Here now we turn our attention to a most important event, the beginning of the Church, the Body of Christ. Acts 2 is the most misunderstood Scripture in all of the New Testament and for good reason. Instead of bringing eyes focused on our Lord, we bring our denominational values and beliefs into it. Today we will examine the Scriptures, and study the content of these verses from Acts 2:1-13. It is important to note here the symbology that is here used. Fire and wind are two very important factors that we will here look at briefly. Often people focus upon the use of tongues, while it is strictly a gift, no evidence is giving in the New Testament as any other as evidence of one’s salvation. What people most often confuse with baptism in the Holy Spirit is in fact the filling of the Holy Spirit. Paul in Ephesians told us to be filled with the Spirit not drunk with wine. This is important because if we say that we are baptized into Christ as we are that means that we are members that our flesh has passed through death into new life in Christ and as a result only of our faith in Christ which would be the proper application of the New Testament rather than saying that tongues is evidence of that very work of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Yet at the same time the focus has to be upon the Cross, not upon our human works or achievement. Tongues is a gift from the Lord. Many conservative theologians would like to snuff out this gift and say that it is not for today. Among them is John Macarthur a man whom I’ve studied for a very long time. Yet to deny that tongues is a gift for today is like saying that God still isn’t speaking prophetically to His people. You could even take this line of logic even further to say that God is still speaking to His people, still using the spiritual gifts, so why then would God not still be using the gift of tongues? I don’t see anywhere in the New Testament that the gift of tongues stopped being of use or benefit to the Corporate Body of Christ.
Yet there are many different forms of tongues. The most often we associate with is the tongues Paul speaks of in 1st Corinthians the great treasure it was viewed as having. However tongues was also coming among the pagan Roman Empire and Greeks as well. The only difference between pagan tongues and Spirit tongues is does it bring honor and glory, proclaiming Jesus as the Risen Savior and Lord? All else fails and pails in comparison to the standard by which those who do speak in tongues are expected to meet. Sadly many view tongues as a bad thing, as the spiritual gifts as a bad thing not for today. Jesus addressed this that the Spirit of truth would fall upon us in John 14:7, “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” I therefore have a hard time when someone tells me that the Spirit gifts are not in operation today for the same reasons as someone telling me that God does not speak to a person. If it is the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit to draw the world to Christ and to bring honor to His name, then how can many conservative Christians then say that God is not operating in the Spirit gifts when they themselves by saying that God is speaking to them believe that God isn’t still operating prophetically and apostolically through people in today’s day and age? The reason why I feel is a lack of understanding in the things of God. The truth of the matter is that God is still very much alive and well and is speaking through those who do not put a harness upon His Spirit.
1st Thessalonians 5:19, “19Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” Instead of being the Church of irresistible influence, the church today is among those listed in Revelation, dead. We cannot be lukewarm if we desire to win souls and to bring together in love other ministries and nullify the dark places so that they can be brought to the light. Often when people hear of the Gospel the first time it is described as a romantic experience, the first loves they have even been called by the classical writers of Christianity. Yet it is these first loves that people experience when they first come in contact with the Gospel of Christ truly experiencing the power of the Spirit of which the Apostles themselves experienced as they turned from doubt to Christ, from being with Him, to being filled of Him and used of Him for eternal purposes, not earthly purposes. Have you experienced the first loves of Christ? Today we will examine Acts 2:1-13. It is my sincere prayer that you will go away from this experience changed, and see the Spirit for exactly what it is, a Spirit being that gives believers the power to preach and testify of Christ’s Word and glory.
Acts 2:1-4, “1On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection,[1] the believers were meeting together in one place. 2Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,[2] as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”
Here then we approach the birth of the Church of irresistible influence, the church, the Body who loves Jesus supremely. The book of acts is a record of the movement of the Sprit of God which was foretold in the Old and brought to the New. Doctor Luke here brings language from the Old Testament the mention of wind being of key importance, for wind was often associated with the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Yet the key importance here is the linking of the Day of Pentecost which means 50th. It is the New Testament name for the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22-23), or Harvest (Ex 23:16), which was celebrated fifty days after Passover. F.F. Bruce points out, “The Sadducees and Pharisees differed on what the Sabbath was. The Sadducees interpreted it as the weekly Sabbath, and hence the grain offering would always be on Sunday. The Pharisees interpreted the Sabbath as the first day on the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to that intreptation, the grain offering would always fall on the same day of the month but not on the same day of the week. Until the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the Sadducees’ intreptation was normative for Judaism (F.F. Bruce, the Book of Acts [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971], 53 n.3] The use of wind and fire are similes to capture the essence of what Luke is trying to convey here the move of the Spirit upon the people. Often this was used to describe manifestations of God’s presence to men (Ezek 43:2; Revelation 1:15). Wind is used here as a picture as in the Bible of the Spirit (Ezek 37:9; John 3:8). Filled with the Spirit is a work of God distinguished as was discussed earlier from being baptized with the Spirit. The Apostle Paul clearly defines this for us as an act of Christ by which believers are placed into His Body (Romans 6:4-6; 1 Cor 12:13; Galatians 3:27). The purpose of baptism with the Spirit is not to divide the Body of Christ but to unify it.
The real issue here is that baptism and being filled are not to be divisive issues, but harmonic issues. We were all baptized into one body (1st Cor 12:13; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 4:4-6). The New Testament teaches us that God does not see us as a racial being or social inclined or dominated by a class system, but only by His grace and mercy (Galatians 3:28). Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Acts 2:5-11, “5Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. 6When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.” 7They were beside themselves with wonder. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, 8and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! 9Here we are--Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!"
Once again we go back to the point of the beginning verse. This was a Jewish festival and it was required among the Jews to attend this most important festival. Much has been contested about these list known as the catalogue of the nations yet it can best be seen as a gathering of the nations for this experience the promise of the coming Spirit of which we covered at length at our examination of Acts 1. This was the fulfillment that the Spirit would fall upon them, and give them the power to proclaim of the love and judgment of Christ’s death and resurrection, as well as His Ascension to the right hand of the Father. This then would point to the Spirit’s inclusion of all the nations of the world as the Great Commission and the Great commandment worked together to fulfill God’s set purpose and plan for the Church which is to reach the nations with His Word.. This wasn’t a merely middle eastern religion or Palestian religion of one language, all focused upon itself. No, the Spirit came to bring diversity and variety, people of all languages and races together under one banner and one Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. All the world will acknowledge Him at His Second Coming as the Master and Creator of all, bowing down even the demons at His coming, shattering His enemies with His sharp two edged sword which proceeds from His mouth the Very Word of God which is that very two edged Sword.
Yet it is the same Word which will be spoken from His mouth that is spoken in the Church today. The Church while it has the same power, denies that very power by accepting false doctrine and teaching and false ministers of darkness into its midst. Those who are in the pulpits of today have a holy and high calling, to preach and proclaim the Risen Lord and Savior to the nations of the world, to there charges. This is no light calling it is a responsibility that demands that people call forth prophetically to the people so that they may understand the Voice of God in there midst’s even as God sent the Prophets to proclaim the Message of God to the nation of Israel and its surrounding inhabitants. Preaching is a high and holy task, a task that requires all of the effort that a person can muster, it requires of that person preaching to look deeply inside of themselves, so deep at a Spirit level that the message not only saturates from the core of their existence, but that the flavor of the message is in turn salted and formed into the fabric of there character. So you see the point of the catalog of the nations is then for the message of the Spirit to move forth to the nations. God does not see our cultural or economic standings just that we are creatures in desperate need of a Savior and King. God did not come to establish a new set of rules or regulations, He came with a passionate interest in changing the world upside down, setting the world on fire with His love and judgment, to call the nations back to its foundations, back to a true understanding of Himself. The Church and the Body of Christ at that were established to be an irresistible influence, a fragrance to the perishing, grace for the broken, hope for the prisoner and captive to sin. It is time that we weren’t just all about reaching the nations, but reaching individuals for the Gospel is a message for the nations primarily, but its purpose is to change individuals lives through the proclamation of His Word.
Acts 2:12-13, “12They stood there amazed and perplexed. "What can this mean?" they asked each other. 13But others in the crowd were mocking. "They’re drunk, that’s all!" they said.”
When we first experience something new, we often wonder what just happened. For these Jews it must have been the same. They didn’t understand what had just happened, and they thought that the Apostles were merely drunk. History has shown us that this could only have been mere morning when this even occurred. It goes to reason how then could they have been drunk? The speaking of the tongues in the vernacular of there language shocked those present, the Jews. The Word of God has testified to the house of Israel, to the nations in which the Jews inhabited. God has always had a special place in His heart for Israel, for it is of course His nation, His Chosen people, even as those who believe in Christ are His Chosen yet the Jews are chosen by God to inherit eternal life and the shock among them was more than likely because they had never seen such a thing in such a powerful way. Some were seeking spiritually for the meaning of what this event meant. The coming of the Spirit would bring a revolution, a change in the culture was brewing. Those who asked, “What does this mean?” Were in some way saying that they did not understand but wanted to understand at a fundamental level the meaning of it all. Those who just said the Apostles were drunk were not interested in discovering the meaning of this event, just showing up for another even much like people do for church today in America. People show up for social hour not to experience the Lord in Spirit and Truth worship, nor to develop a passion, but to build upon sin, and to harden in turn there hearts and proclaim that they themselves are something more than a mere mortal.
The Revolution is brewing in the Body and the Book of Acts sets the stage for the fundamental understanding of how God’s Spirit moves to those who dwell and abide in His Spirit. As believers we are called to live blameless and wise in a dark world inhabited by the prince of darkness and his demonic hosts, yet it is through the Blood of our Lord and Savior that we have the victory and Satan is merely a defeated foe, on his way out. As believers it is we who hold all the keys to the equation, the Word of God and His Spirit together defeat the darkness that pervades our culture today, but it is only through the biblical proclamation of His Word that darkness can be defeated, for darkness knows also of the light the true Light and the imposters as well. Those who stand for the Light of Christ will be a beacon of hope for the perishing and the lost, but those who are out for merely for power and greed, sloth and money will be among the ministers of iniquity in the Body of Christ. I honestly don’t know which is worse a minister who isn’t called or a minister who doesn’t preach the whole Word of God. Those ministers are like the blind leading the blind to the slaughter, right into the very pit of hell. It is time for the proclamation that the coming of the Spirit brought change, it brought a new focus to us as believers, a new insight into understanding the depths of God’s Word, as we abide by faith in Him and study to show ourselves approved we can know Him truly beyond what the churches proclaim Him as into the core of who He truly is today.
Many have confused scholarship with academics and academics with true understanding and knowledge. Many have viewed these verses from a high theological standpoint and stand corrected, while many have placed the emphasis solely upon experiencing the Holy Spirit. Yet it is through faith that we are baptized into the Body of Christ filled with His Spirit, and this filling of His Spirit is a daily thing not an all at once thing. For we are all being cleansed and renewed day by day as we bring under submission our thought lives and every facet of our lives into the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This filling is a constant process of being sanctified and renewed in our mind, spirit and emotions daily as we just renew ourselves afresh in deep understanding at the fundamental emotional level of our Spirit filled selves. It is only as we allow the Spirit to dwell within us that we can experience Christ at work within our emotional mental selves and thus truly be liberated even though we will not be perfected our lives will thus align in our emotional being and mental being and thus we will experience freedom which we have perhaps not experienced. For the deep in the deep is breaking and the Spirit’s wind is brewing in the deep and the calling to be free is there no condemnation no regret the regret and condemnation that the Body has experienced over the last two thousand years God is breaking apart and tearing asunder, it is time that we simply loved one another and allow His Spirit to unify all of us baptized and filled with His wonderful Holy Spirit together in harmony and unity.
This is the core of what a church of irresistible influence is all about. It is more than just a people who take seriously God’s Word and love, it is a people who are simply panting for streams of living water to stream forth from there churches and lives so that others will experience the life liberating, soul changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. In his book The Incendiary Fellowship Elton Trueblood describes the character and company of those who are filled by the Holy Spirit. “Incedniary”means “set ablaze.” It refers to Christians themselves. But “incendiary” also means the act of setting other people ablaze. It refers to those in whom the fire of the Holy Spirit is so intense and so meaningful that they just cannot keep the message of the Spirit to themselves. So they speak of Jesus, and as a result, here and there little fires spring up. And pretty soon there is a great raging fire of revival that spreads across the world. I do not think we have a raging fire in our time, though there are some place sin the world where it may be beginning. But there is a fire. The Holy Spirit is working. We need to be part of that working and see the flames spread.”
As believers we are called to be salt and light to the nations of the world, yet often we forget that in being that salt and light we are also indwelt by His very presence, dwelt by the power of God in Christ, through whom He has said gave to us His Spirit to dwell within us in the very Spirit part of our being. Yet it is the broken places of our lives that are fabricated and torn asunder as we trust and let the loves of Christ in Jesus break through and swallow our pain and give Him the praise and the honor as we are changing in need of change, an ever present change within us at work that changed us as we model the life of Christ and let others experience at the same time that very irresistible influence that drew us to Christ in the first place, that is the Holy Spirit’s work, to draw all men unto Himself. Are you an irresistible Christian? Is your church irresistible to those who are perishing and broken? May it all be our heart cry to the Lord to see churches that are irresistible and repent of not being of irresistible influence to those who are perishing and broken, hurting and struggling. For then may God have all the praise maybe then we would be the Church, the Body of Irresistible influence, a Church born out of the Spirit.
Pastor Jenkins
