Acts Chapter 2
Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Part 1
Acts 2:1-39
By Pastor Nick Bibile
Last time we saw that Judas was replaced by Matthias. See Acts 12:1-2 Apostle James (Son of Zebedee) was martyred. Why was he not replaced? Why Judas was replaced but not James? Judas was a false apostle; a faithful apostle replaced the false apostle. But when the apostles died none of them were replaced as their generation came to an end.
Background
Ministry of Jesus after the resurrection.
After the resurrection Jesus was on earth for how many days? 40
What was his teaching during these 40 days? About the kingdom of God.
Kingdom of God is God reigning in us; Holy Spirit will indwell in us. Regeneration is the beginning of the kingdom of God. We will be partakers of God’s kingdom, that God imputes to us the righteousness and the holiness of God.
Acts 1:1-3
Jesus prophesized the promise of the spirit.
Acts 1:4-5
John 14:16-18; John 14:25-26; John 7:38
What is the connection with John 20:22 and the coming of the Holy Spirit? Is there a contradiction here? What is the difference? How do you relate these two together?
John 20:22 is an anticipation or a foretaste of Acts 2. Example, raising Lazarus was an anticipation of foretaste of raising of Jesus. John 20:22 is a taste of what is really going to happen in Acts 2, like a down payment. Also John 20:22 was private, only to the disciples but Acts 2 is public.
V5) Who is the baptizer? See Luke 3:16. Jesus is the Baptizer. Fire is a refining and a purging (cleansing) work.
Jesus is the Baptizer and the spirit is the agent or the means of Baptism. All the members of the Godhead are involved. Acts 2:33
Promise comes from the Father through the Son; Spirit is given to the believers.
What is the purpose of the Spirit, outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
See Acts 1:8
To be witnesses. To whom? To Jesus. The Greek word for Witnesses is Martyr, a person who willingly undergo suffering and death.
Today it is sad to say when it comes to speaking of one’s testimony the focus is directed to that person instead of Jesus. The heart of the witness is Jesus.
The purpose of the outpouring of the spirit is to be a witness to Christ Jesus that is the goal and the main focus of the Christian.
It says you shall receive power.
It does not say you shall receive money to be witnesses of Christ. Today many churches and pastors their focus is on money, they say we need money to evangelize. But the apostles were not rich, they were poor but their trust was on the power of God alone. Money is not the priority; God will provide the needs according to his sovereign grace. The word power in Greek is dunamis which our English word dynamite comes in.
See Romans 1:16 The apostles relied on the power of God to witness and to evangelize, this power is like dynamite, which can break the heart of stone.
Coming of the Spirit
Acts 2:1-4
Remember Jesus told them to wait for the Holy Spirit and there were about 120. What were they doing? Laughing and making jokes? No, they we praying.
1:14, the Greek word constantly praying. There was a constant prayer meeting, with one accord, meaning one in purpose and mind, their prayer meeting had a focus and the focus was waiting on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
V 2) Sound like a wind.
V 3) Looks like tongues of fire. Luke 3:16 God’s people are not consumed by the fire but refined, purged for the work of God. There is a cleansing so for spirit to dwell in you.
V4) There is so much controversy in the church today as speaking of tongues and filling of the Holy Spirit especially among the Pentecostal churches. They say after you became a Christian and after water baptism, for you to be a strong Christian, you need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This is very confusing. According to them there is the Christian and the spirit filled Christian who is baptized in the Spirit. These Spirit filled Christians will speak in tongues.
If this is true, here in Acts 2:4 the disciples were filled in the Spirit. Then what happened in Acts 4:31 they prayed and they were filled in the Holy Spirit again. So there was a leak between Acts 2:4 and 4:31!
The truth is when someone becomes a Christian the Spirit will come and reside in you. It’s a one-time act but many fillings of the spirit.
They spoke in other tongues Acts 2:4; speaking in tongues is
speaking other languages. Greek word glossa means language.
Read
Acts 2:5-11
Why is
that there were lot of people all over the nations gathered in Jerusalem?
There were
Jews and Jews who were scattered all over from different countries who had come
to observe the Pentecost, the Jewish festival. God poured out the Holy Spirit
on the day of Pentecost. From
the day that Israel went out of Egypt, unto the day that the law was given,
were fifty days.
They were amazed as
everyone heard them the believers who were filled in Holy Spirit speaking in
their own languages. Acts 2:6-7
The purpose of
speaking in tongues
In Genesis 11 we see
the wicked people built a tower, the tower of Babel, as they wanted to be
united as one people. If wicked people wanted be united as one people that is
very dangerous, God divided their unity and scattered them and they could not
understand each other as God gave them different tongues, dialects or
languages.
Now after the death
and resurrection of Christ Jesus and of the coming of the Spirit, we see the
gospel of God to nations where we are commanded to preach the gospel to all
nations. Here we see the gift of the Holy Spirit was what was divided to be
united in Christ Jesus. Whether we are Americans, Filipinos, Chinese, Russians
or any other, we can be united in Christ Jesus through the power of the
gospel. So the tongues were a gift to
speak another language. Pentecost
provided power from heaven to preach the gospel to every creature.
Pentecost was a historical thing that happened. It is not correct to pray for a new Pentecost, Pentecost was an historical event that happened once for all. Praying for a new Pentecost is like praying for a new atoning death of Christ. Here at Pentecost the language was unknown to the speaker but known to the hearer.
Acts 2:11 In Greek magnificent works. Wonders of God, this was not the great feeling they had but the greatest importance of the works of God was the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. (Acts 2:23-24)
Other scriptures related to speaking in tongues and praising God. Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:6 prophesy here is to edify. There was edification and utterance of praise to God.
Acts 2 Joel’s prophecy fulfilled
Eph 2:8
How to interpret last days? Started in the outpouring of God’s spirit. See Heb 1
Isa 23 – coming of Christ’s kingdom
Pouring out the spirit Isa 44:3; Rom 5:5; Tit 3:6; 1 Cor 2:11
Mark 16:20 Heb 2:4
I will put a new spirit in you Ezk 11:19
Old men – dreams Acts 10:3
Young men – visions Acts 10:17; 11:5;9:10;16:9
Men servants and maid servants Gal 3:28;1 Cor 7:22 Col 3:11 to Isa 56
Mat 24:6
Application:
How can what happened in Pentecost, help us in our modern day?
Prayer Meetings
Prayer meetings are where the people of God confess their sins, come to God in humility and asking God to empower them for the ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit.
They were clothed with the power, which Jesus had promised them. And what a difference it made in them! Common poor fishermen became the God’s powerful messengers. Illiterate men spoke with tongues that they had never themselves heard. They began to reveal mysteries, which had not been revealed to philosophers or kings. These men were lifted out of the ordinary level of humanity, and became God-inspired, filled with the Holy Spirit, who came to dwell in their hearts and minds. The result was that poor timid Peter became bold as a lion. There is a mysterious, supernatural energy, which comes from the Third Person of the blessed Trinity. Today we have all kinds of ministries but very few come to the prayer meetings. The early church was energized by prayer meetings. How we desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit and we need to be united in power in prayer meetings.
Witnessing Christ to the unconverted.
Our Lord Jesus is a great transformer of
character. Education cannot change a person’s heart or the character. If
education can change a person’s character, the politicians will be very honest
people. But we see corruption, deceitfulness in high places. God the Holy
Spirit has the power to change hearts and a person’s character. He can turn the
lion into a lamb, the raven into a Dove. Sinners are converted to saints.
We can still praise God and adore him for the
great works of Christ.
Jesus our blessed Lord, was sinless, kept all
of the commandments, he fulfilled all of the commandment, which we have broken.
He took the place of the sinner. God almighty left the highest of glory to the
lowest of humility in becoming a man of sorrows. God who knew no pain, who knew
no suffering, took the punishment on our behalf, the sins punishment was poured
upon him, he was crucified like a criminal and his soul was crushed by the
power of sin. Yet, on the third day he conquered death and sin as he rose from
the grave.
Because of these wonders of God, the great
mighty works of Christ, how we need to give praises to him in our lifestyle,
always remembering his works in our prayers.
2 Cor 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Come sinners come to Christ he will give you eternal life. We can praise God, as for the Christian everything, all is in Christ.
We are saved in Christ. We adore God in Christ, we sing in Christ, we preach in Christ, we fellowship in Christ, we pray in Christ, we witness in Christ, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we die in Christ, we go to heaven in Christ, we are inseparable in Christ.
Let us love one another in Christ and work together in Christ.