Claude T. Stauffer :: The Believers Baptized – Acts 2

The Spirit of Acts

The Believers Baptized – Acts 2

Our objective in our study of the Book of Acts is:

The Spirit of God using the word of God to make people of God and change the people of God into Spirit-empowered, effective, edifying, disciples of Jesus Christ.

What can be said about the disciples as we enter the Book of Acts?

What can we say about the disciple’s spiritual condition as we enter the Book of Acts? Is there evidence that they had been “born again”? If being born again means being indwelled by the Holy Spirit (e.g., He “will be in you” – John 14:17), then what does that imply about the baptism with the Holy Spirit?

1. Jesus had/has the power to forgive sins. He pronounced the sins of the paralytic “forgiven,” (Matt. 9:2, 6; Mark 2:5-12), He forgave the sins of the woman who anointed His feet with oil (Luke 7:47-50). He said He did not condemn the woman caught in adultery (John 8:11). He said salvation had come to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). Surely His disciples were forgiven their sins. Notice too that it is in the gospels where initial salvation issues such as the forgiveness of sins is mentioned, not in Acts 1 and Acts 2 leading up to the baptism with the Holy Spirit. This could only logically mean the issue of initial salvation has been settled for those disciples waiting for the baptism with the Spirit. This silence on salvation issues, therefore, would support the idea that what happens to the disciples at Pentecost is a subsequent work coming after one’s initial salvation. Sometimes what isn’t said or discussed is as important as what is said or discussed.
2. The names of the disciples were “written in heaven” (Luke 10:20; compare with Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:27).
3. They were apparently drawn by the Father to Jesus (John 6:44).
4. They had forsaken all to follow Jesus (Mark 10:28-30).
5. Peter received Divine revelation (Matthew 16:16-18).
6. Jesus sent them out with power to heal, cast out demons, and do mighty signs (Matthew 10:5-8; Mark 6:8-13; Luke 9:2-6; Luke 12:2-10).
7. They were pronounced “clean” by Jesus (John 13:10; John 15:3; compare with James 1:18 and 1 Peter 1:23).
8. They were the branches of Jesus the Vine (John 15:5).
9. They were “given” to Jesus by the Father “out of the world” (John 17:6).
10. They kept Jesus’ word (John 17:6).
11. Jesus said, “they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You” (John 17:7).
12. Jesus said, “they have received” Jesus words (John 17:8).
13. They believed Jesus had the words of eternal life (John 6:68).
14. Jesus said, “they have known surely that I came forth from You” (John 17:8).
15. Earlier Jesus said He is “known by My own” (John 10:14).
16. Jesus said, “they have believed” (John 17:8).
17. Jesus said those who believe in Him have everlasting life (John 6:47).
18. They believed Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69).
19. Jesus said, “they are Yours” i.e., the Father’s and “Mine” i.e., Jesus’ (John 17:9-10).
20. They were given by the Father to Jesus (John 17:11).
21. Jesus “kept them” and “none of them is lost” (except Judas) (John 17:12).
22. Jesus said, “they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14, 16).
23. Jesus said “these have known that You sent Me” i.e., known the Father (John 17:25).
24. Jesus called, they followed (Matthew 4:19-20).
25. They were commissioned by Jesus to fulfill His Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
26. Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).
27. They had “great joy” and praised the Lord in the Temple before Pentecost (Luke 24:51-53).
28. They received from Jesus the teaching of their need to receive the “Promise of the Father,” which is to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 8).
29. They were concerned that Scripture be fulfilled (Acts 1:16).
30. They prayed with one accord together while waiting for the baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).

There can be little doubt that these disciples were saved, born again, and regenerated by the Spirit of God by the end of the gospel. But even if you disagree and see the baptism with the Holy Spirit as a salvation event for the disciples, the important point is that, either way you need to experience the baptism with the Holy Spirit to effectively live and serve and glorify the Lord. Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?

Why is it important that we see that the disciples were born again and saved prior to Pentecost? These disciples received the best possible seminary education—three years with the greatest Teacher; witnessed Jesus’ miracles, atoning death, resurrection, and ascension and still Jesus said they needed something more. What did they need?

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit – The baptism with the Holy Spirit, the work of God we see in Acts, is referred to in various ways: “the Promise of My Father” – Luke 24:49; “endued with power from on high” Acts Luke 24:49; “the Promise of the Father” Acts 1:4-5; “baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire” – Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; “baptized with the Holy Spirit” – Acts 1:5; Acts 11:16; “filled with the Holy Spirit” – Acts 2:4; Acts 4:8, 31; Acts 9:17; Acts 13:9, 52; “the Holy Spirit will come upon you” – Acts 1:8; “the Holy Spirit fell on them” – Acts 10:44; Acts 11:15-16; and “all the fullness of God” – Ephesians 3:19.

A definite Experience. Jesus told the apostles and disciples to “tarry” or wait in Jerusalem until they received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49). This command would have been nonsensical unless it was possible for those waiting to know when they had received what Jesus told them to wait for. Cf. Also Acts 19:2, 6. You may disagree when in a believer’s life the baptism with the Holy Spirit occurs, but one thing is undeniable, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite life-altering experience. If you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, you, and those around you will know it.

Separate and distinct from regeneration. Compare How Jesus refers to the disciples at the end of the gospels (e.g., John 17; Luke 24; etc.) and especially John 20:22 and Acts 1, and with the above characteristics of the disciples. There is a significant amount of evidence supporting the idea that the disciples had been forgiven and saved of their sins through their faith in Jesus Christ. The baptism with the Holy Spirit, therefore, can be separate and distinct from salvation, “second birth,” or born-again experience.

Power for Service – The baptism with the Holy Spirit is the power to do whatever God calls you to do. It is always connected with either testimony or service (Acts 1:4-5, 8; Acts 2:4; Acts 4:31, 33). The power of the Holy Spirit manifests itself through spiritual gifting (1 Corinthians 12:4, 8-11). Spiritual gifting, such as the gift of tongues or prophecy, is closely associated with the experience of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior but have no idea where or how to serve Jesus (i.e., have no spiritual gift or awareness of one), perhaps you need to seek the Lord to be empowered and gifted by the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Purifying of heart by faith – Later in Acts we will see the baptism with the Holy Spirit described as the purifying of the heart (Acts 15:8-9). Sin in the heart, especially unconfessed or “secret” sin, is a hindrance to being used by the Lord. Therefore, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is associated with a deep cleansing of the heart.

The Setting for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit

Acts 2

• Acts 2:1 – When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

“When the day of Pentecost had fully come,” begins this pivotal chapter in the Bible. Pentecost was an annual feast that came after the Feast of Firstfruits (a harvest feast). Pentecost followed the Feast of Firstfruits “by a week of weeks (i.e., seven weeks, or 49 days) and therefore also was called the Feast of Weeks (cf. Leviticus 23:15-22). The name “Pentecost,” of Greek derivation, means 50 because it was the 50th day after the Firstfruits feast (Leviticus 23:16).”¹² The KJV Bible Commentary states the following about Pentecost and its growing significance:

Pentecost was the third great Israelite feast mentioned in Leviticus. It was a harvest festival fifty days after the Passover week. This particular Pentecost, however, was to have greater significance than those which had preceded it. Old Testament Pentecost occurred fifty days after Israel left Egypt and the Passover lamb was slain. New Testament Pentecost occurred fifty days after Christ raised from the dead, the Lord being our Passover Lamb. Old Testament Pentecost celebrated the birth of the nation Israel (Exodus 19:5). New Testament Pentecost celebrated the birth of the church (Acts 2:41-47). Old Testament Pentecost witnessed the slaying of some three thousand souls (Exodus 32:28). New Testament Pentecost witnessed the saving of some three thousand souls (Acts 2:41). The former pointed typologically to the latter.¹³

We have already discussed the significance of prayer in the early church and here we see it again. When it says they were “all with one accord,” it is safe to assume that they were praying together, worshiping together, and waiting on the Lord for the Promise Jesus had told them about.

Unity. Unity is an important aspect of the body of believers. We have already discussed how when the Spirit acts in people He brings unity and accord (See comments on Acts 1:14). But we should be reminded that unity is a work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in believers (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 13:5). The Old Testament conveys the joy of the unity of believers (Psalm 133:1-3). The New Testament tells us that the early church was united in mind (1 Peter 3:8), united in faith (Ephesians 4:4-6), united in fellowship (Acts 2:42-47), and united in their concerns (1 Corinthians 12:25-26).¹⁴

These disciples of Jesus were together obediently waiting in prayer for the Promise Jesus had taught them about (See Acts 1:4-5). What follows is a very important time in the church and for us to grasp so that we can see the nature of the empowerment of the Spirit.

Rushing Wind and Tongues of Fire

• Acts 2:2-3 – ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

Here we have the fulfillment of the Promise Jesus alluded to earlier in the first chapter of Acts. As we study through Acts 2 we will learn a great deal about this promised empowerment that the Spirit brings upon believers.

We have two symbolic manifestations here, “a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind,” and, “divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.” What do these two manifestations mean?

“A Rushing Mighty Wind”– One of the most powerful things in all of nature is the power of the wind. If you’ve ever been in a hurricane, tornado or cyclone, you know this all too well. The wind, the invisible, is one of the most powerful things in nature. Therefore, the power promised by Jesus (Acts 1:8), is illustrated here by the coming of a mighty rushing wind from heaven. How do we find wind used in the Bible?

First, wind is used by God to bring His judgment. We see this in a number of cases in the Bible. God blew in a plague of locusts upon the Egyptians (Exodus 10:13). We see this with God’s people too in an attempt by God to drive His people back to Him (Amos 4:9). God comes to discipline the unfaithful “on the wings of the wind” at times (2 Samuel 22:11). The prophet Nahum illustrated God coming in judgment in a “whirlwind” against His enemies (Nahum 1:3). The Holy Spirit blows into the lives of sinners seeking to convict them of their sin (John 16:8-11) and if they refuse the Spirit and blaspheme His overtures, it is the one unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31-32).

Second, wind is used by God to end God’s judgment. When we look at the Bible we see a number of things about the wind. It was wind that the Lord sent to dry up the waters of the Flood and so we see the wind can be used to bring the judgment of God to subside (Genesis 8:1). God used the wind to blow in the locusts and blow them out again during His plagues on Egypt (Exodus 10:13, 19). The Holy Spirit blows into people’s lives to convict them of their sin and draw them from a place of God’s wrath to salvation through faith in Jesus.

Third, God uses the wind to bring a blessing. God used the wind to part the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape from the pursuing enemy Egyptians (Exodus 14:21). When the people were hungry in the wilderness, God used the wind to bring the blessing of a harvest of quail for the people to eat (Numbers 11:31). After a three-year drought God heard the prayer of Elijah and blew in rain to refresh the land (1 Kings 18:44-45). Like the wind, the Holy Spirit brings tremendous blessing to the believer. The Spirit brings the blessing of the presence of God, and holy relationship with Almighty God, and empowerment to serve.

Fourth, the wind of God is powerful. When Elijah ran from Jezebel after he had been used by God to defeat the prophets of Baal, he came to a mountain and was depressed thinking that he was the only one left who was for the Lord. The Lord got Elijah’s attention by sending a mighty wind that tore into the mountain where he was standing (1 Kings 19:11).

We should note that Satan can kick up a storm too. It was a mighty wind in the Book of Job that destroyed the house where Job’s children were dining and killed them all (Job 1:18-19). Where the wind is from is important for us to discern. While the powerful wind in Job brought a severe trial to Job, the powerful wind of the Spirit in Acts brings power to serve and witness for the glory of God.

Fifth, wind is invisible but real. Jesus said you can’t see the wind and used it to illustrate the Holy Spirit who also cannot be seen (John 3:8). You don’t see the wind coming and don’t know it is there until it brushes up against you or moves you. Just because you can’t see the wind does not mean it isn’t there or isn’t real. In the same way, you may not see the Spirit, but He is always there.

Sixth, wind can be used by God to shake us up. A hurricane can be a frightening experience. On the ocean, wind can make waves that change a comfortable float on the water into a perilous ocean venture. A wind that causes a fearsome wave may scare us and cause us to call out to God. It was a mighty wind sent by God that shook the ship Jonah was in and that stopped him from his unfaithful and rebellious retreat. The psalmist captured the essence of how such a situation can shake us up and bring us back to the Lord. The psalmist was inspired to write:

• Psalm 107:25-30 –
  ²⁵ “For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
  Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
  ²⁶ They mount up to the heavens,
  They go down again to the depths;
  Their soul melts because of trouble.
  ²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
  And are at their wits’ end.
  ²⁸ Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
  And He brings them out of their distresses.
  ²⁹ He calms the storm,
  So that its waves are still.
  ³⁰ Then they are glad because they are quiet;
  So He guides them to their desired haven.”

Jesus is the One who can calm the storms in our lives (Matthew 8:26). Storms caused by the winds of God are meant to lead us back to Him. Sometimes the Holy Spirit has to shake us up a bit in order to wake us up out of spiritual lethargy.

Seventh, wind moves things. It is the wind that blows into the sails of a ship and moves it (Acts 27:7, 13-18). Even though the ship is big, the wind can move it. And even though people can be big and sluggish at times, the wind of the Spirit can move them. The Holy Spirit is able to move the hardest and most callous of hearts.

Eight, wind blows away the chaff. Chaff is the discarded outer portion of wheat. Those who harvested wheat in biblical times (and even in some areas of the world today) took the cut stalks of wheat to a threshing floor where they beat the stalks until the kernels of wheat separated from the outer skin. The people would then toss the product into the air and let the wind blow the lighter chaff away from the wheat kernels. Chaff is seen symbolically as a type of sin in one’s life, that which is unwanted, superficial, lightweight, spiritually.

The spiritual typology of the wind blowing away chaff is seen in the very first psalm, which states:

• Psalm 1:1-6 –
  ¹ “Blessed is the man
  Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
  Nor stands in the path of sinners,
  Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
  ² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
  And in His law he meditates day and night.
  ³ He shall be like a tree
  Planted by the rivers of water,
  That brings forth its fruit in its season,
  Whose leaf also shall not wither;
  And whatever he does shall prosper.
  ⁴ The ungodly are not so,
  But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
  ⁵ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
  Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
  ⁶ For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
  But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

The wind of the Spirit blows away that which is ungodly in our lives; the Spirit blows away the refuse of sin in our lives.

Ninth, wind is a sign of the Spirit bringing life. In the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet Ezekiel is brought “in the Spirit” to a place where the sees a vision of a valley of dry dead bones. God directs Ezekiel to prophesy over the dead dry bones and when he does a wind comes from God and breathes life into the dead bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14).

Just as this prophetic vision pictures God sending a wind to bring the breath of life to a dead Israel in captivity, so too does the Holy Spirit come as a wind upon Christians who have been trying to minister and serve in their own strength and have experienced only frustration and failure as a result. The wind of the Spirit is a symbol of bringing life to that which was dead or dying. When the wind of the Spirit blows, He brings new life, a refreshing to those He blows upon.

“Divided tongues, as of fire”– What is the meaning of the tongues of fire that came to rest over the heads of those who were in the upper room that day? When we look in the Bible we see that fire is used in many ways.

First, fire is used by God to represent the eternal presence of God. God manifested Himself to Moses in a fiery burning bush that did not burn itself out (Exodus 3:2). Moses approached the burning bush and was told by God to take off his sandals because the ground he was standing upon was holy ground. It was in the presence of the burning bush that God revealed His name to Moses too (Exodus 3:1-6). When the Spirit comes to indwell people he brings the eternal presence of God into their lives.

Second, fire is used by God to reveal His power. God revealed His power in fiery hail to the Egyptians causing them to let His people go from their oppression (Exodus 9:24). When the Spirit comes upon believers, He brings the power of God into their lives in a special way.

Third, fire is used by God to bring light in a dark place and lead His people. God led Israel by night through the wilderness by way of a pillar of fire in the night (Exodus 13:21-22). It is the Spirit who reveals God’s will through the inspired word and illuminates its meaning to those who prayerfully read it and turn to Him for understanding of it.

Fourth, fire is used by God to reveal His glory. God revealed His glory to the people of Israel by consuming the burnt offering on the altar in the Old Testament (Leviticus 9:23-24). The Holy Spirit brings the glory of God into a person’s life. Paul put it this way, “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It is the Spirit that brings the glorious presence of Jesus into a person’s life.

Fifth, fire is used by God to reveal His supremacy over all other gods. God used fire to show He was real and mighty and above all other supposed gods, such as Baal, when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18; 1 Kings 19). When the Spirit of God comes upon believers, as we see in Acts, He proves the supremacy of God through His ministry through believers.

Sixth, fire is used by God to illustrate His protection. God used the imagery of fire to communicate His protection to the Israelites returning from captivity to rebuild Jerusalem. They were in a very vulnerable position and God said, “For I, ‘says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be glory in the midst” (Zechariah 2:5). It is the Spirit who leads us in a safe way according to the will of God.

Seventh, fire is used by God to communicate His vengeance and judgment. In the Book of Hebrews it states, “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). The context of the passage is describing how it is impossible for sinners to escape God’s wrath (Hebrews 12:25-29). It is the Spirit who conveys the just judgment of God to a lost world.

Eight, fire is used by God to describe the nature of His word. Through the prophet Jeremiah God said, “Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them” (Jeremiah 5:14). Those who sit in earshot of God’s word and refuse to allow it to have the Spirit-led effect on them will ultimately be consumed by that word of God. It is the Spirit who inspires and fires God’s word.

Ninth, fire is used by God to describe how He can purify away sin. Fire is a purifying agent as seen in the case of Isaiah when he comes into the presence of the Lord, is convicted of his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people and angels take a coal hot from the fire and put it to his lips to symbolize God’s purifying work in this servant’s life (Isaiah 6:1-7). It is the Spirit who cleanses us from that fleshly sin that hinders our usefulness to God (Acts 15:8-9).

By using fire at Pentecost, God was communicating a great deal. He is communicating His holy eternal presence, His protection, and His purifying power to those upon which the tongues of fire came to rest when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit Opens Channels of Communication

• Acts 2:4 – And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Here we see the baptism with the Holy Spirit accompanied by the spiritual gift of tongues. This spiritual gift is further explained later in the New Testament (cf. 1 Corinthians 14). This gift is a prayer enhancement gift and helps us praise God. This gifting experience helped these disciples praise God for His wonderful works, e.g., “we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11). They speak in unknown tongues or languages (i.e., languages they hadn’t learned); that those assembled in Jerusalem for Pentecost could understand. The one who speaks in tongues speaks to God not people. Those assembled weren’t receiving a message from God through those gifted with tongues at their baptism with the Holy Spirit; they were overhearing the praise to God of those receiving the Promise of the Father. When it came time for a message to be given to the people, plain understandable language was used by Peter.

• Acts 2:5-12 – ⁵ And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and was confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. ⁷ Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” ¹² So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

Reversing Babel. To understand what God is doing here we need to go back to Genesis 11 where people, led by Nimrod, used technology to rebel against God and reject His judgments. The consequence of such human action was for God to break the channels of communication between people so that they would be prevented from plummeting further from God and destroying themselves. God reduced their speaking to what sounded like babbling, hence the name of this event, The Tower of Babel. What we see on the Day of Pentecost is God’s solution to the divisive sin problem begun at Babel. Where humanity was judged for their rebellion and self-reliance apart from God, God by the outpouring of the Spirit, re-opened the channels of communication between Himself and people, and between people themselves.

Filled with the Holy Spirit. Notice that the baptism with the Holy Spirit here is described by the words, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” This is not a contradiction of what we have taught previously, that prepositions are used to describe the Holy Spirit “with” a person prior to conversion, that He comes “in” a person at conversion and that He comes “upon” a person at the baptism with the Holy Spirit which is an empowerment for witness and service. Here, at the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the word “filled” is used as a general term to describe an experience with the Holy Spirit. The context of a passage determines whether the use of the word “filled” refers to the initial conversion infilling by the Spirit or the subsequent coming upon of the Spirit to empower the believer for ministry.

Oftentimes we are guilty of missing the forest for the trees because we are taken aback, confused, and consumed with the speaking of tongues we find here. But the more fundamental truth of importance here is that when the Spirit comes upon us, He brings supernatural communication. It is the Holy Spirit that breaks through the language barriers that so often hinder communication. But the Spirit also cuts through cultural, financial, racial and any other barrier that might be a hindrance to communicating the truth of the gospel of Jesus and God’s word. When we speak in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit speaks through us.

The miracle of the Spirit here is a miracle of communication attested to by the phrases, “everyone heard them speak in his own language…we hear, each in our own language in which we were born.” The Holy Spirit enabled the listeners to understand what was being said. What was it that was being said? It states, “we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” Notice very clearly here that what they heard were praises directed toward God, not the people. It was as though the Holy Spirit allowed the onlookers to overhear what the disciples were praising God for, the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, through the gift of tongues given to those who were baptized with the Holy Spirit, enabled the unsaved to hear praises offered to God. But, when it came time to preach or teach the word of God, Peter spoke clearly to the crowd. Communication is a two-way street; communication occurs when two parties interact together. Communication takes place when both speaking and listening with responsiveness occurs.

The Heart of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is LOVE

A new commandment to love. Jesus said His disciples would be known by the love they show for one another. In fact, right before Jesus announced his soon departure and that it would be preceded by the denial of Him by Peter and the other disciples, and right before Jesus gave his most detailed teaching on the Holy Spirit, He said:

• John 13:34-35 – ³⁴A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Loving was not a “new” commandment in the sense that it had never been taught before. God’s people had been taught from the beginning to love God with all their heart and to love their neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Leviticus 19:18). This command to love was “new” because the Spirit would help them love in a Christlike way.

Jesus connected the work of the Spirit with love. After Jesus shared His “new” commandment to love, He began His most detailed and thorough teaching on the Holy Spirit. In John 14, John 15, and John 16 where Jesus taught on the Holy Spirit, He said the following about love:

1. Loving Jesus is exemplified and evidenced by obeying Jesus’ commandments and words (John 14:15, 21, 23-24; John 15:10).
2. The greatest love is a love that leads to laying down one’s life for others (John 15:13).
3. According to Jesus, love is not optional but His command – “These things I command you, that you love one another” (John 15:17).
4. The world loves its own but hates the followers of Jesus (John 15:18-20).
5. The “love” (Greek agape) Jesus spoke about is described by Him in the following way:
   • John 15:9-13 – ⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

But no “love” in Acts? This is very interesting in light of the fact that the word “love” does not appear in the Book of Acts, the very book that depicts the work of the Spirit! What are we to make of that? While the word “love” (in its cognates) does not appear in the Book of Acts, we see the fruit of the love of the Spirit depicted in the birth of the church and the actions to reach a lost world. For instance, when Peter stands before the enemies of Jesus, who just fifty days earlier had called for Jesus to be crucified, it is not mere bravery or courage we see move Peter to action, it is the motivation of love. Peter loved the enemies of Jesus enough to share the truth of Jesus and His gospel with them. Peter embodied in the power of the Spirit, one who speaks God’s truth in love (e.g., Ephesians 4:15).

The love of the Spirit. When we speak of the work of the Holy Spirit, especially the baptism with the Holy Spirit, we must remember that what is done in the Spirit is done in love. We cannot separate love from the work of the Holy Spirit. What does the Bible tell us about love and the Holy Spirit?

First, God pours His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Bible states:

• Romans 5:5 – Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

We may love physically or erotically without the Spirit (i.e., eros or sensual love). We may love somewhat relationally (e.g., phileo or friendship love). But if we are to love with God’s love (i.e., agapeo) we can only do that by the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Second, love is a “fruit” the Holy Spirit produces in us. The Bible states:

• Galatians 5:22-23 – ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Notice that the term “fruit” is singular here. Paul does not say, “fruits.” Therefore, “the fruit of the Spirit is love.” “Love” is the singular and prime fruit produced by the Holy Spirit. The other things listed by Paul are therefore aspects of the “love” produced by the Holy Spirit in a person.

Third, love gives eternal worth and meaning to all we do. Paul was inspired to speak of spiritual gifts to the church at Corinth in chapters 12-14 in his first letter to that church. Spiritual gifts are important. Spiritual gifting comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But there is something much more important and a much greater evidence of being empowered by the Holy Spirit and that evidence is love. That is why in the middle of his teaching on spiritual gifts Paul was inspired to write:

• 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – ¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Spiritual gifts are important and useful, but unless they and all we do as Christians is done in love, it falls flat. Love gives eternal worth to all we do. That’s why love is the greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Fourth, the love of the Spirit is like the love of Jesus. When we look at this agape love defined in the Bible, we see it is a Christlike love. Such love is defined as:

• 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a – ⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never fails…

We can determine the quality of our love by inserting our name in the place of love in these verses. To the extent that what we read in connection with us is true or false tells us the nature of our love. But if we put the name “Jesus” in the place of the word “love,” we find that it rings true in every regard. This is the love with which we should do all things. This is what it means to do things “in the name of Jesus.”

Fifth, the love of Jesus should compel or motivate us in all we do. The Bible states:

• 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – ¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, we will have a heartfelt desire to share Jesus with others. We will give our lives for others. We won’t shake a fist or meanly cajole the lost. We won’t share the gospel with others arrogantly or heartlessly. We won’t sit back and assume others don’t want to hear the gospel message of Jesus. No, when the Spirit is upon us we will see the lost like Jesus does and we will be willing to follow in the steps of Jesus to lay down our lives to see that the lost are saved (e.g., 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:1-6).

Lastly, what we see at Pentecost and in Acts is the Spirit and His love in action. When we take 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a and apply it to Acts 2 for instance, we see agape love in action.

“Love suffers long” – Peter and the other disciples of Jesus were willing to put their hurt over the crucifixion of Jesus aside, in order to share the gospel truth with the lost enemies of Jesus on the day of Pentecost.

“And is kind;” – Peter and the other disciples shared the gospel in kindness and then the early church that was formed was epitomized by kindness towards its members.

“Love does not envy;” – The early church was not envious by giving toward each other (see Acts 2:40-47, 32-37).

“Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;” – Peter didn’t draw attention to himself but focused people on Jesus in his Pentecostal message. Later in Acts, when the people sought to exalt Paul and Barnabus as gods, they refused and turned the people’s attention to Jesus (Acts 14:12-18).

“Does not behave rudely,” – Peter didn’t respond to those who commented that the disciples at Pentecost were drunk. Instead Peter seized the opportunity to explain what actually was going on.

“Does not seek its own,” – Peter didn’t exalt himself or start a ministry in his own name when 3,000 people repented and turned to Jesus as their Savior. Peter and the other followers of Jesus in Acts didn’t seek to enrich themselves throughout the Book of Acts. When Ananias and Sapphira try to make a name for themselves, it doesn’t go well for them (cf. Acts 5). When the Spirit is working in and through someone, they will not seek their own.

“Is not provoked,” – Peter before Pentecost may have allowed himself to be provoked by some of the people’s responses at Pentecost. But empowered by the Spirit, none of those baptized with the Spirit were “provoked” in any way on Pentecost. Throughout Acts, when the Spirit is working, we don’t see those He works in and through getting provoked.

“Thinks no evil;” – The early church people didn’t look down on those in need but instead sold their own property to care for those in need. We don’t see those empowered by the Spirit thinking evil toward others or thinking evil within themselves.

“Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;” – On Pentecost, Peter didn’t rejoice in the iniquity of the people being exposed, he rejoiced in the truth that their sins could be forgiven if they repented and put their faith in Jesus. Later, when Herod is struck down and eaten by worms, the church doesn’t rejoice in that, but instead it states, “But the word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). We also see the followers of Jesus in Acts rejoicing when the Spirit reveals truth to solve problems in the church (e.g., Acts 10:34-48).

“Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” – The entire Book of Acts shows the early Spirit-empowered church bearing persecution, believing in Jesus to get them through, hoping in God, and enduring difficulties, all because of the love they have for Jesus. Truly, right up to the very end and throughout history until now, those who are empowered by the Holy Spirit are proof that, “Love,” the love of the Spirit, “never fails.”

Yes, love is at the heart of all the Spirit does in the Book of Acts. The power of the Spirit is the power of Christ’s love in and through us. We see that at Pentecost and beyond.

The Spirit Empowers to Apply God’s Prophetic Word

It’s important to keep the context of this Pentecostal event in mind. Peter, and the others, who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, now stands in front of those who, just a few days before, were shouting for the crucifixion of Jesus. The baptism with the Holy Spirit empowers people with courage to stand and communicate the gospel of Jesus.

What made Peter’s message powerful? What is the nature of a Spirit-empowered message? Let’s see.

• Acts 2:13-15 – ¹³ Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” ¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵ For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

Jewish tradition of the day was that on feast days and the Sabbath there would be no drinking or eating before nine o’clock. Since the day began at sunrise or around six in the morning, “the third hour” represented nine o’clock in the morning. Hence, Peter pointed out they wouldn’t likely be drunk seeing it was just nine o’clock in the morning on a feast day.

The Spirit-empowered message was powerful because the Spirit gave Peter perception about the audience. Peter begins his preaching by making an observation of his audience and proceeding on the basis of what he perceived in the Spirit.

Peter says, “as you suppose,” which tells us he has grasped a sense of what the people around him were thinking from what they said. The Spirit brings to Peter’s attention what the audience was questioning. The onlookers who now saw the effects of the baptism with the Holy Spirit evidently assumed that these disciples were drunk. Peter addresses that faulty misconception and proceeds to correct it in the Spirit. Today, when we witness to people, we should rely on the Spirit to direct us, to inform us about the concerns or impressions or ideas of people and follow His leading in how to respond to the situation. Our world is filled with misconceptions about life and current events and the Spirit wants to use us to bring a Godly perspective in such situations.

• Acts 2:16 – But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

From the start Peter is moved by the Spirit to recall and apply a portion of Scripture to the situation. One of the most effective ways of witnessing or ministering is to apply God’s word to the practical situations, problems, and questions in life. This is what the Spirit moves Peter to do here.

As much as “User Friendly” churches want to disclaim it or de-emphasize it, the Bible is where Peter was moved by the Spirit to address the onlooker’s misconceptions and start this powerful message. A Spirit-empowered message is powerful in proportion to the amount of Scripture upon which it is based. Peter was directed by the Holy Spirit to point the people to the word of God. Peter applied the word of God to this situation. And notice Peter spoke clearly and thoroughly by quoting Scripture from memory. Peter didn’t whip out a laptop filled with Bible study programs or even whip out a Bible; he had it all in his heart and mind. As we study through Acts, notice how well the disciples knew God’s word.

The Spirit enables Peter to remember and interpret a prophetic word. Jesus said, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13). Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as, “the Spirit of truth.” Jesus said the Holy Spirit would, “guide you into all truth.” Jesus also said of the Spirit, “He will tell you things to come.” That last phrase is fulfilled in Peter’s message at Pentecost as we will see him explain the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32 in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Psalm 16:8-11 in relation to Jesus’ resurrection, and Psalm 110:1 in relation to Jesus as God’s promised Messiah and His deity.

When the Holy Spirit came upon those waiting in the upper room at Pentecost, it was to bless them with the spiritual gift of tongues and empower Peter with the spiritual gift of teaching. Accompanying this spiritual gift of teaching was the Spirit’s enablement for Peter to remember God’s prophetic word and properly interpret and apply it. The Spirit led Peter and the others into “all truth,” and communicated to Peter the “things to come,” that were being fulfilled prophetically at Pentecost.

This prophetic element is something that is often missed. When the Holy Spirit comes upon people, based on what happened at Pentecost, there is an interest, interpretation, and application of the prophetic word of God. Approximately 27% of the Bible is prophetic. That’s a significant proportion of God’s revelation. If God felt so strongly about prophecy that He devoted nearly one third of His revelation to it, then we should pay attention to it. If you have no interest in the prophetic aspect of God’s word, maybe you ought to seek the Spirit’s intervention to awaken an interest in this aspect of God’s revelation. When the Holy Spirit comes upon people, it invigorates an interest in prophecy and the ability to interpret and apply it to life.

What does Peter’s Spirit-guided reference to God’s prophetic word say? Peter recites Joel 2:28-32:

• Acts 2:17-21 –
  ¹⁷ “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
  That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
  Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
  Your young men shall see visions,
  Your old men shall dream dreams.
  ¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants
  I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
  And they shall prophesy.
  ¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heaven above
  And signs in the earth beneath:
  Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
  ²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
  And the moon into blood,
  Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
  ²¹ And it shall come to pass
  That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
  Shall be saved.”

The Spirit-empowered message of Peter was powerful because it pointed to the fulfillment of prophecy. In the final book of the Bible, a prophetic book, a book about the future, it states, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10b.) The message of Jesus is prophetic. That is true in the Book of Revelation. It is also true for all of Jesus’ words because His words or testimony deal with eternal destiny. What you do with Jesus and His gospel will determine your eternal destiny. How you respond to Jesus will determine if you spend eternity in a heavenly blissful abode with Him, or in an eternally torment-full place called the Lake of Fire (cf. Revelation 20.)

In Acts 2:17-21 Peter quotes from Joel 2:28-32. While Joel 2:28-29 was fulfilled at Pentecost, verses 30-32 that Peter also quotes here were, for the most part, not fulfilled at Pentecost. The words, “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved,” did come to pass when Peter gave the invitation to be saved to his listeners. But Joel 2:30-32 quoted by Peter speaks primarily of a yet future time and coincides with the great cataclysmic events of the Tribulation (e.g., Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21; Revelation 6-19).

The purpose of the Tribulation is the same as all previous days of the LORD, to shake up and wake up those who have been disregarding or dozing on the LORD. God is going to rattle some cages and hopefully many will call upon the name of the LORD and be saved. A study of the Book of Revelation 6-18 reveals that there will be an unprecedented revival on earth during this Tribulation shake up of God (See Revelation 7; 11; 12; and Revelation 19).

How persuasive and impressive is prophecy in the Bible, especially as it relates to Jesus? In his book Answers For Today and his message entitled, “The More Sure Word”¹⁵ Pastor Chuck Smith points out that in 2 Peter 1:19 KJV Peter refers to the “more sure word of prophecy.” He says, “For over a thousand years, holy, Godly men wrote down the inspirations that God sent their hearts, telling of One whom God would send to be the Savior of the World. They listed His birthplace, the circumstances of His birth, and the events of His life. They even predicted how He would suffer and the way He would die. Finally, they wrote of His resurrection.”

Chuck Smith goes on to write:

Examining the records of these holy men of God, we find over 300 stipulations concerning the Messiah and what He would accomplish in His birth, death and resurrection—The LAW OF COMPOUND PROBABILITIES allows us to accurately calculate the chance of any prophesied event taking place. Each stipulation added to the prediction lessens the chance of the event’s occurrence, because the possibility of several details coinciding is more remote than the possibility of one event alone. When 300 details are considered, the chance factor becomes astronomical…

He continues:

For instance, Micah 5:2 said Christ would be born in the city of Bethlehem. The chance of a person being born in Bethlehem is easy to determine by taking the average population of Bethlehem since the time of the prophecy about 725 B.C. – it turns out to be about 7,000 – and comparing it with the average population of the earth – about 700 million. Divide the second by the first, and you find there is one chance in 100,000 of being born in Bethlehem.

We should also consider that a person cannot plan their birthplace, that is, unless they are God in the flesh!

Pastor Chuck Smith then lists just eight of the many prophecies regarding Jesus:

Malachi 3:1 – forerunner who would prepare the way for Him.

Zechariah 9:9 – Triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

Zechariah 11:12 – Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.

Zechariah 11:13 – The 30 pieces of silver would be used for a potter’s field.

Isaiah 53:7 – Although innocent, Messiah would not defend Himself.

Psalm 22 – States both hands and feet would be pierced.

John 19:36 – Not a bone of His will be broken.

Psalm 16:10; 49:15; Isaiah 25:8 – He will be raised from the dead.

Pastor Smith then goes on to explain:

Multiplying these chance factors according to the Law of Compound Probability, we establish how many men we would have to look at before we found one who met all eight stipulations. The number of men would be 10 to the twenty-eighth power, or 10, followed by 28 zeroes.” (And those are conservative estimates!)

If you had that many silver dollars, you could cover the entire state of Texas with a layer of silver dollars two feet thick – and Texas is a big state! If you marked one of these silver dollars and let someone roam through them blindfolded, his chance of coming up with that marked silver dollar would be the same as the chance of one person just happening to fulfill the eight requirements laid out in the prophecies we looked at. But there were over 300 stipulations contained in the prophecies!…

Assuming the chance factors for another eight prophecies would be fairly equal to the factors of the prophecies we examined, there would be one in 10 to the 45th power, or 10 followed by 45 zeroes. This number is so vast that if you had this many silver dollars, you could make a ball of silver dollars with a diameter, …30 times the distance from the earth to the sun. Can you imagine marking one of these silver dollars and letting some fellow dive into the pile blindfolded? Can you imagine him grabbing the dollar you marked, just by chance?…

Increase the number to 48 requirements. Now the chance factor increases to one in 10 followed by 157 zeroes, a number so huge our minds can’t really conceive it. There’s no way to make a ball this size of silver dollars. Even if there were enough silver dollars to make it, the universe is just too small. Let’s compare the number to one of the smallest things we know – an electron. If two and a half quintillion electrons were placed single file, the line of them would only be an inch long. That would be 2.5 x 10 to the 15th power. To count these electrons would take one person 19 million years of counting day and night at the rate of 250 per minute. Imagine how many electrons there are in a one-inch cube – three times two and a half quintillion. To count that many would take 57 million years!

10 to the 157th power electrons make a solid ball the estimated size of the universe, which has a radius of approximately six billion light years. In fact, if you could go into mass production and somehow start manufacturing these balls at the rate of about 500 per minute, you could go on making them for the six billion years it is estimated [by secular scientists] that this universe has been in existence and you could do that [100 trillion times over.] Now if you marked just one of the electrons you had used to make the balls and asked someone to find it, the chance that it would be found by random selection is the same chance that Jesus had of fulfilling 48 of the requirements set forth in prophecy just by accident. And Christ fulfilled over three hundred!

There is no other religious book that has the characteristic of prophecy like the Bible does. The Bible has proven to be 100 percent accurate in its prophetic content. In his book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell refers to the importance and power of the prophetic aspect of the Bible saying:

Wilbur Smith, who compiled a personal library of 25,000 volumes, concludes that “whatever one may think of the authority of and the message presented in the book we call the Bible, there is world-wide agreement that in more ways than one it is the most remarkable volume that has ever been produced in these some five thousand years of writing on the part of the human race.

It is the only volume ever produced by man, or a group of men, in which is to be found a large body of prophecies relating to individual nations, to Israel, to all the peoples of the earth, to certain cities, and to the coming of One who was to be the Messiah. The ancient world had many different devices for determining the future, known as divination, but not in the entire gamut of Greek and Latin literature, even though they use the words prophet and prophecy, can we find any real specific prophecy of a great historic event to come in the distant future, nor any prophecy of a Savior to arise in the human race.…

Mohammedanism cannot point to any prophecies of the coming of Mohammed uttered hundreds of years before his birth. Neither can the founders of any cult in this country rightly identify any ancient test specifically foretelling their experience.¹⁶

The Bible is unique and transcends all other religious works and one of the main ways it evidences its uniqueness is in prophecy. Peter points out and validates the experience of Pentecost by pointing to God’s prophetic word.

The Spirit empowers by facilitating a diligent study and understanding of God’s word. These disciples were indeed students of God’s word, as Paul would write to Timothy later in his second letter to the young pastor saying:

• 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

God’s word is the most effective, most sufficient tool the Spirit gives us to use. The word “diligent” is translated from the Greek term spoudazo (σπουδάζω [spoudazo /spoo·dad·zo/]) which is found eleven times in the New Testament and is translated, “endeavor” three times, “due-diligence” twice, “be diligent” twice, “give diligence” once, “be forward” once, “labour” once, and “study” once.” This word means, “to hasten, make haste; to exert oneself, endeavor, give diligence,”¹⁷ “to hasten to do a thing, to exert oneself, endeavor, give diligence”¹⁸ The first step of Bible study is often the first thing that is left out. The first step of Bible study is opening the Bible. You cannot be a “worker” or “student” of the word of God without exerting yourself diligently in seeking to know it. You can carry a Bible around with you, or have Bibles everywhere around you, you can even hold it close to your heart, but if you don’t open it up and prayerfully study it, it won’t do you any good. Look at the Living Bible paraphrase of this verse:

• 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.”¹⁹

The apostles and the disciples of the early church were well verses and studied in God’s word. That is clear from what we see in Acts and that is a key ingredient to being powerfully used by the Holy Spirit.

We see further the worth, sufficiency, edifying nature, and effectiveness of God’s word from such verses as:

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – ¹⁶ “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Scripture is special because it is literally God breathed (Strong’s #2315 – θεόπνευστος theopneustos, theh-op´-nyoo-stos).²⁰ There is no other book like the Bible. The Bible alone is a book directly from God. Is it any wonder that a book from God would be profitable? This book from God is good and profitable for doctrinal teaching, for proving what is truth, for correcting those who go outside the parameters of God’s word, and for instructing in what God’s righteousness is (it is not rooted in anything we do, but in what Christ has done – 2 Corinthians 5:21). This portion of Scripture tells us that this awesome heaven-sent book, when prayerfully used in the Spirit, will make us complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work God will set before us. Believer, you need to get into God’s word, but more importantly you need to let God’s word get into you (cf. also 2 Peter 1:2-4, 19-21).

The Spirit-empowered message of Peter was powerful because it led to a Scripturally validated experience. Peter said, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel,” (Acts 2:16) when people questioned the effectual experience of those who had been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Herein is a vital and important point that we should not glance over. An experience can only be said to be of the Lord to the extent that it is based on and supported by Scripture. If an experience has no Biblical precedent or support, it is not of the Lord.

The Spirit works powerfully by using God’s word. One of the most important characteristics of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit uses the word of God to work powerfully. A Spirit-led message is powerful in proportion to Scripture it relies on. This is why it is so important for the church to rely on Scripture as its authority and spiritual food. When a message is diverted from Scripture with humor, statistics, illustrations even, and these things become the focus, then that message will not have the powerful impact it would have if it relied on Scripture. When the Spirit works, He works through the word of God He inspired (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). This is a truth we need to remember if we are to be powerfully used by God.

The Spirit-Empowered Message was Powerful because it Included the Gospel

Peter continues with the final line of Joel’s prophecy and applies it to the gospel of Jesus Christ:

• Acts 2:21 –
  And it shall come to pass
  That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
  Shall be saved.

The word “saved” (Greek sothesetai – Future/Passive/Indicative verb of sodzo) means shall be saved, shall be preserved, shall be kept safe, shall be rescued, shall be made well. The Old Testament word translated “saved” in Joel 2:32 is yimmalet which is a verbal form of the word melet which means shall escape, shall be delivered. This is a word which is used to convey the idea of escaping from mortal danger. Both Peter in Acts 2:21 and later the Apostle Paul in Romans (Romans 10:13) apply this statement to being saved from the eternal consequence of sin.

Acts 2:21 demonstrates the truth that all people need to call on the name of the Lord. That is because all need to be “saved.” That is because all have sinned, offended God, and fall short of His glorious righteous requirements for heaven (Romans 3:10, 23). Sin separates people from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Sin is the cause of physical and eternal death (Romans 6:23a). Sin is the cause of all pain and suffering. Therefore, those who commit and live in sin deserve God’s righteous wrath (Colossians 3:5-11). Humanity alone is guilty of their sin and rebellion against God.

But God has made a way for us to be saved from His wrath (Romans 5:9). God demonstrates His love in sending Jesus to pay our death penalty on the cross (Romans 5:8). Jesus takes our sin and its penalty on the cross for us and gives His righteousness to us (2 Corinthians 5:21). This glorious exchange is a provision of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). This provision is offered to anyone who would call on the name of the Lord turning from their sins and trusting in Jesus as their Savior. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:13).

When the Holy Spirit is working in and through a person, He will direct them to inevitably turn the conversation to things of eternal destiny. It is the Holy Spirit who brought this prophetic passage to Peter’s mind, and it was the Spirit who brought home the profound and powerful message of eternal salvation from the penalty of sin. The gospel is powerful (Romans 1:16). When the Holy Spirit is working, He maneuvers us as well as empowers us to share the gospel and call people to decision.

The Spirit-Empowered Message was Powerful Because it Focused on Jesus

• Acts 2:22 – “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—

Peter was led by the Spirit to present Jesus and the gospel of grace in His name to his audience. As an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), Peter and all disciples are to point people to Jesus.

Jesus was special and specifically attested to or vouched for by God. Jesus was no ordinary Man, and His miracles, signs and wonders are proof of that. Jesus performed undeniable miracles that were God’s stamp of approval on Him and His ministry. You can’t just say that Jesus was a “prophet” or a “holy man,” because no one was attested to or marked out by God by “miracles, wonders and signs” the way Jesus was.

The word “miracles” is translated from the Greek term dunamis, which refers to “works of a supernatural origin and character, such as could not be produced by natural agents and means.”²¹

The word “wonders” is translated from the Greek term teras, which refers to something that is unexplainable by normal means and causes someone to take notice. A “wonder” appeals to the imagination.²²

The word “signs” comes from the Greek term semeion and refers to something that is an indication or meaningful happening. The miracles of Jesus showed God’s involvement in His works. The miraculous works of Jesus were a sign that God’s hand was on Him and that He was unique. His miraculous works were a sign that He was unique, that He was, Messiah.²³

• Acts 2:23 – Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

Jesus died on the cross according to God’s plan. It was part of God’s sovereign plan that Jesus would die on the cross as a sacrifice for sinful humanity (Isaiah 53; John 3:16; Romans 3). This does not excuse in any way the role of sinful people who put Jesus on the cross. If you want to blame someone for murdering Jesus, look in the mirror! Anyone who has ever sinned is responsible for the death of Jesus. That, therefore, makes everyone guilty. Jesus went to the cross as an atoning sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin for every person and therefore make a just satisfaction of God’s righteous requirement for atonement (Mark 10:45; Luke 1:77; Luke 2:30; Luke 9:56; Luke 19:10; Luke 24:7, 25-27). This is the heart of the gospel, that we were dead in sin and Jesus made a way for us to be saved from sin by paying the penalty for our sin for us (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-10).

²⁴ “Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

Jesus’ resurrection is central and foundational to the gospel. The resurrection is God’s stamp of approval on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. By raising Jesus from the dead, God made clear that Jesus’ atoning death on the cross satisfied sufficiently His righteous and just requirement of the law regarding the penalty for sin.

The apostle Paul summed up the gospel in his letter to the Corinthians saying:

• 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – ¹ “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,”

The resurrection is central to the gospel that Peter is moved by the Spirit to proclaim here. Without the resurrection, there would be no Savior (because He would have been proven a liar), there would be no forgiveness of sin (because we cannot save ourselves by works – Romans 3; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5), and there would be no eternal life (for there would be no First Fruit like Jesus risen from the dead).

• Acts 2:25-31 –²⁵ For David says concerning Him:
  
  ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
  For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
  ²⁶Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
  Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
  ²⁷For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
  Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
  ²⁸You have made known to me the ways of life;
  You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’
  
  ²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.”

Jesus’ resurrection is the fulfillment of prophecy. David was one of the most revered figures in the history of Israel and by showing that David had been inspired by God to predict the resurrection (in Psalm 16:8-11), Peter brought the authority of God through the great king David. Peter points out clearly that David could not have been speaking of himself since his tomb containing his body was right there in Jerusalem (1 Kings 2:10; Acts 2:29). This being the case, Peter states clearly that David had spoken prophetically of the resurrection of Jesus in these verses.

• Acts 2:32 – This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Jesus’ resurrection was not secret but public and witnessed by many. Remember, Peter was preaching this Spirit-empowered message in Jerusalem where about 50 days before Jesus had been crucified publicly and raised from the dead and seen by many people. Peter preached this message on the doorstep of the empty tomb of Jesus so to speak. All he had to do to witness to the fact of the resurrection was point to the empty tomb. The resurrection was undeniable for anyone with an open mind.

There have been many in history to make claims about themselves about things that happened to them in secret without witnesses. Joseph Smith claimed to have been given tablets by the angel Moroni in secret in the woods in upstate New York. No witnesses were around to verify such a claim. There have been many who have made claims (e.g., Eastern Mystics; Cultists; False Teachers, et. al.,) that are unable to be substantiated by witnesses and, in fact, whose lives have contradicted any thought of a real encounter with God. But Jesus was raised from the dead in public for all to see and this fact was substantiated by over 500 witnesses (1 Corinthians 15). This is a powerful truth conveyed by the Spirit through Peter and anyone else the Spirit chooses to use.

• Acts 2:33 – Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

Jesus is the One who has had this tremendous effect on people by the outpoured Holy Spirit. It’s very possible that those who gathered to find out what was going on when the baptism with the Holy Spirit came, had heard the sound of the mighty rushing wind and certainly heard and saw the miraculous work of the Spirit in enabling the onlookers to hear the freshly Spirit-baptized disciples praise God in the Spirit in different languages. Peter wanted them to know that what they heard and saw could not be naturally explained; it wasn’t an accident of nature or something that was the result of drunkenness.

These words of Peter tell us that, Jesus, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, is the One who has orchestrated this powerful manifestation and better yet, has the power to save people from the bondage of sin, give them eternal life, and to change people’s lives. The most powerful point of this Spirit-led message is that Jesus is the One Who died for our sins, rose from the dead and who is able to save and transform our lives. Jesus is not dead, He is ALIVE! JESUS IS ALIVE AND STILL WORKING! This is the primary focus of the powerful Spirit-inspired message of Peter. And this is the focus and point that the Spirit seeks to make in all those who are witnesses to Jesus.

• Acts 2:34-36 – ³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:
  ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
  “Sit at My right hand,
  ³⁵ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’
  
  ³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Jesus is LORD! Jesus has been exalted and sits at the right hand of God. Worship Him! The right hand of God is a position of authority and equality. Interestingly, the word “Lord” (Greek KURIOS) is used to refer to God in Acts 2:21, 34, 39 and here Peter uses it in direct reference to Jesus. Acts 2:39 refers to “the Lord our God.” What is the significance of this association? Peter, by saying that Jesus is “Lord and Christ,” is saying Jesus is equal with God and, therefore, worthy to be worshiped. The aim of the Spirit is to bring people to His throne, to the feet of Jesus in adoration and worship. This is the Spirit and truth in worshipers that God is seeking (John 4:23-24).

Let’s review the seven truths about Jesus found in Peter’s gospel message:

1. Jesus was special and specifically attested to or vouched for by God – Acts 2:22
2. Jesus died on the cross according to God’s plan – Acts 2:23.
3. Jesus’ resurrection is central and foundational to the gospel – Acts 2:24
4. Jesus’ resurrection is the fulfillment of prophecy – Acts 2:25-31
5. Jesus’ resurrection was not secret but public and witnessed by many – Acts 2:32
6. Jesus is the One who has had this tremendous effect on people by the outpoured Holy Spirit – Acts 2:33-35
7. Jesus is LORD! Jesus has been exalted and sits at the right hand of God. Worship Him! – Acts 2:34-36

These seven truths about Jesus are what the Spirit-empowered message should focus upon and bring to bear in our witnessing.

The Spirit’s Power to Bring Conviction of Sin

• Acts 2:37-41 – ³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” ³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Why do you think those who heard this message were “cut to the heart”? Do you think it was because of the persuasive intellectual power inherent in Peter? Do you think it was because Peter had the background of being a fisherman? No, these were cut to the heart because the Spirit took the words He had given Peter and worked them into the hearts of those listening. The Spirit worked on both ends, in Peter and in the listeners, and we will see this method of the Spirit throughout Acts. It was the Holy Spirit who took the words He inspired in Peter to give and cut the listeners to the heart. The Holy Spirit gets right to the heart of the matter with sinful people, and He does that through those who have surrendered to Him and His indwelling empowering work in and through them.

Notice also, Peter did not have to give an altar call; the message empowered by the Spirit drew sinful people to seek to be saved. Peter didn’t have to coax or manipulate people to come forward to be saved. He didn’t have to offer them money, balloons, or some other thing to have them come forward. He didn’t offer them candy, money or things to get them to accept the Lord Jesus. Peter relied on the Spirit to move in the hearts of the sinful listeners. This is a great lesson to learn. If a person can be argued or cajoled into accepting Jesus they can be argued or cajoled out of accepting Jesus. Salvation must be a work of the Holy Spirit, or it is not real (see Romans 8:9-17). Sinners must repent and come to Jesus by faith through the work of the Holy Spirit in order to be saved.

Lastly, when people responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and asked what they needed to do to be saved, Peter directed them clearly and concisely about what they needed to do: Repent and be born again (be baptized as an outward sign of the real inner work of salvation); and be baptized with the Holy Spirit so that you will have power to serve God. Salvation is a work of the Spirit and if ministry is going to be effective, the minister must rely on the Spirit to work.

Peter’s final words here, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39) are important because it shows us that we can ask for what these people experienced. People today can ask to be saved and by faith in Jesus they will be saved, and they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to serve Him. That’s a promise from God!

The result of the Spirit-empowered message is that some 3000 people were saved that day! That is incredible. We should not get discouraged if we do not see the same response as what happened here at Pentecost. As we continue our study of Acts we will see that the apostles and disciples were not always as successful as they were on this day. What we should do is simply in the Spirit, be faithful to call people out of the perverse generation in which we live to repent and turn to Jesus to be saved.

The Spirit’s Power to Build Churches

• Acts 2:42-47 – ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. ⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Acts chapter 2 concludes with an account of the growth and formation of the church. These verses give us a model for the church built by the Spirit. What is the model or parts of a Spirit-built church? Let’s see.

First, God’s model for the church in Acts has at its root, the Holy Spirit helping the people of God to “continue steadfastly.” It states, “And they continued steadfastly…” (Acts 2:42a). The phrase, “continued steadfastly” is translated from one Greek term PROSKARTEREO (Strong’s #4342 – προσκαρτερέω – pros·kar·ter·eh·o/) which occurs ten times in the New Testament being translated as “continue” four times, “continue instant” once, “continue steadfastly” once, “attend continually” once, “give (one’s) self continually” once, “wait on” once, and “wait on continually” once.”²⁴ The grammatical form of the word emphasizes an ongoing persistence, it means, “to be earnest toward,…to persevere, be constantly diligent,…to adhere closely to…”²⁵ These disciples were wholeheartedly committed to, passionately dedicated to, zeroed in on and focused upon the things mentioned about the church, which follow here.

Think of the focus people have at the critical time of a movie or a sports match; think of how you would hang on every word of someone who was bringing information that was of particular interest to you. These people lived for their life in the Spirit and what God was doing. There was nothing else in their lives that came close to challenging their interest and dedication to the work of the Spirit in and through them and their brothers and sisters in Christ. When the Spirit spoke, they jumped to ready service.

This focus and passion are something that is frequently missing in the church of our time. We have TVs, computers, the Internet, cell phones, hobbies, sports, careers, and a myriad of other things to distract us from the same kind of passion for the Spirit that these first-century believers had. But it’s not too late and it’s not impossible to recapture that zeal. The Holy Spirit working in and through us can bring it back and make it real for us if we let Him. What was it that the Spirit was doing that these early church believers were so passionate about?

Second, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit teaching the word of God through people of God. It states, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine” (Acts 2:42b). “Doctrine” here simply means “teaching” (Greek DIDACHE – Strong’s #1322 –διδαχή [did·akh·ay/]).²⁶ What was it that the early apostles were teaching? They were teaching what the Spirit was bringing to their remembrance just like Jesus said (John 14:26; John 15:26). Jesus had obviously taught the word of God to the disciples as attested to by their use of the word in ministry. In the Spirit they were teaching the word of God to others as Jesus had taught them. When the Spirit acts, he moves people to teach God’s word. The teaching of the word of God is the mainstay and priority of God’s church. What a tragedy it is that so many churches have left the simple expository teaching of the word of God. The impotence and apostasy we find in churches is directly correlated to the absence of proper teaching of God’s word. If a church is to be a church according to God’s model, it must be a church where the word of God is taught in the Spirit.

Why Study the Bible?

Why study the Bible? The Spirit who inspired or breathed out the words of the Bible through holy men, gives us many reasons for studying the Bible. Here are a few:

First, new believers need a steady diet of God’s word to grow in their faith. The apostle Peter was inspired to write:

• 1 Peter 2:2 – “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,”

God’s word is filled with all of the spiritual nutrients necessary for spiritual nurture and growth. The new believer needs to study God’s word so that they know what and why they believe and have been born again. Feeding on God’s word equips the believer to move into a life of discipleship where they share God’s word with others. Therefore, God’s word is essential to spiritual growth from the onset of life in Christ to the sunset of life on earth.

Second, studying God’s word gives the disciple skill and discernment in ministry. As the disciple studies God’s word he or she becomes equipped to minister and be used by God to further His kingdom plan. The Bible instructs us that the disciple should not only familiarize themselves with the entry-level truths of repentance, faith, salvation, etc., but that the disciple should broaden their understanding of God’s will by feeding on the full counsel of God’s word.

When Paul was saying farewell to the Ephesians church he reminded them of how he had taught them the “whole counsel of God”:

• Acts 20:26-28 – ²⁶ “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. ²⁷ “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. ²⁸ “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

Paul, in his letter to pastor Timothy expressed the importance of being an ongoing student of God’s word when he was inspired to state:

• 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – ¹⁶ “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The Bible is a manual for life. God made humankind and gave us an instruction manual so that we would know how to get the most out of life on earth as well as be prepared to live life eternally. God’s word equips us for life. God’s word tells us what is really important in life, what the purpose of life is. In Hebrews, the full study of God’s word is likened to moving from milk to the meat of God’s word and is the means by which the disciple is prepared and equipped to guard against falsehoods:

• Hebrews 5:12-14 – ¹² “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God;l and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. ¹⁴ But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

The implication here is that if the recipients, to which the letter of Hebrews was written, had studied and taken to heart God’s word, they would be better prepared and skilled, “exercised,” for ministry. This leads us to the final statement about why we should study God’s word.

Third, studying the Word of God prepares the disciple against falsehoods, fallacies, and fakeries. In Paul’s inspired letter to the Colossians, he warns them against heretical teachings that diminish the deity of Jesus Christ and that rely on human tradition and worldly philosophy as their foundation. In this letter, Paul exhorts believers to grow in their relationship with Jesus and one of the primary means this is accomplished is by the application of God’s word by the Spirit to their lives. Paul states:

• Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

If we are to grow in our relationship with Jesus and be protected against the evil influence of aberrant teachings, we need to be students of God’s word.

Let’s get back to a consideration of the church the Spirit powerfully builds.

Third, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit bringing together the people of God in the unity of Jesus. It states, “And they continued steadfastly in fellowship” (Acts 2:42c). “Fellowship” is not just hanging out, playing cards or some other game, watching TV together or doing some other thing together. “Fellowship” (from the Greek term KOINONIA – Strong’s #2842 – κοινωνία – koy·nohn·ee·ah/) involves communion, communication, contribution, interacting actively.²⁷ Fellowship is the gathering together of believers to edify one another spiritually by discussing the work of Jesus by the Spirit in and through them. In Hebrews it describes fellowship in the following way:

• Hebrews 10:24-25 – ²⁴ “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The early saints were passionately dedicated to encouraging and exhorting one another to serve the Lord. Is that what you do in your times of “fellowship”?

Fourth, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit helping the people of God to worship Him. It states, “And they continued steadfastly in…breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42d). It may be that the mention of “breaking of bread,” here is simply a further description of the fellowship which was previously mentioned (Luke 24:30). However, it is just as likely that the phrase “breaking of bread” is used by Luke to refer to the Lord’s Supper or Communion (Luke 22:19). If the latter is the case (which seems the best understanding of the verse in the opinion of this author) then what we have here is a devotion to worship the Lord. To partake in the Lord’s Supper or Communion is an act of adoration and worship. Communion keeps our priorities and focus right, since when we partake in it, we remember the gracious work of Christ and how we are Christians because of what He has done, not because of anything we have done. Having this perspective is a work of the Spirit in the believer and is necessary for the church to function as God intended it to function. It is the Spirit who enables the believer to truly worship. God’s design for the church is that it is filled with disciples who worship God in Spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).

Fifth, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit helping the people of God to pray. It states, “And they continued steadfastly…in prayers” (Acts 2:42e). The Holy Spirit helps us to pray (Romans 8:26). The final words of the short epistle of Jude state:

• Jude 1:20-21 – ²⁰ “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

God’s desire is that the people of His Church pray to Him with the aide and direction of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26). God speaks to us through His Spirit-inspired word. We speak to Him through Spirit-guided prayer.

Sixth, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit bring reverence upon the people of God. It continues, “Then fear came upon every soul” (Acts 2:43a). The word “fear” (Greek PHOBOS – Strong’s #5401) here probably means “awe” or “reverence.” When the Holy Spirit is working in a church there will be a reverent sense of the presence of the Lord. This is something much of the church has lost today. In our efforts to emphasize relationship rather than a religious pursuit of God, we often become overly informal and lose the sense of God’s presence and awe. There was a holy awe among the people in this Spirit-filled early church.

Seventh, God’s model for the church is to have the Holy Spirit work miraculously through servants of God. This section goes on to say, “and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles” (Acts 2:43b). The word “wonders” as described above refers to the fact that there were things happening that only God could have done. There was no natural explanation for what was being done in and among God’s people. “Signs” tell us that the wonders done were not just for entertainment or to incite excitement, but they were like road signs that directed people to Jesus. When we see the miracles and wonders done in Acts those used to bring them about always point to Jesus as the Source of the miracles and the works are used to bring people to glorify God.

When considering wonders and signs it is important that they are kept in proper perspective and priority. In Mark when Jesus mentions signs, He says they will “follow” or come after the preaching of God’s word:

• Mark 16:15-18 – ¹⁵ “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Spirit is able and willing to do signs and wonders today. The problem is that much of the church often seeks the signs and wonders first, before the teaching of God’s word, which is a mistake. When signs and wonders are put before the priority of teaching the word of God, the church becomes unstable and emotion oriented. Such a set of priorities also lends itself to the trap of seeking bigger and better signs and wonders, kind of a “can you top this” mentality. There needs to be a balance, a balance like that held in God’s model for the church in Acts.

Eighth, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit bring a helping spirit and attitude to the people of God. This section continues:

• Acts 2:44-45 – ⁴⁴ “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.”

This is not Communism. In fact when we look at the result of such communal type of living we see problems associated with it. It was out of this communal type of living that the first major in-church problem arose when Ananias and Sapphira sought to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11). We also see a disturbance associated with the distribution of goods later in Acts when the believers with a Hellenist background felt they were being neglected by the believers who had a Hebrew background (Acts 6:1-7). Later, Paul needed to take up a collection for the church in Jerusalem because it would appear that very possibly their communal living has led to a financial problem (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

In light of these associated problems, it seems best to understand from these verses that when the Holy Spirit is at work in the church, He creates a helpful and giving spirit among believers. Those in Jerusalem may have taken this spirit to an extreme. IN giving and helping one another we should proceed in the Spirit as in all things.

Ninth, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit move upon the people of God to continually unite them by them opening their homes for fellowship and to move them to live simply in the gladness of the Lord. Verse 46 says:

• Acts 2:46 – “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,”

What a glorious blessing it is when brothers and sisters in Christ enjoy each other’s fellowship and come together spontaneously and frequently to worship the Lord and enjoy one another in the Lord. In one of the Psalms of assent (that the people would sing as they made the trip and assent up to Jerusalem), the blessing of fellowship is expressed through the inspired words:

• Psalm 133:1-3 –
  ¹ “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
  For brethren to dwell together in unity!
  ² It is like the precious oil upon the head,
  Running down on the beard,
  The beard of Aaron,
  Running down on the edge of his garments.
  ³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
  Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
  For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
  Life forevermore.”

Where there is disunity and division, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and the sense of His presence quenched. Paul wrote about this when he was inspired to write:

• Ephesians 4:30-32 – ³⁰ “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. ³² And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.”

The next time you are tempted to gossip, backbite, or be party to a division-causing act, remember, you will hurt the church of God that Jesus died for and calls His bride (Ephesians 5:25-26), and you will grieve the Holy Spirit. Don’t be a part of anything that would cause division whether you are directly or indirectly involved. Rather, “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” That’s the way God’s church functions in the Spirit.

Tenth, God’s model for the church in Acts is to have the Holy Spirit work a heart of praise into His people who trust God to add to the church. It states in Acts:

• Acts 2:47 – “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

These people were not concerned or worried about the growth of the church; all they could do was praise God for all He was doing. The reality of Jesus was so great in their hearts that they were brimming with the love of the Spirit that overflowed into the lives of those around them (Romans 5:5; ). How couldn’t they find favor with “all the people” around them, wouldn’t you look favorably upon those who had a loving servant’s heart and a Spirit produced glow?

You don’t see any “Church Growth” programs in this church, do you? These early disciples didn’t go to any church growth seminars and the early apostles didn’t hold any either. The apostles didn’t rush out of the upper room or after the tremendously impacting Pentecostal event and try to duplicate what had happened. What we see in Acts is an ongoing, living, relating to the Holy Spirit. Here in Acts 2:42-47 we do see products of the Holy Spirit working in the life of God’s people, and, we can draw certain characteristics of God’s church that should be common in all of His churches, but we should never attempt to put God in a box or make hard-and-set ways in which we limit the acting of the Spirit. As we continue our study, we still see that God works in various ways to bring about His plans. And the creativity and varied nature of the way the Holy Spirit works in and through the people of God is far more exciting. Someone has said, “Variety is the spice of life.” I would alter that a bit and say, “Variety is the way the Spirit works in life.”

Conclusion

A Christian wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it did not make sense for him to go to church every Sunday. He said, “I've gone to church for 30 years now, and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But, for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So I think I'm wasting my time…and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving one at all.” This started a hot debate in the paper’s “Letters to the Editor” column over the worth of going to church. The debate went on for weeks until one person wrote this clincher: “I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall what the menu was for a single one of those meals. But I do know this; they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be dead today.” Church is important, but what makes the church important is that the Holy Spirit is at work in and through it. The fellow who had attended church for thirty years and didn’t feel impacted was likely at church in body and not the Spirit. But the last note has value for us too. We may be going on in the Lord for a period of time and not sensing any noticeable changes. But rest assured, if you are open to the Spirit, He will come in and work in and through you. That’s God’s model and plan for His church.

12 John F. Walvoord, and Roy B. Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, ©1985.

13 Jerry Falwell, executive editor; Edward E. Hinson and Michael Kroll Woodrow, general editors, KJV Bible Commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1994.

14 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nelson’s Topical Bible Index [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1995.

15 Chuck Smith, Answers For Today (The Word For Today: Costa Mesa, CA, 1993) pages 178-181.

16 Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict (San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life Pub. 1979) p. 22

17 James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible: Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order. (Electronic ed.). Woodside Bible Fellowship.: Ontario, 1996.

18 W. E. Vine, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2, Page 169). Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 1996.

19 The Living Bible, (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1997.

20 James Strong, The New Strong's Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 1997, ©1996.

21 W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1996.

22 James Strong, New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1996.

23 James Strong, New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1996.

24 James Strong, Enhanced Strong's Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship: Ontario, 1996.

25 James Strong, The New Strong's Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson: Nashville ©1996.

26 James Strong, Enhanced Strong's Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship: Ontario, 1996.

27 James Strong, Enhanced Strong's Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship: Ontario, 1996.