Pentecost is the Greek term for the Israelite festival of wheat harvest. The word Pentecost (meaning “fiftieth”) comes from the fact that the feast was held fifty days after Passover. Whereas Pentecost Sunday is a day of commemorating or celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit on those disciples waiting in Jerusalem ten days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven (Acts 2: 1-13), shortly before the Jewish Feast of Pentecost began on the same day. It took place on the fiftieth day after Easter which is fifty days after Passover.
The term Whit-Sunday is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as well as in Danish. Whit Sunday comes from the white garment worn by the candidates for Baptism or Confirmation on Pentecost Sunday. “Pentecost Sunday is often an occasion for baptism and in some denominations is called Whit-Sunday, because those being baptised are dressed in white.”[1]
The liturgical colour for Pentecost Sunday is red. The season after Pentecost or Ordinary Time begins on the Sunday following Pentecost, popularly called Trinity Sunday and goes to Advent. The lectionary readings from the Gospels on the Sundays between Pentecost and Advent focus on the life, ministry and teachings of Jesus. According to David Jowitt,
Jesus did not, however, remain physically present for long: shortly before the Jewish Feast of Pentecost (which took place fifty days after Passover) he finally ‘ascended’ to his heavenly Father. Luke’s Gospel and its sequel the Acts of the Apostles give the most explicit account of the event. Before leaving them, Jesus instructed his followers to go and ‘make disciples of all nations’ and to baptise them ‘’in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’.”[2]
Pentecost Sunday stands out as one of the most significant, exciting, new, dramatic, dynamic days in the history of the church. It was the birthday of the New Testament Church. It was the fulfilment of the Promise of the Father – the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1: 4, 5). It is a biblical fact that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and whereas the Holy Spirit is the founder of the Christian Church on the day of Pentecost. It was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2: 28-32; Acts 2: 16-21).
The power of Pentecost which was experienced by the foremost disciples of Jesus Christ was unique indeed. The Spirit of God came, was given, became present, and new things began to happen (Acts 2). There were outward manifestations of the power of God. People did things previously impossible. The crowd who heard the apostles’ preaching in many different languages wondered what was going on. They did not realise that what they were witnessing was an earth-shaking event.
Long ago, because people thought too highly of themselves at Babel, God decided to frustrate their ability to understand each other’s word (Genesis 11: 1 – 9). But on that Pentecost day, it became possible to begin undoing that curse of confusion at Babel, because Jesus had accomplished a world embracing salvation. People were changed and things were in accord with the will of God. We noticed that the disciples preaching in different languages did not bring confusion and division; it brought understanding and unity. In one day 3,000 new believers were baptised and added to the Church (Acts 2: 41).
The Holy Spirit is an invaluable instrument in the life of the church. He teaches us (John 14: 26), lives with us and in us (John 14: 17). He reminds us of Jesus’ words (John 15: 26) and convinces us of sin, shows us God’s righteousness. Many people misunderstand the identity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is commonly thought of as an impersonal force. Some people think of it as a healing or protective power to which God gives a believer access. But what does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit? Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is not just an impersonal power or a force, but a person – the third person of the Trinity, in fact. The Holy Spirit is God Himself. The Holy Spirit appears synonymously with God in many places in the Bible, both in the New and Old Testaments.
In Acts 5:3-4, Peter asks Ananias why he has lied to the Holy Spirit, and it is clear that lying to the Holy Spirit is the same as lying to God. He shares the characteristics of God, such as omniscience and omnipresence, as seen in Psalm 139:7-8, which says “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” Again in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, God’s attribute of omniscience is also present in the Holy Spirit: “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” The Holy Spirit is a divine person, and He is intimately involved in our salvation, along with the Father and the Son, as shown in Romans 8:11 which says, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” The Holy Spirit has thoughts and knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:10), and He can feel sorrow and grief (Ephesians 4:30). The Spirit can make intercession for believers (Romans 8:26-27). He also has a will and makes decisions (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
Meanwhile, one who has experienced the ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit’ and believes in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is called Pentecostal. While Pentecostalism is a term which describes the emergence, doctrines and practices of the evangelical, revival and holiness groups among Christians, especially the classical denominational Pentecostals.
Pentecostalism has witnessed tremendous development since 1901. America had witnessed a spontaneous outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the earliest twentieth century among the adherents of the holiness movement. The Azusa street revival in 1906, led by William Joseph Seymour advocated that the spiritual power which the first Disciples of Christ received on the day of Pentecost can be the norm for Christians today. The most significant religious movement in the last hundred years has been Pentecostalism, which originated in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. The Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination, was founded in 1914.
The principal Pentecostal distinctive is “speaking in tongues”, a language other than the one known to the speaker, called ‘glossalalia’ (‘glossa’ is the Greek word for ‘tongue’, ‘lalia’ for “talk”), which Pentecostals believe is the evidence of being “baptized in the Spirit.” Classical denominational Pentecostals are Assemblies of God, Church of God, Church of God in Christ (Mennonite), and Foursquare Gospel Church.
In this contemporary, Pentecostalism has gone beyond holiness movement. Pentecostalism advocates and places much emphasis on the supremacy of the Holy Scriptures, the importance of the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, salvation in Christ which leads to genuine conversion and holy living, divine calling into the ministry, preaching the Word of God with divine enablement or anointing, speaking in tongues, divine gifts, healing and deliverance.
Pentecostal movement is the Christian advances on spiritual gifts and revival, charismatic renewal, lay participation in church ministry, evangelical preaching, praise and worship with revival songs and music among all the Christian denominations. The coming of the Holy Spirit on the feast of Pentecost stands out as one of the most significant, exciting, new, dramatic, dynamic days in the history of the church, which many evangelical churches are maintaining in this contemporary time. According to Dapo Asaju, “the impact of Pentecostalism as the current harbinger of Christian theology and spirituality is so profound that the former boundary between one church being Pentecostal and another not being, has broken down. All churches today are by and large Pentecostal churches. We should speak no more of Pentecostal churches but the Pentecostal movement, which transcends exclusive denominational boundaries.”[3]
[1] John Schwarz, Compact Guide to the Christian Faith (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1998), p. 167. [2] David Jowitt, Christianity: A Concise History (Ibadan: Kraft Books, 2010), p. 22. [3] Dapo Asaju, In Defence of Christian Orthodoxy: A Collection of Articles (Abeokuta: Crowther Theological Publishers, 2013), p. 15.
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