Devotional #23
“Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Holy Ghost, He hath poured forth this, which now ye see and hear” Acts 2:33. “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts in the man; *(to distribute) yea for the rebellious also that the Lord might dwell among them” Psalm 68:18. (R.V) “Wherefore He saith, when He ascended on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men” Ephesians 4:8. “It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments” Psalm 133:2
After the Holy Spirit descended on all one hundred and twenty disciples gathered on the day of Pentecost, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. When Peter started speaking to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost, some were amazed and in doubt, others mocked the Apostles saying that they were under the influence of new wine (Acts 2:12-13).
But Peter (standing up with the eleven) reminded them of the prophecy of Prophet Joel “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God I will pour out of my Spirit… (Joel 2:28-29)” Acts 2:17. The Spirit was poured upon the disciples as a part of the fulfillment of that Prophecy and they were thus put under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
As Peter continued speaking along with the other eleven Apostles, he finally concluded by saying that the resurrected, glorified Lord received the gift of the Holy Ghost from the Father and has outpoured upon them.
Lord Jesus also told His Apostles about this promise. “But when the “Paraclete” is come, whom I will send you from the Father …” John 15:26. This word was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured upon them.
The Lord, in His resurrection, defeated the death and entered the Heavens triumphantly taking the vanquished foes captive with Him in a triumphal procession (Psalm 68:18, Col 2:15). The victory over the enemy and the triumphant entry into the Heavens in glory was mightily done by the Lord as a Son of Man.
The Son of Man, now glorified and highly exalted (by the Father), received the gift from the Father. He generously distributed the same to His disciples by pouring upon them. The Spirit, who is upon Him, is also poured upon His disciples. He joins them together (as a unit) to function on earth with the same power as of Him. The bond between the Lord as Head of the body who is in Heaven and is All-Powerful, and the disciples who, on earth, are weak and mortals, becoming the members of the body, is brought by the Holy Spirit being poured on them.
Thus, Peter and other apostles who were mere fishermen received all power to speak boldly to a large gathering on the day of Pentecost and the following days as well, in Jerusalem.
Moses was told by God that He should anoint Aaron with anointing oil. “Then
shalt thou take the anointing oil and pour it upon the head and anoint him” (Exodus 29:7). The beauty of Aaron’s anointing and the flow of anointing oil is described in Psalm 133:2. “It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments”.
The Holy Spirit was received from the Father by the Lord and ran down from His head to all the members of His body howsoever they may be, small or insignificant to others. (Oil in the scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit, The Kings, Priests, and Prophets were anointed with Oil).
Lord was anointed as a king over the things of earth and heavens in the coming dispensation (Eph 1:9-10). Now, those who are partakers of this anointing, the Holy Spirit is given as an earnest (pledge, guarantee) of the inheritance (Eph 1:13,14) that we will also be kings with Him (Rev 1: 6, 20:4,6).
The Lord also functions as Priest now in Heaven and will also continue in that capacity on earth when He returns Zech 6:13. Believers sealed by the Holy Spirit function, as priests, both now and in future dispensation along with the Lord because of the same anointing poured upon them. (1Peter 2:10, Rev 1:6, Rev 20:4,6). Anointing oil poured down from Heaven upon believers also brought us the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gift of Prophecy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:11).
Peter and other Apostles were under the influence of the Holy Spirit and Inspired by Him while they were speaking with Jews. Peter said to his audience in Acts 2:33 “He had poured forth this, that you see and hear” as if they saw and heard the person, the Holy Spirit. It was not the influence of the new wine they saw but the power of the Holy Spirit. What they heard was not the speech of a fisherman from Galilee, but the voice of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit is poured upon a person, people see and hear Only the Holy Spirit speaking. We are overpowered by the Holy Spirit and He will communicate the message of the heavens by using us to bring conviction to the hearts of the hearers. Now when they heard this (the Holy Spirit speaking), they were pricked in their heart …Acts 2:37).
The outpouring of this anointing from Heaven gives us boldness like Peter and
others experienced. Believers also receive the power to withstand all powers who work against God and His purposes.
The Holy Spirit also prepares us for our future positions as kings and our present responsibilities as priests and edifying ministers, as prophets. People who are around us will see and hear the Holy Spirit in and through us.
Let us be careful not to grieve Him to display these glorious and powerful manifestations through us.
*to distribute is added in the margin here, in Psalm 68:18 (with much reverence), to bring out more coherently the message of bestowing of gifts in Eph 4:8.
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