“Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear….When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭33‬, ‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let me pause for a moment. Peter said something of great significance which is often ignored as a vital part of the preaching of the good news.  

The gift of the Holy Spirit! 

The Holy Spirit’s return is the completion of the work of Jesus on earth. He came to administer in people what Jesus accomplished by His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. 

Jesus promised…

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you….“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭18‬, ‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Much is made of the spectacular side of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in some streams of the church…spiritual gifts…speaking in tongues…gold dust…feathers from heaven…even “falling down under the power” and laughing or making animal sounds. Some churches major on these “manifestations” as evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in a gathering and in people. 

What does the Bible say? Are these “goosebump” experiences the primary purpose for the Holy Spirit’s return to the believer, the be-all and end-all of His ministry?

Jesus spent the remaining hours before His arrest and crucifixion coaching His disciples about the return and ministry of the Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ “other self”, another Advocate, one just like Him, sent by the Father to indwell His people. 

“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.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What Jesus said about the Spirit should alert us to His core function in the believer. Jesus did not come to entertain His people with spectacular signs and wonders. He came to restore God’s kingdom on earth and to confirm the nature of God’s rule by undoing what sin had destroyed. The miracles Jesus did in the power of the Spirit were signs that God was in charge. 

The Holy Spirit focuses our attention on Jesus. 

He does not lead us primarily to put us or what we do on display. He calls us to look at Jesus…to focus on Him so that we can be transformed into His likeness. 

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬, ‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Holy Spirit’s primary function is to convince the believer of righteousness. 

“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: …about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭8‬, ‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Spirit holds before us Jesus’ righteousness as the gift Jesus has given to us and the pattern for our lives. When we sin, the Spirit does not accuse or condemn…He calls us back to who we are in Christ. 

The Holy Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Jesus. 

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As we contemplate the glory of Jesus…every facet of who He is and what He did and does, the Holy Spirit slowly but increasingly changes us from the inside to conform to His likeness. This is the Father’s supreme purpose for His children… 

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Holy Spirit reproduces the character of Jesus in us. 

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Likeness to Jesus in character and behaviour is the evidence that He lives in us by His Spirit. 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As the seed of God’s Word takes root and grows in us when we obey and are led by His Spirit, the fruit that grows and matures is a reflection of Jesus’ nature, the fruit of a righteous life. 

To those who heard Peter’s explanation on the day of Pentecost, what they witnessed when the Holy Spirit fell on the believers was not a show to entertain them but a promise that they too, if they believed in Jesus, could participate in the new life Jesus had come to give them. 

What these onlookers needed on that day was a radical inward change that would transform their lives and their perspective. What they saw in the newly “drenched  in the Spirit” believers was what they craved… 

…and Peter promised it was theirs because Joel had prophesied the promise centuries before…and God had initiated the process when He called Abraham to follow Him. 

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What, then, of the gifts that some major on in the body of Christ? Are they important? Do they have meaning and relevance in the church? 

To be continued