The Holy Spirit Arrives as Promised

The Gift of the Spirit

Acts 2:1–4 (NIV)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Here we see the significance of the waiting period that we spoke about last week. The disciples could have gone out and shared the wonders and signs of Christ as they recalled them in fulfillment of Jesus’ commission to go out and be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the utter most parts of the earth, but this would have been done by their own strength and power. The ability to effectively communicate would have been limited by the charisma, eloquence, and vocabulary of each individual. Here, Jesus equips them with the Holy Spirit that removes those limitations. When they did not have the words, the Holy Spirit would speak for them. When they needed a sign, the Holy Spirit would provide it.

The Unity of the Spirit

Acts 2:5–12 (NIV)

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Pentecost is the New Testament renaming of the Feast of Weeks, when the wheat harvest was celebrated by a 1 day festival during which special sacrifices were offered. Since the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities had removed 90% of the Israelites from their Promise Land homes, only a small percent returned under King Cyrus. Over the next several centuries, the movement of Jews ebbed and flowed throughout the known would as rulers and empires enticed with political prowess. Here the Holy Spirit unites the diaspora Jews as they hear the message of Christ being spoken in their own language.

The gift of the Spirit was more than just the gift of being able to communicate truth verbally without obstacle. The gift of the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to the reality that Jesus promises, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. The Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of God’s promise to be with us and He is the means by which the prayer of Jesus is actually possible, on Earth as it is in heaven. In heaven, we will communicate the truth without obstacle with the Giver of truth. The Holy Spirit allows us to experience now that aspect of heaven. He also equips us to communicate that truth not only verbally (tongues) as seen in Acts 2, but also relationally as we draw near and listen to the still small voice of the Spirit fulfilling the possibility of His will being done and equipping us to know and do His will, and physically as we obey and surrender to the will of God in our comings and goings (His will done on earth as it is in heaven), and visibly as our perspective shifts from the consequences of our immediate circumstances to our eternal hope in Christ’s faithfulness to His promises. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the response of God to make true, real and tangible the prayer of Christ in the Lord’s prayer.

Matthew 6:9–11 (NIV)

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

The Truthfulness of Scripture

Acts 2:13 (NIV)

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

One of the most powerful and persuading evidence of the truthfulness and believability of the Scriptures is its inclusion of real life details. We can believe the words that have been recorded as more than just a polished legend or a carefully crafted persuasive work because moments like this are recorded that are true to life.

In turn, these moments also reveal to our hearts the truthful and applicable nature of the Scriptures to our lives today because we see and experience similar responses in our current culture and context.