Texas pastor says grace of the Holy Spirit can be felt today: 'Available for all'

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Verses fom the Acts of the Apostles, the fifth book of the New Testament, are particularly noteworthy today.

"While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God," the passage says.

It continues, "Then Peter responded, 'Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?' He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 10:44-48). 

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The Acts of the Apostles is traditionally attributed to St. Luke the Evangelist, according to the website BibleGateway.

In the book, "Luke has provided a broad survey of the church’s development from the resurrection of Jesus to Paul’s first Roman imprisonment, the point at which the book ends," said the same source.

"In telling this story, Luke describes the emergence of Christianity from its origins in Judaism to its position as a religion of worldwide status and appeal," the site added. 

Rev. Jeremiah Johnston of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas reflects on Acts 10:44-48, when the Holy Spirit falls upon the Gentiles. (Cameron Bertuzzi/iStock)

These specific verses demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit, the "forgotten" person of the Holy Trinity, Rev. Jeremiah Johnston told Fox News Digital.

Johnston is pastor of apologetics at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Christian Thinkers Society. 

An outpouring of the Holy Spirit is particularly needed today, said Johnston, as evidenced by the increasingly polarized society that is stricken with crime, protests, and anger. 

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"Before Peter could even finish his powerful sermon, the ‘Pentecost of the Gentile world’ took place in the coastal city of Caesarea, some 70 miles northwest of Jerusalem," said Johnston. 

This message — that "the good news of peace through Jesus Christ" was available to both the Gentiles and Jewish people — "left the Jewish-believers traveling with Peter from Joppa stunned, yes, even shocked," he said. 

Peter was preaching at Caesaria, a city on the coast of Israel that is now a national park.  (Jon G. Fuller/Eye Ubiquitous/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"It only took 118 words of Peter’s sermon to transform the hearts of everyone," said Johnston, with the help of the Holy Spirit's descent upon those who were listening. 

This, he said, changed everything. 

"The Gentiles responded to Peter’s message with faith in Christ and God immediately accepted them and sealed their faith with the Holy Spirit — the same grace is available for all today," said Johnston. 

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These new Christian believers were then baptized, a "fitting response to God's grace in their lives with the Holy Spirit," he said. 

In the modern world, "we hear echoes and see signposts of the Holy Spirit’s handiwork today with mass-spontaneous baptisms occurring at universities all over America," said Johnston. 

A mass baptism took place on the campus of Auburn University in Sept. 2023 – something Johnston called an "echo" of the Holy Spirit's handiwork.  (Mateo Arenas)

This, he said, is further proof that "the way God acted in the past is the way He is acting in the present," a theological principle known as "typology." 

"Even when our country betrays a growing divide, more grace is available through the Holy Spirit working in your life," he said. 

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A Christian's life is only effective, however, with the "correct understanding of the Holy Spirit." 

And while many Christians have less of an understanding of the Holy Spirit compared to the other persons in the Holy Trinity, the Bible "reminds us it is impossible to live a transformational Christian life without the filling of the Holy Spirit," said Johnston.

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"As a follower of Jesus," he said, "I have all the Holy Spirit, but the more important question we must contemplatively and prayerfully ponder is: Does the Holy Spirit have all of me?"

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