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As Pentecost Sunday approaches, what does the outpouring of the Holy Spirit mean for the Church in Australia today? A timely reflection on power, unity, and bold witness.

Sunday, 24 May, is Pentecost Sunday. What does Pentecost mean for the Church in Australia?

In 1964, noted Scottish Presbyterian theologian, Dr Thomas F. Torrance, addressed the World Alliance of Reformed Churches on the theme of Come Creator Spirit, for the Renewal of Worship and Witness. In that address, he said:

If our worship and witness are conspicuous for their lack of Holy Spirit, it is surely because we Protestants, whatever we may confess in our creeds, have diminished belief in the transcendent power and utter Godness of the Creator Spirit, and have become engrossed in our own subjectivities and the development of our own inherent potentialities.

Hence the first thing that must happen to us is a glad subjection to the lordly freedom and majesty of God the Holy Spirit, and a humble readiness for miraculous divine acts that transcend all human possibilities and break through the limitations of anything we can conceive. Come, Creator Spirit, is a prayer of open surrender to the absolute creativity of God. [1]

That is a staggering challenge from an eminent Reformed theologian of a past era. I believe the challenge is relevant for today. It may cause us to reflect on our experience of the Holy Spirit at this time.

The Book of Acts describes the outcome of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I follow it briefly.

A Church of Power

The disciples were promised power when the Holy Spirit would come on them.

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Pentecost was the realisation of this promise.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)

The Day of Pentecost records the outpouring of the Spirit in power. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones has said, “It is really almost incredible that people would go on saying that what happened at Pentecost was once and for all.”[2]

In fact, the progress of the mission of the church showed this empowerment in action.

Acts 3:1-10 relates the healing of the lame man at the Temple gate. Of course, this is not a once-off event. The miraculous occurs again and again in the narrative of Acts.

Dr Craig S. Keener examines the claims for miracles in his magisterial two-volume Miracles. He draws this conclusion at the end of volume one:

Many healing claims involve blindness, inability to walk, and even raising from death. Other claims involve sudden changes in nature after prayers; despite some debatable instances, some other cases are fairly clearly extraordinary. It seems to me that to dispute such phenomena have sometimes occurred is not really possible for open-minded people.[3]

What Keener asserts and what is reported in Acts is to be the continuing experience of the Christian Church.

A Church Unified

Here is what was said of the earliest believers after Pentecost.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. — Acts 2:46 (NKJ)

The term “of one accord” (omothumadon)[4] occurs multiple times in Acts (1:14; 2:1;46; 4:24; 5:121; 7:57; 8:6; 12:20; 15:25; 18:12; 19:29). Such frequency highlights the importance of the unity the early believers experienced.

We struggle for unity today. Often, we let secondary issues restrict whom we fellowship and work with. However, our nation is in a spiritual crisis like never before. We need those who are authentic Christians believing in the inspiration and authority of Scripture, coupled with absolute faith in Jesus as the only way of salvation, to come together and work for the good of the kingdom of God.

A Church at Prayer

Faced with a crisis, the early believers were praying and then, when they heard the report of Peter and John, they broke out in this striking prayer:

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.

²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:23-31)

This prayer released a powerful demonstration of God’s action.

Acts describes a praying church. Praying together preceded the Day of Pentecost and followed it as the church met to pray regularly and in the face of ongoing challenges.

A Church Grounded in the Gospel

We often hear through the media, statements by religious leaders that are a denial of historic Christian beliefs. The apostles were in no doubt about the foundation of our faith. We read:

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12)

The uniqueness of Jesus and salvation through Him alone is often challenged today. Some challenges come within the circle of Christendom and, of course, from outside. However, truth is narrow and cannot be compromised.

Last Sunday, two young people walked into my church. They had never been to a church service in their lives! They said they had been atheists but were looking to find out about Jesus. We are thrilled to be sharing Jesus with them.

They are looking for reality. This can only be found in Jesus Christ, and the church must commit itself to proclaim Him who is the way, the truth, and the life.

A Church Bold in the Face of Persecution

The miracle of healing at the Temple Gate resulted in the following:

¹⁷ Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸ They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. (Acts 5:17-18)

Later, they were told not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. We are told that they responded like this:

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³ When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. (Acts 5:29-33)

The miracle of healing at the Temple Gate precipitated more healings and then an arrest. They are told not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. But they cannot obey such a directive.

Neither can we. Here is one example that we are facing now. The “anti-gay conversion therapy laws” that are now nationwide prevent us from preaching biblical morality and ministering to people who want, of their own volition, to be released from same-sex attraction. I know of those who will not address this issue, nor will they pray for people desiring help to be freed from same-sex attraction.

Pentecost and the example of the apostles challenge us “to obey God rather than men.”

Conclusion

Pentecost causes us to review our aims, values, and operations. Thomas Torrance again:

Hence, the first thing that must happen to us is a glad subjection to the lordly freedom and majesty of God the Holy Spirit, and a humble readiness for miraculous divine acts that transcend all human possibilities and break through the limitations of anything we can conceive.  Come, Creator Spirit, is a prayer of open surrender to the absolute creativity of God.

To this, I add this challenge from the great Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Concerning the Holy Spirit manifesting in power and appearing to upset the status quo, he said:

We must be very careful in these matters. What do we know of the realm of the Spirit? What do we know of the Spirit falling on people? What do we know about these manifestations of the Holy Spirit? We need to be very careful ‘lest we be found fighting against God,’ lest we be guilty of ‘quenching the Spirit of God.’^[5]

The challenge is real. If we are going to be the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit personally, and we need His presence and power manifested in our churches. That, I suggest, is the challenge of Pentecost.

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[1] T F Torrance, Theology in Reconstruction (London: SCM, 1965), 245.

[2] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival: Can We Make It Happen? (London: Marshall Pickering, 1992), 200.

[3] Craig S Keener, Miracle: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts Vol 1 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2011), 599.

[4] The Greek word is used for “single purpose”, “mind”, “one accord.” The NIV translation of “together” is inadequate. Omou is together. Omothumadon is “of one mind” etc.

[5] Cited in: John White, When the Spirit comes with Power, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1992), 13.

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