The day of Pentecost is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God prior to this day could only be present in Christ Himself, but on this day it became available to His Church. Being filled with the Spirit before the day of Pentecost was an exclusive event for a select few. And only for a while. On this day, the democratization of access to God took place. Rich and poor, men and women, people from different regions of Palestine were equally filled with the Spirit and began to preach and glorify God in different languages. The kingdom not only appeared to them, but the Spirit immediately made them servants and heralds of the kingdom.
John quotes Jesus as saying that He is the true vine that one must abide in in order to bear fruit to God. But it is on this day that these words take on meaning and power, because the only way to abide in Christ is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Vineyard Churches value the importance of being filled with the Spirit and being sensitive to His work, His voice. The day of Pentecost is both the beginning of the expansion of the Kingdom, which is already here, but yet to come, and the beginning of the growth of the Vine, which bears fruit through the local communities. And it is also a celebration of God's sensitivity to people, because not only people hear God on this day for the first time in such a massive way, but God also speaks to people not just in an understandable language, but in the languages of their various homelands. For the work of the Spirit is about respect for our uniqueness, it is about respect and sensitivity to our home, native language, native problems. The Spirit does not make identical imitators of Christ out of all, but, revealing their diversity, creates a multi-colored bouquet of the Church.
Happy Trinity Day (for on this day God is revealed to people in full, as the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit)!
Автор: Денис Кондюк
Пастор церкви «Нове місто», Київ