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ACTS - In the Triumphal Procession of Christ
Studies in the Acts of the Apostles
PART 1 - The Foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and Syria - Under the Patronage of the Apostle Peter, Guided by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 - 12)
A - The Growth and Development of the Early Church in Jerusalem (Acts 1 - 7)

5. The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13)


ACTS 2:1-4
1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.

What would you think if the sun should fall to the earth? If this huge incandescent ball of gases got a little nearer to our small globe it would burn it up with all its creatures. How rather if it fell? Then we would be evaporated in the twinkling of an eye. Yet this created sun did not come to us, but the Creator himself came as a fiery storm to the earth. He did not judge humans, but had mercy on those who were awaiting Him. God comes to man. The one who has understanding worships. Moreover, God dwells in man. This truth surpasses our human understanding. Please read this report about the birth of the church, word by word, and see how God’s love, patience, and grace came into our evil world.

The Day of Pentecost was an old feast celebrated by the Jews on the fiftieth day after the first day of the Feast of the Passover. It was a thanksgiving day for the harvest of wheat. Christ was like a grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died. In His resurrection, He was like the firstfruits of grain offered to God, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. The disciples, too, in their waiting on the Lord and praying, were like the firstfruits of God’s complete harvest. This spiritual harvest is still going on. We are the produce of the grain of wheat that is Christ, and are reaping today what the Lord sowed, and what the prophets had wished to see. Because the Son of God died, the Holy Spirit came into the world.

The Spirit of grace did not bring mercy and light to all men. Jerusalem was the capital city, and yet the storm of God’s love reached only to the prayers of those who loved Christ. The power of God did not touch the temple, and the Roman armies remained without eternal life. Only those who waited for the Promise of the Father with one accord were filled with the Spirit of power.

It is probable that more than one hundred men and women, including the disciples and Jesus’ family, grew startled and afraid when they suddenly heard a sound from the heaven into which Jesus had been taken. It sounded like a mighty rushing wind. With no shaking of windows, slamming of doors, or movement of leaves, the stormy sound filled the whole house, whole rooms, and even the courtyard around the house. They sat in astonishment, with their eyes and ears wide open. They did not feel the storm, but heard it clearly with their ears. This happened while they were still praying. They opened their hearts to the Lord, and His power indwelt them. Suddenly, they saw what looked like tongues of fire falling with the stormy wind. Yet these tongues did not move up and down in the air, or burn the house, furniture, or their clothes, but rested with great calmness on top of their prayers. These strange tongues of fire indicated what Jesus intended to do through them. The disciples had natural tongues, full of lying, impurity, and human wisdom, which would burn up and pass away. God was giving them instead new, strong tongues of fire, which spoke of the divine love.

All those who were filled with the Spirit of the Lord felt a great joy and a deep relief. Their weighty sins fell from them, their breasts became lightened, their grief passed, their dazzled eyes became brightened, and their lethargic mouths were opened to praise God. They cried out: “Our Father, You have become, through your Son’s death, our Father. His blood forgave us our sins, and His Spirit dwells in unworthy us, sanctifying us to the uttermost. We glorify You and praise You, for You have given us life from the glory of Your grace.”

The storm of the love of God produced a torrent of gratitude, and caused sacred words and unknown heavenly thoughts to flow from many mouths. The Holy Spirit guided their speech, filled their thoughts, and blessed their will. They were not humanly excited, but were filled with the Holy Spirit, who engages the mind and controls the soul, too. Thus they became altogether a temple of the Spirit of God, for His power and virtue had appeared.

Now please observe! Not only Peter and John were filled with the Holy Spirit, but all those present. They felt no pain from the divine storm that had rained down tongues of fire, but were surrounded with God’s expanses. The Promise of the Father was realized, and all those praying became children of God, adopted and filled with the essence of His love, truth, and pleasure. We rightfully call this day the Day of Pentecost, for a divine, extraterrestrial new element had entered our dead world. Thus hope and spiritual revival began to flow from this house in Jerusalem, accompanied with communal praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity.

PRAYER: O Father, thank You that Your beloved Son bore our sins on the cross, and qualified us for the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit. Fill us, together with our church, with Your presence, so that our sins may disappear entirely, and our communal praise may express our deep joy and gratitude.

QUESTION:

  1. How did the Holy Spirit manifest Himself at Pentecost?

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