The Daily Word of Righteousness

Three Works of Grace, #5

Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: (Deuteronomy 16:16)

The Three Convocations of Israel

One of the most revealing of the illustrations of the three works of grace is recorded in the above verse.

Here we find a portrayal of the three stages of the Divine salvation:

The feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover).

The feast of Weeks (Pentecost).

The feast of Tabernacles.

The spiritual fulfillment of the three convocations of Israel (above) includes the three works of grace we are discussing:

Basic salvation through the blood of the cross.

The baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The rest of God.

Each of the three convocations, Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, has a historical fulfillment and then a personal fulfillment. The historical fulfillment does not profit us until we experience the personal fulfillment.

The historical and personal fulfillments. Let us think for a moment about the historical and personal fulfillments of each of the three convocations of Israel.

The Passover week speaks to us of the basic salvation experience. Included in the basic salvation experience are the blood of the Lamb, repentance, water baptism, and the born-again experience.

The historical fulfillment of the Passover week took place when the Lord Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, descended into the earth, and then was raised on the third day.

Our personal fulfillment of the Passover week occurs as we put our faith in the blood of the Lamb for salvation, repent of our sins, are baptized in water, and then are born again of the Spirit of God.

Do you see that the personal fulfillment takes place after the historical fulfillment and that the historical fulfillment does us little good until we experience the personal fulfillment?

The historical fulfillment of the feast of Weeks, or Pentecost occurred when the Lord Jesus poured the Holy Spirit on the disciples waiting in the upper room. The Holy Spirit could not be poured out until the "day of Pentecost was fully come," that is, until the day of the Jewish feast of Pentecost had arrived.

Our personal fulfillment of the feast of Pentecost is experienced as we look to the Lord Jesus to fill us with His Spirit. Ordinarily we speak in tongues when we are filled with the Spirit. However, even after we speak in tongues we still should look to the Lord each day for more of the Spirit of God. Speaking in tongues is our entrance into the rest of God (Isaiah 28:12).

Again, do you see that the personal fulfillment of Pentecost takes place after the historical fulfillment and that the historical fulfillment does not benefit us until we experience the personal fulfillment?

To be continued.