Joel 2:28-32: The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Joel 2:28-32: The Promise of the Holy Spirit
(Essay #4 – God’s Prophetic Spirit)

kindle version

The New Testament links the Holy Spirit to the word “promise” six times in its text. That connection is found in these verses:

• And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)[1]
• And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5)
• Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (Act 2:33)
• And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Act 2:38-39)
• Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”– so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)
• In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)

The repeated affirmation that the coming of the Holy Spirit was a part of the promises of God should place an immediate question in the mind of anyone seeking to learn what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit’s work: What was God’s promise about the Holy Spirit?

The goal of this essay is to identify where in the Bible God first promised that the Holy Spirit would be an integral part of the New Testament. This goal is harmonious with the overall approach in this series. Our methodology has been to read the Bible “front-to-back” as we explore the Bible’s construction of its doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Using this approach is an important step to take in creating a complete understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work. No matter the discipline, joining a discussion of complex issues in the middle of a dialogue is confusing. Hard concepts are best comprehended by starting with the most basic fundamental portion and carefully building on them from there. One must learn basic arithmetic before conquering advanced mathematics. The same is true of the Bible’s doctrine on the Holy Spirit. If the genesis of the Bible’s teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit can be found; if the expanse of its promises and boundaries of its limits can be seen at the first, they will provide a guide to unraveling the complexities of a doctrine that is so mystical and mystifying to many Bible students.

Where is the “Promise of the Spirit” Found?

To achieve the goal of this essay of finding the first time God promised the Holy Spirit as a blessing to those who followed His Son we must know where to look. The six verses quoted above provide us with a few important indications about where we should expect to find the genesis of God’s promise.

The Promise Was “The Promise”

None of the six references above are generic in their form. They speak of “the” promise not “a” promise. They refer to the “promise” not the “promises.” They envision a specific and identifiable promise from God. God did not make multiple or varied promises about the Holy Spirit. Either the foundation of the promise of the Holy Spirit’s coming is found in a single passage or in a collection of passages which provides a cohesive and singular promise from God.

The Promise Existed Before the Church

While most of the discussion about the work of the Holy Spirit surrounds His activity with Christians, the six pertinent verses reveal that the foundational promise about the Holy Spirit pre-dates the establishment of the church in Acts 2. In Galatians 3:13-14 Paul ties the coming of the promised Spirit to the promise of Abraham in Genesis 12.[2] Just before His ascension, Jesus personally promises the coming of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5). His statement that the “promise of the Father” would come upon the apostles necessitates that the promise existed before the events of Acts 2 happened.

We know then that God had promised His Spirit prior to the preaching of the gospel. It must be included within the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Because we know that the promise of the Spirit is a specific prophecy which pre-dates the events of Acts 2, we know that a single Old Testament passage (or a harmonious collection of prophecies) promised that the Holy Spirit would be active in the New Testament saints and church.

Does the New Testament Ever Quote the Old Testament About the Holy Spirit?

Since it is clear that the promise of the Holy Spirit has its origins in the Old Testament it would seem likely that the New Testament would make specific use of that promise in its pages. Yet, none of the six passages above directly references any Old Testament passage about the Spirit.  This means that there is no “smoking gun” passage which says, “This is the promise of the Holy Spirit . . .” However that does not mean the promise remains unidentified in the New Testament. There are four New Testament passages which directly quote or allude to an Old Testament passage about the Holy Spirit: Matthew 12:18; Luke 4:18-21, John 7:38-39, Acts 2:16-21. Of these four only one is directly connected to a context which speaks of the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:18 (Isaiah 42:1)

The New Testament’s first appeal to an Old Testament prophecy about the Spirit is a use of Isaiah 42 to explain the manner in which Jesus responded to those who opposed His ministry. In the midst of healing the sick, he began to receive complaints about his ministry from the Pharisees. His reaction was to withdraw from them, continue healing the sick that followed Him, and to charge those healed not to “make Him known.”

In Isaiah’s reference it is stated that God would “put my Spirit upon him.” The Spirit’s presence upon Jesus is the basis of His ability to perform the miracles present in His ministry. In verse 28 of the same context, Jesus specifically states that He was casting out demons by the “Spirit of God.”

However, as this passage makes no statement about the Spirit’s presence in anyone beyond Jesus and there is no connection to the promise of the Spirit in the context, it cannot be the promise of the Spirit appealed to in the New Testament.

Luke 4:18-21 (Isaiah 61:1-2)

In Luke 4:18-21 Jesus applies the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2 to himself. In that prophecy the Christ is promised that the “Spirit of the Lord” would be upon Him and in receiving the Spirit he would be “anointed to proclaim good news to the poor.” In Jesus’ own words He stated to the audience gathered in the synagogue: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Its scope did not include the work of the Holy Spirit with Christians living under the gospel of Jesus Christ. The six passages which point us to the promise of the Holy Spirit are all focused on the Spirit’s work with Christians. Isaiah 61 cannot be the promise for which we are looking.

John 7:38-39 (Old Testament reference is Uncertain)

In the second passage, John 7:38-39, we encounter a difficulty. The text reads:

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

The text states it is a fulfillment of what the “Scripture has said.” It is applied to the giving of the Spirit to believers after the glorification of Jesus. Yet, the problem is that the exact quotation, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water,” is not found in the Old Testament. Numerous passages do use similar language, but none can be positively identified as the source of Jesus’ quotation.[3] Likely, Jesus is summarizing the totality of the Old Testament’s teaching about the place of the Holy Spirit in those who believe on Him. As such, John 7 may provide us with insight about the Holy Spirit’s work, but it lacks a definite statement as to the source of the promise of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. A final limitation on the usefulness of John 7 to identify the promise of the Spirit is the lack of its connection to the word ‘promise’ anywhere in its context.

Acts 2:16-21 (Joel 2:28-32)

However the fourth reference, Acts 2:16-21, clearly connects the promise of the Holy Spirit to a specific and detailed Old Testament prophecy. These verses contain the opening words of the first gospel sermon ever preached. The initial defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a quotation about the coming of the Holy Spirit: 

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ”And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Peter’s quotation of Joel 2:28-32 and his clear statement that the events of that historic Pentecost were “what was uttered through the prophet” should focus our attention on the significance of the promise about the Holy Spirit in those verses. Indeed, four of the six passages which speak of the promise of the Holy Spirit are in the immediate context of this Old Testament quotation: Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5; Acts 2:33; Acts 2:39.

However, perhaps the most telling feature of Peter’s quotation of Joel in Acts 2 is this:

After Peter states that the events of Acts 2 are the fulfillment of the words of one Old Testament prophet never again will an apostle or other inspired speaker/writer of the New Testament make an appeal to the Old Testament to explain or justify the work of the Holy Spirit.

Once established, Peter’s explanation of the “promise of the Holy Spirit” stands as the only statement in the whole of the preaching of the gospel tying the work of the Holy Spirit to prophecy. Not only is Joel 2 the promise of the Holy Spirit, but it is also the only Old Testament foundation upon which the New Testament’s teaching about the Spirit’s work in the church can be based. Every Bible student must appreciate that fact in order to understand the New Testament’s teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit.

Joel 2:28-32: The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Peter’s quotation of Joel 2:28-32 being nestled in the midst of four verses which speak of the promise of the Holy Spirit is sufficient to establish that Joel’s words are the promise in question. However a closer examination of Peter’s sermon that day further strengthens the connection and helps to provide understanding of the interpretive power of that connection.

The content of Peter’s sermon describes in some detail the process by which the promise of the Spirit was fulfilled and the effect or benefit that the promise provided to man. Acts 2:33 is important to notice in exploring Peter’s understanding of the promise of the Holy Spirit. Peter makes four affirmations about the promise of the Holy Spirit:

• The promise comes from the Father.[4]
• The promise comes from Jesus.[5]
• The promise is poured out to man.
• The promise can be seen and heard.

The latter two points that can be gleaned from Acts 2:33 tie directly into Joel’s prophecy.

The Promise of the Spirit is Poured Out to Man

Acts 2:33 says after Jesus received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father He “poured out” that which was being seen and heard on that day. Peter’s language was neither accidental, nor was it unknown to his audience. The devout Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:5) and were hearing Peter’s words were familiar with the Old Testament and its prophecies. In his brief sermon Peter alluded to no less than four prophecies about the Christ.[6]  So when he spoke of the Holy Spirit and God’s blessings being “poured out” he did so with the expectation that his audience was familiar with that language.

His expectation should have been met because the Old Testament uses the imagery of the Holy Spirit being “poured out” at least eight times.[7]  The most significant of the passages to Peter’s sermon is the one he had already quoted as the justification for the apostles’ actions on that day. Joel’s prophecy opens by saying, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit. . .” Later in the prophecy God again states, “. . . in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

The prophecy of the “poured out” Spirit of Joel 2 finds its fulfillment in the pouring out of the “promise of the Spirit” in Acts 2 or, as Paul frames it, the “promised Spirit” (Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:13). Only an agenda-based interpretation of Acts 2 can separate the prophecy of outpouring in Acts 2:17 from the promise of outpouring in 2:33.  What is a promise of God’s future actions other than a prophecy? The prophecy of the Holy Spirit in Joel 2 is the promise of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:33.

The Promise of the Spirit can be Seen and Heard

Peter says more than simply that the Holy Spirit was “poured out” on the day of Pentecost. He describes the effect of that outpouring.  He says that Jesus’ blessing of the Spirit was responsible for that which was “seen and heard” by the gathered multitude on that day. The focus on the visible and audible events in Acts 2 is telling.  Notice how often Luke makes special mention of the sights and sounds of the day:

• 2:2 – “. . . there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind . . .”
• 2:3 – “. . . divided tongues as of fire appeared to them . . .”
• 2:4 – “. . . and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance . . .”
• 2:6 – “And at this sound the multitude came. . .”
• 2:6 – “. . . each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”
• 2:7 – “. . . all these who are speaking Galileans?”
• 2:8 – “And how is it we hear, each of us his own native language?”
• 2:11 – “. . . we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
• 2:12 – “. . . saying to one another. . .”
• 2:14 – “But Peter, standing with the eleven lifted up his voice . . .”
• 2:14 – “. . .and give ear to my words . . .”
• 2:16 – “this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel . . .”
• 2:17 – “. . . God declares . . .shall prophesy . . . see visions . . dream dreams. . .”
• 2:22 – “Men of Israel, hear these words . . .”
• 2:29 – “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence . . .”
• 2:32 – “. . . and of that we all are witnesses.”
• 2:33 – “. . . you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”
• 2:37 – “Now when they heard this. . .”
• 2:38 – “And Peter said to them . . .”
• 2:40 – “And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them . . .”
• 2:41 – “So those who received his word were baptized. . .”

From the first sound of the mighty wind from heaven to the last of the many words of exhortation that Peter used that Pentecost was a day of prophecy and miraculous manifestation of God’s power through the Holy Spirit.

Every person present in Jerusalem on that day would have left with the full understanding that when God’s promised Spirit was poured out, miracles and tongue speaking would follow.  Peter’s whole argument about the authority that now resided in the exalted Christ was based on the miracle of tongue speaking that those devout Jews were “seeing and hearing” on that day.

Joel 2 serves as the perfect basis from which to explain the events of Acts 2. Notice again what Joel 2 says. It has been seen that Joel promised (twice in his prophecy) that the Holy Spirit would be poured out. But what did he say would happen when that outpouring was accomplished? He said, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). It is beyond the scope of this essay to examine the different categories of people included in the vision, but the actions listed in the prophecy are most germane to it. Joel’s prophecy was that at the outpouring of God’s Spirit three actions would occur: prophecy, dreams, and visions. All three of those are means by which God reveals Himself directly by inspiration. They are miraculous or direct forms of revelation.

How is that any different from the events of Acts 2? The noise that spread abroad in the city came from a divinely created wind, the appearance of divided tongues like fire, and the sound of uneducated men speaking in all the different languages of the world. Joel 2 prophesied that when the Spirit was poured out, prophecy would follow. In defense of the events of Acts 2 Peter affirmed, “This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.” The foundational prophecy of the events of that day demanded visible and audible revelation from God through His Spirit in order to be fulfilled. The promised pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost produced what Joel’s word demanded. The evidence was seen, heard, and believed by many in the crowd that day. They understood the connection between Joel’s words and the promise of the Holy Spirit. So should we.

The Significance of the Promise of the Holy Spirit

Other essays in this series examine the details of Joel’s prophecy more extensively than will be done here. However, it was stated earlier that:

If the genesis of the Bible’s teachings about the work of the Holy Spirit can be found; if the expanse of its promises and boundaries of its limits can be seen at the first, they will provide a guide to unraveling the complexities of a doctrine that is so mystical and mystifying to many Bible students.

That is exactly what Joel 2 does for the Bible student. Joel’s words are the only words any inspired writer or speaker used from the day the Lord’s church was established until the close of revelation that ties the work of the Holy Spirit to Old Testament prophecy. It is the foundation of the New Testament’s teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit in the church.

That fact gives Bible students a critically important interpretive tool in understanding the New Testament’s teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit. Because we find in Joel 2 the genesis of God’s promise about the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, we can use the content of the prophecy to find both the expanse, and perhaps more importantly, the limit of the blessings that God promised would come through the Spirit. It has been established in this essay that Joel’s prophecy promised that when the Holy Spirit was poured out to man that prophecy, dreams, and visions would follow. All three of those actions are revelatory in their nature. The scope of Joel’s prophecy is God’s work of inspiration and/or revelation. No other work of the Holy Spirit is envisioned in Joel’s prophecy. No other blessing from the Holy Spirit is promised in Joel’s prophecy. Simply stated, Joel promised that in the New Testament the Holy Spirit would bring the inspired truth to man. Nothing else and no more is pledged to man in the Father’s “promise of the Holy Spirit.”

The power of the interpretive tool that comes from that conclusion is in the certainty it can provide about the meaning of New Testament verses about the Holy Spirit. Since we know Joel 2:28-32 is “the promise of the Holy Spirit;” and since we know that the complete scope of Joel 2:28-32 is prophecy, dreams, and visions, we then know that any verse in the New Testament that is part of the fulfillment of “the promise of the Holy Spirit” is a verse which is speaking about the Holy Spirit’s work of revealing the truth to man and inspiring him to declare it to others.  For the Bible student seeking to gain a clearer understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit this will be a point providing great clarity. If he can rightly connect a New Testament verse to Joel’s prophecy he knows without question that the work of the Holy Spirit discussed in the verse he is studying is some work of prophetic revelation.

Conclusion

There are three points that must be remembered from this essay:

• The “Promise of the Holy Spirit” in the New Testament is the Old Testament prophecy of Joel 2:28-32.
• Joel 2:28-32 only promises the Holy Spirit would bring “prophecy, dreams, and visions.”
• Any New Testament verse about the work of the Holy Spirit which is based on the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32 can only speak about the Holy Spirit’s work in bringing “prophecy, dreams, and visions.”

The Bible is not intended to be hard to understand.  It is not intended to lead its students into mysticism and uncertainty. Much of modern teaching about the Holy Spirit places the Christian and his relationship to the Holy Spirit in both of those realms. Frankly, much of modern teaching depends on the ambiguity of mysticism to prevent it from being disproved. No matter the topic, this approach to Bible study must be rejected.

The Bible’s doctrine about the work of the Holy Spirit with man begins in Genesis. It is described nearly one hundred times in the Old Testament.[8] The Spirit’s work in the New Testament is built upon these sure, concrete, and easy to understand examples. The brightest and clearest of all of these examples is the “promise of the Holy Spirit” in Joel 2.  What the “promised Spirit” would provide the Christian is not one of the “secret things” God never revealed to man (cp. Deuteronomy 29:29). Joel 2 tells us exactly what the promised Spirit would bring: prophecy, dreams, and visions.  No faithful Bible student can say that the promise of the Holy Spirit would provide man less. No faithful Bible student can say that the promise of the Holy Spirit would provide man more and remain true to the words of Joel’s prophecy.

The work of the Holy Spirit is not a part of things unseen and mysterious. It is a part of God’s revealed word. That word through Joel 2 provides a reliable and knowable limit to the promised work of the Spirit in the New Testament. Does the New Testament ever reveal a work of the Holy Spirit in addition to Joel 2? That question deserves an answer and other essays in this series will seek to provide it. However, even if that answer is “yes,” it will never overturn what is established in this essay:

The promise of the Holy Spirit only promised that the Holy Spirit would provide Christians with prophecy, dreams, and visions.

As stated previously, as every student of mathematics must know the truth of basic arithmetic, every student of the Bible must know that basic truth about the Holy Spirit.

[1] All Scripture quotations taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

[2] It cannot be denied that the scope of the Abrahamic promise would include the promise of the Holy Spirit. God’s promise to Abraham included the fullness of the blessings that would come through his Seed, Jesus. The blessings of Jesus must include the promise of the Holy Spirit. However, the promise to Abraham is not the promise of the Holy Spirit. Paul states the blessing of Abraham came on the Gentiles so that they could receive the promised Spirit. That is two blessings (the blessing of Abraham and the blessing of the Spirit), not just one. Further, there is no direct statement or even allusion to the Holy Spirit in Genesis 12 or any of the repetitions of the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Without further revelation, nothing could be known from Genesis 12 about the coming of the Spirit. Therefore, the promise of the Holy Spirit must be contained in some revelation beyond Genesis 12.

[3] For corresponding Old Testament language see: Psalm 36:7-8; Proverbs 10:11; Proverbs 18:4; Ezekiel 47:1; Isaiah 44:3; Isaiah 58:11; Zechariah 14:8; Joel 3:17-18.

[4] Jesus is said to have received the promise of the Holy Spirit “from the Father.” This blessing came from the Father to Jesus and finally to man. Other passages also speak of the connection between the Father and the coming of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; John 14:16-17,26; John 15:26-27; Acts 1:4-5)

[5] The person of action who is directly responsible for the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was Jesus. It was He who received the promise from the Father. Jesus took ownership of that promise in His proclamation of it to His apostles: “you heard from me” (Acts 1:4). He received the fulfillment of that blessing at the time of his exaltation and being seated at the right hand of God. An immediate connection between Acts 2:33 and John 7:37-39 should be made. In John 7:39 the Holy Spirit was to be “given” once Jesus was glorified. Acts 2:33 expresses the thought by saying the promise of the Spirit was “received” when Jesus was “exalted.”  “Receiving” is the counterpart to something being “given.” When one party “gives,” the other party “receives.” This clearly ties the promise of the Holy Spirit to the inception of the gospel. The promise of the Holy Spirit could not be fulfilled until Jesus was glorified. Or, to turn the reasoning around, the coming of the promise of the Holy Spirit would serve as evidence that Jesus had been glorified by God. The promise of the Holy Spirit was intended to be confirmatory or evidentiary of the authority of the Christ and His gospel. 

[6] Acts 2:16-21 (Joel 2:28-32); Acts 2:25-28 (Psalm 16:8-11); Acts 2:30 (2 Samuel 7:11); Acts 2:34-35 (Psalm 110:1)

[7] Proverbs 1:23; Isaiah 29:10; Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 39:29; Joel 2:28-29 (Two occurrences); Zechariah 12:10

[8] Please see Essay #1:”The Holy Spirit in Old Testament History” and Essay #2: “The Holy Spirit in Old Testament Prophecy” in this series for a full discussion of those verses.