All posts by Glen Jackman

Pentecost

The Preaching of Pentecost

Meditation | Rev. Maarten Kuivenhoven

When we commemorate the feast of Pentecost, we often overlook its preaching. Our focus lies on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but that outpouring is intimately connected to the preaching at Pentecost. The preaching was the means the Holy Spirit used to manifest His power and was essential to the gospel message and the saving of three thousand new converts. It is still central to the mission of the apostles beyond Pentecost and should be the foundation of the church today. So how can we recognize preaching that the Holy Spirit delights to use? Consider five major characteristics.

The preaching looks backward. As the Apostle Peter preached, he did not formulate new doctrine; his preaching was firmly anchored in Old Testament prophecy as it speaks and looks forward to Christ. He went back to the prophet Joel and to the Psalms—Psalm 16 and Psalm 110. The Old Testament Scripture served as a guide to lead the preacher to Christ and it formed the basis of the New Testament. Preaching with this hindsight brings to light the prophecies of Christ and how they are fulfilled and applied to the church today. Such preaching is rich because it mines all of Scripture to find Christ.

Such preaching also looks forward. The Old Testament believer looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. But now as the Spirit is poured out upon the apostles and the church after the first coming of Christ, a new day is dawning, a day of the second coming of Christ. That is why Peter focused on the prophecy of Joel 2:30–31. The prophecy spoke of Pentecost, but in Acts 2:20 it also focuses on the “great and notable day of the Lord.” Again in Acts 2:33, Peter sharpened the focus on Christ’s Second Coming using Psalm 110, “Until I make thy foes thy footstool.” The preaching of Pentecost was focused on that day. It is preaching between the times. It looks back to the Old Testament, to Christ’s first coming, but also spurs the believer and unbeliever to consider the day that is approaching—a day of judgment for the wicked and of eternal consolation for the righteous.

The preaching of Pentecost also exalted Christ. At every turn, the Apostle Peter took pains to point his audience to Christ. It is as if those miraculous signs—the cloven tongues of fire and the speaking in tongues—faded into the background as the King of glory was lifted up. He preached Christ crucified (Acts 2:23). He preached Christ risen (Acts 2:24, 32). He spoke of Christ exalted on the throne of heaven and Christ’s triumphant return and rule over all His enemies (Acts 2:34–35). The preaching of Pentecost testified to the historical reality of Christ, but also the spiritual reality of the necessity of Christ’s coming. Christ is Lord and King of His church, the content and substance of her preaching, and the chief delight of her living members. Is He the sum and substance of your preaching, of your life?

Underneath all is the Holy Spirit, who made this preaching Spirit-saturated. In Acts 2:4 we read, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The speaking in tongues was a special gift for that particular time until the canon of Scripture was complete. There is one thing, however, that the Spirit still continues to do: He fills the preacher with Himself. If you are a preacher, are you a man filled with the Holy Spirit, coming away from communion with God, filled and ready to preach Christ? If you are not a preacher, are you praying that your pastor and his preaching would be Spirit-saturated?And as Peter preaches Christ, we need to keep in mind that the role of the Spirit in preaching is to lift up Christ (cf. John 16:13–14). The power of the Holy Spirit was clear in the effects of Peter’s preaching. “They were pricked in their heart” (Acts 2:37). This work of conviction, regeneration, and conversion can only be attributed to the Holy Spirit ( John 3:8; 16:8). Spirit-saturated preaching leads to Spirit-saturated people and living. Are you transformed by such preaching?

Finally, the preaching at Pentecost convicted sinners. Peter gave his preaching a sharp point in connecting the events in Jerusalem fifty days ago to the hearts and lives of the audience in front of him. “Him [Jesus], being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain… whereof we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:23, 32).

All of these characteristics ended in this: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter’s answer is prescriptive, “Repent and be baptized…save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:38–40). Have you been changed by such preaching? How we need more of this preaching today!

Rev. Maarten Kuivenhoven is a pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a doctoral student at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Article used by permission of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth publication.

Ascension of Christ

The Benefits of Christ’s Ascension

Meditation by Dr. Brian DeVries

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Hebrews 4:14 KJV)

Of what benefit is the ascension of Christ? The Heidelberg Catechism mentions three advantages for believers gained through Christ’s ascension:

“First, that He is our advocate in the presence of His Father in heaven; secondly, that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that He, as the head, will also take up to Himself, us, His members; thirdly, that He sends us His Spirit as an earnest, by whose power we ‘seek the things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, and not things on earth’” (Lord’s Day 18, Q. 49).

Christ, our Advocate in Heaven

An advocate is someone who pleads the cause of another, often before a tribunal or judicial court. The ascended Christ advocates for His people in the presence of God.

Consider the history of Stephen, the first recorded martyr of Christ. The rulers of Jewish society refused to hear the gospel message he declared. He was stoned to death, even though no charge was brought against him. But as he prayed for his murderers, he saw a vision of “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Stephen was comforted by a sight of the ascended Christ before the throne, pleading on his behalf. Believers who endure persecution for their faith today can see with eyes of faith their Advocate standing at the throne and pleading on their behalf.

Christ is now in heaven pleading for His persecuted people, but He is also pleading for His sinful people. Remember our Lord’s loving words to Peter before Peter denied Him with cursing and swearing: “Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke 22:31–32). Christ is also praying for you, backsliding believer. The Great High Priest reminds the Holy Father of His perfect sacrifice and says, “I died for that sinner and I will soon present him spotless before this throne.”

People of God, consider this great benefit: Your Savior is now in heaven, pleading on your behalf at the throne of grace. How can a gracious and loving Father refuse such perfect prayers of such a High Priest?

Christ, our Head in Heaven

Believers are united to Christ in spiritual union. We are members of His body; we partake in His f lesh. We celebrate this mystical union with the sacrament of Holy Communion. Since Christ—our flesh by mystical union—has ascended into heaven, then a part of us is already in heaven. We have been raised with Christ (Col. 3:1) and we are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).

Charles Simeon, a leader among evangelicals in England during the early 1800s, found comfort in this truth. When asked at the end of his life how he had faced so many afflictions, he replied, “We must not mind a little suffering for Christ’s sake. When I am getting through a hedge, if my head and shoulders are safely through, I can bear the pricking of my legs. Let us rejoice in the remembrance that our holy Head has surmounted all His suffering and triumphed over death. Let us follow Him patiently; we shall soon be partakers of His victory.”

The ascension of Christ our Head is a constant reminder and sure pledge of our future glorification, even as we members of His body are still living within this world below. As surely as Christ is now in heaven, so surely will He soon take His people to be with Him forever in glory.

The Spirit of Christ, our Power

Christ’s ongoing ministry from heaven is a third benefit of the ascension for believers. The victorious Christ has returned to heaven from where He is now distributing lavish gifts of grace to His church. His first and greatest gift is the sending of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is a guarantee of our future inheritance (Eph. 1:14); He empowers every believer and the church to prepare them for glory.

Consider the benefit of the Spirit in our lives. The Comforter lives within us, encouraging us and applying Christ’s graces in our lives so that we become more like Christ in every way. He gives us faith to keep on believing, power to keep on repenting, love to keep on obeying. He teaches us how to live in love, to walk by faith, to pray with hope. The Spirit is a wonderful guarantee and gracious gift to us, given upon Christ’s ascension.

Consider also the benefit of the Spirit’s presence in the church. The Holy Spirit empowers the church to witness of Christ. He distributes the blessings of Christ and spiritually gifts the church so that we can together serve for the maturing of Christ’s body on earth. The Spirit helps us bear witness of Christ and empowers us for missional ministry. These all are benefits we receive through the Holy Spirit sent by the ascended Christ.

We enjoy all of these benefits because of Christ’s ascension, if we are Christian believers. The biblical doctrine of Christ’s ascension—as well as the Heidelberg Catechism—describes the spiritual comfort of those people who have, by a Spirit-worked faith, taken hold of Christ and His benefits. Have you, by Spirit-worked faith, taken hold of Christ and claimed these spiritual benefits for yourself? We are invited by God’s Word to draw near in full assurance and to hold fast to the confession of this hope (Heb. 10:19–23), since our Christ is now in heaven.

Dr. Brian DeVries is president of Mukhanyo Theological School in South Africa and an ordained minister in the Heritage Reformed Congregations. Article used by permission of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth publication.