Festival of Pentecost and its implication in Christianity

This year the Christian festival of Pentecost falls on Sunday, 24 May. On this day Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the first disciples of Christ. In the Old Testament this day—the fiftieth day after the Jewish festival of the Passover, which was ordained for the Old Testament people to commemorate their redemption from the fiery furnace of untold oppression of the Pharaohs of Egypt—was observed for the dual reason that the Israelites had this as the anniversary of the giving of the Mosaic law to the people of Israel, and it was observed as the final day of the feast of the Weeks or Harvest Festival. This was the memorial to the promulgation of the theocracy of the newly liberated people of Israel on Mt Sinai and also the day of thanksgiving for the agrarian harvests. The old Israelite festivals foreshadowed the new Christian festival of the harvest of human souls transformed by the power of God’s Spirit that was poured upon the earliest followers of Christ the same day. The first Pentecost took place as the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecy that the prophet Joel had made (Joel 2:28-32; see Acts 2:17-21).

The term ‘Pentecost’ comes from the New Testament Greek language ‘pentekostes’, meaning the fiftieth day. On this day the Diaspora Jews came from different countries and nations to celebrate the said two occasions. However, they witnessed an utterly extraordinary event taking place in the lives of the first disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. The disciples experienced an unprecedented experience as the Holy Spirit fell upon them. Christ had promised them that they would be given the Holy Spirit to lead them all to witness to the world about Christ in their lives, words, deeds and signs. As the disciples were praising God for all his wondrous work, the Holy Spirit fell on them and indwelt their hearts and minds. Their whole beings were entirely transformed and empowered by the Spirit for the preaching of the Christian Gospel all around.

Thus, with the first Pentecost, the Church originated. Before his departure, Jesus promised that he would not leave his followers helpless. He would ascend to the Father and send the Holy Spirit, who would teach them everything, guide and empower them to preach the Good News and also do all miracles in his name. In the most unique way Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Spirit; without the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit, the individual, and as such the Church, is but like a barren tree. Give more attention to the Holy Spirit. He dwells in your soul, and since baptism He has made your body and soul His temple, a house of God. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Glorify God and bear Him in your body" (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). What saintly lives we would lead if we would but remember that the Holy Spirit is within us! The Holy Spirit is not merely a supernatural power or force, but he is a person—the third person in the Holy Trinity. He has personality. He wills, speaks, and directs believers; sustains them in love and grace for a worthy Christian life; and teaches and leads us to more divine truth than we now have. The sanctifying and empowering ministries of the Holy Spirit are of immense value from the realistic Christian standpoint in this world where the devil continues to frustrate us even when we seek to live a godly life. To quote Paul: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22).

The Gospel of John records Jesus’ words telling us of the three-fold cardinal ministries of the Holy Spirit: “When he (i.e., the Holy Spirit) will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:7). The work that the Spirit does in the world is in the life of the believers in Christ. People need to discern the fact that they are sinful. Sin is rebellion against God, which is in thought, in word and in deed. Because of this universal human condition, people cannot admit their sinfulness. The Spirit convicts the world of sin. Without this conviction people do not see the need to repent and thereby also to come to God and to believe in Him. So, they remain convicted of sin. With regard to righteousness, Christ came to fulfil God's standard of holiness in the punishment for sin on the cross and also manifested the grace of God thereby by acquitting sinners from the punishment of eternal separation from God. In regard to righteousness that is seen in the sacrificial and vicarious death of Christ for sinners. Christ’s righteous acts on the cross render believers a righteous stand before holy God.

The Holy Spirit is the soul or the lifeblood of the Church, the mystical body of her Lord, Christ, and the church members are its different parts. In a living body there is a soul; so is this God’s spirit to the life and conduct of the Church, the body of people professing and confessing Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Apostle Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit dwells in our bodies! “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). This ought to remind us constantly that our life needs to be led by the power of God’s Spirit and not by any worldly power or goal or by the desires of the flesh. This world, indeed, would be diametrically different were we to live our lives to this ideal. Whatever the Church can do and wishes to do for real transformation of the world must be done with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
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The writer is a Christian theology teacher and church leader