’ instructions with “an astonishing single-mindedness of purpose” as they preached the gospel for the salvation of sinners and the edification of the saints everywhere.[10]
The Holy Spirit leads the apostles’ evangelistic outreach in speech and mission. The Spirit is “poured out on all flesh,” preparing the hearts of “all people everywhere” to receive the gospel.[11] By God’s Spirit, the ekklēsia is empowered to bear witness of the euangelion in any cultural context.
Inspired by the work of the Spirit and Jesus’ logos, the first Christians were empowered to be bold and courageous, live faithfully unto the Lord, and bear gospel witness despite adversity, persecution, and diaspora.
6. To The Ends of The Earth
The phrase “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8c) indicates that the gospel is to be inclusive of all peoples, all geographic locations, and all ethnicities.
The church is intended and empowered to be a prophetic, missional community, with accompanying signs and wonders linked with the “cosmic signs” that Joel, as quoted in Peter’s sermon, declares are evidence of the last days (Acts 2:19-20).[12]
The message of the kingdom will expand gradually and encompass all the known world. As Darrell Bock reads it, the call of the church is to be “missionary in direction and eschatological in focus.” [13]
7. The Holy Spirit Transcends Human Limitations
Acts 2:5-39 explains how the Holy Spirit transcends the limits of human communication, miraculously demonstrates God’s inclusive nature across racial and ethnic barriers, empowers the ecclesia, and reveals that God’s invitation of relationship is available for all.
Is Pentecost Transformation for Today?
So, what does “Pentecost Transformation” mean for the people of God today?
Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (He 13:8), the values and principles explored in this article remain as true today as they were at the church’s birth. Here are seven corollary applications.
1. The Holy Spirit is Essential
The promise, presence, and power of the Holy Spirit are as essential now as they were at the birth of the church. Even more so, the Spirit of Truth continues to reveal all truth and remains a very real and present resource for our needs today.
2. The church calendar is a prophetic symbol of God’s care.
For those who earnestly seek it, the religious observances of the church calendar can still serve as a reminder and prophetic symbol of God’s care and concern for believers today.
3. Remember the Jewish, Asian, and African roots of Christianity
As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to remember the Jewish roots of our faith. From its earliest beginnings in the book of Acts, the Christian faith was rooted in the scriptures, history, identity, and destiny of the Jewish nation and religion.[14]
Even more so, we need to be aware of the African, Asian, and Middle Eastern origins of the Christian faith.
We need to continually reference the early church’s value system of embracing all cultures.
For the early church, a conversion meant changing the direction of one’s life but not necessarily changing the substance of one’s cultural identity.[15]
4. Spiritual Vitality
The spiritual vitality of Pentecost is still available for all who will receive it. Spiritual vitality, of course, can mean many things. But for our purposes, consider embracing the power of the spirit in communication, both in proclamation and transmission and hearing and receiving. This study reminds us to rely on the presence, power, and ability of the Holy Spirit to give us ears to hear and open our mouths to speak (Luke 12:2).
5. Partners With God and others
Regarding “collaborative effort,” the Lord invites us to be partners in God’s great project of creation, redemption, and re-creation.
The power of the gospel is to save (Rom 1:16). Likewise, the blueprint for fruitfulness in God’s kingdom is to work together with other believers in the spirit of unity. As the Psalmists direct us, “Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live ( and work) together in unity and harmony." (Psalm 133:1, Uncle Robbie’s paraphrase).
6. Be Missionally and Prophetically Minded
Regarding “to the ends of the earth,” regular, everyday believers leading very busy lives need to remember that God’s heart is for people we don’t know, who may be very far away (or right next door!), and who are very, very, very different from us.
Therefore, I would encourage all believers to be intentionally missional minded and actively seek God’s heart about how they can reach across cultures to show the love of Christ. Missions can be done by “going”—participating in a local outreach or short-term mission trip—or by “sending”—helping fund mission projects.
Secondly, the church is called to be a prophetic people. A prophetic people can know Christ’s mind, think God’s thoughts, and sense God’s heart. We do this by building familiarity with God’s presence in the dialogical relationship of praise and prayer.
7. Rely on The Spiritual Gifts
Finally, we have to learn that God is teaching us to rely on the gifts of his Holy Spirit to do his work his way. I wrote about this in my last Brazil mission trip post. The Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart by faith, Christ in you the hope of glory—can and will transcend all human limitations to accomplish what is in God’s heart to accomplish through you.
God’s heart revealed through Pentecost is that He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).
Conclusion:
In the biblical era, Pentecost launched a historical shift in human understanding of relationship with God. The dynamic power of the Holy Spirit is still available to transform the world today.
[1] Craig S. Keener, “A Response to Friends’ Responses,” Trinity Journal 37, no.1 (Spring 2016): 91.
[2] Andrew Hill, Enter His Courts With Praise, 99.
[3] Africa Study Bible, 1579.
[4] Andrew Hill, Enter His Courts With Praise, 204.
[5] Daniel Block, For The Glory of God: Recovering A Biblical Theology of Worship (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014), 149.
[6] Keener, Acts Commentary, 2307.
[7] Eleazar S. Fernandez, Burning Center, Porous Borders: The Church in a Globalized World (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011), 216.
[8] Pierre Nordling, “Paul’s Ekklesia: a Study of Its Origin and Organization,” Örebro Teologiska Högskola (Örebro, Sweden, 2018): 15-16.
[9] Rolf Hille, “Worship—the Source and Standard of Theology,” Evangelical Review of Theology 33, no. 3 (July 2009): 257.
[10] Joel James and Brian Biedebach, “Regaining Our Focus: A Response to the Social Action Trend in Evangelical Missions,” The Master’s Seminary Journal 25, no. 1 (Spring 2014): 46.
[11] Adam Dodds, “The Mission of the Spirit and the Mission of the Church: Towards a Trinitarian Missiology,” Evangelical Review of Theology 35, no. 3 (July 2011): 213.
[12] Robert P. Menzies, “Acts 2.17-21: A Paradigm for Pentecostal Mission,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 17, no. 2 (2008): 200.
[13] Darrell L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2007), 141.
[14] Andrew F. Walls, “Old Athens and New Jerusalem: Some Signposts for Christian Scholarship in the Early History of Mission Studies,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 21, no. 4 (October 1997): 146-153.
[15] Walls, “Old Athens and New Jerusalem,” 148.
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