2:17
Peter now quotes from Joel 2:28-32. So the most fundamental thing that was happening was that the Spirit of the Lord was being poured out, and it was being poured out on all people. The relationship between God and man was becoming much closer and deeper, and much more widespread. The Law was in a sense a man-centred scheme. Now, it came from God, and it expressed the heart of God, so don’t misunderstand what I mean. When I say it was “man-centred” I mean man had to do it. The Law worked if man obeyed the Law. The gospel is an utterly God-centred scheme. The Law was more complicated, and was dependent upon priests. The gospel has one great high priest, Jesus, and is an awful lot simpler. So on the “inclusive” nature it applies to sons and daughters, to young and old.
2:18
It applies to God’s servants. As 2:17 mentioned “sons and daughters”, here it highlights “men and women”. This does not mean men and women are the same, but they are equal, and they are equally blessed. In both this verse and the previous one there is an emphasis on prophecy, and in later instances of the Spirit being poured out a common element is that they prophesy. There are some cessationists who argue that the purpose of the gifts was to endorse the apostles. Now that was part of the purpose, but there is no Biblical evidence that it was the whole or even the primary purpose. In these last two verses it is the generality of prophecy that is emphasised.
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