The Holy Spirit transformed a clueless group to a powerful united force

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St. Peter Preaching at Pentecost by Benjamin West
St. Peter Preaching at Pentecost by Benjamin West (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Before Pentecost, the [apostles] are clueless… and after Pentecost they are proclaiming, not only Christ’s death and resurrection for our salvation, but they are proclaiming, as Peter does in his sermon, the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy of the Spirit being poured out on all flesh. Suddenly, they not only get what Jesus has done, they get how the Prophets prophesied it. The Holy Spirit made them more intimate fellows of Jesus, then they had been before his ascension.

Acts 2 presents Pentecost as the giving of the Spirit to the church after the ascension of Christ to the Father. Just as the Spirit’s presence in Christ’s ministry was identified with his proclamation of the gospel (Isa 61:1 – 2; Lk 4:18 – 21), the consequence of the Spirit’s descent at Pentecost was the public proclamation of the gospel by Peter with the other apostles standing at his side (Ac 2: 14 – 36). And yet, it is vital to understand that the Spirit is the mediator of, not the surrogate for, Christ’s person and work. The redeeming work of Christ lies behind us, but the effect of that Word is at work in ‘these last days’ by the Spirit’s empowerment. With the Father, the Spirit gave the Son to sinners in the incarnation, and in the Upper Room Discourse (Jn 14 – 16) Jesus promised that when he ascended he would give the Spirit. We are the beneficiaries of this intratrinitarian exchange of gifts.

  • The Spirit’s ongoing ministry is judicial, convicting the world of sin and persuading us of our guilt and continual need for Christ’s righteousness. 
  • The Spirit guides us into all truth, which the Son embodies. 
  • The Spirit does not replace Jesus but unites us to our heavenly king and head, disrupting ordinary history by placing us into the new creation. 
  • The Spirit glorifies Jesus making him known through indwelling our hearts, as a gift (arrabon) of our final redemption, making all of Christ’s work our own. 
  • The Spirit thus mediates the threefold office of Christ to every believer. 
  • The Spirit gives and orchestrates the many gifts bestowed on the whole body through the ministry of the ordained office-bearers in Word and sacrament. 

These officers differ only in the graces of vocation with other believers, and not in the gracious status they all have in the Spirit of Christ. Through this ministry of the Spirit which began at Pentecost, we are remade into Christ’s likeness as prophets, priests, and kings: true and faithful witnesses in the cosmic courtroom, a choir answering antiphonally in praise to our Redeemer.

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