How Can You Receive the Transforming Power of God's Spirit?Out of nowhere, the sound of a rushing, mighty wind filled the place where they were. The astonished group looked around, shocked and surprised. What was going on?
Before they could restore some form of equanimity, other supernatural signs appeared. Flickering tongues of what looked like fire appeared and descended on each of the gathered followers of Jesus Christ. Ordinary thoughts gave way to extraordinary exclamations of fear and bewilderment. What could these strange events mean?
Wind, fire and Spirit electrified the orderly gathering. The wind and fire were symbolic of the Holy Spirit, which brought a third miracle—the inspiration of Christ's disciples to proclaim the gospel fluently in languages they had not known so that all those listening heard the true gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language (Acts 2:1-6).
And these miracles, defying mere physical explanation, were just the beginning of the greatest single miracle on earth—changing the selfish mind and heart of human beings to selfless service of all humankind, through God's Spirit of unlimited power.
Peter's inspired sermon
The amazed Jerusalem visitors asked what this all meant. Some even mocked, "They are full of new wine" (verse 13).
God then used Peter to explain how and why He gave His promised Spirit of power (verses 38-39). His inspired sermon has resonated throughout the world for the last 2,000 years. It remains stirring, meaningful and current today.
Peter, standing up with the other 11 apostles, gave the significance of what had just happened. He quoted the prophet Joel:
"Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.
"And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. 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 the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved'" (Acts 2:14-21).
Peter showed those gathered for the Pentecost festival that what was happening was part of what had been prophesied by the prophet Joel, in particular the coming of the long-promised Holy Spirit, its functions and power (Joel 2:28-32).
God had promised that He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh and that the young men and women would prophesy and see visions. Older men would dream prophetic dreams (verse 28). Beyond this, and of even greater importance, God would provide human beings the opportunity to call on Him and be saved.
Then Peter turned their attention to the great meaning and significance of Jesus' death and resurrection, which provided humankind the miracle of God's Holy Spirit:
"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it . . .
"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear" (Acts 2:22-33).
Earlier, Jesus told His disciples that it was necessary for Him to die and ascend to God's heavenly throne so He could send them and all who repent and turn to God His Spirit of power (John 16:7; compare John 14:12-20).
Repent and be baptized
Peter's sermon, inspired by God's Holy Spirit, was so powerful that it resonated in the hearts and minds of many of those who heard it (compare Hebrews 4:12).
"Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, '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. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'
"And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation.' Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them" (Acts 2:37-41).
Remarkably, in one day about 3,000 people were baptized and then received the gift of God's Spirit! When God starts something new, He often does it with grandeur. God firmly laid the groundwork of His Church. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread [sharing meals], and in prayers. Then [godly] fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles" (verses 42-43).
Transformed and empowered by the Spirit
Transformed and empowered, this small group of believers took Christ's message to the world. They first lived and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in and around Jerusalem. As time passed and persecution arose, they moved beyond the environs of Jerusalem and shared Christ's gospel throughout the Roman world, spreading into Greece and Italy (1 Corinthians 1:2; Romans 1:7).
What made the difference with these people? Before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the apostles had cowered behind locked doors out of fear (John 20:19).
Suddenly, miraculously, they now went forward, boldly proclaiming the same message Jesus had given them—the good news of His death and resurrection and that it was through Him and only Him that human beings could enter the Kingdom of God. They had received the transforming power of God's Holy Spirit, which empowered them beyond ordinary human understanding (Philippians 4:7).
Jesus promised His immediate disciples, and those of us who would later become His disciples, the Holy Spirit, described in Greek as the parakletos—a word that means "Comforter" "Helper" or "Advocate": "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 go, I will send [it] unto you" (John 16:7; American Standard Version).
God's Holy Spirit transforms us (Romans 12:2) and empowers us to represent God as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). God the Father does this in stepwise progression:
First, by calling us to Him, God begins to remove our spiritual blindness and helps us begin to understand His truth (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).
Second, God through His Spirit begins to work with us to lead us to repentance of our old sinful ways (Romans 2:4).
Third, He directs that we be baptized in water (Acts 2:38, 41).
Fourth, God gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands by one of His true ministers (Acts 8:14-17).
From this point on, we are transformed by God's Spirit of power, going on to perfection.
Baptism precedes the gift of God's Spirit
Water baptism represents our dying with Jesus Christ so we can be symbolically resurrected to a new life. As the apostle Paul wrote, "Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Romans 6:3).
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:8-9).
Why be baptized? Baptism symbolizes God washing away our sins so we can become a cleansed temple in which God can place His Holy Spirit.
"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
"And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:13-15).
How should one be baptized? The Greek word baptizo means total immersion, not just a sprinkling of water. The full immersion of a human being under water symbolizes both the total burial of the old self in a watery grave as well as total cleansing of sins. It is the only way Christ sanctions water baptism.
Baptism, then, is vitally important to our salvation. For when we're baptized, we are justified—made "just" or innocent—before God through Jesus' shed blood (Romans 5:9). We are also reconciled (verse 10) to God the Father so we then can have direct access to Him (Romans 8:15; Hebrews 4:16).
God will help us to use His Spirit of power wisely; He will complete the work He begins in us (Philippians 1:6). The incredible end of our salvation means that we become sons or daughters of God, younger siblings of Christ Jesus (Hebrews 2:11).
You can receive God's Spirit of power!
At times God has overlooked the evil ways of humanity. But no more. "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).
Repentance is a good thing. It is the golden path to all good things of God, which we cannot receive without a transformational change in our lives (Romans 12:1-3). If you have thought about living God's way but haven't yet taken that first step, now is the time to turn to God and repent and then, believing the gospel message, seek to be baptized. Baptism opens the doors to God's own power to help you walk in His ways through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
After you rise out of the water, a true minister of Jesus Christ who follows the biblical pattern will lay his hands on you and God will give to you the gift of His Holy Spirit. At that very moment, you will become a begotten son or daughter of Almighty God. God, through Christ, will encourage you, teach you and support you through His Spirit—the Comforter and Helper.
God wants to make you into one of His sons or daughters, immortal and divine. That is why you draw the breath of life, why you live on this earth. Your salvation for all eternity begins with water baptism and continues with the gift of God's Spirit of power.
Now is the time to act. May God help you to respond to His divine calling (John 6:65). You can receive the very same Spirit of power that Jesus Christ's followers received on that Feast of Pentecost!
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