In 31 AD, after His crucifixion, Jesus appeared to His disciples and breathed on them, saying, Receive you the Holy Spirit. He declared it a gift from their Father, instructing them to wait in Jerusalem to receive it. With the receiving of the Holy Spirit comes the responsibility of living in a manner that reflects this gift, acting as a light to the world through the correct way of living. This responsibility is crucial, as it is for the sake of the elect that Jesus will shorten the days to save the world. On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were assembled in unity when a mighty wind filled the house with sound, though no air moved, and flames like divided tongues of fire rested on each of them without heat. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and the power of God manifested in the miracle of speaking in unfamiliar languages. A multitude gathered, and every man understood the message in his own language and dialect, marveling at the Galileans delivering refined speech about the wonderful works of God. This marked the introduction of God's Holy Spirit to the world, now made available to mankind upon being called by God the Father. God's Holy Spirit is the power of God in action, inspiring and accomplishing feats through individuals, granting superhuman strength and great courage. This Spirit is given to assist in fulfilling the calling, bringing us before God as members of His family. It teaches personally, shaping the will through righteous knowledge, reminding us of Jesus' obedience, faith, and character to imitate His way of living. The Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ's life, amplifies God's laws, and reveals truth as a foundation for correct living amidst a world of persecution and hatred. The Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, bringing an acute sense of guilt and awareness that cannot be ignored. It guides into divine truth, setting us free from false justifications and revealing God's will individually. Given as a gift to the called, it removes the veil of misunderstanding, granting insight into God's plan of salvation and the role of Jesus as Redeemer. Though powerful, the gift of the Holy Spirit comes with the command to use it to overcome, resisting the pulls of the world and human nature. It is possible to quench this Spirit by valuing worldly attractions over obedience to God. The Spirit provides the power to develop godly character, enabling us to become sons of God, heirs in wisdom, understanding, and right judgment. God has sealed us with His Holy Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance, marking us as genuine and approved, to live as members of the God family.

Understanding God's Holy Spirit is paramount, as it is the Spirit of God within us that enables comprehension of God's way of life and transforms us into the image of Christ. It is through the Holy Spirit that we become children of God and receive eternal life. When the Holy Spirit works within us, our lives manifest the fruit of the Spirit, reflecting elements of God's very character and showing our maturation into Christ's likeness. The Holy Spirit is the power of God, not a personage or entity. It is described as the power or mind of God, emanating from Him, and can be poured out, breathed, used to fill, and anoint. God grants His Spirit to those who have repented, been baptized, and obey His commandments, ensuring that only those aligned with His law receive this power. Through the Holy Spirit, God calls us to the knowledge of the truth by divine revelation, opening our minds to the mysteries vital to salvation. The Spirit also imparts wisdom and understanding, teaches God's way of life, comforts, helps, and aids in prayer when we cannot express ourselves. God develops traits in His called-out children through the Holy Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit by which a Christian is known. While humanity as a whole has not been offered salvation since Adam's rejection, God began offering His Spirit to those called as firstfruits when Christ established His church, with the promise of extending this opportunity to everyone in the World Tomorrow. The Holy Spirit delivers us from death and leads to the gift of eternal life, a gift from God that we neither inherit at birth nor can earn. Evidence of the Holy Spirit working within us is seen in the continuous bearing of spiritual fruit, exhibiting a sound mind. It empowers us to comprehend spiritual matters, produces conversion, and provides the strength, will, and faith to overcome sins.

The Holy Spirit, as a gift from God, is a significant theme in the early church, beginning with the dramatic outpouring recorded in Acts 2, where manifestations testified to something extraordinary taking place. This gift, bestowed through the laying on of hands as seen throughout Scripture, is not a separate being but the essence of God's incredible mind, imparting His attitude, principles, thoughts, feelings, temperament, character, disposition, and will. As Paul explains in I Corinthians 2:16, it is the mind of Christ that we receive, enabling us to know the things of God and to understand what He has prepared for us. God's Spirit, being holy as He is holy, inclines His people toward holiness in conduct, attitude, speech, and every facet of living, urging us to be holy as He is holy. In II Timothy 1:6-7, Paul describes this gift as a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, not of fear, encouraging a disciplined, self-controlled, and sensible frame of mind that operates differently from the world's course. The love of God, poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, enables us to act rightly toward God and others, regardless of personal cost, while the power, or dunamis, provides the capacity for God's will and work to be done through us, always under the constraint of His love and sound-mindedness. In Acts 1:8, the resurrected Christ links the Holy Spirit with power, stating that when it comes upon us, we shall be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. This capability to witness, reflecting the glory of God, is not limited to apostles but extends to everyone who has received God's Spirit, impelling us toward spiritual knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and holiness. As we yield to and make use of God's Spirit, seeking His direction and being careful not to quench or grieve it, His character image takes shape in us, making our lives testimonies of His goodness, mind, love, holiness, and stability.

Pentecost holds a unique and profound significance among the holy days, illuminating God's purpose with a brilliance akin to a flash of light on a gloomy day. While the Jews recognize its importance under the Old Covenant as the time of the giving of the Law, its true magnitude is revealed in the New Covenant through the giving of God's Holy Spirit. This gift marks the founding and building of His church, enabling the fulfillment of our destiny to be in the image of God spiritually and morally, and to become sons in His family. Under the Old Covenant, as seen in Deuteronomy 29:2-4, the Israelites, except for a precious few, did not receive God's Holy Spirit, limiting their spiritual understanding. However, on the day of Pentecost, as described in Acts 1:4-5 and Acts 2, the Holy Spirit was poured out, beginning the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, though not yet complete. A mighty rushing sound from heaven filled the house, likely the Temple, where the disciples were gathered, and flames of fire appeared on those receiving the Spirit, visibly setting them apart. Those filled with the Holy Spirit spoke in languages familiar to the diverse inhabitants of Jerusalem, facilitating a powerful witness that led to the repentance and baptism of many who had seen and heard Jesus Christ during His ministry. The Holy Spirit empowers believers, as affirmed in Acts 11:15 and II Timothy 1:7, providing the strength to hope and accomplish God's work. In Psalm 104:30, Isaiah 32:13-18, and Ezekiel 37:12-14, the Spirit is shown as the channel of God's creative power, transforming destruction into order and purity, much like the creation in Genesis 1. When God sends forth His Spirit to us, it initiates a transformation from confusion and disorder to a new life, shaping us into the righteousness of God, as seen in Galatians 6:15 and II Corinthians 3:18. God's Spirit is not a power to be controlled for personal gain, as illustrated by Simon the magician's misguided desire in Acts 8. His request for the Spirit for self-glorification was met with a stern rebuke, highlighting that the Spirit is given to those who seek it for God's glory, not selfish ends, as emphasized in I Corinthians 14:1. The Spirit is bestowed for the common good of the church, apportioned according to God's will, as noted in I Corinthians 12:7, empowering the body rather than individual exaltation. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is given for our spiritual growth and well-being, providing the power to yield to God and prepare for His Kingdom, as described in II Peter 1:2-4. It imparts essential truths about relationships with God and man, fostering hope, love, and inward strength, as seen in Romans 15:13, Romans 5:5, and Ephesians 3:14-21. Through His Spirit, God grants us the ability to grasp the vastness of Christ's love and be filled with His fullness, enabling us to glorify Him in the church and beyond.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is given by God to those who obey Him, as stated by the apostle Peter in Acts 5:32. Peter explains that those who respond to the gospel message with repentance from sin and active faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will start living in obedience to God's commandments, and thus He grants them His Spirit. In Acts 2:38, Peter outlines two fundamental requirements for receiving His Spirit: repentance and faith in the sacrifice of Christ, with baptism serving as an outward confession of this faith. Repentance involves a deep remorse for sins, which led to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, and a sincere desire to change one's life to avoid repeating those sins. This desire naturally leads to beginning to align one's lifestyle with God's commandments. John the Baptist, even before the Holy Spirit was given, insisted that people demonstrate genuine repentance by making changes in their lives, as seen in Luke 3:8. Repentance is defined as turning away from sin, which is the transgression of God's law, and starting to obey that law, followed by receiving forgiveness through faith in Christ's sacrifice. The gift of God's Holy Spirit is not received through mere lawkeeping without faith, as Paul clarifies to the Galatians, emphasizing that faith in Christ's sacrifice is essential for justification and forgiveness. Ultimately, God gives His Holy Spirit to His humble, faithful people who keep His commandments and hold to the faith of Jesus.

Jesus Christ, as Head of the church, demonstrated divine power on the Pentecost after His resurrection, illustrating the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in God's chosen people. When His Spirit fills His disciples, they can perform mighty, wondrous acts in service to His purpose and to their brethren. This occasion revealed a spiritual gift: speaking in tongues, by which the apostles communicated the gospel through recognizable languages and dialects to those gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. Christ's gifting of an aptitude for foreign languages enabled the apostles to accomplish their commission to be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. In the first century, spiritual gifts were necessary to the small but vigorous church's work. The apostle Paul instructs that each of God's chosen people has received a gift through His Spirit, differing according to the grace given to us. These gifts, termed charisma, are free, unmerited, gracious favors or endowments from God, manifesting as talents or abilities to accomplish spiritual aims. Examples include the gift of prophecy to proclaim God's Word, the gift of healings to restore physical health, the gift of leadership to galvanize others into action, and the gift of service or ministry to provide aid to others. In the Old Testament, God bestowed various gifts on people for His specific purposes, such as filling Bezalel with wisdom and understanding for artistic works in constructing the Tabernacle, giving Moses miracles, Joshua strength and courage, Samson physical strength, David a godly heart, Solomon a wise heart, Isaiah pure lips for prophecy, Jeremiah courageous speech, Ezekiel unassailable implacability, and Daniel and his friends wisdom and understanding. Frequently, God enhances natural talents, which He inspired individuals to pursue, to utilize in His service. Whatever spiritual gifts God has graciously given, He wants us to identify and use them to the best of our abilities in service to Him and His people. We are to give of them freely, just as they have been freely given.