The second phenomenon when the Spirit arrived was a visible; lights like small flames appeared in the room, hovering over each believer. This was a manifestation of another image used in the Old Testament to describe the Holy Spirit’s work. (Isaiah 64.1,2)
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit came to stir things up, like a fire that causes cold, still water to bubble and boil. He was coming to make known God’s name among the peoples of the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ spoken would send a shiver down the spine of every nation. We are now witnesses to this – if we have paid any attention to the history of the world. Last week we recalled how the Roman Empire was shaken by the gospel. The one great message that has shaken, shaped and shamed the nations to this point in history is the gospel. The Holy Spirit also stirs up individuals and churches. He hates coldness and stagnancy; he wants heat and action!
The Holy Spirit does not come like decorative lights to amuse or entertain. He comes as flames of fire to burn up what is unworthy of God in us and to bring energy to what we do and say in Christ’s name. Fire brings light and heat. The Holy Spirit brings enlightenment to our minds so we can see and understand the truth and be safely grounded in it. He also brings heat to our hearts so we can feel the seriousness of God’s message to us and be moved with love and praise of him and enthusiasm for his cause. John the Baptist was described as “a burning and shining light” John 5.35. We need the Holy Spirit individually and as a church so that there is both heat and light in everything we do: We need to be saturated with the truth so it is oozing out of every conversation and good work; we need to be aflame with love, joy, worship and enthusiasm for Jesus Christ and his mission.
On the day of Pentecost, the source of the sound (wind) and the sights (flames) revealed himself. The Holy Spirit filled each believer, so that the entire group (the body) was filled with the Holy Spirit. They felt him in themselves and they saw him in each other. They recognised that each was having the same experience of the same Spirit. The confirmation came out of their own mouths. They could not help but shout out praise to God. The things that they had learned from childhood and the things that Jesus had taught them about God, were turned into confessions of praise to God. Those who rushed to the house heard them “telling the mighty works of God” (2.11). It was the Spirit who “gave them utterance” (2.4) – which means that they were both moved by the Spirit of God to speak and equipped to speak in languages that all the rapidly gathering crowd could understand.
The Holy Spirit speaks sense. Some have thought that meaningless sounds are evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Not so. While it is true that to some, the praises of believers are as meaningless as the words of drunks (2.13), the Holy Spirit moves believers to speak out God’s mighty works. The proofs of this are the very clear and powerful words that Peter spoke that day. The words were so convincing that hundreds of people were shaken and convinced about Jesus Christ to the point that they cried out for relief. The Holy Spirit is the great Communicator. He does not preach confusion or vagueness. The evidence of the Spirit at work in individuals and the church is that they speak out words that don’t fall to the ground (having failed to connect with the target audience). He bears up the speakers and sharers of God’s word and sends out convincing and convicting words that reduce human nature to its proper proportions and elevate Jesus Christ as Commander and Lord. His words strike their target everytime.
Why did the Spirit give the gift of languages (tongues) to the disciples? Outside the house, a great crowd gathered, packing the narrow streets and perhaps the courtyard of the large house. The sound of the wind had drawn them, and now the many voices (up to 120) of the Christians calling out God’s praises amazed them. This event was like the tower of Babel in reverse! Instead of the variety of languages causing confusion and driving people apart, each person who came, could hear some of the disciples telling out God’s ‘mighty works’ in his or her home language. (The reason why people of various languages were there was that they were those who had been converted to belief in the God of Israel – as opposed to the pagan gods of their own cultures – and had come to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple). On this occasion, God was making clear that the good news of Jesus Christ was a message for all peoples, not just Israelites. God was bringing people together around Jesus Christ; his church would be a body made up of people from all races and languages. It was a promise that the gospel would now go out to the entire world – as Jesus had promised his disciples (1.8). Man’s idolatry and self-glorifying had driven the world into its different language groups and cultures at Babel (Gen 11), but starting on that day, the Holy Spirit was drawing people into unity through the gospel.
The filling of the Holy Spirit which motivates individuals and the church, gathers people around Jesus Christ. It lifts up Jesus as the one to depend on. Everything inspired by the Holy Spirit, directs people toward Jesus Christ. Each person finds their role as the member of his body and plays their part to show off the greatness and glory of Christ.
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