O Holy Spirit of God, very God, who descended on Christ at the river Jordan and on the apostles in the upper chamber, we have sinned against heaven and before you; purify us again, we ask you, with your divine fire, and have mercy on us; for Christ’s sake. Amen.[1]
Divine Empowerment
Numbers 11:24-30 NRSV
So, Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua, son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Chrysostom
Even if the gift bestowed on you is less than the gift bestowed on someone else, the Giver is the same, and, therefore, you have equal honor with him. It is the same fountain from which you draw refreshment.[2]
Cyril of Jerusalem
The Holy Spirit adapts himself to each person. He sees the disposition of each. He sees into our reasoning and our conscience, what we say, what we think, what we believe.[3]
Joel 2:28-31 NRSV
Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
Matthew Henry
The promise began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it was continued in the converting grace and miraculous gifts conferred on both Jews and Gentiles. The judgments of God upon a sinful world, only go before the judgment of the world in the last day. Calling on God supposes knowledge of him, faith in him, desire toward him, dependence on him, and, as evidence of the sincerity of all this, conscientious obedience to him. Those only shall be delivered in the great day, who are now effectually called from sin to God, from self to Christ, from things below to things above. [4]
G. I. Williamson
The Day of Pentecost was a unique event (Acts 2). It can no more be repeated than can the birth or ascension of Christ. Only once did Jesus Christ send forth – or pour out – his Holy Spirit. Only once did the Holy Spirit come to dwell in Christ’s body, the church. And if we belong to Christ, we are members of his body. This is because we already have the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). If we did not have the Spirit, we would not belong to Christ.[5]
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1571[6]
V. Of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son; very and eternal God.
The Heidelberg Catechism[7]
Question #53
What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit?
First, that He is true and co-eternal God with the Father and the Son; second, that He is also given me, to make me by a true faith partaker of Christ and all His benefits, to comfort me, and to abide with me forever.
Almighty God, on this day, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you revealed the way of eternal life to every race and nation: Pour out this gift anew, that by the preaching of the Gospel your salvation may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.[8]
Every Time I Feel the Spirit
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.[9]
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Nerses of Clajes, Ancient Christian Devotional Year A, p. 135.
[2] Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians 29.4, Ancient Christian Devotional Year A, p. 137.
[3] Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 14.22, Ancient Christian Devotional Year A, p. 137.
[4] Matthew Henry and Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), Joe 2:28.
[5] G. I. Williamson, The Heidelberg Catechism: A Study Guide, 1993, P&R Publishing, p. 92.
[6] The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1571, Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 773.
[7] G. I. Williamson, The Heidelberg Catechism: A Study Guide, 1993, P&R Publishing, p. 90.
[8] Collect for the Day of Pentecost, Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 614.
[9] Romans 5:5 KJV
