The Promise is to You

LIVE@5 – Friday, May 13, 2022

Acts 2:26–39 (NKJV)

Peter continues his sermon on the Day of Pentecost with an explanation of the deity of Christ and the prophetic significance of His resurrection. He quotes from a psalm of David that prophetically spoke of the resurrection as a foregone conclusion.

26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’ 29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

Acts 2:26-35

David prophetically wrote that the Lord would not leave His beloved in Hades or allow His body to see corruption. Peter pointed out that this did not apply directly to David, for he was still in his tomb at the time of this writing. Peter explains that David spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, and further quoted David’s assertion that the Lord said to my Lord to sit at my right hand. David is not at the right hand of God, but Jesus is. This eye-opening interpretation of prophetic Scripture began to take hold as the people realized that Jesus was the Messiah, and the One of whom David spoke.

36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 2:36-39

After his interpretation of prophecy establishing a more correct understanding of the place of Christ in salvation history, Peter moves back to the responsibility of the listener for the truth they had received. Peter called out the Jewish people for their complicity in killing Jesus. In response, they were contrite and asked for instructions on what they should do. Peter instructed them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and shared the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit. He then declared a new era of the kingdom of God in which the promise of the Holy Spirit was to be extended to anyone that the Lord God would call to salvation.

What a glorious promise! This powerful experience of Holy Spirit baptism had been extended to the disciples of Christ at His ascension to heaven, but was now being offered to anyone–now or later, Jew or Gentile, male or female–who would answer the call of God to salvation. God, through Peter, is normalizing the baptism of the Holy Spirit for everyone. This would not be for an elite group, but for anyone who would come to Christ in faith and receive salvation. So, Christian, don’t just receive the grace of God, but receive the fullness of the power of God as well. Don’t be satisfied to miss hell, but rather seek to bring heaven to earth while you live. God is calling you. Answer Him and be filled with His Spirit. This is to you and your children, and to those who are far down the line. Live in the Spirit and leave a legacy of power to those who will come after you.

Artwork from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/491244271836615642/?lp=true