Suddenly

Introduction

What we’ve seen in the first chapter of the Book of Acts can be described as the preparation of the small band of believers, the first Christians, for all that is going to happen in the rest of the book.

120 people have been worshiping God in the Temple and have remained together in fellowship and prayer in an Upper Room somewhere in Jerusalem. They have been made ready by God for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Never before has the Holy Spirit done what He is about to do. From this point onwards, believers will have Him with them everywhere and at all times.

Their prayer and fellowship was done out of obedience to and love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ. These folks didn’t earn what was about to happen to them. Yes, Jesus prepared them for this. But, that preparation was His work, not theirs. If they were any better than they had been 3 years before, they certainly do not deserve the credit for their growth. That is all of Christ. Let’s not forget how He constantly worked on them to get them to understand His Gospel, be gracious and loving, and to think as one whose mind is firmly fixed on God.

This morning, we’re going to be working through the first 4 verses of the second chapter of Acts. Contained in this short passage are three phenomena but one is remembered better than the others and has been abused by many, especially in the last 130 years or so. Some believe that one is not fully Christian until they have been able to “speak in tongues.” That’s not a biblical belief and we’re going to see why.

So, let’s get down to it and see what the Lord is teaching us this morning.

Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ our Redeemer, and Holy Spirit our help. We ask that you would bring right understanding to us this morning as we study your word. We give you praise for this time together, for your Word and your preservation of it, for your unending and limitless love for those who you have called to be your children. Help us put away any doubt or fear of anything except you, Lord. Remind us of your provision of and providence over your creation. -Amen

Pentecost - v1

Acts 2:1 NASB95

1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

When the day of Pentecost had come — This day was set by God. There is nothing here or in chapter 1 to suggest something along the lines of “when they had prepared themselves” or “when they had all asked for the Spirit” or “when they were faithful enough.” The best evidence of this being a day set by God is the name of the day itself.

Pentecost (pĕntēkŏstē, pen-tay-kos-tay) - this word is derived from the Greek word meaning “fifty”. Pentecost was a feast which happened 50 days after Passover. First described in Lev 23:16, this feast celebrates the end of the grain harvest. It was also known as the “Feast of Harvest” because it was a reminder to Israel of God’s provision in the harvest of their grain, and the “Feast of Weeks” (Ex 34:22; Dt 16:10) because it happened “a week of weeks” after Passover (7 weeks X 7 days per week is 49 days, and then the next day was the feast, so we have 50 days).

Leviticus 23:16 NASB95

16 ‘You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.

Now, to connect some dots here - further proving the work of God in the timing - there were two grain harvests. The first was called “Feast of Firstfruits” and celebrated the barley harvest. This occurred the day after the Sabbath following Passover. That would be the first day of the week, which we call Sunday. On this day, they would bring a sheaf of the first fruits of their barley to the temple as an offering to God.

Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, was offered up as the only sin offering capable of atoning for the sins of man on the Passover. He rose from the dead on Sunday, the day of the “Feast of Firstfruits.” Paul explains in 1 Cor 15:20 how Jesus is the “first fruits of those who are asleep.”

Exactly 50 days after Passover, we have Pentecost, the second celebration of the grain harvest and it too required a first fruits offering, this time of wheat (Nu 28:26).

So, we have Christ as the the perfect Passover lamb and the First Fruits of the resurrection and what we’re going see in Acts 2:41 is the First Fruits of the new church. Some 3,000 souls were added because of what the Lord did on Pentecost. And how could they gather so many souls at once? Well, besides being in Jerusalem, a city of somewhere between 25k and 40k people, Pentecost was a required festival, meaning Jews were required to travel to Jerusalem for its celebration.

This is no accident, the 120 didn’t pray real hard to make this happen on a date they thought would be “cool.” This is God at work in His creation to bring about His will, in this case the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling of every believer, at the time and place when He decided it would happen.

Remember, God is not a God of coincidence as if He gets lucky and His desires line up with His Scriptures. No, He is the Sovereign God of Providence. He spoke and formed the world and all that is in it so all of His creation is subject to Him; including time and men.

They were all together in one place. — In the last couple of weeks we’ve seen how they have been together in the upper room and how Luke tells us in his gospel that they were in the temple praising God and praying. Both of Luke’s accounts put together gives us the picture of a vibrant group that weren’t huddled together in fear but were actually in the temple, in public, praising God and praying to Him. This is very different from the band of misfits that abandoned Christ in the garden just 50 days ago.

When Christ told them they would receive the Holy Spirit “not many days from now” (Ac 1:5), he didn’t count out the days. He didn’t say “I need you together in 10 days.” He just said “not many days from now” but God had them all together at this precise moment in time instead of being in the Temple or the market or anywhere else.

The clearest and simplest reading of this verse tells us that on the day God predetermined to send His Spirit, the day of Pentecost, He gathered the believers together for a single event for them all to see and experience as a group.

Rushing Wind - v2

Acts 2:2 NASB95

2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

And suddenly… — I titled the sermon this morning “Suddenly” because of this verse. The greek word Luke used was aphnō (ahf-no) which is more literally translated as “abruptly.” This was unexpected. They weren’t gathered together saying to themselves, “okay, well it’s been 10 days and we’ve been real good boys and girls, it should happen at any moment.” No, what is about to happen to them was abrupt.

Everything that happens here in verse 2, 3, and 4 happened suddenly. They didn’t hear a noise and wonder what it was and then there was the next sign and they pondered it and then the final sign came about. It was sudden and it was complete. Each of these verses describes an event and each starts with the word “And” which is the translation of the greek word “kai” (kahee). This word unites each event as parts of a whole.

There came from heaven… — Luke understands that what happened here is of God. This is supernatural, it’s not a thunderstorm. There is no explanation apart from the working of God.

A noise like a violent rushing wind… — “A noise” - the word here is ēchŏs (ay´-khos) and it’s where we get our word “echo” but here its meaning connotes “a loud or confused noise” or a “roar.”

like a violent rushing wind… — The word “like” here tells us that this wasn’t a wind. The room wasn’t full of wind blowing everything around everywhere causing mayhem. The noise was like a violent rushing wind. The best way I can describe this is to recall the tornado that went right in front of our home almost 7 years ago. God gathered my family in the basement bathroom just a few minutes before the tornado cut right through our front yard and past the corner of our house, just a few feet from where we were huddled together. The noise inside that tiny bathroom was violent; we could hear that tornado but we couldn’t feel it.

violent … — this word helps us to see that this sudden noise was not a peaceful sound. We know the types of wind that are peaceful. We get those brushes of the movement of air through the trees that instantly calm us. No, this wasn’t that. Like any time an angel appears to man, man trembles. This is the power of God and we are right to tremble at even the thought of the power of God. Luke describes this sound as violent and so it was violent but it was also the grace of God. It is His grace that teaches our hearts to fear for His grace is our salvation and when we know what it is we are being saved from, we are brought to our knees in fear and trembling before the God who is saving us. So it must have been with the disciples in this house on the day the Holy Spirit exploded onto the scene.

and it filled the whole house … — For these disciples, they were gathered together in a room and that noise filled the room with them. It was not outside the walls, but right in the room with them. They didn’t feel the wind because this verse tells us the noise was “like” a violent rushing wind. And while the Holy Spirit’s presence was in this room, the noise was heard by those outside the room, causing a crowd to gather (which we’ll see in a minute).

This “filling” of the house is strikingly similar to glory of God filling the tabernacle and temple as described in Exodus 40:34-38; 2 Chron 7:1-2

Wind is often symbolic of the Holy Spirit (Eze 1:4). We get the word “spirit” from the Greek “pneuma” and Hebrew “ruach.” These can be translated as wind, breath, or spirit depending on the context. The pronunciation of these Greek and Hebrew words even help us to understand that “wind” and “breath” are beneath the surface of their meaning. The root of the Hebrew word is “ruah” (roo ahh). The Greek “pneuma” is pronounced “nemm ahh”.

God used these words to describe Him giving life to His creation by breathing into man. Gen 2:7

Genesis 2:7 NASB95

7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

where they were sitting … — Remember that no part of God’s Holy Word is unnecessary. This small phrase may seem to tell us only that they were sitting but it means so much more than that. The posture for prayer was either standing or kneeling, not sitting. Luke telling us that “they were sitting” tells us they weren’t praying for the Holy Spirit. This is important because many try to distort what is happening here in this second chapter to suggest that one must pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and when they do that well enough that God will bless them with the gift described in verse 4; that of speaking in tongues. But, that’s not what happened here. God didn’t give these 120 believers the gift of speaking in tongues because they prayed for it. He gave it to them because He decided they would receive it and use it to glorify Him by preaching about His Son to a disparate group of people.

Tongues of Fire - v3

Acts 2:3 NASB95

3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

appeared to them tongues as of fire … — again, we see that Luke is describing what happened here with word-pictures. “Appeared to them” and “as of” tells us that what they saw were not literal “tongues” made of “fire” but had the appearance of such.

We just discussed how the noise was “like a violent rushing wind” but wasn’t wind. So that sign was strictly audible. Now, this sign is strictly visual.

Like wind, fire is not a unique manifestation of God. It is actually the most common visible manifestation of God in the Old Testament. Remember how God spoke to Moses out of the fire of the burning bush that was not consumed. The nation of Israel was led through the wilderness by God as a pillar of cloud and a pillar of smoke, or fire. Flames were visible on Mt. Sinai when God gave the law. Hebrews 12 describes God as “a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29)

Fire was symbolic of light and warmth. Fire has been the de-facto source of light in dark places for most of human history and fire provides warmth. Even with the advent of the light bulb, light was associated with warmth. In recent years most artificial lights have been replaced with L.E.D. devices. Coincidentally, most of these provide a cold blue-ish light and even those that provide a light that we would call warm in color are still cold to the touch, providing no real warmth at all. Maybe this is why I don’t like L.E.D. lights. There’s is just something not right about a light that provides no warmth at all.

distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. — All of those present at that moment received the Holy Spirit. This is God sovereignly giving this gift to all those He chose to give it to. There is nothing here to suggest that they sought this individually.

This is the only time the Spirit takes the shape of tongues. While wind is commonly associated with the Spirit, the shape of tongues is unique. From John 1:32 we know that the Spirit took the shape of a dove and portrays the work and nature of Christ. Here, God chose the tongue to signify the Holy Spirit’s work in the apostles. God had confused language in Genesis 11 when people thought, once again, that they could attain the position of God. Now, the mix of languages needed to be overcome so the Gospel could spread. At this time appointed by God, the message of His plan of salvation needed to go out. Had all of these Galileans only spoken in their own language, the multitudes described for us later in the chapter would have never understood them. While pride caused the curse of confused languages, the resurrection of Christ and Him sending the Holy Spirit reversed that curse, ultimately uniting people from every nation.

Filled - v 4a

Acts 2:4a NASB95

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

Verses 2 and 3 show us that the Holy Spirit arrived and all here received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 4 then shows us that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The “baptism of the Holy Spirit” and the “filling of the Holy Spirit” are not the same thing.

We are all baptized with the Spirit when Christ places believers into His body. Paul explains this to us so well in Romans 6:4-6; 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:27; Eph 4:4-6.

Romans 6:4–6 NASB95

4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

1 Corinthians 12:13 NASB95

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Galatians 3:26–27 NASB95

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Ephesians 4:4–6 NASB95

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

We have no command to seek the baptism with the Spirit. We have no command because this is a single, unrepeatable, sovereign act by God. From these four passages alone we can see that the baptism of the Spirit unifies the body of Christ, it doesn’t divide it. So, then, the argument of some that this baptism is a sign of spiritual maturity is purely nonsense. It is the baptism of the Spirit which brings us together; it does not separate us from each other but from the world.

Now then, being filled with the Spirit is to be sought and is to be continuous. We do have a command to be filled with the Spirit and we have evidence of even those that were there on this day and were filled being filled again.

Acts 4:8 NASB95

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,

Acts 4:31 NASB95

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

When Stephen was chosen as one of the first deacons, he is described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” but then at his death was filled again.

Acts 6:5 NASB95

5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

Acts 7:55 NASB95

55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

Paul is filled with the Spirit in Acts 9:17 after his conversion. After he was part of the body of Christ and therefore baptized with the Spirit.

Acts 9:17 NASB95

17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Yet, having already been baptized with the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit, he is again filled in Acts 13:9

Acts 13:9 NASB95

9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,

As Scripture shows, there is no command to be baptized with the Holy Spirit recorded in Scripture. But, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. Eph 5:18

Ephesians 5:18 ESV

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

This command here is to be continuously filled with the Spirit. To do this we must empty ourselves of anything that separates us from God. If your life is full of distractions and things that are contrary to the Word of God, you cannot be full of the Holy Spirit. Look at what comes after Ephesians 5:18, in verses 19-21:

Ephesians 5:19–21 NASB95

19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Now, let’s look at a parallel between Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus and his letter to the church in Colossae. Colossians 3:16-17

Colossians 3:16–17 NASB95

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Indeed, all of chapter 3 of that letter is an instruction guide on being full of the Holy Spirit. We are to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, be in fellowship with each other, confess our sins and dying to our selfishness and self-will. We have the power to do this because of our baptism in the Holy Spirit. He is our strength and through Him we are able to be filled by Him. Being filled by Him we are made more like Christ and less like ourselves. Seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit does produce spiritual maturity and He will give us understanding the more we are filled. (Heb 5:14)

Yet another example of the filling of the Spirit being different from the baptism of the Spirit comes to us from Luke 1:15

Luke 1:15 NASB95

15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.

Speaking here is is the angel who appeared to Zacharias in the temple. He’s telling Zacharias he would have a son and his son would be the forerunner of Christ. The angels says that his son would be “filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.” Right here, we have John the Baptist being filled with the Holy Spirit but John was never baptized with the Holy Spirit because John died before Christ was glorified and the Holy Spirit would not come to baptize the believers into the body of Christ until Acts chapter 2. (Cf John 7:39)

Tongues & Utterances - v4b-c

Acts 2:4b–c NASB95

4b-c and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

began to speak … — we don’t have to spend much time on this one at all. When they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke. There is no delay. They didn’t discuss it amongst themselves and come up with some plan. They didn’t test it out on each other and decide it would work for the purpose of evangelism.

with other tongues … — literally “different languages.” The word different is the translation of the word hĕtĕrŏs, meaning exactly that “different.” Some try to twist this but it’s painfully simple. The word tongues is the translation of the word of glōssa (glow-sah) and it implies a language that was not naturally acquired or learned. This same word is used in verse 3. The disciples here didn’t learn these language which they spoke. The simply - supernaturally - spoke them.

as the Spirit was giving them utterance … — The word utterance literally means to utter or speak openly. They were speaking aloud. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this. Again, this is the work of the Spirit and was not something learned.

Purpose of Signs - vv2,3

The disciples could have likely surmised that the Holy Spirit had given them the ability to speak in these other languages. Christ told them they would receive power to be witnesses to the world.

Luke records for us the audible and visible signs of the Holy Spirit’s arrival on the day of Pentecost, allowing us to see that this was a significant event and that what happens next is entirely of God and not of any work of the people described in the text.

John Calvin wrote in his commentary on the Book of Acts that “…all this was done for our sakes, and not only because we received its fruit, but because it shows that the Gospel did not come by accident but was planned by God.”

Over and over again, God shows us that He has sovereign control and that His will cannot be impeded. These signs are supernatural and cannot be explained away. These signs literally show us God at work in creation to bring about His will. These disciples are ordinary people like us but Christ chose them to be His first witnesses of His Gospel. And we, like these first Christians, have been chosen by Christ to continue on being His witnesses.

Summary

R.C. Sproul said “Pentecost was a watershed moment in the history of the church.”

How true that is and at the same time, how sad is that this day is often either overlooked or exploited. The day of Pentecost was the date set by the Father for His Son, Jesus Christ, to baptize the first Christians with the Holy Spirit to guide, enable, and empower them to spread the Gospel. On that day, God gave the power of the Holy Spirit to His church. We are members of that church and that power is our gift from God. What happened on that day with the symbols of wind and fire are for us, just as they were for those gathered together 50 days after Christ became our propitiation.

We are known as Christians - and we should be - because we follow Christ. Let us not forget that we are as much people of Christ as we people of the Holy Spirit and people of the Father. It is the Christ who saves us, the Holy Spirit who enables and sanctifies us, and the Father who adopts us.

Those who seek to exploit the day of Pentecost — the people who say that there’s something each of us must do to even receive the Holy Spirit or that without doing certain things, like speaking in tongues, we have not provided evidence of our faith — these people take the Word of God and turn it on its head. First of all, after the apostolic era speaking in tongues ceased as Paul said it would in 1 Corinthians 13:8. Not until the 20th Century was it a thing to be concerned with except in groups known to be heretical.

With regard to the speaking in tongues, what we have here is the disciples that were together that day, 120 persons, being filled with the Holy Spirit so that they could speak in languages that were previously unknown to them. We’re not going into detail on Acts 2:5-12 today but those verses clearly show that these languages were not new languages to the world; they were actual languages used by real people.

The point of speaking in tongues was not necessarily to bless the people speaking and was definitely not to show that the people speaking were special in some way - God Forbid it! The Gospel does not glorify man but shows man for what he is - fallen, broken, evil - the Gospel only glorifies God!!!

The point of speaking in tongues was to bless the people who would hear the Gospel in their own language and believe in Jesus Christ.

The Day of Pentecost is for us because it shows how the Gospel went forth. How many people were saved by the work of the Holy Spirit. How God the Holy Spirit used men for His ends. Today, God the Holy Spirit still empowers us to be witnesses for Him. The big picture of this miraculous day is that the witnessing of Jesus was widespread and effective. People will hear the gospel by us obeying the command of Christ in the Great Commission by giving our testimony. Each of us being on fire for Christ. Being unapologetic about Christ. The 120 had fire rest on each one of them and they immediately proclaimed the Gospel.

What have we done with that fire? We, too, have been baptized by the same Spirit. We have received that which we could never attain on our own.

Are we going to listen to God?

Are we going to swap the warmth of the light of Christ with some artificial man-made light that leaves people cold?

Or, are we going to spread the Gospel to the thirsty and dead in sin like fire spreads over a dry and thirsty deadened field?

Prayer

Father in heaven, rich in mercy and abundant in love. Fill us Lord with your Holy Spirit. Empty us of all selfishness and fill us with the warm light of Christ. Ignite that fire in us which burns up all the junk we have stored away in our hearts. Keep that fire raging, Lord, raging so that we can do nothing but share its warmth with a world that is dead in sin and that so desperately needs your grace. Raging so that we thirst for every word of your Holy Scriptures. Raging so that our every thought is captured by an inextinguishable desire to do all for your glory and your glory alone, Lord. Raging so that we stop relying on any work of our own and rest in faith than can only be given by the Holy Spirit. Raging, Lord, Raging for Jesus Christ, our only redeemer and mediator.

In His holy name we humbly submit to you our prayer. -Amen