We have seen from scripture the eschatological orientation of the Holy Spirit's work and mission in the time between the absence and the Parousia of Christ.  The Spirit was imparted to the believing community in "the last days" to show Christ's disciples "things to come" (Jn.16:13; 1 Cor.2:9-12).  These things had been promised to the fathers of Israel (Rom.15:8) and were foreshadowed in the Law of Moses (Heb.10:1,36f).  They were labeled the things of Christ and of his glory (Jn.16:14, 15).  Thus, they were "the good things to come" that embodied Christ's revelation or Parousia (presence/arrival) in power and glory (Matt.24:30; 25:31; 26:64; 1 Pet.1:11-13).

 

Accord­ingly, these "better" things comprised the new world order of Christ's "more excellent ministry" (Heb.8:6-13) wherein and whereby the firstfruits church of Christ was received or gathered unto himself (Jn.14:1-3; 2 Thess.2:1), and thus revealed or manifested with him in his glory (Col.3:4; Rom.8:16-19).

 

With this in mind, we see the Spirit's Christ-cen­tered work and its bearing on the restoration/fulfill­ment of all things spoken of God or written in scrip­ture (Acts 3:19-26; Lk.21:22).  Also, we find that "the gift of the Spirit" and "the promise" mentioned by Peter in Acts 2:38, 39 are broader in scope than simply the reception of the Spirit.

 

Unquestionably the Holy Spirit was prom­ised and given by God (Joel 2; John 16; Acts 1:4-8).  But restricting the "gift" and "promise" in Acts 2:38-39 to simply the receiving of the Spirit (or to miraculous gifts of the Spirit) overshadows the Spirit's Christ-cen­tered work during the interim period of Christ's ab­sence.  As vividly demonstrated in Acts 2, the Spirit was sent to glorify Christ.  Those who appeal to Acts 2 for a Spirit-centered gospel fail to see that immediately after the Spirit’s coming was manifested and explained (vv.1 -21), attention is turned wholly to Christ (vv. 22-47)  This pattern holds true throughout the New Testament.

 

The Spirit was sent to show, declare, or make known what is of Christ—“the things that have been freely given to us by God ... which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9,12).  Paul said that the things "prepared" and "freely given" by God were being revealed by the Spirit and pertained to "the promise" that consistently is centered in Christ.  We believe, therefore, that "the gift of the Spirit" and "the promise" in Acts 2 point in this direction.

 

In the context of resurrection, Peter said of Christ, "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear" (Acts 2:33).  What does Peter mean by saying that Christ had received from the Father "the promise of the Holy Spirit"?  Is the reference to Christ's baptism when the heavens parted and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove? (Mark 1:10).  Will the context of Acts 2:33 support this?

 

Apparently not, for the subject on both sides of verse 33 is the resurrection of Christ. Peter's intent was to show that the resurrection of which David spoke (Psa.16:8-11; Acts 2:25-28) had reference to Christ, not to David himself (Acts 2:29-35).  As seen in Psalm 16 and Acts 2 this resurrection was promised by God, and its fulfillment is linked in scrip­ture to the power of the Holy Spirit (John 6:62,63; Rom. 1:1-4; 8:11; 1 Pet.3:18).  Therefore Christ, not David, was the one who received from the Father this promise which is said to be "of the Spirit," i.e., by means of the Spirit.

 

Having received the promise of res­urrection through the Spirit, Peter de­clared that Christ had poured out this same Spirit in the believing commu­nity.  This had powerful implications for Christ's disciples.  Christ was the first (but not the last or the only one) to be raised from sin-death or from Hades (Acts 2:31; Co1. 1:18).  The Spirit of Christ's resurrection was poured out for the express purpose that others might be raised "in the likeness of his resur­rection" (Rom. 6:5-8). Christ was the "firstfruits" of them that slept (1 Cor. 15:20-23).  He was "the firstborn from the dead" (Col. 1:18)—the first to "receive from the Father the promise of the Spirit" (Acts 2:33).

 

Incidentally, this is what Paul contended in Romans 8.  Paul explained his "resurrection" argument in Romans 8:1-11 in terms of the gospel (the Spirit) rather than the Law (the flesh).  He concluded his train of thought with the words, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (v.11).

 

Since the promise, the Spirit, and resurrection were held intact through­out Peter's sermon (Acts 2:22-40), and in consideration of other texts yet to be examined, there is every reason to be­lieve that life/resurrection lies at the heart of "the gift of the Spirit" and "the promise" in verses 38-39.  This is a gift and promise of life that is centered in Christ (Jn. 11:25).  He is the promised seed of Abraham who brings what the Law could not give—life and righteous­ness (Gal. 3:16-22).  It is Christ who stands for all that is contained in "the promise" in Acts 2:39, a promise that Peter said is "to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."  The role of the Holy Spirit with respect to "the promise" was indispensable, but his work would have been void and empty of all mean­ing had it not been anchored wholly and exclusively in Christ.  In all respects, the Spirit’s eschatological work, the Spirit was "the Spirit of Christ."

 

In the next article, we will elaborate on "the promise of the Spirit" (e.g., Gal. 3:14) in connection with "life" and "righteous­ness" through the "faith of Christ."  We will see in Galatians 3 and Philippians 3 how the futur­istic (from Paul's standpoint) dimensions of "life" (resurrection) and "righteousness" (see the "hope of righteousness" in Gal. 5:5) harmoni­ously blend into the Christ-centered "gift" and "promise" of the Spirit in Acts 2. Furthermore, we will observe that Paul, within the contextual setting of "the gospel" vs. "the Law", equates "righteousness through faith in Christ" with "resurrection from the dead" (Phil. 3:8-16).

 

 

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