“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)
When God created man and breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7) he was filled with Spirit, because we were created in His image. However, when man rebelled and fell he was not only cast from the Garden of Eden, the Spirit of God was taken from within him. In the Old Testament God spoke mainly through His prophets on whom He filled with His Spirit, often this was only a temporary filling.
Our focus passage speaks of a time roughly 800 years into the future, which would bring us to the time of Christ. Though the Spirit had come upon prophets and priests, never had there been such a general outpouring of the Spirit. Then, on the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit came with such power and force that it captured the attention of the masses gathered in Jerusalem for the festival. Peter takes hold of this prophetic section and declares, “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). It is at this time a new age is born, the church is empowered, and now “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Pour out signifies great abundance. As the physical rains came in sufficient volume to restore the denuded and parched land, as well as to replenish the dried streams and rivers, so this coming of the Spirit will be an outpouring. The outpouring will be available to “all flesh”, this refers to every category of person, not every individual, only those who receive the Good News of Jesus Christ and accept it with a repentant heart calling Him Lord and Savior.
As men and women of God, we have been given a great gift with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Along with that gift we have a responsibility and the empowerment to do great and mighty things for Him. I encourage you to mediate on the words of David in Psalm 51:10. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast Spirit within me.”
Dale LaFrance (please look up2 Corinthians 2:11-14)
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