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Exalted to the right hand of God, [Jesus] has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: \u201cWhen he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.\u201d (What does \u201che ascended\u201d mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:7-13).

Sunday is Pentecost. On this day, the entire church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. Of course, some parts of the church focus on the Holy Spirit more than others. Some of us seem to love the Holy Spirit whereas others of us get a bit nervous regarding the third person of the Trinity. Certain churches emphasis the more spectacular gifts of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues and prophecy while others appreciate such things as teaching and service. I am sure Christians will dialogue about value of these things till Christ returns.

However, there are some things that ought not to be open for debate. One is the language of scripture regarding the Holy Spirit. God does not skimp when it comes to this gift. Peter said it in Acts. He, of course, was echoing the prophet Joel. Even the Heidelberg Catechism uses this language, \u201cthrough his Holy Spirit [God] pours out his gifts from heaven upon us his members\u201d (A51).

There is no such thing as a little bit of the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as the Spirit being more available to some Christians than to others. Its not true that the Holy Spirit is reserved for Christians who are further along on the road of discipleship than others. Paul says that \u201ceach of us\u201d has received grace, which, of course, comes to us from Jesus through the Spirit. Jesus speaks about the eagerness of God to give us the Spirit when he said, \u201cIf you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!\u201d (Luke 11:13).

Another thing that should not be up for debate is the purposes of the Holy Spirit\u2019s coming. Paul mentions two things in our text from Ephesians 4. Using imagery deeply immersed in ancient military victory, Paul tells us that Jesus purpose is to \u201cfill the whole universe\u201d with his grace. Christians are correct to be invest in education and medicine. We ought to involve ourselves in efforts to provide food and housing for those who do not have enough. The repurposing of agricultural land for business and highways ought to concern us. \u2018Where our food is grown\u2019 is an important issue. Humanity is charged with nourishing God\u2019s creation, not using it for our own selfish ends. The whole universe will experience God\u2019s redemption.

Often, when it comes to the Holy Spirit we think almost exclusively about people, evangelism, and church renewal. The Holy Spirit is deeply invested in these things, but His reach is universal: to fill the whole universe with the glory of our Risen Lord.

Finally, we need to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit continues to fill the church so that we all mature into Christ who is our head or as Paul writes, becoming \u201cmature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ\u201d. What a glorious vision for the church. As I have said before, the Holy Spirit will wrestle our agendas and our egos out of our heads and hands so that we can hold onto the fullness of Christ. He will cause us to use John the baptizer\u2019s words for ourselves: \u201cHe must become greater; I must become less\u201d (John 3:30). It is a dangerous thing to ask for the Spirit\u2019s filling. We will not be left the same. But he will fill us with the glory of Christ. Come Holy Spirit, come.