The dawn of a new dispensation was finally here! After numerous appearances to His disciples after His resurrection, Jesus ascended slowly into heaven leaving His disciples with many memories, teachings, and a special promise. Imagine the mixed feelings that the disciples thought as they realized that Jesus was actually leaving them in the flesh! The disciples then remembered the final commandment that Jesus had given:

Jesus had commanded His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait until they were baptized with the Holy Ghost before going out and preaching the Gospel (Good News of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection). The Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Baptism of the Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, and the Living Water are all synonymous terms for this experience that the disciples were about to receive. Jesus had spent much time teaching on Living Water that only He could give, and the second birth was about to finally happen. Jesus’ death on the cross and ascension into heaven had fulfilled all of the requirements for sin under the law, and now a new dispensation was ushered in.

The disciples returned to Jerusalem and waited for the promise of the Holy Ghost in an upper room. All remaining eleven disciples of Jesus were there, as well as, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the other faithful women. Jesus’ “brethren,” meaning His brothers and sisters, were also there which would have included His brother James the writer of the Book of James. Other people were there also, and the total amount of people present were about 120. Together, they began to pray and ask God for guidance and His Spirit. After a while, Peter stood up and quoted Psalms 109:8 in reference to Judas Iscariot.

Peter used the scripture to reveal the need for someone to take Judas Iscariot’s place in the original twelve. The replacement disciple would have to be someone who had been with Jesus and the twelve from the time of John’s baptism until Jesus’ ascension.

The disciples appointed two men who fulfilled these qualifications, Justus and Matthias. Lots here either means a vote, or a method of chance very similar to our rolling dice today or flipping a coin. Matthias won and became the twelfth disciple. Notice that Matthias had been with Jesus since the beginning but was not chosen to be in the inner group by Jesus during His earthly ministry. Matthias had not let that affect his love for Jesus, and because of his faithfulness, became one of the twelve leaders of the Apostolic church. Just because God does not use us exactly like we would like today, does not mean that we should give up and stop serving Him! God may have us reserved for a special time!

Jesus had ascended into heaven forty days after His resurrection, approximately 42 days after the Passover. Remember, the Passover had been the celebration of how God delivered the children of Israel from the Egyptians through the blood of the Lamb applied to their doorposts. Jesus died on Passover and became the perfect, sacrificial Lamb of God thus fulfilling all requirements of the Passover forever. We still celebrate the Passover today, but we call it Easter. Fifty days after the Passover, the Jews were required under Mosaic law to celebrate another feast called Pentecost. The word “Pentecost” literally means fifty days. The Feast of Pentecost celebrated the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. On the Day of Pentecost, slightly after a week of prayer and waiting, the awaited promise, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, fell!

The hundred and twenty were still faithfully praying and they were all with one accord in the upper room, when suddenly a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind came in and filled the room! Jesus had compared the Baptism of the Spirit with the wind in John 3:8. Different tongues spreading like fire sat upon each of them, then they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in a language that they had never before learned, but the Spirit was teaching their tongue how to speak it instantly! The Living Water that Jesus had promised was here!

Jerusalem was very much an international city with many people from all over the world. When news spread of this wonderful experience, many of the Jews who had moved to Jerusalem from distant lands were amazed to hear the 120 speaking in their native language! Remember the majority of Jesus’ ministry and converts had come from Galilee which was the lower and middle classes. For the most part, these disciples were not known for their education! As the Spirit caused the disciples to speak in other languages, these foreign Jews could understand them perfectly and knew that there was no way that these unlearned, Galileans could have study their native language. Verse 11 explains what people say when they do speak in tongues when receiving the Holy Ghost, as they heard them speak the “wonderful works of God.”

All of these men were amazed and could not understand the meaning of this new experience that they were witnessing. Others said surely they are drunk. At this time anointing of God came upon Peter and he spoke out and began to teach and explain exactly the relevance of this experience. As we read Peter’s explanation, remember that Jesus had prophesied that Peter would be the Rock upon which He would build the church. On this day of Pentecost, Peter began to explain the foundation of the church:

Peter pointed out that it was too early in the morning to be drunk with wine, as it was only about three hours after sunrise (around 9 o’clock A.M.). Peter then began to quote Joel 2:28-32. The Prophet Joel had prophesied of a time when God’s Spirit would be poured out on all flesh! Now the Spirit of God had been poured out just as the scriptures had promised! Knowing that the Jews who were listening knew the scriptures, Peter began to mention some of the prophecies of the Messiah and showed how Jesus fulfilled these prophecies. Many of these prophecies we have already covered during the lesson on Jesus’ crucifixion. As the anointed preaching of Peter revealed to these Jews that Jesus really was the Messiah, conviction began to fall upon the crowd. Since we have already thoroughly covered the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus, we will continue with the ending words of Peter’s sermon. The entire sermon is found in Acts 2:14-36.

Some people have tried to discredit the Day of Pentecost experience by saying that the disciples were simply being used in the gifts of the Spirit and that Peter was the interpreter of what God wanted spoken. This theory is flawed for several reasons. First, the Jews already understood what the 120 were saying while speaking in tongues because they heard them speak in their own tongues (Acts 2:11), they did not need an interpreter. Second, Peter addressed the crowd in a common language, which was probably Hebrew or Greek, after He stopped speaking in tongues. In other words, Peter did not have to speak in the native tongue of each of the onlookers because they all spoke a common language. In those days this was not rare as most people spoke several languages. Jesus Himself spoke at least three: Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. Because of the earlier conquest of the known world by Alexander the Great, the common language of the world was Greek. This breaking down of the language barrier was one of the events that paved the way for Christ’s earthly ministry. Third, the Book of I Corinthians (where Paul teaches on God using the Gifts of the Spirit, were written to believers who had already had received the Day of Pentecost experience of receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues (I Corinthians 6:11, 19 12:13). Whenever Paul founded a church, he taught the Day of Pentecost experience just as the prophets of old had foretold (Romans 1:2) Tongues and Interpretation are one of the Gifts OF the Spirit, and are thus for those who have already received the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. There are also many other proofs that explain the difference uses of tongues in scripture which we cover more thoroughly when we study the Spiritual Gifts in I Corinthians chapter 12-14.

Peter concluded his sermon by pointing out that the very people who were listening had crucified the Lord and Saviour Jesus! This bold statement is very different from the Peter that we saw a few weeks before returning to the fishing boat. This is also a very different Peter from the one who was so scared of the crowds that he denied Christ three times! What is different now? Peter has been filled with the Holy Ghost! The Holy Ghost has equipped Peter to overcome the shortcomings in his life and boldly serve the Lord! Receiving the Holy Spirit today, still has the same effect on people.

The crowd, convicted in their hearts and knowing that they have crucified the Messiah, then asked Peter what they must do. Peter’s answer is very relevant to us today because we too have sinned against God (Romans 3:23), and need to know what we must do!

This answer is the foundation of the true Apostolic Church. Jesus had stated that He would give the “keys to the kingdom” to Peter. Here Peter gives us the keys to entering into the kingdom of God: Repent, be Baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter then goes on to assure the crowd that the promise was for them, their families, even people along way off (which is us today)! Even today we must obey Acts 2:38 to enter the kingdom of God, for it is on this teaching that the Apostolic church was founded!

Those that “gladly received the word” were baptized (both by water and by Spirit). About 3,000 souls received the Pentecost experience after Peter preached. Even today, we must be baptized with water in Jesus’ name and by the Spirit, but cannot receive it unless we “gladly receive the word!” Remember, Jesus’ commandment before ascending:

The disciples were commanded by Jesus to teach the world “all things whatsoever I have commanded.” What Peter taught on the day of Pentecost was exactly what Jesus had commanded His disciples to teach! Act 2:38 is just as relevant today as it ever was because we are still in the Dispensation of Grace!

The new converts did not just stop with a one time experience with God, but continued in the apostle’s doctrine and teaching! God anointed the apostles to do many wonders and signs and a respect for God was upon the early church. Jesus had come to set up a spiritual kingdom and that kingdom had come: the church! Before we continue our study as to the events of the early church, let’s look closer at some of the prophecies of this experience and see what actually happens when a person receives the Holy Spirit today with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Peter, who preached the day of Pentecost, became the leader of the Apostolic church just as God had intended. Peter later wrote letters to the church. We have copies of some of these letters: the books of I Peter and II Peter. In I Peter, Peter wrote about the prophecies of the prophets regarding the pouring out of the Holy Ghost:

The Salvation that we can experience in Grace was prophesied and searched for by the prophets of old! They prophesied about the outpour of God’s Spirit but could not receive it because of the time that they lived. The prophecies of the Old Testament did serve to “minister” or teach the disciples about the Holy Ghost. Jesus apparently used the Old Testament scriptures extensively to explain to His disciples the infilling of the Holy Ghost! It is then beneficial for us to follow the same course: read the prophecies of old and realize how they were fulfilled by the Holy Ghost being “sent down from heaven.” This is such a powerful experience that verse 12 states the angels desire to look into it!

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that the Lord would make a new covenant with His people. This time, the law of God would be put in their inward parts, and written in their hearts. The infilling of the Holy Ghost is the very Spirit of God coming to live inside us! Before the dispensation of Grace many people had the Spirit of God come UPON them. All of the prophets were anointed by God and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon them to guide their actions and prophecies. But now, the Spirit of the Lord had come INSIDE of man! The new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah was here!

The prophet Isaiah foresaw the use of speaking in tongues as the sign of the new covenant. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is the distant fulfillment of “the rest.” When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, then their spirit is “refreshed” by the Spirit of God! When the Spirit of God moves upon a person in such a way as they begin to have stammering lips, they should completely yield to God’s Spirit as that is the start of the Spirit giving utterance to speak in tongues. At the same time the person is speaking in tongues, the Spirit of God is refreshing the spirit of man. Isaiah also said in verse 12 that not everyone would “hear.” “Not hear” in this verse means to “not obey.” Today some people never receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit because they refuse to listen and obey the Word of God’s teaching on the subject. We cannot afford to make that mistake!

The prophet Ezekiel spake many times about the effects of receiving the Spirit of God. Man’s heart has been hardened to the things of God because of Sin, but when the Holy Ghost comes in, a new spirit (the Spirit of God) is placed within us, and a new soft and pliable heart replaces our stony hearts. God is able to direct us and His laws make much more sense after the Spirit of the Lord comes in our hearts!

Ezekiel prophesied many times about how the infilling of the Holy Ghost would soften the hearts of men and allow them to understand the ways of the Lord. Paul spoke along similar terms in his first letter to the church in Corinth:

The deep things of God are not revealed unto us by man’s wisdom, but by the Spirit of God. A person will only be able to comprehend and apply a little scripture before receiving the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. The Spirit of God is what teaches us about the “deep” things of God. Many people deny that receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost is essential today, but by doing so they stop themselves from moving into the deeper areas of God. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned but the natural man cannot receiveth the things of the Spirit of God because they are “foolishness unto him.” We must have the infilling of the Holy Ghost in order to understand and fulfill the Word of God completely! We cannot change to what God wants us to be on our own!

John the Baptist had also prophesied about the Day of Pentecost experience. John knew that Jesus would give the people so much more than what he was able. He prophesied that Jesus would baptize them with “Holy Ghost and Fire.” On the day of Pentecost when the Spirit fell upon the disciples, Jesus did just that.

Jesus Himself taught extensively upon the coming Holy Spirit and its importance. Many of these scriptures we have already covered thoroughly in the lessons Approaching Grace. In Luke chapter 11, Jesus had used the fact that if a son asked for bread that his father would not give him something else like a stone. This teaching was to illustrate to His followers that God would give the Holy Spirit to whomever asked Him! You can today receive the same Holy Ghost experience that the apostles did on the day of Pentecost, but you must be willing to ask God to change you and fill you with His Spirit. Simple faith in God’s Word and believing that God will do exactly what He has said as well as obedience to Peter’s commandment in Acts 2:38 will result in this wonderful experience!

In John chapter 7, Jesus explained that if we will believe on Him AS THE SCRIPTURES HAVE SAID, then out of our belly will flow living water! Verse 39 tells us that this living water that Jesus often spoke of was the Holy Ghost which could be given until Jesus was glorified (crucified and resurrected)! As the Spirit comes into a person’s life and begins to cause the person to speak in another tongue, it does seem like a river of living water is just flowing out of them! When the Spirit comes inside of a person, a great joy floods out as the Spirit takes control of our tongue! Sometimes people have problems receiving the Holy Ghost simply because of a lack of faith in God’s Word! That person must then study God’s Word and pray for God to help their unbelief. Also disobedience to God’s Word will cause a person to be unable to receive God’s Spirit. This does not mean that a person must “get good to get God,” but rather that we must take a few preparatory steps. In Acts 2:38, Peter spoke of truly repenting and being baptized in Jesus’ name as being necessary steps. Hebrews chapter 11 also teaches us that we must still have faith in God to please Him.

Jesus, in teaching His disciples, had promised to send “the Comforter, the Holy Ghost” to them. In Verse 18 Jesus makes an interesting statement while speaking about the Holy Ghost: “I will come to you.” Jesus Christ really was who He claimed to be: the Almighty God! When we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues, we receive the very spirit of Christ within us!

Before Jesus ascended he commanded His disciples that they were to return to Jerusalem and wait until they received the “power from on High,” the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Only after receiving the Holy Spirit were they truly equipped to serve God and explore God’s Word fully. If it was such an important step that Jesus commanded even His own mother and family not to skip it, it must be just as important a step in our lives also! If you have never actively sought the Holy Spirit, begin today! First, truly Repent of your sins. True Repentance is a change of direction spiritually. In other words, make up in your mind that you are going to serve Jesus Christ and place Him first in your life no matter what may have change in your life. Admit to Him that you have sinned and ask forgiveness for those sins. Tell Him that you are willing to change. Get someone to baptize you in Jesus’ name by total immersion in water. If you have been baptized in the titles by someone saying “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Get rebaptized in that name which is Jesus! (see our last lesson for a more thorough explanation) Reread the scriptures that we have covered in this lesson and realize that Acts 2:39 means that it still applies to you! Then ask Jesus to send His Spirit inside of you. Begin to praise out loud the name of Jesus, and thank Jesus in advance for filling you with His Spirit. For example, telling Jesus how much you love Him and how thankful you are that He loved you enough to die for Him is sincere praise. Also “Hallelujah” means that you are giving Him the highest praise that you can give Him. Do not keep these praises to yourself, but speak them out! As you begin to praise Him, you will feel the Spirit of God very strong for the very God of Glory is in your midst! When you feel His presence, began to worship Jesus with your whole heart! Yield yourself to Him and as you praise out loud you will feel your words begin to change. Some people get stammering lips first and others just instantly change from their native language to the heavenly language! As the Spirit takes control of your tongue allow Him to speak through you. You will not understand the words that you speak, but you will feel the “river of living water” that Jesus taught about began to overflow. As you yield to it, it will flow out of you, and you will feel the spiritual change that is taking place inside of you. Overwhelming joy and happiness will feel your heart, as God replaces the “stony heart” of sin with a fresh renewed mind! Keep praising God and allow God to change you just as He changed Peter upon the Day of Pentecost!

Some people receive the Holy Spirit the first time that they seek for it. Others are like the disciples and it takes days and sometimes weeks of praying and cleansing and submitting our lives to God to reach a place where we are able to submit our will and flesh to God’s Spirit. If you do not receive the Holy Spirit immediately, then do not give up! It took the mother of Jesus a few days of tarrying and praying to receive it also! The problem is not with God, but rather we have to reach a place in faith that removes all doubt from our mind. Peter was very clear in Acts 2:38: “ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!” Remember: it’s a gift! You do not have to beg for it, but just ask. Also do not seek “to speak in tongues,” but rather “to thank Jesus in advance for giving me the Holy Ghost!” Speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance is not the Holy Ghost, but the SIGN that the Holy Ghost has come in your life! Ask God for the Holy Spirit, and when you praise Him for it in advance, the tongues will come with the Holy Ghost! Do not listen to people who have not received this experience, but listen to people who have! If someone has never experienced complete obedience to Acts 2:38, then they really do not understand how great it is! The words of the Psalmist really do apply:

Put your trust in the Word of the Lord and taste the experience of the Holy Ghost! As we continue our study of the early church, we will see how this Pentecost experience changed their lives and it will change your also! Feeling the Spirit of God upon us is no substitute for having the Spirit of God within us! Join the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ, the Apostolic Church today!