Acts 2:1-4

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.

 

On the day of Pentecost, Jesus fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit. The disciples were all together on that day. They all experienced the same things. They heard a sound like the blowing of a violent wind. They saw something like tongues of fire distributed to each of them. They all were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other tongues what the Spirit gave them to say.

 

I’ll be honest. This whole scene is marvelous to me. Almost baffling. I have never been in a place with other disciples, heard a loud sound, seen tongues of fire, been filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoken in other tongues – all at the same time in such a way that the Holy Spirit’s coming was perfectly obvious. In fact, of these five things, the only two that I have personally experienced are being with other disciples and being filled with the Holy Spirit. And again, being filled with the Holy Spirit didn’t come with all these other signs to confirm it.

 

But I want to do two things. I want to be faithful to the biblical account. And I want to faithfully portray what it teaches us with certainty. There are those who make this a normative description of what all believers should experience – the sound, the distributed tongues like fire, the different languages. I’m not there. But I certainly can’t argue against it from these four verses (and I’m not going to take the time today to do a thorough New Testament study to prove my points).

 

So, to be faithful to the biblical account: Please, please, believe that this is precisely what happened! When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples on the day of Pentecost, these marvelous things happened! While the disciples were gathered together in one room, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came and filled the room. And they saw something like tongues of fire distributed and coming to rest on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they all spoke in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them to say. None of this is fantastical. None of this is a lie. None of this is myth. This is real. When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples, the event was truly this drastic and memorable. And it should have been, because the coming of the Holy Spirit is one of the most distinctive characteristics of being a part of the church since Jesus’ departure and marks an enormous change from what God’s people experienced before Jesus’ coming. So whatever we do, those of us who may not have experienced anything so amazing must be careful not to reject this. We must receive it as something that happened for them. And therefore it happened for us who follow Jesus now. We must believe it if we believe our Lord.

 

What does it teach us with certainty about what we should expect? Primarily, the Holy Spirit is a gift from Jesus to all believers, and this began at Pentecost. I cannot say that the Holy Spirit is only received by groups of people at a time, that there is always a sound, that people always see something like fire being distributed among them, or even that those who receive the Holy Spirit always end up speaking in different languages. But the Holy Spirit is for all believers. Secondly, the Holy Spirit leads believers to speak what He gives them to say. Here in Acts 2, they spoke what He gave them to say, and they spoke in other languages. But whether believers speak in other languages or not, they will speak what the Holy Spirit gives them to say if they have been filled with the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is accompanied by the gift of God’s words. Lastly, without saying that all believers will speak in tongues, there is something to notice in the tongues: The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all whom He fills. Tongues continue to be mentioned throughout the New Testament as a spiritual gift, and so it is plain that all received a spiritual gift through the Holy Spirit.

 

Father, thank You first of all that through Jesus You have given us the Holy Spirit to be with us day by day. Thank You for this testimony telling us about the tremendous day You began to fill Your disciples with the Holy Spirit. Thank You that the Holy Spirit gives us something to say. We can depend on You to proclaim Your truth through us as we listen to the words of Your Holy Spirit in Your Word and as He guides us to speak. And thank You that the Holy Spirit gives us gifts as believers that we can use for Your glory and service, making You known to men. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit.