Acts 2:14a, 36-41: The Gift of the Holy Spirit II

One of the most miraculous and wondrous principles of Christian teaching is that we believe God actually enters into our hearts, becoming part of us in a deeply spiritual and profound way that becomes life-changing. 

Introduction

(Read once to be introduced to the series. After that skip this to go right to the good stuff!) 

Welcome to my Devotions Series. This series features devotions based on the Scriptures of the Common Lectionary. The series is being prepared for eventual and hopeful print publication.

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Lectionary Series Year A: Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a, 36-41 (Read it on Bible Gateway)
The Gift of the Holy Spirit II
(and no, there has not been a part I yet, see below for explanations)
This passage in Acts is actually the second half of the story of Pentecost which opened with the beginning of this chapter. In the preceding verses we read of the Holy Spirit coming to the Disciples and then their going forth and the people hearing them preach each in their own native tongue. This is met with wonder and the famous "they must be drunk" response. From there, Peter then addresses the crowd, which leads into this selection. These verses actually close out with showing us the number of people baptized into the faith on the day of Pentecost.

In this passage we see three critical themes of the preaching of the early Christian Church, most all of which had clear roots in preceding theology and practice.

First, Peter preaches Repentance. This message we encounter throughout the Gospels in the words of Christ and indeed, find it opening the Gospels as it also comes from the preaching of John the Baptist, the herald of Christ (see Devotions: Matthew 3:1-12). Repentance, the turning away from sin, the act of seeking forgiveness for what we have done wrong remains central to the Christian faith even today.

Second, Peter advocates Baptism, and here this is obviously the believer's Baptism we've talked about as being the form of Baptism that is Biblically-based (see Devotions: Romans 6:1-11). Baptism too is something that goes back to John the Baptist's ministry and was indeed something that Christ sought out as he began his own ministry (see Devotions: Matthew 3:13-17). Baptism continued to be a central practice among the early Christian Church but, as we can see here, it became a Christ-o-centric act, as people were now baptized "in the name of Jesus Christ." This was a very natural evolution, if you will, seeing as the foundation of Christian faith was that the death of Christ was the sacrifice for our sins, so, baptism became a symbolic or sacramental re-enactment of the death and resurrection where the professing believer was taken into the grave of the water and then brought out into a new life.

What is a new aspect of the teaching is the promised "gift of the Holy Spirit" that Peter mentions in verse 38.

Now, the source of this promise is something explored more in the actual Pentecost readings where we actually celebrate the so-called 'birth of the Church' and the stories of the Spirit being granted to the Disciples, which will comprise part I of this series. For now, let's leave it with the understanding that this was something Christ spoke of, and according to at least one Gospel, imbued himself (see Devotions: John 20:19-31). It was a promise of God's continuing presence in the lives of the faithful which was to take place AFTER the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ to return to Heaven. This presence of God, this in-dwelling Spirit then becomes our new link to the divine.

Here, in this passage we find that the promise was not just for the Disciples, but was a promise extended to all Believers, that in repenting and being baptized, they, and by extension, we, would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. While this was a critical and central part of the teaching of the early Church it's an aspect that seems to have been somewhat downplayed over the succeeding generations in at least some of the more mainline traditions and theologies, at least in terms of its introduction.

This may be in part due to the development of infant baptism, where God's Grace is extended prior to self-profession of faith. It may also be partly due to the challenge of quantifying this gift in terms easily understood. I think when we talk about Christ's sacrifice, his dying for our sins and our forgiveness we can conceive that and it makes sense. But what is this Gift of the Holy Spirit? What does it mean for us who've apparently received it?

Well, to best understand this we need to look back and remind ourselves of previous conceptions of God. Before God was seen as part of the community, a divine and full presence in the world, a source of intervention and grace in life, but NOT an in-dwelling presence; in other words, God was not "in our hearts". We have come to identify this Gift of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling presence as something central to the Christian faith, but distanced it from this sacred act.

One of the most miraculous and wondrous principles of Christian teaching is that we believe God actually enters into our hearts, becoming part of us in a deeply spiritual and profound way that becomes life-changing. This principle is what the early Church defined as the Gift of the Holy Spirit that they connected with being granted upon baptism.

Remember, part of this stemmed out of the early practice of Believer's Baptism, which often happened immediately after one repented and asked "Christ into their hearts". So, we've not lost the concept, just distanced it from Baptism, as many traditions have distanced Baptism from the profession of faith and repentance.

Thus, while it has remained central in Christian teaching, we seem to have reduced it to something nearly taken for granted. We've just always heard, as our parents did, as their parents did, etc. that when we accept forgiveness, God, Christ, or more specifically, the Holy Spirit enters our heart and there finds a place of dwelling.

Yet, this was a radical concept to the people of the times, whose previous experiences with faith did not encounter a God who loved us so much so as to be willing to "dwell within" our very hearts. It was one of the fundamental teachings of the Christian Church that came across as extremely revolutionary in the time and would be one of the main reasons that the early Church thrived among an audience of people hungry to feel close to God.

See the upcoming Devotions: Acts 2:1-21 for Pentecost Sunday for the other half of this two-parter.

For the complete listing of our Devotions, see our Devotions Archive