Pentecostal – What’s That?
Pentecost is the second great festival of the Jewish year. Pentecost celebrated the gathering of the first fruit of the wheat harvest. These “first fruits” were given to God.
Acts chapter 2 starts with “When the day of Pentecost . . ..” That specific Pentecost was the start of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ’s spiritual harvest of souls.
The Pentecost of Acts chapter 2 was a dividing line between the past, represented by the limitations of the Old Testament, and something new. In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord would temporarily empower certain individuals.
Starting with the Acts chapter 2 Pentecost, the Spirit of the Lord became available to all who believe and obey. Anyone can now be filled with the Holy Spirit.
PENTECOSTAL EXPERIENCE
The Pentecostal Experience can best be defined as what happened on the Acts 2, the Day of Pentecost. Consider what that group, the fledgling first church experienced. The verses provided that go beyond Acts 2, give additional insight on what those earliest church members experienced. This, even after that Day of Pentecost.
- Those who believed were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48, 22:16)
- Those who believed were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, 10:44-45, 19:2)
- They were devoted to the Apostle’s teaching (Acts 2:42)
- They continued in fellowship and prayer (Acts 2:42)
As a Pentecostal Church, Calvary practices, teaches and leads people to these same Biblical experiences.