Promise of the Holy Spirit

On the night of His crucifixion, Jesus had taught, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another COMFORTER, that he [it] may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him [it] not, neither knows him [it]: but you know him [it]; for he [it] dwells WITH you, and shall be IN you” (John 14:16-17).

In the Greek language (as with Romance languages like French, Italian and Spanish), nouns have gender. As a grammatical tool, they are designated as masculine, feminine or neuter. For example, el libro, in Spanish, means book and carries the masculine article el. Of course, books are neither male nor female. You see the point. John chapters 14-16 use “Comforter” and the personal pronouns “he” and “him” in reference to the Greek word parakletos. Where reference is made to the Holy Spirit, it is incorrectly translated “he,” instead of “it.” (For more information explaining the error of the “trinity” doctrine, read our free book The Trinity – Is God Three-In-One?)

Take careful note how Christ explained that the Holy Spirit was only dwelling “with” the disciples and was not yet “in” them (John 4:24; 6:44). This is something He said “shall” (future tense) happen.

Christ stated this prior to Pentecost. God’s Spirit was still working “with” the disciples, and was not yet “in” them. Christ had previously explained about the Holy Spirit: “Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:37-39).

Christ is simply explaining that the Spirit of God had not yet been given. This was because He had not ascended to heaven in glory. He also taught them, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send it unto you. And when it is come…” (John 16:7-8). Christ knew what He had to first endure for this to happen. After His Resurrection, He would send God’s Spirit from heaven to His Church.

Moments before, on this same occasion, He had explained what God’s Spirit would do: “But when the Comforter is come, [which] I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, it shall testify of Me” (John 15:26).

After His Resurrection, Christ appeared again to the disciples and illustrated to them how they would receive God’s Spirit: “And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive you the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

The disciples would have felt Christ’s breath on their faces. This was to prepare them for the mighty wind that was to appear on Pentecost.

Some have terribly misunderstood Christ’s “breath analogy.” They assert that He was saying that He gave them His Spirit at that moment. This has caused these same people to conclude that, in a separate experience, those who have God’s Spirit must also later receive “the baptism of the Spirit.”John 20:22 is coupled with Acts 2:1-47 to teach this. But, Jesus did not say, “You have now received the Holy Spirit,” but rather spoke as though it would occur. He merely breathed air on them—and surely no one believes that the Holy Spirit is simply AIR!

Be careful that you accept the Scriptures for exactly what they say, without reading prior prejudices into them.

Prophecy Fulfilled

Christ spoke of and explained about receiving the Holy Spirit, because God, long before Christ’s ministry, had promised it would be given. It had always been God’s Plan to give His Spirit to the New Testament Church.

The prophet Joel foretold what occurred in Acts 2:1-47 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29). When given, this was a prophecy of what “shall come to pass.” It had not yet happened.

Peter spoke of this exact prophecy in his sermon. Notice Acts 2:16-18: “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” Now it had happened.

When God’s Spirit was given to His Church for the first time, this amazing prophecy had been fulfilled. People were now freely given access to God’s divine character and essence.

Peter continued to quote Joel: “And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be SAVED” (Acts 2:19-21).

This last phrase shows that Christ’s sacrifice would one day be made available, along with God’s Spirit, so that all people could be “saved.”

Can you begin to see why Acts 2:1-47 was a one-time event, designed to signify an enormously special occasion? It was never intended to be a pattern that all should follow ever after!

Only Two Occasions

I mentioned that on only two occasions in the New Testament did any speak with tongues upon receiving God’s Spirit. Let’s examine them.

Acts 10:1-48 records the story of God’s Spirit being given to the Gentiles for the first time, when the Italian, Cornelius, with his household, received it. Here is the conclusion of that account: “While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word…which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?” (Acts 10:44, 47).

Paul explained to the Galatians how the Holy Spirit was also to be given to Gentiles. Notice: “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:14). This promise comes “through faith.” There is nothing here about the “promise of the Spirit” being fulfilled by attending a “tarry meeting.” Also, the blessing referred to has nothing to do with the “blessing” Pentecostals seek at these meetings. It means that converted Gentiles become children of all the blessings and promises made to Abraham, because they are actually Abraham’s children (Gal 3:7, 16).

Later, in Acts 11:1-30, Peter reported to the apostles and certain naysayers what had happened with Cornelius: “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning…but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit…God gave them the like gift as He did unto us” (Ac 11:15-17).

Peter says nothing of God’s Spirit coming with a sudden great sound from heaven that resembled a roaring wind. There is simply no parallel between this and Acts 2:1-47. However, the occasion was very important because, as Peter concluded in AC 11:18, “Then has God also to the Gentiles granted[given] REPENTANCE unto life.”

As with Acts 2:1-47, this was, in its own way, another special event in the development of God’s Church. For the first time, God was converting Gentiles.

Also note the reference to “granted repentance,” which introduces this overlooked, but all-important, element. We will study this later, in more detail.

The second occasion is found in Acts 19:1-7. Let’s read the entire account and then discuss key points. Notice: “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit. And he said unto them, Unto what then were you baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.”

Note several things:

(1) These men did speak with tongues.

(2) It occurred after they were baptized and…

(3) …after Paul laid hands on them.

(4) They understood the doctrine of repentance from John the Baptist.

(5) There is no evidence they “tarried” or “waited” to receive God’s Spirit.

(6) This was a very small group.

Almost nothing in this account was similar to the Pentecost occurrence. Though modern Pentecostals may be sincere, they have no hope of repeating what happened in Acts 2:1-47. That event had never occurred before and will surely never happen again in the same way!