Quiet Talks by Samuel Dickey: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About Our Lord's Return: 74. The Significance of Pentecost

Online Resource Library

Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | Download

Quiet Talks by Samuel Dickey: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About Our Lord's Return: 74. The Significance of Pentecost



TOPIC: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About Our Lord's Return (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 74. The Significance of Pentecost

Other Subjects in this Topic:

The Significance of Pentecost

What is the distinctive significance of Pentecost? What is the difference between the Holy Spirit's work before Pentecost and after? If we note His work before Pentecost it will help to understand His work after. He was the principle of life in all creation,—the solar system, the vegetable and animal creation; and He was in every man as present life, and as the constant inner voice of God. This applies to all men. And this of course continues; there is no change here. He became a new spiritual life in every man anywhere who responded to His wooing presence.

This would include men outside of Israel, such as Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, and Jethro; [Note: Exodus 18.]Hebrews such as David and Ezra, Daniel, and the whole group of men, who reveal their inner heart experiences in the writings they have left us. The Psalms give a flood of light here. The experiences revealed there—hatred of sin, deep penitence for sin, longing for purity, power over sin, love for the Word of God, and for prayer, a passion to win men to God,—these we recognize as the gracious work of an indwelling Holy Spirit. These writers were the leaders. Their experience tells us of the humble ones hidden away from public note who had similar experiences with their leaders. All this is before Pentecost.

What then is the distinctive significance of the great Pentecostal day? Well, first of all, it was the most direct evidence that Jesus was glorified at the Father's right hand. The Jesus, who was denounced as demon-possessed, rejected, spit upon, nailed to a cross by the nation of Israel, was in glory again, in the bosom of the Father. This wondrous outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the act of this glorified Jesus. To the reprobate traitor Jew nation, to all the world, to the inner heart of every one who has opened to the Spirit's sweet sway, Pentecost says in loudest voice,—"Jesus is now glorified, sitting at the right hand of the Father on the throne of the universe." While men on earth are squabbling over His human birth, His deity or not, the meaning of His cross, He is looking down on us, from the upper glory, waiting for the moment when again He shall come out of the glory down to earth. That is one great meaning of Pentecost.

Then it spells out the victory of our Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit is peculiarly the Spirit of the victorious Jesus. Jesus is Victor. The great victory has actually been won. Satan has been met and overwhelmingly defeated; He is a vanquished foe. Sin has been worsted to death. The sin score has been forever settled. Sin's worst, and God's best, hate and purity's love, fought things out. Calvary was the great battlefield. Jesus took on Himself our humanity, met sin, met Satan's worst, and won the victory. Jesus is Victor. The Holy Spirit is a victorious Spirit. He is the Spirit of the victorious Jesus. All the eager anticipations of human hearts for four millenniums are now an accomplished fact. The Holy Spirit acts as Victor. We have in the Church, and in our hearts, the victor Spirit. Oh! if He but had His way and sway in both heart and Church.

And Pentecost means the flood light of noon after the dim light of early morn. We know so much more of the light than our brothers of earlier times. They walked in the dusk, we in the noon tide. We have come into the maturity of manhood, they were as minor children. We can read more distinctly our title papers; they had the blessing but could not read the title papers so clearly as we. The Holy Spirit is always the executive of God. From creation to Calvary He did perfectly on the earth what had been agreed upon in heaven's councils. On Calvary something more was done,—a tremendous something more. He does in us what has been done for us. All the anticipations of former times have become realizations.



And there is still another most significant meaning to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He came down upon a body of men and women and formed them into a corporate body called the Church. So the Lord Jesus constituted the new messenger-body. It was a corporate act. The Church was made by the incoming of the Spirit of the victorious Jesus. It continues true to Him as a Church just in so far as the Holy Spirit sways all its life and worship and activities. The real Church is the company of those in whom He dwells. It is His messenger to all men. This is the purpose of its existence. Through it the Holy Spirit speaks to the world of Jesus;—of men's sin in crucifying and rejecting Him, of the perfect righteousness of the absent Jesus, of the judgment already passed upon the prince of this world, who is so generally worshipped, either openly or tacitly. [Note: Joh_16:8-11.]

The future chapter gathers up three items more in this earth-biography of the Holy Spirit,—future items. He Himself reveals to us that there will come a time when the conditions in the outer Church are such that He will withdraw from it corporately. It will be His third withdrawal from a corporate body. It will be for the same reason as the two previous withdrawals. It is a heartbreaking bit of truth. And yet not nearly as heartbreaking to us as to Him. The withdrawal will not be from individual men; it was not before; it will not be this time. In His faithfulness He continues His Creator-rela-tion to all, and His full relation with every one in whose heart He is allowed His sway.

Not long after this third corporate withdrawal, there will be another corporate coming of His blessed presence. He will be poured out upon the Jews again as a nation. And again they will become His messenger to all men. And at some time in connection with this He will be poured out upon "all flesh." The famous Joel passage, quoted by Peter on Pentecost, will then have its full fulfilment. [Note: Joe_2:28-29; Act_2:16 and on.] At Pentecost He was poured out upon all sorts of men. That prophecy will have its blessed full fulfilment when He is poured out upon all flesh. The Kingdom time will see the greatest revelation of His power.

Then will be realized the meaning of the old Hebrew Feast of Tabernacles. There were three great annual Hebrew feasts. They were like prophetic feasts of three great future events. The Passover had its fulfilment in the offering up of the Lamb of God. The Feast of Firstfruits had its fulfilment at Pentecost. The Feast of Tabernacles, or harvest-home, will have its wondrous fulfilment in the great Kingdom outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That will indeed be a blessed harvest-home feast-time for all the race.