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1-9-1964

The "Birthday" of the Holy Spirit

Wilber Alexander
Andrews University

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Alexander, Wilber, "The "Birthday" of the Holy Spirit" (1964). Faculty Publications. 3656.
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 January 9, 1964
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

* A Century of Our

EVI EW Health Message

* Oriental Watchman
—Page 2

and Hera d Anniversary —Page 16

once each day. At daybreak the colorful crowd left their

booths to take part in the sacred services of the morning

3.11.BA,63 0
sacrifice and the outpouring of water and wine. In proces-
sion the worshipers followed a priest carrying a golden
pitcher down to the Kidron to the Pool of Siloam. After
filling the pitcher the procession moved back to the
Temple area. At this point the priest was joined by an-

of tht
other priest carrying a vessel of wine for the drink offer-
ing. The two priests ascended the altar, stood poised
above two silver funnels, and began to pour. As the
water ran into the funnel the worshipers joined in songs
of praise. In all this ritual they were thanking God for
the past and reminding Him of His promises for the
At Pentecost there was a change in the relation- future.
ship of the third Person of the Godhead to man. On one occasion, scarcely had the songs of praise and
supplication become an echo when Jesus stood and cried
out, " 'If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink.
By WILBER ALEXANDER He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, "Out
Chairman, Division of Religion of his heart shall flow rivers of living water" ' " (John
Emmanuel Missionary College 7:37, 38).* Up to this moment the Lord had not inter-
rupted their worship, but now He was interpreting it
for them. John says, "Now this he said about the Spirit,

A MONG the ancient religious feasts celebrated by which those who believed (To page 8)
the Jews when our Lord walked this earth was
the Feast of Booths, or Feast of Tabernacles. * All Scripture references in this article are from the Revised Standard Version.
Next to the Passover, it is one of the most spiritually sig-
nificant of all Jewish festivals.
Early on the fifteenth day of the month of Tishri,
which corresponds to our September or early October,
festive, colorful pilgrims from all parts of the then-
known world swarmed into Jerusalem, the city of pal-
aces, solemnities, and feasts. For seven days they would
mingle and worship in the shadow of the great temple
of marble, cedar, and gold, high up on Moriah. In the
delicious crispness of early autumn, when the harvest was
completed, they would offer praise and thanksgiving to
God for His goodness, mercy, and blessing.
Amid bustle and activity small leafy booths were erected
everywhere—in courtyards, on housetops, along streets.
These were prescribed lodging places for the pilgrims to
remind them of the wilderness journey of their fathers
and of the green and fruitful Canaan land given them
by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
For seven days, from the time the cock first crowed in
the morning until the stars and festive torches lighted up
the evening sky, the smoke of smoldering sacrifices hung
between the Mount of Olives and Zion. The cantor chant
of the Levi te priests, the antiphonal response of the peo-
ple, and the clear blast of the priests' silver trumpets
echoed in the distance.
The most meaningful ceremony of the feast took place

"To us today, as verily as to the first disciples,

the promise of the Spirit belongs."
Vol. 141 No. 2
 Spirit from his birth (see Luke 1:15). The eye of the Bible writers was
The "Birthday" More mysterious and unfathomable constantly fixed on the time when
of the Holy Spirit are Matthew's words: "Now the birth th Holy Spirit should come. John
of Jesus Christ took place in this way. th Baptist saw the event as still fu-
(Continued from page 1) When his mother Mary had been be- tu e. " 'I baptize you with water for
in him were to receive; for as yet the trothed to Joseph, before they came re entance, but he who is coming
Spirit had not been given, because together she was found to be with aft r me is mightier than I, whose
Jesus was not yet glorified. When child .of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1: sa dals I am not worthy to carry; he
they heard these words, some of the 18). wi 1 baptize you with the Holy Spirit
people said, 'This is really the Added to this witness are the words an with fire' " (Matt. 3:11).
prophet' " (John 7:39, 40). of Gabriel to Mary found in Luke 1: hroughout Jesus' ministry He
These words of explanation suggest 35: "And the angel said to her, 'The ke t fresh in the minds of His dis-
that the Holy Spirit, the third mem- Holy Spirit will come upon you, and ciples and the multitudes the coming
ber of the Godhead, was to become the power of the Most High will over- of he Holy Spirit. Recall Nicodemus'
something, someone, to man that He shadow you; therefore the child to be mi night visit to Jesus (see John 3).
had not been before. Certainly there born will be called holy, the Son of Jess reminded him that except a
is enough evidence in both the Old God.' " m n be born of the Spirit he cannot
and the New Testament to demon- At Christ's baptism the Holy Spirit see the kingdom of God. When Nico-
strate the presence and power of the came upon Him and remained upon de us failed to understand this,
Holy Spirit on the earth before these Him (see Matt. 3:16; 4:1). Daily He Jess answered, " 'The wind blows
words were spoken. What then did received a fresh baptism of the Holy whre it wills, and you hear the
Jesus have in mind when He said Spirit. He cast out devils by the Spirit so nd of it, but you do not know
that the Holy Spirit had not yet been of God (Matt. 12:28). He taught and wh nce it comes or whither it goes;
given? commanded through the Spirit (see so it is with every one who is born
To the oldest saint or the youngest Acts 1:2). Finally He offered Himself of the Spirit' " (verse 8). In other
as a sacrifice through the Spirit (Heb. wo ds, Jesus was saying, "You do not
child the words "Christ" and "God, ha e to have all the questions an-
the Father" awaken definite mental 9:14).
sw red, but you need to put yourself
pictures and attitudes. But it is diffi- So we see that when our physical in the stream of the Spirit where
cult for us to grasp what is involved world was formless and empty, the so ething can take place in your
when we speak of the Holy Spirit. To Holy Spirit worked to bring order lifo
best understand this oft-puzzling doc- out of chaos and to adjust its ma- s those in attendance at the Feast
trine, it is helpful to follow a course chinery and men for beauty. When of Tabernacles watched the priests
similar to that used in studying the our moral world became empty and po r the water and the wine they
life and work of Jesus; that is, study dark and void, the Holy Spirit we e reminded that this was symbolic
the Holy Spirit as revealed before brought about the birth of Jesus and of he Spirit being poured out among
His "incarnation," His "birth," His through Him the possibility of re-cre- th m.
"life" on earth, and His "life" again ation and redemption. And still His
in eternity. work was not complete, for Jesus said Fa ewell Discourse
as yet "the Spirit had not been given." ost of the words Jesus spoke
In the Old Testament What did Jesus mean? about the Holy Spirit were at His
In the first chapter of the Bible, Just as the prophets plainly tell of far well discourse. That lonely night
the second verse, we find that at the the coming of the Son of God, they aft r the Last Supper the disciples
beginning of Creation the Spirit of also announce the coming of the we e greatly concerned. Nothing had
God moved over that which was waste Spirit. Isaiah wrote: " 'For I will pour to ned out as they had expected.
and void. The word used here— water on the thirsty land, and streams Jes s had not established His king-
"brooded"—connotes that He cher- on the dry ground; I will pour my dom, and now He spoke of His death.
ished the confused mass for what it Spirit upon your descendants, and my But the Saviour comforted them by
could become. He moved creatively blessing on your offspring. They shall appealing to their belief in God.
to transform chaos to order and spring up like grass amid waters, like " Let not your hearts be troubled;
beauty. willows by flowing streams' " (Isa. 44: believe in God, believe also in me' "
Prior to the "incarnation" of the 3, 4). (John 14:1). He continues, "'If you
Spirit at Pentecost, the work of Ezekiel prophesied of the Spirit in love me, you will keep my command-
this member of the Godhead in be- a definite, personal way. "'A new ments. And I will pray the Father,
half of man reveals something of His heart I will give you, and a new ani1 he will give you another Counse-
nature and gives some indication of spirit I will put within you; and I lor to be with you for ever' " (verses
His future work. Glimpses of the will take out of your flesh the heart 15, 16).
Spirit from Genesis through Malachi of stone and give you a heart of ere for the first time the Holy
show the Holy Spirit striving with flesh. And I will put my spirit within Sp rit is called the "paraclete" or
man after the Fall, dwelling in Joseph you, and cause you to walk in my "c mforter." Notice some of the
in Egypt, inspiring Eldad in building statutes and be careful to observe my thi gs Jesus says about the promised
the sanctuary, departing from Saul ordinances' " (Eze. 36:26, 27). Sp rit. "'But the Counselor, the Holy
when he turned from God, anointing Familiar to Christians is Joel's Sp rit, whom the Father will send in
David, instructing Solomon in build- prophecy: " 'And it shall come to pass m name, he will teach you all things,
ing the Temple, filling Isaiah, lifting afterward, that I will pour out my an bring to your remembrance all
up a standard against the enemy of spirit on all flesh; your sons and your th t I have said to you' " (verse 26).
Israel, lifting Ezekiel to his feet and daughters shall prophesy, your old A d in chapter 16, verses 7 and 8, He
breathing life into dry bones, em- men shall dream dreams, and your de Tares, "'I tell you the truth: it is
powering Micah. The Spirit remains young men shall see visions. Even to our advantage that I go away, for
unseen and unknown, but felt. upon the manservants and maidserv- if do not go away, the Counselor
In the New Testament we find that ants in those days, I will pour out my wi I not come to you; but if I go, I
John the Baptist was filled with the spirit' " (Joel 2:28, 29). wi I send him to you. And when he
8 REVIEW AND HERALD, January 9, 1964
 comes, he will convince the world of day" of the Holy Spirit: "When the lar. The Spirit did not step out of the
sin and of righteousness and of judg- day of Pentecost had come, they were intangible that day of Pentecost. He
ment.' " Verse 13 promises, " 'When all together in one place. And sud- was still undefined, incomprehensi-
the Spirit of truth comes, he will denly a sound came from heaven like ble, a mystery, even as the wind and
guide you into all the truth, for he the rush of a mighty wind, and it the fire and the tongues that filled
will not speak on his own authority, filled all the house where they were the upper room. But He was there
but whatever he hears he will speak, sitting. And there appeared to them and the people in the upper room
and he will declare to you the things tongues as of fire, distributed and rest- knew He was there.
that are to come.' " ing on each of them. And they were "To us today, as verily as to the
Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit all filled with the Holy Spirit and be- first disciples, the promise of the
will dwell with us forever; will be a gan to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit belongs. God will today endow
teacher of righteousness; will help us Spirit gave them utterance" (verses men and women with power from
remember the Word; will testify of 1-4). Luke's words are carefully cho- above, as He endowed those who on
Christ, not Himself; will glorify sen and are the words of one who is the day of Pentecost heard the word
Christ; will convict and convince of convinced that such a spiritual expe- of salvation. At this very hour His
sin, righteousness, and of judgment; rience took place. Spirit and His grace are for all who
and will guide us into all truth, re- On this day there was an invasion need them and will take Him at His
vealing things to come. And if this of the Holy Spirit into willing hu- word."—Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 20.
were not enough, after His resurrec- man personality and into all the de- Jesus bids us now, "If any man
tion and just before His ascension tails of life, both spiritual and secu- thirst, let him come unto me."
the Lord told His disciples to wait
for the Spirit. "While staying with
them he charged them not to depart
from Jerusalem, but to wait for the
promise of the Father, which, he said,
'you heard from me' " (Acts 1:4).
The Spirit would bear names that
would describe His work and power.
His name was to be called Spirit of
the living God (2 Cor. 3:3). His name
would be called "the Spirit of Jesus Remarkable Answers and a Pressing Need
Christ" (Phil. 1:19). He would be
called the Holy Spirit (Luke 11: "Our daughter has contemplated taking her life a few times. She needs help.
It would be a comfort to us to know that you are remembering her. We have
13); the "Spirit of promise" (Eph. done all we know to do for her. About three years ago my mother-in-law sent in
1:13); "the spirit of judgment" (Isa. a request that you pray for my husband to return to the church. This has hap-
4:4); "the spirit of wisdom and un- pened. So it gives me courage to ask you to pray for our daughter."—Name with-
derstanding" and "the spirit of coun- held by request.
sel" (Isa. 11:2); "the Spirit of life" "In the summer of 1962 I asked you to pray for my godchild. I am happy
(Rom. 8:21; and "the Spirit of grace" to tell you that she is now in church school; and not only that, but her four
(Heb. 10:29). sisters are also there with her. Her non-Adventist parents are paying $110 a month
Our text says that the Spirit had to send them to our school. Truly this can only be an answer to prayer. Please
not yet been given, because Jesus was pray that the children may be able to stay in church school and that they will be
instrumental in bringing their parents into the truth."—Miss J., of Michigan-.
not yet glorified. How does this relate
to the "birthday" of the Holy Spirit?
Recall how the Father, the Son, and
the Spirit had worked since the time "Now Back in the Church"
of Creation. God the Father ruled the
"I want to thank you for your prayers in behalf of my son, who is now back
theocracy described in Old Testament in the church."—Mrs. F., of Oregon.
times and communicated His will to "The son for whom we prayed is in the truth now. My oldest daughter has been
man. Also in the Old Testament, reconverted and is a faithful member. I have been in the truth almost 43 years, and
God the Son served as lawgiver and it grows dearer each day. I believe my oldest daughter's reconversion was a result
renewed the everlasting covenant of the Fellowship of Prayer. Thank you so much."—Mrs. T., of Indiana.
with His people. "Sometime last summer I wrote you to pray that my two boys would go to our
In New Testament times Jesus school. They are both in our school and like it very much. I know that God opened
broke into the world revealing the the way for them."—Mrs. M., of California.
Father in a more personal way by
His teaching, suffering, dying, and
rising again. The Holy Spirit had "Prayer Surely Changes Things"
been cooperating with God the Fa-
ther and the Son, but now He was to "Several years ago I asked for prayer for my sons to return to a Christian school.
be with man in a more intimate way. I'm sure it was only in answer to prayer that they did, and now they're in the
medical work and have Christian homes."—Mrs. H., of Tennessee.
Unlike Christ, His incarnation was "I wrote you three years ago to have my loved ones placed on your prayer list.
not to be in the physical form of a Now I wish to tell you that on March 17 one daughter and her husband were rebap-
body, but He was to be incarnated in tized. Thank you for your prayers, for prayer surely changes things."—Mrs. M.,
the church and in the hearts of the of Iowa.
believers. He was to make effectual "About three or four years ago I asked prayer for my children who had all
that which Christ had accomplished drifted from the truth. I am happy to say that my younger son has come back into
for man by His life and death. Until the truth, and he and his girls are to be baptized soon."—Mrs. G., of Montana.
Christ's earthly work had been com-
pleted the Spirit's special work could This column is dedicated to the encouragement of prayer for others at the sunset hour each Friday evening.
not begin. Because of the large number of requests received and the complexities of the problems presented, it is impos-
sible for us to answer each letter personally, but all requests will be acknowledged and will be kept on file in
In Acts 2 we read of the "birth- our office. Portions of letters, especially those that tell of answers to prayer, will be published as space permits.

REVIEW AND HERALD, January 9, 1964 9