Pentecost: Church, arise!

Captain Chris Button reflects on the impact of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

When the Church arises in the power of the Spirit, something entirely new happens.

Pentecost creates a new way of living together. Something that isn’t based on ethnicity, gender or economic status, but rather on one simple but world-changing fact: the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit changes the way that we see each other, care for each other and make space for each other. The things that used to divide us have been transformed into a new reality. A reality that anticipates the coming new creation.

With the story of Pentecost, it’s easy to focus on the power, the tongues of fire, the thousands of converts and speaking in tongues. But the real miracle happens afterwards.

We need to think of this story in two halves. In the first part of the story, we see God laying down the foundations of the Church. When the Holy Spirit is given to the disciples, it is a promise of what is to come – the abundant blessing of holiness for the entire world as the privilege for every believer.

Acts 2:6 tells us that everyone can hear the gospel in their own language. This means that everyone, from every background, can come together in the unity of the Spirit without losing their God-given diversity.

This is really important because of what it makes possible. As the Holy Spirit carries out his work of sanctification in us, our relationship with one another fundamentally changes. Our primary identity is in Christ, and that identity is something we then share together. We become holy siblings.

This creates the possibility for part two of this story, where the Church arises. After the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church takes shape. A shape that is formed by the new humanity the Holy Spirit is bringing into being. 

What does that new reality look like?  ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer’ (Acts 2:42). It looks like everyone sharing everything together, selling their possessions to make sure that everyone has enough (Acts 2:45).

The gift of Pentecost is not just speaking in tongues or miraculous preaching – all that stuff allows everything else to happen. The power of Pentecost is seeing each other in a new way taking responsibility for one another, sharing what we have and making space for difference. It is the power to see Christ in one another.

This is what characterises the Church. The Church is established not in power and preaching but in food around a table, in prayer and in fellowship. These are the things that distinguish the Church from the rest of the world. The Church looks like a table surrounded by people who are different from each other but who recognise Christ in one another.

In Matthew 22:1–14, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a feast where all the unexpected people are invited. What better example of that can there be than the early Church after Pentecost? Do our churches today look like that?

Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to form us into people who make space for one another, especially when we are different? Are our churches places where we make sure no one goes hungry, where we use our resources to support the most vulnerable, and where we gather together to pray? We need the gift of the Holy Spirit – not to empower ourselves, but to form communities of mutual aid and fellowship. Communities shaped and formed by love.