According to Acts 2:38, baptism upon the name of Jesus Christ was for the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins is based upon the redemption of Christ accomplished through His death (10:43; Eph. 1:7; 1 Cor. 15:3). It is the initial and basic blessing of God’s full salvation. Based upon it, the blessing of God’s full salvation goes forth and consummates in the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In 2:38 Peter tells the people to repent, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is not any gift distributed by the Spirit, as mentioned in Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 12:4, and 1 Peter 4:10; rather, it is the gift which is the Holy Spirit Himself, given by God to the believers in Christ as the unique gift that produces all the gifts mentioned in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Peter 4.
The Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38 is the all-inclusive Spirit of the processed Triune God in His New Testament economy, both essential for life and economical for power, given to the believers at the time of their believing in Christ (Eph. 1:13; Gal. 3:2) as the all-inclusive blessing of God’s full gospel (Gal. 3:14), so that they may enjoy all the riches of the Triune God (2 Cor. 13:14).
The apostles preached and ministered Christ. But when their hearers repented and believed in Him, they received the wonderful Spirit of the Triune God. This implies that this Spirit is just the resurrected and ascended Christ Himself. The receiving of the Spirit here is both essential and economical, in a general and all-inclusive sense, differing from the receiving of the Spirit in Acts 8:15-17 and 19:2-6, which is particularly the receiving of the Spirit falling upon the believers economically.
In 2:39 Peter went on to say, “For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all those who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.” In this verse “you” refers to the Jews, and the “promise” denotes the Holy Spirit. Those who are far off are the Gentiles, included in “all flesh” (v. 17). Those whom the Lord our God calls to Himself are the ones chosen and predestinated by God in eternity (Eph. 1:4-5) and called by Him in the New Testament age (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2).
Acts 2:40 says, “And with many other words he solemnly testified and entreated them, saying, Be saved from this crooked generation!” Here we are told that Peter testified and entreated. To testify needs experiences of seeing, participation, and enjoyment. It is different from mere teaching.
Peter entreated the people saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation!” Here “be” is active, and “saved” is passive; hence, we may say “be saved” is in the “active-passive” voice. It is to be done by God, but man needs to be active to receive what God intends to do. At the time of Pentecost, everything concerning God’s full salvation was prepared, and the Holy Spirit was poured out as the application and full blessing of God’s salvation ready for man to receive. In this matter God is waiting for man, and man needs to take the initiative. Although we cannot save ourselves, we must be willing to be saved by God. God is willing and prepared to save us; nevertheless, we need to be saved; that is, we need to take the initiative to receive God’s salvation.
In 2:40 Peter entreated the people to be saved from this crooked generation. Peter, at the conclusion of his message, does not say, “Be saved from God’s condemnation,” or, “Be saved from eternal perdition.” Instead, he says, “Be saved from this crooked generation!” This crooked generation refers to the perverted Jews in this age who rejected God’s Christ (v. 36) and were considered by God as the present evil age (Gal. 1:4). For the crooked Jews to be saved from their present evil age requires a genuine repentance of their crookedness toward God and a real turn to God. This indicates that they need to turn to God not only from their sins but also from their generation, their Jewish society, including their Jewish religion. The result of such a salvation is not an entrance into heaven; it is an entrance into a new generation—the church. Thus, the saved ones will be separated from Jewish society unto the church. To be saved this way implies to be saved from God’s condemnation and eternal perdition unto God’s eternal purpose and His pleasure (Eph. 3:11; 1:9).
Acts 2:41 says, “Those, then, who welcomed his word were baptized, and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.” These ones were baptized by water (10:47-48). In this verse “souls” denote persons created by God (Gen. 2:7).
According to 2:41, about three thousand souls received Peter’s word and were baptized. This, no doubt, was a good response to Peter’s speaking concerning Christ. However, those who received the word and were baptized were only a small percentage of the ones in Jerusalem at that time. Of the many thousands of Jews in the city, only three thousand were saved on the day of Pentecost. This indicates that the Jewish people were still very stubborn. A great many Jews lived in Jerusalem, and a large number had come to the city for the celebration of the feast of Pentecost. Therefore, comparatively speaking, the number who were saved on the day of Pentecost was not great. In this we see the stubbornness of that crooked generation. It is not surprising, then, that Peter said, “Be saved from this crooked generation!”