On Sunday, May 28, Christians around the world will be celebrating Pentecost, remembering the events recorded in Chapter 2 of the book of Acts.
Sadly you won’t find it included on most printed calendars. And many Christians don’t understand the great significance of what took place that day. And yet, just 8 days before it happened, Jesus specifically spoke about about it right before he ascended.
Those who don’t understand the great significance of this momentous occasion may wonder what exactly are we remembering that warrants celebrating? Some say it’s all about the Apostles receiving the holy spirit. Some say it was a unique event relevant only for those at that time. Others say it had something to do with speaking in tongues.
But with a right understanding of God’s Word it becomes clear that event was the greatest event to date in the history of mankind! What happened on that day, recorded in Acts Chapter 2, is a not just a big deal; it’s a really, really big deal!
What Happened In The Garden?
In order to gain a greater appreciation of what occurred on the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2, one needs to understand what happened with Adam and Eve in the Garden. God had told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and if he did, he would surely die. If you’re familiar with the record in Genesis 2 and 3 then you know both Adam and Eve ate of that fruit.
God had said, “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” meaning that very day. Yet, if you continue reading, they both lived for many, many years. Was God wrong?
Genesis 1 and 2 describe how God originally designed human beings. They had a physical body. They had soul life, manifested by breathing. And they also had God’s spirit. Adam and Eve began with two life forms: soul life, and spirit life.
The absence of life is indicated by the word, “death.” What died that day for Adam and Eve was the spirit life God intended for all human beings to have. They lost spirit life. It was the spirit life that enabled them to have a close personal relationship with God.
So just as God had said, they died that very day – they lost spirit life. When they lost spirit life, they still had a physical body and soul life. But they lost their connection with the Creator. And, this loss of spirit life was passed on to all men and women. This was a cataclysmic event, with devastating consequences on all of mankind as well as the environment.
Through the centuries there have been hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, wars and other devastating events, including the recent pandemic that came upon the world. But what happened in the Garden when Adam sinned was the worst disaster for human beings that has ever happened.
Even though there were only two people immediately affected, the consequences would be felt by billions and billions; the consequences would affect every single human being ever born, with the exception of Jesus Christ.
God’s Plan
Not understanding what happened when Adam sinned is one of the main reasons there is a lack of understanding the great significance of what happened on the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts, Chapter 2. People fail to see the connection. But after the fall in the Garden, God set in motion a plan to redeem mankind, which would include restoring His spirit to human beings.
During the process of God’s plan, you can read in the Bible about how God gave certain individuals His spirit on a temporary basis; but it was not freely available to any and all human beings. For God to restore what Adam lost, it would require the completed work of Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind, to fulfill all that was necessary.
God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who willingly did His Father’s work in carrying out God’s great plan of redemption. He laid down his life, a ransom, a full payment for the sins of the whole world. And God raised him from the dead to die no more.
Jesus taught his followers on many occasions about the coming of holy spirit. It was a major topic at the last Supper. The first time he got together with his disciples, after he was resurrected, he talked to them about receiving the holy spirit. On the day of the ascension, right before he left, the very last thing he talked about was receiving the holy spirit.
A New Beginning!
In Acts Chapter 2, after the twelve received the gift of holy spirit and began manifesting one of the nine manifestations, namely speaking in tongues, Peter stood up and preached. He taught them about Jesus Christ, the savior, and how God had made Jesus both lord and Christ, and that God raised him from the dead.
Peter also talked about holy spirit. He exhorted those listening to, “repent” (change their minds), get baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and that they too would receive “the gift holy spirit.” About 3,000 accepted the invitation.
Part of the great significance of that day was that it was the beginning of holy spirit freely available. That was the day when God officially made His gift of holy spirit available to anyone who accepted Jesus as lord and believed God raised him from the dead. In Acts 11, Peter referred to that day as, “the beginning.” It was truly a new beginning for mankind!
And while Adam and Eve could and did lose the spirit of God, this time around, God made it permanent. He has given those who believe in Jesus (that he is lord and that God raised him from the dead) eternal life, which means you cannot lose it.
God wants people to have His spirit so that we could not only live forever, but also have a close personal relationship with Him by way of His spirit in us, just like He had with Adam and Eve in the Garden before the fall.
God Has Leveled The Playing Field!
Today we hear a lot about equity, equality, advantage, disadvantage, privilege, etc. But beginning on that day of Pentecost, God leveled the playing field for anyone who believes in Jesus. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
God is offering tremendous advantage and privilege to “whosoever!”
In the Old Testament, only certain people had the spirit of God. But today, each and every born again believer has the spirit of God, and the ability to operate all 9 manifestations of the spirit. God made that reality available beginning on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts, Chapter 2. No wonder Peter later referred to that day as “The beginning.”
In the Old testament, the bloodline from Abraham, were God’s people, by God’s choice, and He promised to be their God. And we can read about some absolutely astounding things God did for His people.
But since that great day of Pentecost recorded in Acts, Chapter 2, there is a new arrangement. The Bible clearly states that for those who are born again, God Almighty is not only our Father, but He is our God. That day marked the beginning of what is called, “the Church of God.” It is God’s Church!
What a great day in the history of mankind that day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts Chapter 2, really was! God opened the door for anyone and everyone to receive His gift of eternal life, His gift of holy spirit, along with all the rights, privileges and abilities that go with it.
We can choose to read and believe what God has written to us in the New Testament Church epistles about who we really are and all God has freely made available to us. It’s up to us to learn how to utilize and operate this gift of holy spirit that God has freely given to each one of His children.
Talk about having privilege! God’s children, the born again ones, are truly the most privileged people on the face of the earth!
That day of Pentecost really was a very, very big deal! It was the day God had waited and planned for for centuries! It truly was the greatest event to date in the history of mankind!
Mike Verdicchio May 2023
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This is true in any culture. Suppose someone was completely unfamiliar with the culture here in the United States and they heard expressions like, “I sat down in the recliner for awhile because my dogs were really barking,” or, “For supper I had a hot dog,” or, “It was hard to sleep because it was raining cats and dogs.”
would soak into the stones and over a period of time, at a glance, the stones might even look like the bread. But no father would ever be that stupid to mistake a stone for bread and give it to his son who asked him for bread.
In the eastern lands there are some water serpents that look similar to fish. A person who was unfamiliar with both fish and water serpents could easily mistake one for the other. But a father who would be concerned about his family would certainly make sure that there was no mistake. If his son asked for a fish, then that is what a good father would give him.
Perhaps a young child might not recognize the difference between the body of a scorpion and an egg. But what father would not know? What father, whose son asked for an egg, would ever mistakenly or even intentionally give his son a scorpion instead?
In our culture perhaps we could understand this if the 
question would have been about candy. If our child asked us for some candy, would we give them marbles instead? If they asked for some marshmallows, would we give them a cotton ball instead? Would we? Well of course not!