Quizzes
Pentecost After the Apostolic Era
Holy Spirit at Work
God's Spirit is still at work in our world
There has been evidence of the Holy Spirit poured out in all ages and times, at least somewhere in the body of Christ, since the time of the Apostles!
Healings, exorcisms, and validating signs and wonders continue to be experienced in the church. Just as miracles and wonders added to the credibility of the first-century apostles, so they continue to draw unbelievers into the Christian fold
After the Apostolic era, does it seem other Christians witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
Even Augustine, who died a full 400 years after Christ and even today remains the most highly regarded Christian theologian of the early church, talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the reality of the spiritual gifts. Through the middle ages, many well-respected Christian monks and mystics lived their Christian lives with this assumption as well. Even in the more recent centuries, just before the rise of “Pentecostalism” in the 20th century, history records many revivals that were a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and included the use of spiritual gifts and speaking in tongues.
Test Yourself
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Talk it Through
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1.3 Pentecost After the Apostolic Era
In this brief overview of the evidence that the Holy Spirit has been poured out all throughout history, what stands out to you the most? What does it make you think about God’s providence? What does it suggest to you about how God’s mission in the world?
Reflect in a paragraph.
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39 Replies
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What stands out for me in the legacy of of the holy Spirit is the continue progress, impact and the infilling of holy Spirit upon the Church of God through history and memory line. Their had been great testimonies of the holy Spirit infilling and empowerment, even in the days of Old we see the witness of the Spirit upon God’s people.
The overview of the Holy Spirit’s outpouring throughout history highlights God’s continuous presence and work beyond the apostolic era. What stands out is the evidence of the Spirit’s active role in empowering believers across centuries, demonstrating God’s providence in sustaining and guiding His people. This suggests that God’s mission in the world is ongoing, with the Holy Spirit playing a vital part in equipping and inspiring individuals to fulfill His purposes. It emphasizes that God’s work is not limited to a specific time or place but is a continuous, dynamic, and global endeavor. This reflection encourages me to appreciate the timeless nature of God’s mission and the pivotal role of the Holy Spirit in empowering believers to be part of it.
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God is always at work and is continuing to move and meet and work through people! It is encouraging to see that, even though our culture changes we do things differently in different times, God is still the same and that the Holy Spirit continues to meet each of us and each group of people where they are at and point us towards Jesus and the redemption and new creation He is bringing!
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What stands out to me is that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a “Pentecostal” distinctive, it is a Christian distinctive. While we as Pentecostals champion the work of the Spirit in our theology and spirituality, we are only the latest in a long tradition of believers who have discovered the joyful and ecstatic experience of being filled with and empowered by the Spirit of God. The Baptism of the Spirit is for the whole church – past, present, and future!
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What stands out to me is that although the revivals of the early 1900’s (Azusa Street, Wales etc.) brought back or kicked off a modern movement into the restoration of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit into what would be mainstream again (and many paid a steep price to bring it into mainstream Christianity again), this restoration so to speak was not from nothing. There was always a place for the Baptism and renewing work of the Spirit, and God always had this testimony and experience in his church, even if it was costly, fringe, and on what many consider the periphery of most of the church age. God is faithful, and as Jesus said, the gates of hell that tried to deny and stop the Spirit’s presence and power by substituting His fullness for ritual, tradition, and political appointments, did not prevail over the whole church and never will!
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