Pentecost + Acts 2:1-13 + May 20, 2018

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

On the day of Pentecost, God the Father sent the Holy Spirit as Christ had promised. The apostles are in one place when “suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Tongues as of fire sit atop their heads while new tongues, that is, foreign languages, fill their mouths. This special gift was given to them because outside the house, all throughout the city of Jerusalem, were Jews, devout men from every country, who had gathered there for the Old Testament festival of Pentecost. The Spirit gives utterance to the apostles so that they can preach “the wonderful works of God” in languages previously unknown to them. Men from all over the world hear the gospel in their own tongue, not in a cacophony of confusion like after the Lord visited the tower of Babel. It happened orderly, each one hearing only his own native tongue. Some mock the apostles. Others attentively hear their preaching and it cuts them to the heart. Penitently they ask, “What shall we do with our sins?” To which Peter responds, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

The day begins with the special gift of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. It culminates with the preaching of the Gospel leading men to baptism where they receive the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit which filled the Apostles. Through baptism they receive the Holy Spirit, though not in the same manner as the apostles. None of those who repented and were baptized were filled with the Holy Spirit that day so that they also spoke in various tongues. The gift of other languages was given to the Apostles specifically so that they could preach to the world at that moment. That gift was nowhere promised to all Christians, though the Lord did grant it at certain times in the years to come, always as confirmation of the apostles’ work. There were several times in the book of Acts in which the Holy Spirit moved newly baptized Christians to speak in tongues. In each of those cases that was a sign to everyone involved that God the Father was well pleased with the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. It was God’s imprimatur upon the apostolic preaching. That is why we don’t see this special gift of the Spirit any longer in the church. It’s not needed.

But we do still have the command which Christ gave to the apostles to baptize all nations, for in baptism the Triune God is present to forgive sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit is still given in the water combined with God’s Word of promise. It is through baptism which God saves us, for it is “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Holy Baptism is how the Triune God rebirths us so that all who are baptized are “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). You have never spoken in tongues but that hasn’t been promised to you, nor do you need such a manifestation of the Spirit because the Spirit dwells in your hearts in by faith and gives you far greater gifts! St. Paul asks the Corinthians, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). Because you have been baptized in the name of the Triune God you can be confident that the Holy Spirit dwells in you. And its not just the Holy Spirit who dwells in your hearts, but the whole Trinity, for Jesus says that if we love Him and keep His Word, “We will come to Him and make our home with him” (John 16:23). This is the greatest gift, to know that the Triune God dwells with us in love and mercy. For “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). The Spirit is always preaching to us the love of God in Christ Jesus.

So many others blessings come from the gift of the Holy Spirit though. The Spirit makes us into new creatures. The Spirit regenerates us as sons of God through baptism but continues to strengthen us in the new man each day. Paul tells us in Romans 8:13-14, “If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” It is the Holy Spirit dwelling in you that moves you to fight against your sins. It is the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart that daily puts temptations to flight so that you do not do what your flesh wants to do. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is our Helper who “will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 16:26). That means that the Holy Spirit will continually remind you of the teachings of Jesus, how He wants you to flee sin and how when you fall into sin He wants to you immediately rise through repentance and faith. It is the Holy Spirit who works in you daily to grow good works in you. He wants to daily bear His fruit of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Another blessing of the Holy Spirit is that He is sent to help us in our prayers .Paul says, “because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). In Romans 8:16 Paul calls Him “the Spirit of adoption,” who “Himself bears witness with our spirit that we children of God.” Christ commands us to pray but knows the weakness of our flesh so He gives us the Holy Spirit to motivate us to pray to our heavenly Father for all our needs. Even when our prayers falter and we are unsure of what we should be praying for, “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). This is incredibly comforting in our trials when we don’t know what to pray for. The Spirit prays for us and reminds us that whatever God our Father wills for us is truly good. It is only by the Spirit that we can pray to our Father, “Thy will be done” and believe confidently that whatever God sends is truly good for us.

Another blessing of the Holy Spirit is that He brings Christ’s peace to our hearts. This is the peace of sins forgiven, the peace that comes from being justified by faith. Because we are justified by freely by God’s grace, and because we are justified by faith and no amount of our works or merit on our part, we have peace with God. The Spirit teaches us the Gospel so that we know God as a gracious Father and not as wrathful judge for Christ’s sake. When the devil terrifies our conscience because of our many sins, when we are frightened by the guilt of our sins, the Holy Spirit comforts us that “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). This is the peace of Jesus, the peace which the world cannot give nor take away.

These gifts are far more marvelous than speaking in tongues. That gift, promised to the Apostles, was for a special purpose on that special day as God the Father birthed His New Testament church in power. The gifts He gave to all who repented and were baptized though, which are the same gifts He has given you in Holy Baptism, are far greater because they deal with your salvation, your adoption as sons of God, and peace of conscience against all the devil’s accusations. For these, and all the Spirit’s gifts, gives thanks and rejoice. For they are all yours through baptism. Amen.

May the peace of God which far surpasses all human understanding guard you hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.