Paper 194 Overview: Bestowal of the Spirit of Truth

About one o'clock, the 120 believers were praying together when they felt a strange presence and a new spiritual joy. This was the coming of the Spirit of Truth that Jesus had promised to send them. They felt a strong desire to go out and tell everyone about the good news of Jesus.

Peter suggested they go to the temple to share their message, and they did just that. The believers had been taught to preach about God as Father and humans as brothers, but in their excitement, they began preaching more about Jesus himself. They told people about Jesus' resurrection instead of focusing on the original message of the kingdom of God.

The believers were filled with a new spiritual power when the Spirit of Truth came to them. They had been taught to preach about God's fatherhood and the brotherhood of all people. But instead, they began focusing on Jesus' resurrection.

This change happened because they were so thrilled about Jesus being alive again. It was easier for them to talk about Jesus' resurrection than to explain the deeper message about the kingdom. This began a shift from the religion of Jesus to a religion about Jesus.

The apostles had been hiding for forty days. Pentecost was a Jewish festival, and many visitors were in Jerusalem. The apostles came out of hiding and began to preach boldly in the temple about the risen Jesus.

Peter stood up in the temple around two o'clock and gave a powerful speech. His message won more than two thousand new believers. Six apostles participated in the meeting, speaking in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and other languages they knew. The Jewish leaders were surprised at the apostles' boldness but were afraid to stop them because so many people believed their message.

By 4:30 in the afternoon, more than two thousand new believers followed the apostles to the pool of Siloam. Peter, Andrew, James, and John baptized these people in Jesus' name. Pentecost was already a time when non-Jews who wanted to serve God were welcomed, so many people were ready to be baptized. At this time, the believers were still following Jewish religious practices.

Jesus taught a message that lifted humans from feeling like children of the devil to knowing they are children of God. Now that Jesus had left earth, he sent his Spirit of Truth to help each new generation understand his message in a way that would help with their particular spiritual problems.

The Spirit of Truth has several important purposes. It helps people understand truth more clearly and removes the feeling of being alone since Jesus is no longer physically present. This spirit helps prepare people for the Father's spirit (the Thought Adjuster) to live within them. The spirit doesn't create awareness of itself, but rather an awareness of Jesus.

The Spirit of Truth also helps people remember and understand Jesus' teachings. It helps believers share the truth about Jesus' life and teachings with others. The spirit leads believers into all truth and gives them a growing spiritual understanding of what it means to be God's child.

Many strange teachings became associated with Pentecost over time. But the main mission of the Spirit of Truth is to teach people about the Father's love and the Son's mercy. The spirit reveals the Father's nature and the Son's moral character in people's hearts.

Life can sometimes seem unfair, with lies and dishonesty appearing to win. But faith triumphs over evil, as shown by Jesus' resurrection. Jesus faced the hardest challenges of life but met them with faith and determination to do God's will. True religion doesn't try to escape life's problems but provides joy and peace to enhance life.

On Pentecost, Jesus' religion broke free from national and racial barriers. The Spirit of Truth became a personal gift from Jesus to every believer, not just the apostles. The gift was given to all sincere believers throughout the world. Jesus' religion creates the highest type of civilization because it creates the highest type of spiritual personality and teaches the sacredness of each person.

When Jesus was arrested and crucified, his followers were completely discouraged. They had hoped he would be the Messiah who would restore Israel. Then came the resurrection, which renewed their faith in Jesus as divine.

Jesus appeared to them many times and told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Spirit of Truth. When this spirit came on Pentecost, they went out to preach with new power. They were now following a living Lord, not a defeated leader. Jesus was living in their hearts, and God had become a real presence in their souls.

The early believers changed their message. Instead of preaching about God's kingdom, they preached about the risen Jesus. They proclaimed the facts of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and taught that he would soon return to finish his work. Christianity became more about believing in Jesus than following his original teachings. However, this new religion created a remarkable community of believers who called each other brother and sister, cared for the poor, and shared their possessions.