The new creation spreads out in all directions. The disciples have the breath of God blown into their souls, empowered to bring the good news to everyone. The waves of the spiritual tsunami roll out from the upper room to the Temple; to Judea, Samaria, and to the entire earth. The first disciples, then their students, then the next generation of believers, swept by the tide of the new creation, carry the word to all people.
The waves of a spiritual birth sweep across geography and forward to our time and into time ahead as far as we can see. We become heirs with Christ through the power of the same Holy Spirit that filled those first disciples long ago. Here, though, we encounter a part of the power and love of God that we do not normally consider. Time has no power over God. The new creation sweeps out in a direction that we, from our limited perspective, refer to as “back in time.” We hear this truth in the words of the psalmist who responds to the Spirit’s presence.
“[All creatures] look to you to give them their food in due season.” “When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” These verses from Psalm 104 show us that the Holy Spirit has no bounds, unlike mere mortals who can only move forward in time. God, unconstrained by our concepts and working theories, occupies all of creation, including all time. When the new creation begins at Pentecost, the waves of that revolution reach as far into the past as they do into the future. This truth allows us to understand that God forgives even our past, setting us free to live as new people.