Tobi Arayomi explores why Pentecost is pivotal in understanding two aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work: the infilling and the baptism. Before Pentecost, Jesus breathed on His followers, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit”, initiating the internal transformation necessary for producing spiritual fruit, as outlined in Galatians 5.
However, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which occurred at Pentecost, equipped the disciples with outward power for ministry, fulfilling Jesus’ promise of empowerment and echoing the prophecy of Isaiah 61.
It reads; “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.”
