A teaching of God’s perspective on why on Pentecost He sent the Holy Spirit! It is also available as an article:
https://mailchi.mp/3892323d377f/holy-…
The Holy Spirit on Pentecost
Why did He really come? Was it just to fill us, or, just to speak in tongues?
Did Jesus finish EVERYTHING on the cross, or did everything START after the cross, the resurrection and His ascension to heaven – when the Holy Spirit came BECAUSE Jesus sat at the right hand of God, on the throne of David?
What was God’s perspective and purpose of sending the Holy Spirit on Pentecost?
– How important was the coming of Jesus to the world?
– How important was His sacrificial death on the cross?
– How important was His resurrection from the dead?
– How important was His ascension to the right of His Father?
IF Jesus had not ascended to heaven after His resurrection,
His Father would NOT (or is it, could not) have sent the Holy Spirit…
Now that is almost the same like saying:
That which was of the greatest importance; the event which carried the greatest gravity; the eventual purpose for which Jesus came to the earth, died, was raised from the dead, and ascended to heaven, was so that God His Father could send the Holy Spirit!
Now, that changes everything, doesn’t it! AS IMPORTANT as was…
– the coming of Jesus to the earth in human form
– the death of Jesus on the cross to make atonement for sin
– the resurrection of Jesus from the dead
– His ascension to the right of His Father
SO IMPORTANT and SO MUCH MORE was the coming of the Holy Spirit!
When Jesus had finished His work at the cross, for which He had come to the earth in human form, and was resurrected from the dead…
– at that moment NOTHING HAD CHANGED YET in the world
Some very good things had already taken place in the realm of the spirit (such as: Jesus had defeated the power of Death, had taken away the keys of Death and Hades, and all authority in Heaven and on Earth had been given to Him) but they did not have any effect in the natural world as yet. Not one man had yet been redeemed… not one man on earth had become “a new creation in Christ”… not one man had been reconciled back to God.
The purpose for which Jesus died on the cross had not yet been accomplished! The work of reconciling the fallen world back to God had not yet started!
“It is to your advantage that I go away”
In effect, what Jesus said was that what was coming after His departure was far more glorious than when He was present with His disciples. In fact, we conclude (through other words that He said) that what was coming was going to be more powerful and more effective in terms of doing God’s will.
As Jesus said that He came to the Earth to do His Father’s will, so, the Holy Spirit that would come would also do the Father’s will, yet, in a more effective way than Jesus – hence, it was to their benefit that Jesus would depart.
“For if I do not go away, the Parakletos will not come to you”
Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with [them,] He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” [He said,] “you have heard from Me; 5 “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” … 8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
When Jesus said “you shall be My witnesses” in effect He said “whoever sees you, will see Me in you, because you will manifest My spirit which will be in you”.
Therefore it was so important that Jesus would depart so that God could send the Parakletos, so that each one of the disciples of Jesus that would be filled by the Holy Spirit could become a “witness of Jesus”, i.e. a manifestation of the Person, the Presence and the Power of Jesus – i.e.: brothers of the firstborn Son.