By Edwin Lopez
La Senda Antigua Pentecostal Church
THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (STUDY)
For whom is the promise of the Holy Spirit? The promise of the Holy Spirit is for you
“For the promise is for you, and for your children, and for all who are far off, for as many as the Lord our God calls” (Acts 2:39). This is the promise of the Holy Spirit.
The promise of the Holy Spirit brings revival
WITHOUT EMPHASIS ON THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IT MAKES NO SENSE TO CALL YOURSELF PENTECOSTAL
The experience of receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit
No emphasis on the promise of the Holy Spirit
They have stopped preaching about the promise of the Holy Spirit. Is that the reason why many pastors do not have an anointing when they preach and teach? Is that the reason for the lightning and monotonous services of many congregations of the name of Jesus? Is that the reason why many of those who began by the Spirit have ended up in the flesh?
The promise of the Holy Spirit has been de-emphasized. Is that the reason for the spiritual dryness within worship and praise in the church? Is that the reason for the low attendance at church? Is that the reason why many Christians only attend church on Sundays? They have stopped preaching and teaching about the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Without the promise of the Holy Spirit there is no Pentecostal revival
Is that the reason for so much Christianity without compromise, apathetic and disloyal? Is that the reason for so much carnality in today’s churches? Is that the reason why many pastors are more interested in money than in fulfilling their calling? Will the word Pentecostal on church signs be changed to the word Carnage? If the promise of the Holy Spirit is not received, there is no revival.
THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
What the Old Testament tells us about the promise of the Holy Spirit
Let me tell you, the Old Testament contains the most profound prophecy about the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all humanity. Several verses from the prophet Joel contributed powerfully to the message of the New Testament (Joel 2:28-30). Speaking of the promise of the Holy Spirit we are told:
“And after this I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. And on the servants and on the handmaids I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and I will give wonders in heaven and on earth, blood, and fire, and columns of smoke.” This is the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Fulfillment of the Old Testament promise of the Holy Spirit
This prophecy, Joel 2:28-30, is a continuing promise to all who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord to this day, for all who have believed can and should be filled with the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you, and for your children, and for all who are far off, for as many as the Lord our God calls” (Acts 2:39). The promise of the Holy Spirit is for everyone.
The promise of the Holy Spirit was given in the Old Testament
What was the promise for those present on that day of Pentecost and for all those whom the Lord our God will call? God’s promise was the one prophesied by Joel about the outpouring of the fullness of the Holy Spirit on all flesh, that is, the promise of the Holy Spirit.
The words of our Lord Jesus Christ recorded in Acts 1:4-5, were very clear when he told his disciples: “And being together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said to them, “You have heard from me. For John certainly baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Once again the promise of the Holy Spirit is mentioned.
The fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit
The work of the Holy Spirit had already begun in their hearts and in the obedience of water baptism in the name of Jesus, but they still lacked something very important to be complete in Jesus Christ, they lacked the filling of the Holy Spirit, they lacked the fulfillment of God’s promise given through the prophet Joel. It is one thing for God to begin to deal with our hearts with his work bringing conviction and another thing is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that is, to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
I keep insisting on this. If these disciples of Jesus were already saved and had the Holy Spirit upon receiving the Word and being baptized in the name of Jesus, then why were they sent to Jerusalem? Why were they not sent to preach directly without having to go to Jerusalem? Were they not complete to fulfill the great commission and their responsibilities as apostles? Why be locked up for ten days in an upper room? What were they waiting for? Did they need something else that they had not yet received? Would you say that after their genuine conversion and baptism in the name of Jesus they were still incomplete? Did they have no anointing? Didn’t they have power? Could they not be witnesses to others? What was it that Jesus told them was missing? Did they lack the promise of the Holy Spirit?
There is no doubt, they lacked the infilling of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. If not, why were they sent to Jerusalem? They were sent to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit prophesied by Joel.
This is strong proof that they had not yet received the fulfillment of the Promise of the Holy Spirit, prophesied by Joel in the Old Testament. They had only believed and been baptized.
Believing in Jesus Christ by faith, and being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is part of salvation, but these steps are accompanied by the filling of the Holy Spirit. This experience of salvation is inseparable when we talk about the salvation of man, it is necessary to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Believing in Jesus Christ with all your heart means: Repentance, Baptism in the name of Jesus and receiving the filling or promise of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God and not according to our convictions or personal interpretations of each verse in the Bible.
THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY
What the Word of God says about the promise of the Holy Spirit
(1) The prophet Joel prophesied the Word of God and His Promise to pour out His Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28).
(2) Jesus commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, that is, the promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4).
(3) Jesus told them that John certainly baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now (Acts 1:5), once again we are mentioned the promise of the Holy Spirit.
(4) Jesus told them very clearly what they would receive in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). They would receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
(6) Believing and being baptized in the name of Jesus is accompanied by the filling of the Holy Spirit. This is the complete work of God in the salvation of man. The saving work of Christ is proclaimed through the blood, the water, and the filling of the power of the Holy Spirit, that is, it is necessary to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
(7) To become filled with the Holy Spirit, it is because first they were empty (without power), they needed to receive the Promise of the Holy Spirit given by the mouth of the prophet Joel (2:28); “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” The fulfillment of this Promise becomes reality when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. It is a requirement to receive the Holy Spirit.
(8) One of the requirements for the seven deacons is that they be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3), that they have already received the promise of the Holy Spirit.
(9) “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” Both Stephen and the other six deacons had experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit. Without this experience, the promise of the Holy Spirit, we would be empty, without power, without authority.
(10) To say that the filling of the Holy Spirit is received by believing and being baptized in the name of Jesus only, is to ignore and do violence to the Word of God as Biblical proof which indicates the opposite. See the following verses:
“When the apostles who were in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John thither, who, having come, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for even…