Pentecost (Part 4)
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
This fourth message concerning Pentecost may be one of the most important messages that we will ever broadcast. I hope every hearer will seek the Lord and search the scriptures to see if these things are so.
After the resurrection of Jesus and just before His ascension to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, in
At essentially the same time, Jesus also said, in
So the early disciples in the Book of Acts were in complete and total agreement or in one accord to glorify God. That should be our same objective as a Christian ... to glorify God in all that we do, say, and become. Everything that we do should be "as unto the Lord."
In a previous message on Pentecost we noted that there is no scripture that says the first 120 disciples were baptized in water as Christians. We want to share with you why we believe the first 120 disciples were never baptized in water as a Christian. First we need to thoroughly understand why God made man. We shared on that topic in our fourth message. We used a title of "What is Man?" or "God's Eternal Purpose for Making Man." As a short summary, the Father had such unspeakable delight and love for His only begotten Son, Jesus, that He determined, before the foundation of the world, to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10) ... for what purpose? so that His only Son, Jesus, might have fellowship with a multitude of sons. Then we read in
Later, in Exodus 34:22, the Lord told Moses that Pentecost was to be the fistfruits of wheat harvest. Wheat is used to make bread. Jesus was and is the Bread of life. Spiritually, the very first of the firstfruits was/is Jesus Himself.
Who are "them that slept?" Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and numerous other Old Testament saints. In Luke 13, Jesus said to the Pharisees,
Paul said that he and all those who had the firstfruits of the Spirit groaned within, waiting for the redemption of the body. A question for you and me ... do we groan within ourselves, waiting for the redemption of our body?
We will not here go into the significance of the 144,000 except to say that I do not interpret that in the literal sense. Verse 4 says the firstfruits among men were/are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. I cannot interpret that verse in the natural realm either; otherwise the Apostle Peter, among many others could not be among the firstfruits because Peter had a wife.
Now let us go back to what happened on the day of Pentecost, from Acts 2:1-4.
Let us recall that Jesus, before Calvary, told His disciples, in John 14:17 that the Spirit of truth dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. The result of Pentecost was that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. So these distinct events are the Holy Ghost dwelling with us, being in us, and being filled with the Holy Ghost. The latter is the most important event.
The Greek word for "be filled" is pleroo, which means "keep on being filled" or "stay filled" with the Spirit. Paul talks about something that should be ongoing in the lives of believers. The filling of the Spirit is not some ecstatic or emotional experience, but a steady controlling of our life by obedience to the truth of God's Word. We can't have more or less of the Holy Spirit, but we can have more or less of His influence over us. How are we filled with, or influenced by, the Spirit? The answer is easy to understand, but not so easy to live out: yield to Him, obey Him. Being filled with the Spirit is a day-to-day, even moment-by-moment surrendering of our lives to Christ.
The goal of the Christian life is to remain Spirit-filled. That should be the normal Christian life. That is NOT what the Israelites did after passing through the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:5-10). That is NOT what the Church at Corinth did, as recorded in 1 Corinthians.
We receive the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ as Savior. There is no gap between belief in Christ and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The initial gift of the Holy Spirit happens at one, and only one, time ... at the time of being born from above. While Scripture never commands Christians to be baptized in or into the Holy Spirit, it does charge us to be filled with the Spirit.
An important part of Scripture that refers to the filling of the Holy Spirit is Ephesians 5:18-21: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit ..." (wherein is NO excess). Being filled with the Spirit is contrasted with being filled or drunk with wine. Just as wine has the potential to influence our behavior, so does the Holy Spirit. People driving drunk are "driving under the influence." The idea is being led by God's Spirit rather than by other forces. When we are filled with the Spirit, we see a resultant attitude of joy and thanksgiving. We also see a relational posture of humility toward God and of submission to one another. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is about an ongoing working of God's Spirit in a person's life, not a one-time experience. As the believer lives out his or her faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit increasingly controls or fills his or her life. We must always make decisions as to whether we will obey God or men (which includes self).
All believers in Jesus Christ have God's Spirit living within them, or dwelling within them (John 14:16, Ephesians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 4:30); but not all believers live filled with the Spirit or led by the Spirit's power. Believers have all of the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit may not have all of them. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the time of our salvation but we are filled by Him when we submit to Him.
The filling of the Holy Spirit can vary in the life of each believer. Negatively, a believer in Christ can "quench" or "grieve" the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 4:30). Sinful actions can hinder the work of God's Spirit in our life. In contrast, when a believer in Christ lives in obedience to God's will and commands, he or she should expect to see the fruit of God's Spirit living through them.
Being filled with the Spirit does not refer to speaking in tongues. Now God can do whatever He wants to do at any time He so chooses. In the Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 1, at least three different people were filled with the Spirit: John the Baptist (verse 15), Elizabeth (verse 41), and Zacharias (verse 67), but there is no record of any of them speaking in tongues.
Being filled with the Spirit does not refer to having more of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not reserved for Christians who are more mature than others. God seals each believer with His Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5). We can never have more or less of the Holy Spirit than we have at the moment of conversion. We either have the Holy Spirit or we don't. The real issue is the release of the already present Spirit to have free reign in our hearts. It isn't about us having more of Him but of Him having more of us.
Being filled with the Spirit means the fruit of the Spirit, not the works of the flesh, is manifested in our life. The fruit of the Spirit speaks about what the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, which is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Being filled with the Spirit also means we use only godly speech. What we say is a reflection of our hearts. What could be a better indication of whether we're filled with the Spirit than what comes out of our mouth? James 3:1-12 says we can tame everything in creation except our tongues: they are like wild fires burning out of control, destroying everything in sight. This is why James says, "If someone could tame his tongue, he would be a perfect man." Further,
There are three major Jewish feasts, as recorded in Exodus 23:14-17 and Deuteronomy 16, the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover; the Feast of Harvest (or Weeks or Firstfruits or Pentecost); and the Feast of In-gathering (or Tabernacles). Pentecost is the fiftieth day after the Feast of the Passover. Leviticus 23:15-21 prescribes the sacred nature of Pentecost and lists the appropriate sacrifices. Until the Pentecostal loaves were offered, the produce of the harvest could not be eaten, nor could any other first fruits be offered.
On the day of Pentecost or the "Feast of Firstfruits," the high priest performed an unusual, once-only ceremony. We read about the two loaves of Pentecost in Leviticus 23:15-21.
Bakers will tell you there are two different kinds of "leaven" - good leaven, and bad leaven. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread at Passover we are to eat only unleavened bread, which represents repentance from our sins and being born again. The Lord, of course, hates sin. Because of rampant sin, the Lord destroyed the land with the flood (Genesis 6-7). The Apostle Paul wrote, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus warned that unless we repent of sin, and stop sinning, we will "perish" (Luke 13:2-5).
Jesus alluded to the good type of leaven in His parable in
Christians are therefore one body, and partake of one bread; so we are, in the LORD's sight, like a beautiful loaf of bread. Jesus is the Perfect, beautiful Loaf of bread.
Pentecost foretells the wedding of Jesus and His Bride. The two loaves are the firstfruits unto the LORD (Leviticus 23:17). Now we have already seen in 1 Corinthians 15:20 that Jesus is the first of the firstfruits. Paul also speaks of "Christ the firstfruits" in 1 Corinthians 15:23. We have also seen in Romans 8:22-23 and in Revelation 14:1-5 that the Bride is also the "firstfruits" to the Lord.
Now we see the "two leavened loaves" of bread presented and waved before the Father on Pentecost! The one loaf represents the Lord Jesus Christ in His fullness ... the Perfect "Bread of Life." The other loaf represents the Bride of Jesus - filled with the Spirit - brought to perfection through trial and testing! Those first 120 disciples, then, who were all filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, became part of the firstfruits.
The leaven which causes these loaves to reach their fullness of perfection is the Holy Spirit within them, the Spirit of grace, love, and power (2 Timothy 1:6-7; Hebrews 10:29). The Holy Spirit works like leaven within us to make us into the image of the Lord in character and true holiness!
It is true that none of those first 120 disciples were perfect in the sense that they never made a single mistake, but they will return in perfection when Jesus returns to earth to rule and reign for 1000 years. However, they were at least perfect in the sense that Noah and Job are called perfect.
But the firstfruits which constitute the Bride are not limited to those first 120 disciples. That second loaf of bread will also include all those saints over all of time who likewise have been or will be immersed in Pentecost by being filled with the Spirit and who remain filled with the Spirit. That means, as a minimum, they will walk in everything that the first disciples walked in. That includes continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers, and fear came upon every soul, and all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. It includes continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, eating our meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. It also includes being in one accord. Is the visible church on earth today in one accord? Is the visible church, all those who profess to be Christians, on earth today, walking in all those things that the early disciples walked in? Not even close!
In summary, the two loaves of bread presented and waved before the LORD are the central event on the day of Pentecost, around which everything else revolves and on which everything else depends. The two loaves represent the Bride and Groom at their wedding, which in symbolism is pictured by Pentecost - the high holy day called "The Feast of Firstfruits." The Feast of Pentecost itself pictures Jesus, the first of the firstfruits, and the Bride, which constitutes the balance of the "first-fruits"!
It is very significant that on Pentecost each year, Jewish people read in the Old Testament from the book of Ruth, which is a "love story." Ruth was a hapless Israelite living in Moab who married an Israelite who immigrated to Moab with his father, mother, and brother during a terrible famine. The father died, and the two sons, married Israelite women, Ruth and Orpah. They lived in Moab about ten years, and the two men died, leaving their wives as widows. Ruth's mother-in-law, Naomi, received news that the famine in Israel was over, so she decided to return to her own people. Ruth loved her mother-in-law deeply and refused to leave her when she returned to Israel. Naomi cautioned her that life would be tough, that she has no more sons for Ruth to marry, and that she might not find a mate in Israel. Ruth's response reached the depths of true conversion. She said:
As the story unfolds, Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz, a mighty man of wealth. He saw her, knew she had an excellent reputation as a faithful and loving daughter to Naomi, and promised that as long as she gleaned in his fields he would protect her. He later took her to be his wife. Boaz was a very wealthy and righteous man who was much older than Ruth. Boaz, is clearly a type of Jesus, and Ruth is a type of the Bride! Ruth prepared herself. She was ready. But what about us? Are we getting ready, preparing for the Great Wedding Day that is coming soon? "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!" (Matthew 25:6).
Now, if you just found this message "interesting" or "educational" then we suggest that you listen to the whole message again. It is not enough to understand the word of God. We must know where we are going and how to get there. In other words the word must become flesh within us. We must walk in the truth.
The end of the matter is that after we have experienced our personal Pentecost, after we are filled with the Holy Ghost, by our daily dying to self and our daily obedience to the Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost, Who dwells within us, we must allow the Spirit of God continuously to make us perfect until He appears the second time without sin unto salvation. We should desire to be part of the first-fruits ... those who will rule and reign with Christ on earth for a thousand years. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
After the resurrection of Jesus and just before His ascension to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, in
Luke 24:49, "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."
At essentially the same time, Jesus also said, in
Acts 1:4-5 - "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."
The promise of the Father, of course, is the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples not to do anything until they received the dynamite power of the Holy Ghost. The key word is "power" ... the power to die to self.
On the day of Pentecost, in
On the day of Pentecost, in
Acts 2:1-4, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
So the early disciples in the Book of Acts were in complete and total agreement or in one accord to glorify God. That should be our same objective as a Christian ... to glorify God in all that we do, say, and become. Everything that we do should be "as unto the Lord."
In a previous message on Pentecost we noted that there is no scripture that says the first 120 disciples were baptized in water as Christians. We want to share with you why we believe the first 120 disciples were never baptized in water as a Christian. First we need to thoroughly understand why God made man. We shared on that topic in our fourth message. We used a title of "What is Man?" or "God's Eternal Purpose for Making Man." As a short summary, the Father had such unspeakable delight and love for His only begotten Son, Jesus, that He determined, before the foundation of the world, to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10) ... for what purpose? so that His only Son, Jesus, might have fellowship with a multitude of sons. Then we read in
1 John 1:3, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."
We also know that the Apostle John as well as the other original 11 disciples walked with Jesus constantly for three and one-half years before Calvary. Those early disciples were taught by Jesus, probably on a daily basis. Of course it is true that they had little understanding until the day of Pentecost.
Amos 3:3 says, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?"
The implied answer is "no." There is no higher calling or pursuit in life than for a believer to walk with the Lord every moment of every day. But in order to do that we must be in one accord with the Lord. We must agree with Him in all things. He will not compromise with us. He wants to be Lord and Master of our life. Walking with the Lord means that we have fellowship with Him.
Consider Enoch. Genesis 5:24 says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." The Hebrew for "God" in that verse is Elohim, which speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apparently Enoch had such good fellowship with the Lord and pleased the Lord so much that the Lord translated Enoch into the heavenly realm. But now I ask you ... was Enoch ever baptized in water? Did Enoch have his personal Pentecost? Did he ever speak in tongues? Apparently not. The point is ... we must not confuse the objective, the end product, with the means. Which is more important ... that we go through all the steps and put an "X" in all the right boxes OR that we arrive at the finish line and walk with the Lord daily? We have just stated the objective when God created man. If we, by the grace of God, arrive at God's objective, do we still have to go back and walk through all of the steps and put an "X" in all the right boxes?
For the past two years or more I have been tutoring two young boys, brothers, mostly in mathematics. One of those boys is quite intelligent, beyond his years. He is now in the eighth or ninth grade. But I have tutored him, at his mother's request, in Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, and Differential Equations. He understands all of that and has worked difficult problems in those subjects quickly. But now the state of Virginia requires him to take some of those subjects anyway if he wants to graduate from high school. So the world requires him to go back through the steps even though he has already arrived.
Now we need to understand the significance of the firstfruits. The first time the word, "firstfruits," appears in the Bible is in Exodus 23:14-17, when the Lord gave specific instructions to Moses. -
Consider Enoch. Genesis 5:24 says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." The Hebrew for "God" in that verse is Elohim, which speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apparently Enoch had such good fellowship with the Lord and pleased the Lord so much that the Lord translated Enoch into the heavenly realm. But now I ask you ... was Enoch ever baptized in water? Did Enoch have his personal Pentecost? Did he ever speak in tongues? Apparently not. The point is ... we must not confuse the objective, the end product, with the means. Which is more important ... that we go through all the steps and put an "X" in all the right boxes OR that we arrive at the finish line and walk with the Lord daily? We have just stated the objective when God created man. If we, by the grace of God, arrive at God's objective, do we still have to go back and walk through all of the steps and put an "X" in all the right boxes?
For the past two years or more I have been tutoring two young boys, brothers, mostly in mathematics. One of those boys is quite intelligent, beyond his years. He is now in the eighth or ninth grade. But I have tutored him, at his mother's request, in Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, and Differential Equations. He understands all of that and has worked difficult problems in those subjects quickly. But now the state of Virginia requires him to take some of those subjects anyway if he wants to graduate from high school. So the world requires him to go back through the steps even though he has already arrived.
Now we need to understand the significance of the firstfruits. The first time the word, "firstfruits," appears in the Bible is in Exodus 23:14-17, when the Lord gave specific instructions to Moses. -
"Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD."
Later, in Exodus 34:22, the Lord told Moses that Pentecost was to be the fistfruits of wheat harvest. Wheat is used to make bread. Jesus was and is the Bread of life. Spiritually, the very first of the firstfruits was/is Jesus Himself.
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.1 Corinthians 15:20
Who are "them that slept?" Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and numerous other Old Testament saints. In Luke 13, Jesus said to the Pharisees,
"There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out."
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:22-23
Paul said that he and all those who had the firstfruits of the Spirit groaned within, waiting for the redemption of the body. A question for you and me ... do we groan within ourselves, waiting for the redemption of our body?
1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. Revelation 14:1-5
We will not here go into the significance of the 144,000 except to say that I do not interpret that in the literal sense. Verse 4 says the firstfruits among men were/are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. I cannot interpret that verse in the natural realm either; otherwise the Apostle Peter, among many others could not be among the firstfruits because Peter had a wife.
Now let us go back to what happened on the day of Pentecost, from Acts 2:1-4.
Let us recall that Jesus, before Calvary, told His disciples, in John 14:17 that the Spirit of truth dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. The result of Pentecost was that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. So these distinct events are the Holy Ghost dwelling with us, being in us, and being filled with the Holy Ghost. The latter is the most important event.
The Greek word for "be filled" is pleroo, which means "keep on being filled" or "stay filled" with the Spirit. Paul talks about something that should be ongoing in the lives of believers. The filling of the Spirit is not some ecstatic or emotional experience, but a steady controlling of our life by obedience to the truth of God's Word. We can't have more or less of the Holy Spirit, but we can have more or less of His influence over us. How are we filled with, or influenced by, the Spirit? The answer is easy to understand, but not so easy to live out: yield to Him, obey Him. Being filled with the Spirit is a day-to-day, even moment-by-moment surrendering of our lives to Christ.
The goal of the Christian life is to remain Spirit-filled. That should be the normal Christian life. That is NOT what the Israelites did after passing through the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:5-10). That is NOT what the Church at Corinth did, as recorded in 1 Corinthians.
We receive the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ as Savior. There is no gap between belief in Christ and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The initial gift of the Holy Spirit happens at one, and only one, time ... at the time of being born from above. While Scripture never commands Christians to be baptized in or into the Holy Spirit, it does charge us to be filled with the Spirit.
An important part of Scripture that refers to the filling of the Holy Spirit is Ephesians 5:18-21: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit ..." (wherein is NO excess). Being filled with the Spirit is contrasted with being filled or drunk with wine. Just as wine has the potential to influence our behavior, so does the Holy Spirit. People driving drunk are "driving under the influence." The idea is being led by God's Spirit rather than by other forces. When we are filled with the Spirit, we see a resultant attitude of joy and thanksgiving. We also see a relational posture of humility toward God and of submission to one another. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is about an ongoing working of God's Spirit in a person's life, not a one-time experience. As the believer lives out his or her faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit increasingly controls or fills his or her life. We must always make decisions as to whether we will obey God or men (which includes self).
All believers in Jesus Christ have God's Spirit living within them, or dwelling within them (John 14:16, Ephesians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 4:30); but not all believers live filled with the Spirit or led by the Spirit's power. Believers have all of the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit may not have all of them. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the time of our salvation but we are filled by Him when we submit to Him.
The filling of the Holy Spirit can vary in the life of each believer. Negatively, a believer in Christ can "quench" or "grieve" the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 4:30). Sinful actions can hinder the work of God's Spirit in our life. In contrast, when a believer in Christ lives in obedience to God's will and commands, he or she should expect to see the fruit of God's Spirit living through them.
Being filled with the Spirit does not refer to speaking in tongues. Now God can do whatever He wants to do at any time He so chooses. In the Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 1, at least three different people were filled with the Spirit: John the Baptist (verse 15), Elizabeth (verse 41), and Zacharias (verse 67), but there is no record of any of them speaking in tongues.
Being filled with the Spirit does not refer to having more of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not reserved for Christians who are more mature than others. God seals each believer with His Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5). We can never have more or less of the Holy Spirit than we have at the moment of conversion. We either have the Holy Spirit or we don't. The real issue is the release of the already present Spirit to have free reign in our hearts. It isn't about us having more of Him but of Him having more of us.
Being filled with the Spirit means the fruit of the Spirit, not the works of the flesh, is manifested in our life. The fruit of the Spirit speaks about what the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, which is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Being filled with the Spirit also means we use only godly speech. What we say is a reflection of our hearts. What could be a better indication of whether we're filled with the Spirit than what comes out of our mouth? James 3:1-12 says we can tame everything in creation except our tongues: they are like wild fires burning out of control, destroying everything in sight. This is why James says, "If someone could tame his tongue, he would be a perfect man." Further,
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:27 Neither give place to the devil.28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:25-32
There are three major Jewish feasts, as recorded in Exodus 23:14-17 and Deuteronomy 16, the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover; the Feast of Harvest (or Weeks or Firstfruits or Pentecost); and the Feast of In-gathering (or Tabernacles). Pentecost is the fiftieth day after the Feast of the Passover. Leviticus 23:15-21 prescribes the sacred nature of Pentecost and lists the appropriate sacrifices. Until the Pentecostal loaves were offered, the produce of the harvest could not be eaten, nor could any other first fruits be offered.
On the day of Pentecost or the "Feast of Firstfruits," the high priest performed an unusual, once-only ceremony. We read about the two loaves of Pentecost in Leviticus 23:15-21.
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
...
20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
Bakers will tell you there are two different kinds of "leaven" - good leaven, and bad leaven. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread at Passover we are to eat only unleavened bread, which represents repentance from our sins and being born again. The Lord, of course, hates sin. Because of rampant sin, the Lord destroyed the land with the flood (Genesis 6-7). The Apostle Paul wrote, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus warned that unless we repent of sin, and stop sinning, we will "perish" (Luke 13:2-5).
Jesus alluded to the good type of leaven in His parable in
Matthew 13:33: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."Also, in Luke 13:20-21 Jesus said, "Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? it is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."
Note that leaven is compared to the Holy Spirit, which is put within the LORD's people and changes their corrupt human nature into the wonderful, holy, righteous nature of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 1:4). The LORD's Spirit works within us like leaven; it changes our nature and character into that which is wonderful and acceptable in the LORD's sight! Then a delicious aroma completely fills the house. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35, 48). He is the "bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:48-51). The Greek word for "bread" here speaks of a raised loaf of leavened bread - normal, natural bread! Jesus is the raised, leavened, perfect bread that brings eternal life.
The apostle Paul says that the Church is "the body of Christ." Paul writes,
The apostle Paul says that the Church is "the body of Christ." Paul writes,
"For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:17).
Christians are therefore one body, and partake of one bread; so we are, in the LORD's sight, like a beautiful loaf of bread. Jesus is the Perfect, beautiful Loaf of bread.
Pentecost foretells the wedding of Jesus and His Bride. The two loaves are the firstfruits unto the LORD (Leviticus 23:17). Now we have already seen in 1 Corinthians 15:20 that Jesus is the first of the firstfruits. Paul also speaks of "Christ the firstfruits" in 1 Corinthians 15:23. We have also seen in Romans 8:22-23 and in Revelation 14:1-5 that the Bride is also the "firstfruits" to the Lord.
Now we see the "two leavened loaves" of bread presented and waved before the Father on Pentecost! The one loaf represents the Lord Jesus Christ in His fullness ... the Perfect "Bread of Life." The other loaf represents the Bride of Jesus - filled with the Spirit - brought to perfection through trial and testing! Those first 120 disciples, then, who were all filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, became part of the firstfruits.
The leaven which causes these loaves to reach their fullness of perfection is the Holy Spirit within them, the Spirit of grace, love, and power (2 Timothy 1:6-7; Hebrews 10:29). The Holy Spirit works like leaven within us to make us into the image of the Lord in character and true holiness!
It is true that none of those first 120 disciples were perfect in the sense that they never made a single mistake, but they will return in perfection when Jesus returns to earth to rule and reign for 1000 years. However, they were at least perfect in the sense that Noah and Job are called perfect.
"These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." (Genesis 6:9)"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." (Job 1:1)
But the firstfruits which constitute the Bride are not limited to those first 120 disciples. That second loaf of bread will also include all those saints over all of time who likewise have been or will be immersed in Pentecost by being filled with the Spirit and who remain filled with the Spirit. That means, as a minimum, they will walk in everything that the first disciples walked in. That includes continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers, and fear came upon every soul, and all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. It includes continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, eating our meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. It also includes being in one accord. Is the visible church on earth today in one accord? Is the visible church, all those who profess to be Christians, on earth today, walking in all those things that the early disciples walked in? Not even close!
In summary, the two loaves of bread presented and waved before the LORD are the central event on the day of Pentecost, around which everything else revolves and on which everything else depends. The two loaves represent the Bride and Groom at their wedding, which in symbolism is pictured by Pentecost - the high holy day called "The Feast of Firstfruits." The Feast of Pentecost itself pictures Jesus, the first of the firstfruits, and the Bride, which constitutes the balance of the "first-fruits"!
It is very significant that on Pentecost each year, Jewish people read in the Old Testament from the book of Ruth, which is a "love story." Ruth was a hapless Israelite living in Moab who married an Israelite who immigrated to Moab with his father, mother, and brother during a terrible famine. The father died, and the two sons, married Israelite women, Ruth and Orpah. They lived in Moab about ten years, and the two men died, leaving their wives as widows. Ruth's mother-in-law, Naomi, received news that the famine in Israel was over, so she decided to return to her own people. Ruth loved her mother-in-law deeply and refused to leave her when she returned to Israel. Naomi cautioned her that life would be tough, that she has no more sons for Ruth to marry, and that she might not find a mate in Israel. Ruth's response reached the depths of true conversion. She said:
"Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me" (Ruth 1:16-17).
As the story unfolds, Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz, a mighty man of wealth. He saw her, knew she had an excellent reputation as a faithful and loving daughter to Naomi, and promised that as long as she gleaned in his fields he would protect her. He later took her to be his wife. Boaz was a very wealthy and righteous man who was much older than Ruth. Boaz, is clearly a type of Jesus, and Ruth is a type of the Bride! Ruth prepared herself. She was ready. But what about us? Are we getting ready, preparing for the Great Wedding Day that is coming soon? "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!" (Matthew 25:6).
Now, if you just found this message "interesting" or "educational" then we suggest that you listen to the whole message again. It is not enough to understand the word of God. We must know where we are going and how to get there. In other words the word must become flesh within us. We must walk in the truth.
In James 1:22-25, we read: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."
The end of the matter is that after we have experienced our personal Pentecost, after we are filled with the Holy Ghost, by our daily dying to self and our daily obedience to the Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost, Who dwells within us, we must allow the Spirit of God continuously to make us perfect until He appears the second time without sin unto salvation. We should desire to be part of the first-fruits ... those who will rule and reign with Christ on earth for a thousand years. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
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