"THE BOOK OF ACTS"
The Gift Of The Holy Spirit (2:38)
INTRODUCTION
1. In his first gospel sermon, Peter offered hope to his guilt-stricken audience...
a. The remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit
b. Provided they repent and were baptized - Ac 2:36-39
2. What is the gift of the Holy Spirit...?
a. Is the Holy Spirit Himself, or something the Spirit gives?
b. If the former, then in what way is the Spirit a gift?
[I understand that the gift of the Holy Spirit to be the Holy Spirit
Himself. While I respect those who think otherwise, here are some reasons for my view...]
I. THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE GIFT
A. GRAMMATICAL CONSIDERATIONS...
1. "gen., receive the Spirit as a gift, Ac 2:38." - Arndt &
Gingrich, Dorea, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, p.210
2. "'you will receive (God's) gift, the Holy Spirit' Ac 2:38."
- Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of
the New Testament: Based on semantic domains. New York: United Bible Societies
3. "dorea - gift, free gift, benefit; in the NT used only of
spiritual and supernatural gifts that are freely given by God to
believers, including eternal life (JN 4.10), the Holy Spirit (AC
2.38)" - Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. (2000). Vol.
4: Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids,MI.
4. "Unique to Acts is 'gift of the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:38; 10:45),
but here the gen. is epexegetical: the gracious gift is the Holy
Spirit." - Balz, H. R., & Schneider, G. (1990-). Exegetical
dictionary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.
5. "With the epexegetical gen. of the thing given, the Holy
Ghost, Ac 2:38." - Thayer, Dorea, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p.161
6. "In Ac 2:38, 'the gift of the Holy Ghost', the clause is
epexegetical, the gift being the Holy Ghost Himself." - Vine,
Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p.147
7. "The genitive is appositional, as in v.33 the promise is the
Holy Spirit, so here the gift is the Holy Spirit." - Lenski, The
Acts Of The Apostles
8. "of the Holy Spirit - this clause is an appositional genitive
with 'the gift' and means 'the gift, namely, the Holy Spirit.'"
- Kistemaker, Acts, New Testament Commentary, p.110
-- That the Spirit is the gift in Ac 2:38 is the consensus of Greek scholars
B. CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS...
1. The immediate context
a. Jesus spoke of the Spirit to His apostles as "the Promise
of the Father" - Ac 1:4-5
b. Peter spoke of the outpouring of the Spirit as "the promise
of the Holy Spirit" - Ac 2:33
c. Having just mentioned the "the gift of the Holy Spirit",
Peter then says "For the promise is to you..." - Ac 2:38,39
d. What promise is Peter referring to in Ac 2:39?
1) The context suggests the promise already mentioned and
just offered as a gift
2) I.e., the promised Holy Spirit who has been poured out
is now available as a gift to those who obey
2. The remote context
a. The Spirit is given (i.e., a gift) to those who obey God - Ac 5:32
b. The same phrase ("the gift of the Holy Spirit") is used
elsewhere when it clearly means the Holy Spirit Himself as
the gift - cf. Ac 10:44-47
c. Other passages refer to the Holy Spirit as that given to
Christians - Jn 7:37-39; 2Co 1:21-22; 5:5; Ga 4:6; Tit 3:5-6
-- That the Spirit is the gift is supported by both immediate and remote contexts
C. HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS...
1. "The Holy Ghost is one of the promises of the New Testament,
Ac 2:38-39." - Barton W. Stone, Works of Elder B. W. Stone
2. "The phrase 'the gift of the Holy Ghost' occurs in Ac 2:38;
10:45, and in both places must be understood as equivalent to
the 'the Holy Spirit as a gift'' - T. W. Brents, The Gospel Plan Of Salvation
3. "The gift of the Spirit promised in Ac 2:38 was the Spirit
itself" - David Lipscomb, Queries and Answers
4. "The expression means the Holy Spirit as a gift" - J.W.
McGarvey, New Commentary on Acts of Apostles
5. "Certainly the gift of the Spirit is the Spirit itself given."
- Moses Lard, Lard's Quarterly
6. "The gift of the Holy Spirit is not some definite thing the
Holy Spirit gives, but the Holy Spirit as a gift." - R. L. Whiteside, Reflections
7. "I believe the Holy Spirit is the gift to those who repent and
are baptized." - Ferrell Jenkins, The Finger Of God
-- That the Spirit is the gift in Ac 2:38 is a view that has been
held by many; these are but a sampling of those in the Restoration Movement
[For such reasons, I understand the gift of the Holy Spirit to be the
Holy Spirit Himself. In what way, then is the Spirit a gift? Allow me
to summarize just a few blessings of the Spirit for the Christian...]
II. THE BLESSINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A. HE REGENERATES...
1. Saving one through the washing of regeneration (baptism) - Tit 3:4-7
2. Causing one to be reborn, in conjunction with the Word - 1Pe 1:22-23
B. HE SANCTIFIES...
1. A process begun when washed and justified - 1Co 6:11
2. A process that continues with the aid of the Word
- cf. Jn 17:17; Ac 20:32; Ep 6:17
C. HE INDWELLS...
1. Otherwise we do not belong to Christ - Ro 8:9
2. He will give life to our mortal bodies - Ro 8:11
3. Which ought to motivate us to live holy lives - 1Co 6:18-20
D. HE EMPOWERS...
1. That we might put to death the deeds of the flesh - Ro 8:12-13
2. Serving as God's instrumental agent whereby He strengthens us - Ep 3:16,20
E. HE INTERCEDES...
1. In times of weakness, when we do not know how to pray - Ro 8:26
2. Making intercession for the saints of God - Ro 8:27
F. HE SEALS...
1. A seal marking us as belonging to God - Ep 1:13; 4:30; 2Co 1:22
2. "It is our conviction that when a person obeys the gospel he
is given the Holy Spirit. In this way God seals the person. In
effect God says 'This person belongs to me; let everyone take
note." - Ferrell Jenkins, The Finger of God, p.19
G. HE GUARANTEES...
1. An earnest or guarantee as a promise of our inheritance
- Ep 1:14; 2Co 1:22; 5:5
2. "The Holy Spirit is God's earnest (down payment) to the
Christian as assurance of the complete promised inheritance.
There is no comfort here for the advocate of the impossibility
of apostasy. The Christian can 'grieve' the Spirit (Ep 4:30).
We can forfeit the down payment and not receive the inheritance."
- Ferrell Jenkins, ibid.
H. HE BEARS FRUIT IN OUR LIVES...
1. Leading those who walk in the Spirit - Ga 5:16-18; Ro 8:5-6
2. Producing spiritual graces of Christ-like conduct - Ga 5:22-26
3. Engendering a deepening love for God as our Father- Ga 4:6; Ro 8:15-16
4. Filling us with love and hope - Ro 5:5; 15:13
CONCLUSION
1. What is the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38? I am mostly persuaded by ...
a. The overwhelming consensus of Greek scholars
b. The immediate and remote context in which the phrase is found
c. What else is taught regarding the Spirit in the life of the Christian
2. I believe "the gift of the Holy Spirit" is the Spirit Himself...
a. Given to those who become children of God - cf. Ga 4:6
b. A promise related to the indwelling of the Spirit - cf. 1Co 6:19
3. Even if "the gift of the Holy Spirit" in Ac 2:38 refers to something the Spirit gives...
a. Other passages speak of the Spirit as being given to the Christian
- Jn 7:37-39; Ac 5:32
b. What a wonderful gift, one that refreshes the Christian like
"rivers of living water"!
There is much more that could be said about the Holy Spirit, His role in
the scheme of redemption, and work in the life of the Christian (cf. The
Holy Spirit Of God).
But one does not have to have a comprehensive understanding of the Holy
Spirit to begin enjoying the blessings of the Spirit.
They need only to respond to the gospel as proclaimed by the apostle
Peter... - cf. Ac 2:38-39
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