The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Call to Prayer

Title: The Promise of the Holy Spirit

By: Daniel Peter

Date: 15/03/2023

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.” Acts 2:38‭-‬39 NKJV

On the day of Pentecost, a promise long waited for was fulfilled; The Holy Spirit was poured down on all flesh (Joel 2:28, Acts. 2:17). The shift that happened on that day was significant, as ordinary men were transformed and proclaimed the Gospel with boldness. The missing factor of our being was fully restored, so men and women could now manifest as Sons of God and be used as instruments for reconciliation.

To understand the importance of His coming, we need to know the role He played in the administration of earth before the fall of Adam. Being a king that was subjected to the King of kings, Adam was to reign by doing that which He sees and hears from the Father. By the Holy Spirit, Adam could see the spirit realm and he lived from that plain. However, when he fell, his perception of his environment changed, and saw differently (Gen. 3:7). This change of sight was the first evidence of the departure of the Holy Spirit.

The departure of the Holy Spirit at the fall of Adam did not necessarily mean leaving earth, it meant He could no longer indwell man. Though He remained as a restraining force to keep man from evil (Gen. 6:3), and God did grant grace to certain men to temporarily host the Spirit of God on them (Judges 14:6, 1Kings 18:46). However, it was the will of God for the Holy Spirit to be fully restored, and dwell in us. For only then can men operate as His representative on earth. By the price Jesus paid at the cross of Calvary, our (human) vessels can now be washed by His blood when we put our faith in Him. Therefore, the Holy Spirit can now fully dwell in us and with us. This means our sight can be fully restored,  for in the promise of His coming, He said: “Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28)”

Each time we preach Christ and the hearers believe, the Holy Spirit comes on them and dwells in them. Therefore, what was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost was not meant to be a one-time experience, but one that repeats each time the Gospel is received. This was what happened at Cornelius’s house, for the Bible recorded that “while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word (Acts 10:44 NKJV)”. Therefore, by preaching the Gospel, we are partnering with God in the fulfillment of the promise of an outpouring of the Spirit.

Prayer Point:

Let’s ask the Lord to help us to preach the word boldly and accurately.