Acts 2:1-41: The Promise of the Holy Spirit

2:1

And in the filling-up-of-time [Pres Pass Inf sumpleroo] of the day of Pentecost, they were [3P Impf Act Indic eimi] all together in the same place. 2And suddenly there came [3S 2 Aor Mid Indic ginomai] from heaven a sound as of a rushing [Gen FS Pres Mid Part phero], mighty wind, and it filled [3S 1 Aor Act Indic pleroo] the house where they were [3P Impf Act Indic eimi] sitting [Nom MP Pres Mid Indic kathemai], 3and there appeared [3P 1 Aor Pass Indic horao] to them divided [Nom FP Pres Pass Part diamerizo] tongues as of fire, and it sat [3S 1 Aor Act Indic kathizo] upon each one of them, 4and they all were filled [3P 1 Aor Pass Indic pimplemi] with Holy Spirit and they began [3P 1 Aor Mid Indic archomai] to speak [Pres Act Inf laleo] other languages as the Spirit was giving [3S Impf Act Indic didomi] speech [3P Pres Mid Indic aophtheggomai] to them.
5

Now there were [3P Impf Act Indic eimi] in Jerusalem dwelling [Nom MP Pres Act Part katoikeo] Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6Now this noise being [Gen FS Pres Mid Part ginomai], the multitude came together [3S 2 Aor Act Indic sunerchomai] and were bewildered [3S 1 Aor Pass Indic sugcheo], for they were hearing [3P Impf Act Indic akouo], each one in his own dialect, them speaking [Gen MP Pres Act Part laleo]. 7Now they were amazed [3P Impf Mid Indic eixtemi] and they marvelled [3P Impf Act Indic thaumazo], saying [Nom MP Pres Act Part laleo], Behold, are [3P Pres Act Indic eimi] not all these which speak [Nom MP Pres Act Indic laleo] Galileans? 8And how do we hear [1P Pres Act Indic akouo] each in our own dialect wherein we were born [1P 2 Aor Pass Indic ginomai]? 9Parthians and Medes and Elamites and dwellers [Nom MP Pres Act Part katoikeo] in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphilia, Egypt and sojourners [Nom MP Pres Act Part epidemeo] from Rome, 11Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear [1P Pres Act Indic akouo] their speaking [Nom MP Pres Act Part laleo] in our languages the mighty deeds of God. 12Now all were amazed [3P Impf Mid Indic existemi], and were perplexed [3P Impf Act Indic diaporeo], one to another saying [Nom MP Pres Act Part laleo], What purpose/meaning/will [3S Pres Act Indic thelo] this to be [Pres Act Inf eimi]? 13But others mocking [Nom MP Pres Act Part diachleuazo] said [3P Impf Act Indic lego] that They are [3P Pres Act Indic eimi] filled [Nom MP Perf Pass Part mestoo] with new wine.
14

Now Peter, standing [Nom MS 1 Aor Pass Part histemi] with the eleven, lifted up [3S 1 Aor Act Indic epairo] his voice and spoke [3S 1 Aor Mid Indic apophtheggomai] to them, Men of Judea and all those dwelling [Nom MP Pres Act Part katoikeo] in Jerusalem, this to you let it be [3S Pres Act Impv eimi] known and give ear [2P 1 Aor Mid Impv enotizomai] to my words. 15For as you suppose [2P Pres Act Indic hupolambano] there are not drunk [3P Pres Act Indic methuo], for it is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] the third hour of the day, 16but this is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] that which was spoken [3S Perf Pass Part lego] by the prophet Joel:
17

And it will be [3S Fut Act Indic eimi] in the last days, says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] God, I will pour out [1S Fut Act Indic ekcheo] of my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy [3P Fut Act Indic propheteuo], and your young men shall see [3P Fut Mid Indic horao] visions and your old men shall dream [3P Fut Pass Indic enupniazomai] dreams, 18and on my male servants and on my maidservants, in these last days I will pour out [1S Fut Act Indic ekcheo] from my Spirit, and they shall prophesy [3P Fut Act Indic propheteuo]. 19And I will provide [1S Fut Act Indic didomi] wonders in heaven above, and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20The sun shall be turned [3S Fut Pass Indic metastrepho] into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of [2 Aor Act Inf erchomai] the day of the Lordthe great and illustrious day of the Lord. 21And it will be [3S Fut Act Indic eimi] whosoever shall call upon [3S 1 Aor Mid Subj epikaleo] the name of the Lord shall be saved [3S Fut Pass Indic sozo].
22

Men of Israel, listen [2P 1 Aor Act Impv akouo] to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved [Acc MS Perf Pass Part apodeknumi] by God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did

[3S 1 Aor Act Indic poieo] by him in the midst of you just as you yourselves know [2P Perf Act Indic eido], 23Him, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, being delivered up, by lawless hands having been crucified [Nom MP 1 Aor Act Part prospegnumi] you killed [2P 2 Aor Act Indic anaireo], 24 whom God has raised up [3S 1 Aor Act Indic anistemi], having loosed [Nom MS 1 Aor Act Part luo] the anguish of death, because it was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] not possible to hold [Pres Pass Inf krateo] him by it. 25For David says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] unto him, I foresaw [1S Impf Mid Indic proorao] the Lord before my face always, for on my right hand he is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] that I might not be moved [1S 1 Aor Pass Subj saleuo]. 26For this reason my heart rejoiced [3S 1 Aor Pass Indic euphraino] and my tongue was glad [3S 1 Aor Mid Indic agalliao]; but moreover also my flesh shall rest [3S Fut Act Indic kataskenoo] in hope, 27for you will not abandon [2P Fut Act Indic egkataleipo] my soul unto Hades, neither will you give [2P Fut Act Indic didomi] your Holy One to see [2 Aor Act Inf eido] corruption. 28You have made known [2S 1 Aor Act Indic gnorizo] to me the ways of life; you will fill [2S Fut Act Indic pleroo] of joy with your face.
29

Men, brothers, lawfully [Nom NS Pres Act Part exesti] speaking [2 Aor Act Inf lego] freely to you concerning the patriarch David, that he both is dead [3S 1 Aor Act Indic teleutao] and buried [3S 2 Aor Pass Indic thapto], and his tomb is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] in us [in our midst] up to this day. 30Therefore being [Nom MS Pres Act Indic huparcho] a prophet, and knowing [Nom MS Perf Act Part eido] that with an oath God had sworn [3S 1 Aor Act Indic omnuo] from the fruit of his loins,1 to sit [1 Aor Act Inf kathizo] on his throne, 31foreseeing [Nom MS 2 Aor Part proorao] this he spoke [3S Impf Act Indic laleo concerning the resurrection of Christ, for neither was he abandoned [3S 1 Aor Pass Indic egkataleipo] to Hades, nor did his flesh see [3S 2 Aor Act Indic eido] corruption.
32

This Jesus God raised up [3S 1 Aor Act Indic anistemi], of whom we all are [1P Pres Act Indic eimi] witnesses. 33Therefore at the right hand of God being exalted [Nom MS 1 Aor Pass Part hupsoo], and the promise of the Holy Spirit having received [Nom MS 2 Aor Act Part lambano] from the Father, he has poured out [3S 1 Aor Act Indic ekcheo] this, which you see [2P Pres Act Indic blepo] and hear [2P Pres Act Indic akouo]. 34For David did not ascend [3S 2 Aor Act Indic anabaino] into the heavens, but he says [3S Pres Act Indic lego], The Lord said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to my Lord, Sit [2S Pres Mid Impv kathemai] at my right hand, 35until I place [1S 2 Aor Act Subj tithemi] your enemies a footstool for your feet.
36

Therefore, assuredly, let all the house of Israel know [3S Pres Act Impv ginosko] that God has made him [3S 1 Aor Act Indic poieo] both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified [2P 1 Aor Act stauroo].
37

Now having heard [Nom MP 1 Aor Act Part akouo] they were cut [3P 2 Aor Pass Indic katanussomai] to the heart, and they said [3P 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to Peter and to the other apostles, What shall we do [1P Fut Act Indic poieo], men and brothers? 38Now Peter to them, Repent [2P 1 Aor Act Impv metanoeo] and be baptized [2P 1 Aor Pass Impv baptizo] each of your in the name of Jesus Christ unto the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive [2P Fut Mid Indic lambano] the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For to you is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] the promise, and to your children and to all those who are far off,
1 Some manuscripts here insert some variation of, according to the flesh to raise up the Christ. Metzger leaves out any variation of this phrase with a {B} certainty, explaining that The Hebraic use of the phrase ek karpou as a noun, the object of kathisai, is extremely harsh in Greek and has given rise to various explanatory expansions (derived perhaps from 2 Sm 7.12). Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994), 259.

as many as the Lord our God calls to himself [3S 1 Aor Mid Subj proskaleo]. 40And with many other words he was testifying [3S Impf Mid Indic diamartureo] and exhorting [3S Impf Act Indic parakaleo] to them, saying [Nom MS Pres Act Indic lego], Be saved [2P 1 Aor Pass Impv sozo] from this crooked generation. 41So then those who received [Nom MP 1 Aor Mid Part apodechomai] his word were baptized [3P 1 Aor Pass Indic baptizo] and there were added [3P 1 Aor Pass Indic prostithemi] on that day nearly three thousand souls. Comment: Although a variety of topics within this chapter could be discussed in-depth (the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the signs and wonders of the Spirit, prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus, evangelism, conversion, the early church, water baptism, etc.), we will be focusing specifically on the descriptions of the Holy Spirit as the promise of the Holy Spirit (2:33, 39) and the gift of the Holy Spirit (2:38). We will touch on many other topics in relation to this overarching topic; however, our main goal shall be to see: (1) the Holy Spirit as the promise of the Old Testament; (2) the relation of the finished work of Jesus to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on God's people; (3) the Holy Spirit as promised gift to us. 2:1-13 What happened on the Day of Pentecost?

At the beginning of Acts chapter 2, we find the disciples (both the 11+1 apostles and the other followers of Jesus) all together in one place (2:1). From chapter 1, we know that they had been praying, studying Scripture, appointing a new leader to replace Judas, and, most importantly, waiting for the promise that Jesus had made to them immediately before he had ascended into heaven:
1:3

[Jesus] presented himself alive to [the disciples] after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. (Acts 1:3-5) As they await what Jesus had promised to them, we read that:
2:2

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2-4) Suddenly, the disciples experience the baptism with the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised to them. (We will return to examining the cause and catalyst of this event later.) Divided tongues of fire rest on each of them, and as they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they begin to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives them utterance. We find a bit more information concerning the other tongues in which they speak as we keep readingnamely, that these were the languages of men (not the languages of angels; cf. 1 Cor. 13:1), and that their speech was purposeful (not simply impressive in the sight of those present).

Specifically, the apostles are suddenly empowered to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to every visitor to Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks in his own language:
2:5

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabianswe hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. 12And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean? 13But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine. (Acts 2:5-13)
2:14-21 Where in the Old Testament was the Day of Pentecost promised?

Peter immediately rises to speak to the people, insisting that what the people are witnessing has nothing to do with drunkenness, and everything to do with the fulfillment of prophecy:
14

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:14-21) Peter explains that what they have witnessed is not the result of drunkenness (it is only 9:00 in the morning!), but rather the result of a work that God had been promising for centuries. What they were witnessing was nothing less than the fulfillment of God's personal promise that he would pour out my Spirit on all flesh, as had been prophesied by the prophet Joel. This moment, Peter says, marks the beginning of the last days, when God would usher in a new economy of dealing with his people. No longer would God mediate himself to his people through

individual prophets, but now allsons, daughters, young and oldwould be involved in the prophesying. No longer would God mediate his salvation through the class of the priests, for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. No longer would God mediate his reign through the kings, for the Lord himself will rule over his people directly when the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. Now, to genuinely understand the significance of Pentecost, we need to look beyond this single passage that Peter quotes to see an entire theology of the promise of God's Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. As we continue through our sermon series on the Holy Spirit, we shall see look more closely at these foreshadows of the coming of the Holy Spirit, but permit a brief sketch of the story of the Old Testament that should provide some context for Pentecost. In the beginning, God dwelt with his people personally, immediately, and intimately in the Garden of Eden. God walked with Adam and Eve, and they enjoyed the fullness of his presence with them. When they sinned, however, the harshest penalty for their sin was neither expulsion from the Garden, nor even their eventual deaththe most severe consequence for their sin was that they were cast out from the enjoyment of the immediate presence of God. God, however, promised that he would again dwell with his people in their midst. He singled out the man Abraham and told him that he would make him and his family into a great nation, through which he would bless all the families of the earth. Later, he called Abraham's descendants (the people of Israel) out of the land of Egypt, and he took them to be his people, insisting that he would be their God. Moreover, when God took the people of Israel as his own people, his holy nation, his treasured possessionwhen he took Israel, he instructed them to build a tabernacle, and then later into a more permanent structure in Jerusalem called the temple. God explained that in this tabernacle (and then the temple), he would dwell in their midst as their God. Furthermore, he gave disclosed himself to the degree of giving to his people the Law that was to govern their interactions with him and with each other. God had restored his presence among his people! Unfortunately, this arrangement did not work for two reasons: (1) God was not close enough to his people; and (2) God was too close to his people. Yes, God dwelt in the midst of his people. Yes, the priests were allowed to come into the presence of the tabernacle/temple to offer the sacrifices of the people, and the high priest was even allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies once per year at the Day of Atonement. Still, God was not close enough to his people actually to transform their hearts. Though he was nearer to them than he had been, he could not break their propensity toward sin, nor could he dwell in their midst in such a way as to bring all of the people into a prophetic relationship to him. And so, with tragic irony, the sin of the people (rather than their experience of God and their enjoyment of him) increased, until God's presence in their midst in the tabernacle/temple became far too close to such a sinful people. Their sin defiled his presence until he eventually departed from the temple, an event the prophet Ezekiel actually witnessed and records for us in his book. God had come near to his people but not near enough to transform them; and thus, when their

unchanged hearts continued to pursue the sin he had come to abolish, his holiness could not bear to dwell so closely in their midst any more. How, then, would God come again to dwell in the midst of his people? How would he simultaneously come nearer to his people so as to bring about lasting change in their hearts and lives, yet avoid defiling his own holiness? The answer?: God promised that he would inaugurate a new covenant. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God proclaimed:
31

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34) God's promise is that he would come more closely to his peopleso close that he would actually put his law within them, writing the law on their hearts, rather than on tablets of stone as he had done with Moses. Also, this close, intimate, immediate presence with the Lord would not be for only the prophets, or the priests, or even just the kings, but for all the people of God, from the least of them to the greatest. God promised that he would dwell with all flesh of his people. How would God accomplish this incredible promise? What would change that he would be able to come so closely into the midst of his people that he could cleanse and transform them to accommodate the consuming fire of his holy presence? God gave more details through his prophet Ezekiel:
22

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29And I will deliver you from all your

uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. (Ezekiel 36:22-32) God's means of cleansing and transforming his people would be by dwelling with them through his own Spirit. God's own Spirit would be the One to cause them to walk in his statues, and to be careful to obey his rules. And so, on Pentecost, we witness the fulfillment of God's promise. At Pentecost, God gives his Spirit generously to his people, pouring out his own Spirit in abundance. God again dwells with his peoplebut this time, he does so by his Holy Spirit!
2:22-36 By what means did God give his own Spirit at Pentecost?

What has changed? If sending the Holy Spirit to dwell with the people was the solution, why couldn't God have sent his Spirit earlier in history? Why not at Sinai? Why not during the reign of King David? Why not to prevent the apostasy of his people that caused them to go into the Assyrian and Babylonian exile? Why not when the people returned from Babylon to Jerusalem? Peter continues the story, filling in the details, and explaining the reason that God was giving his Spirit now:
22

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know23this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence. 29 Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you

yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool. 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. (Acts 2:22-36) God did not arbitrarily decide when to give his Spirit to his people. He did not simple say to himself, Today shall be the day. God poured out his Spirit on his people as a part of a larger plan a plan in which God's own Son, Jesus Christ, occupies center stage. Under this plan, Jesus Christ came into the world to be delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, [so that] you crucified and killed [him] by the hands of lawless men. The precious, beloved Son of God actually came into this world to die by torturous, horrific crucifixion. And Jesus did this to atone for our sinsto cleanse us by his blood, that we might be fitting vessels to receive God's Holy Spirit to dwell in our midst. But, God the Father did not intend to abandon and cast off his only Son forever. Rather, he did not abandon him to Hades, nor did he allow his Son's flesh to see corruption, but raised him up from the dead, and exalted him to the Father's right hand. Now, notice what Peter slips in to the description of Jesus' exaltation to the right hand of the Father: Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. The work of Jesus through his life and death accomplished the receiving of God's own Holy Spirit. When Jesus was exalted into heaven, Jesus received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, and then Jesus turned around and poured out his Holy Spirit on his people here at Pentecost. Jesus is the linchpin and the catalyst for receiving the Holy Spirit from the Father and giving the Holy Spirit to us. Don't miss the implications of this: the goal of the life and death of Jesus was for us to receive the promised Holy Spirit. The gospel is that we can receive the Holy Spirit! And yet, don't miss the glaringly obvious. Although this passage concerns Pentecost, the day on which Jesus Christ poured out his Holy Spirit from heaven, Peter's sermon says very little about the Holy Spirit himself. Curiously, if the gospel does demonstrate the Holy Spirit as the promise of the gospel, and the goal of the life and death of Jesus, then why does Peter focus on and urge faith in Jesus Christ through this sermon, rather than pointing to the Holy Spirit? As we shall see as we press through this study, the Holy Spirit is the promise of the gospel because the Holy Spirit is the One who mediates Jesus Christ to us. Our Lord Jesus Christ reigns from heaven today, yet he is present with us. How? By his Spirit! Remember that the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Jesus several times in the New Testament (Acts 16:7; Romans 8:9; Galatians 4:6; Philippians 1:19; 1 Peter 1:11).2
2 List by J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1984), 50.

Put simply, to gain the Holy Spirit is to gain Christincluding all the blessings of his Person and Work.
2:37-41 How is the Holy Spirit God's gift to us?

Peter presses forward to prove that the Holy Spirit himself is the gift of the Christian gospel:
37

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? 38And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. 40And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. 41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:37-41) Upon hearing the preaching of Peter, the people were cut to the heart. They felt deep conviction for their sinsespecially for their role in crucifying the Lord of Glory. So, they plead with Peter, asking, Brothers, what shall we do? Peter's response is simple: Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter called them to repentance from their sins, and faith in Jesus Christ (faith that would marked by their being baptized into the name of Jesus Christ). This indeed is what the gospel demands from usthat we repent (turn) from our sins toward trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. We need the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all sins. Yet notice the goal of repentance and faith: and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The good news that Peter proclaimed was that these people who had murdered the Lord Jesusand even we who live today!were about to become the recipients of the precious gift of the Holy Spirit! So, what do we gain when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Essentially, we gain Christ: 1. Cleansing from our sin. The Spirit is the One who actually applies the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins. This is why Pentecost is seen as Baptism with the Holy Spiritthe Spirit washes us clean. 2. A new heart. We are not merely cleansed from our guilt, but we are actually given a new ability to trust and obey God. The people of Israel never received this gift to this degree, and thus God inaugurated a new covenant in the blood of his Son Jesus, so that he might pour out his Spirit on his to transform us for holy lives. 3. New ability for ministry. At Pentecost, when the Spirit was unleashed and poured out on the apostles, thousands trusted Christ for salvation. Only the Spirit can remove hard, stone hearts from sinners and give them soft hearts of flesh instead. The ministry of the Spirit, then, is to point sinners to the work of Christ; thus, the Spirit is the one who makes our ministries effective.

4. The full presence of God in our midst. By the Holy Spirit, God again dwells in the midst of his people. When we gain the Holy Spirit, we actually gain God himself. One day, we will stand in the presence of the Father and the Son in the heavenly throne room, but for now, we lack no aspect of the fullness of God in our receiving the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the promised gift of God because (1) he mediates the full blessings of Christ to us, and the blessings of Christ are at the center of God's plan of redemption; (2) he grants us the joy of the presence of God in our midst. The Holy Spirit, then, does not have some kind of side business within the Trinity, where he is off doing rogue things apart from the work of the Father and the Son. Rather, the Holy Spirit is given to us in order to mediate the full measure of the Father's grace toward us in Christ Jesus. If you want Christ, you can only have him by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is rather like the Treasurer of the Trinity. When I was interviewing for a pastoral position at a church where I had already preached a few times (and, hence, already received a few checks), the interview was before the Council of the Church. As members of the Council were introducing themselves and their roles at the church, the Treasurer said, You know meI'm the one who writes your checks! Certainly, in any job you take, it is important to know who will be writing your checks. In the Christian life, it is the Holy Spirit who writes the checks. The Holy Spirit, drawing upon the riches of the treasury of grace purchased by the blood of Jesus (according to the plan and foreknowledge of the Father), is the Person of the Trinity who is authorized and charged with writing checks of grace to us. So, we do not receive any grace from God except that which comes to us from Christ; however, we also never receive that grace apart from the mediation of the Holy Spirit. John Owen does not use the analogy of the Treasurer, but he makes the same point: There never was, nor is, nor ever will be the least particle of holiness in the world, but what flowing from Jesus Christ, is communicated by the Spirit, according to the truth and promise of the gospel.3 Do you want Christ? Do you want any blessing in Christ? Do you wish, as Paul writes to the Ephesians, to experience every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3)? If so, you must know that it is the Holy Spirit who writes the checks. You will experience nothing of Christ except from the mediation of the Holy Spirit. The promised Holy Spirit is the gift of the gospel because he offers Christ to us. So, at Pentecost in 2012, we proclaim the same message concerning Jesus Christ, who offers us his Holy Spirit (who will give us Christ), whom Christ has received from the Father: Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself (Acts 2:38-39).
3 John Owen, The Holy Spirit: His Gifts and Power (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2004), 248.