The outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be viewed under three headings, (1) the outward manifestations of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, (2) the inward manifestations of the Holy Spirit, (3) the wider features of the early church.
The Exalted Christ pours out the Holy Spirit on His Disciples 1. The Outward Manifestations of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). The feast of Pentecost was the name given to the celebration of the Feast of Weeks because it occurred 50 days after Passover. It was a one-day festival in which special sacrifices were offered and originally it was a harvest (first-fruits) festival (Ex.23:16; 34:22; Lev.23:15-21). This event on Pentecost began in a house where the disciples were assembled together (v1), just as the Passover originally took place in the context of each home in Israel. We are struck by the suddenness and the magnitude of this first outpouring of the Holy Spirit as He falls simultaneously upon about 120 disciples who are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in foreign “tongues” - what follows are the outcomes of being baptized in the Holy Spirit which enables His disciples to live together in loving fellowship and to engage in God’s mission. We need to take account of two things – firstly, God had prepared for this momentous happening from the moment our first parents rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden and that those preparations took on a new urgency when Father sent Jesus to earth to accomplish His plan of salvation when the eternal Son of God was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary and took on human flesh. The accomplishment of God’s purpose to save us took place at the cross where Jesus died, three days later He rose triumphantly, forty days later He returned to Father and 10 days later we arrive at today – the Day of Pentecost, the occasion of Jesus Christ pouring out the Holy Spirit on 120 disciples who were gathered together, waiting for God to fulfil the word He had spoken to them just before He left them, “He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4-5). The second important factor that we need to consider takes us back again to God’s actions –to see what happened when Jesus got back to heaven! – and for this information we must engage with Peter’s Pentecost sermon, which was his way of explaining to the vast crowd which had gathered together what was going on. There is no greater sermon in the entire Bible than Peter’s Pentecost message which is focused entirely on JESUS CHRIST – His humanity, ministry, death, entombment,
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
resurrection, ascension, exaltation, receiving Father’s enthronement gift of the Holy Spirit and outpouring the Spirit upon His disciples, “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— Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up …” (2:22-24). Peter points to Jesus’ ascent from earth to throne, His receiving from Father the promised gift of the Holy Spirit and immediately He mediates the Holy Spirit through His own person to the waiting disciples, “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 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” (vv32-33). This is exactly as it happened in sequence, in the great outworking of God’s plan. We must view the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as originating in the context of the Godhead - between Father, Son and Spirit. In His teaching about the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room Jesus had said to the disciples, I will send the Parakletos to you” and then He described the Holy Spirit as “proceeding from the Father.” He described this procedure/procession, “But the Comforter/Advocate/Parakletos, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, HE will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (Jn.14:26). “But when the Comforter/Advocate/Parakletos comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, HE will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness because you have been with ME from the beginning” (Jn.15:26-27). The immediate outcome of this procession of the Spirit from Father to Son and from Him to (about) 120 disciples was that as a united group of disciples they were simultaneously filled with the Holy Spirit, or to use Jesus’ expression, they were each one baptized in the Holy Spirit and also baptized into the body of Christ (1Cor.12:13), so this was a corporate experience as well as an individual baptism in the Spirit. Luke records the experience of the disciples, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” Acts 2:4). The verb “filled” (επλησθησαν) - verb, - aorist passive indicative tense - third person plural. This is an important word for us which may refer to an initial experience (Lk.1:15; Acts 9:17), or when people are anointed to speak God’s word (Acts 4:8, 31; 13:9), the word is also used for repeated fillings of the Spirit (Acts 13:52; Eph.5:18). People who have been filled with the Holy Spirit can have subsequent fillings (Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24 and Lk.4:1 and is similar to the anointing in the O.T. prophets. This filling may also be called a baptism (Acts 2:5; 11:16) or a pouring out (2:17f; 10:45), or a receiving (10:47). The verb “baptize” is never used for subsequent experiences of the Holy Spirit.
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
2 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
The experience and the manifestations that accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit were as authentic as those actions which had taken place in the Godhead between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are not used to the Holy Spirit falling on an entire group at exactly the same time, through our western individualism we only expect one person at a time to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is not uncommon in revival for the Holy Spirit to move like a prairie fire through town after town as happened in America in the 1859 revival when people were simultaneously swept into the kingdom of God. It is not uncommon for a whole tribe to turn to Jesus within a very short time when the gospel is preached for the first time. We have read missionary stories of men and women who laboured for a life-time with little success, but the Lord can equally work in a spectacular manner sweeping many souls into the kingdom of God. Who are we to suggest how the Lord should do His work? When the Holy Spirit came upon the elder’s Moses had chosen, 2 of the 70 were still in the camp, but despite this, they were filled with the Holy Spirit simultaneously with the others (Num.ch.17). The same thing happened in Count Zinzendorf’s community at Herrnhut, when the Holy Spirit came to the gathered church there were those who were out in the fields who were simultaneously blessed at the same time as those who were assembled together. This also happened in the Welsh revival when the Holy Spirit was poured out in different geographical locations at exactly the same time. Duncan Campbell, the man who was used by the Lord to spearhead the Hebrides revival said that unique things happened in revival that do not take place under normal conditions. The power of God was such in the Hebrides that on one occasion the house where they were praying shook with the power of God (cf. Acts 4:31) – this happened several times with George Fox. More important than the house shaking was the fact that those intercessors with Duncan Campbell went out of their prayer meeting - it was dark in the early hours of the morning, and they heard the groans of many as they felt the weight of their sin bearing heavily upon them. This was the power of God that could cause the prayer house to shake but could powerfully impact the conscience of many people simultaneously, in that community, causing them to cry out to God for deliverance from the guilt of their sin. Duncan Campbell also said that in the revival he could often discern and predict things which happened in the following meeting he was conducting, or he might choose a text which was striking in its application. Charles Finney once spoke in two adjacent towns and spoke on Sodom and Gomorrah – he wondered why his congregation looked so hostile towards him – only to find out later that that he was preaching in a town called Sodom. One could spend a lot of time listing those marks and evidences of the Holy Spirit’s powerful presence in revival. When I use the word revival, I am using it in the context of Christian history, those occasions when God has chosen to outpour His Holy Spirit and I understand that Acts ch.2 was the first occasion of His outpouring and thus we are speaking about the results of Jesus’ exaltation and His mediation of the Holy Spirit. There is clear evidence in the book of Acts of further outpourings of varying numbers, compare the Jewish Pentecost (ch.2 and ch.4) with the outpouring in the household of Cornelius (ch.10) where the Holy Spirit fell simultaneously upon all that were gathered there and, in both situations, each one of them spoke in tongues as in Acts 2. Repeated refreshing’s are promised by the apostle Peter (Acts 3:19) – how we need these outpourings! In Acts ch.2, Luke’s records what happened in sequence on this day of the church’s birth: 1. The disciples are assembled in one accord and in one location (v1)
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
3 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
2. The wind from heaven (v2) 3. Tongues of fire on each of their heads (v3) 4. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues (foreign languages)1 to the various people groups present (v40 5. Devout Jews (from across the Empire) gather to see what is happening – some mock & others question what is happening (v5-13) 6. Peter’s immediate explanation of events expands into a full account of Jesus Christ. He charges the Jews assembled as guilty for the death of their Messiah (v14-36) 7. The Jews response to Peter’s preaching – conviction of sin, repentance & urgent desire for salvation (37) 8. The promise of the gospel response (v38-40) 9. Belief in the gospel & Baptism (v41) 10. 3,000 new believers (v41) 11. Life together - the church (vv41-47) A Jewish Pentecost2 Before we consider the character qualities of the church, which are the direct outcome of the Spirit’s outpouring, we must consider the fact that this is truly a Jewish Pentecost which has outcomes far beyond Judaism, just as the Abrahamic covenant contained promises which reached beyond the Hebrews, because God was reaching out from his family to embrace the entire word of humankind (Gen.12:3). This is what we would expect as God had chosen to reveal Himself to the world of humankind through Israel, despite their sin and their rejection of Him. Jesus took our humanity, but he was also an ethnic Jew – look closely and you would recognise the facial features of His mother and you would have heard from His lips the dialect of Galilee. The Lord had revealed Himself to the Jews through their sacred Scriptures and the Law. Western civilization owes such much to the Judaic roots of Christianity. Israel are the people of God God had chosen, called, and covenanted to Israel as His people and as the key means of revealing Himself to the world and to use them for His purpose of bringing salvation to all the world. Thus, the Lord gave to them His law and the religion institutions of the Old Testament and revealed Himself by His words and by His dealings throughout their history. When Jesus came, He taught and ministered among the Jews who rejected Him and crucified Him. Now Jesus has poured out the Spirit upon His disciples who are Jews. Later, when Jesus calls Paul, He chooses a man who has been thoroughly educated and taught in the context of Judaism, who believes the central doctrine of the O.T. which is the unity of God – that God is one. He builds his entire teaching on this fact (Eph.4:2-4). Pentecost is the fulfilment of O.T. prophecy3
1
"xenolalia" to speak a foreign language unknown to the speaker. 23 references to Israel, more than the rest of the N.T. put together. 3 Acts 1:6; 2:5, 10, 14, 22, 36, 39, 46; 3:12-13, 25-27; 4:8, 10, 27; 5:21, 31, 35; ch.7, 9:15; 10:36; 13:16-17, 23-43 etc., 21:28; 28:20. 2
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
4 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
When the Lord poured out His Spirit, the apostle Peter explains what has happened by referring to the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament, just as Jesus had done at the synagogue at Nazareth (Lk.4:17-21) and it was indeed true, Pentecost was the fulfilment of prophecy as well as the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise. Peter quotes in His preaching about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Joel 2:28-32. and the outcome which is the gift of prophecy which is accompanied by wonders and signs and end time signs in the heavens (Joel 2:30-31; Mat.24:30; Lk.21:11, 25; Rev.6:12-13). Peter considers that this outpouring inaugurates the “last days” (Acts 2:17) – the Kingdom of God which was so powerfully demonstrated in the ministry of Jesus is now manifest in the ministry of the church and Peter also extends the outpouring beyond Jewish flesh when he quotes the Joel prophecy, “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29; cf. Acts 2:17-18). Pentecost ushers in the Kingdom of God and as such inaugurates the last days which climax in the return of Jesus. His coming is preceded by cosmic upheavals described by Joel, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord” (v30-31; Acts 2:19-20) The Joel prophecy ends as it began, by extending salvation to all, “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved” (v32; Acts 2:21). Further key Scriptures quoted by Peter include references to Jesus’ death, entombment, and resurrection (Ps.16:8-11; 2Sam.7:12; Ps.110:1), His exaltation and mediation of the Spirit. Before Jesus departed, He set the agenda for mission – from Jerusalem to Judea, from Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth and thus we see the beginnings of the church founded in God but located in Jerusalem, spreading to Judea through intense persecution but very quickly transcending its first context and reaching out to the Gentiles, world-wide. Of course, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews, their influence in the church ceased. All the original 12 apostles were Jews and quickly the 11 apostles appointed Matthias to replace Judas. Twelve has great significance with regards to Israel, Jesus spoke about the 12 apostles ruling on 12 thrones (Lk.22:30; Dan.7:22; Rev.21:12). The twelve apostles preached/ministered to the Jews and it was Paul who extended the gospel beyond its Judaic roots (Acts 13:44-47) to the Gentiles, nevertheless Paul continued his practise of going first to the synagogue as he stated in Romans, “For I am not
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
5 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom.1:16; 2:9, 10). However, much of His fruit from there were proselytes (Cornelius was a God-fearer/proselyte). It is an interesting fact that Luke takes all his O.T. quotes from the Septuagint translation.4 (particularly Acts 1:15-26; 13:32-52) and not only that, but he has also so imbibed this Greek translation that he thinks and writes like the LXX. It would be like you, if you had grown up with a revered translation like the KJV (AV), it would begin to affect your grammar, your expressions, and your vocabulary. Thus far, Luke has described what happened in the city, what happened in the disciples, what happened when Peter preached and now, we get to see what happened in the church. Luke throughout Luke-Acts identifies every movement of the Holy Spirit (this is one of Luke’s primary interests). Luke has described the outward manifestations of the Spirit – the pilgrims gathered with the residents for the Feast of Pentecost hear the sound of “a violently blowing wind” which accompanied the descent of the Holy Spirit,5 they see the “appearance of tongues of fire” on each of the heads of the disciples and hear/see the disciples actually speaking foreign languages.
2. The Inward Manifestations of the Holy Spirit There were of course, inward workings of the Spirit which resulted from Peter’s preaching – the crowd experience the unbearable guilt of being charged with crucifying the Messiah resulting in conviction of sin and the urgent awareness of the need for salvation and the gladness of encountering salvation. These are clear indications of the Spirit’s presence and actions – they are the clear evidence of God’s presence in revival power. I have not described the triumphal joy of Peter’s message or its authority and power which resulted in the salvation of about 3,000 souls. I want to show you the inward workings of the Spirit in the lives of those 120 believers who were joined by 3,000 devout Jews, most of whom had never heard about Jesus at all. Were they also filled with the Holy Spirit as well, following repentance, faith, and baptism? Luke says that “they were added unto them” (v41) words reminiscent of similar words just a few verses on, “and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (v47) in between those verses Luke describes the spiritual nature of their fellowship together as the church (2:42-47; 4:32-37). During the next days, 5,000 more believers were joined to the church! This is followed by a second outpouring of the Holy Spirit (4:31) with the same outcomes in terms of their inward lives. The church reflected corporately in the quality of their fellowship together what had taken place in their hearts individually.
4
Luke’s use of the LXX (Greek OT), Acts 2:25-28 (Ps.16:8-11); Acts 2:34-35 (Ps.110:1; Acts 4:25-26 (Ps.2:1-2); Acts 7:4950 (Isa.66:1-2); Acts 13:33 (Ps.2:7); Acts 13:35 (Ps.16:10); Acts 28:26-27 (Isa.6:9-10). Quotes with slight differences, Acts1:20a (Ps.69:26), Acts 1:20b (Ps.109:8); Acts 2:17-21 (Joel.3:1-5a); Acts 3:22; 7:27 (Deut.18:15); Acts 3:23 (Lev.23:39; Deut.18:19); Acts 3:25 (Gen.222:18); Acts 7:6-7a (Gen15:13-14); Acta7:42-43 (Amos 5:25-27); Acts 13:34 (Isa.53:3); Acts 13:41 (Hab.1:5); Acts 13:47 (Isa.49:6; Amos 9;11-12); Acts 23:5 (Ex.22:27). In 2 other scriptures Luke may quote from memory, Acts 4:11 (Ps.118:22; Acts 7:7 (Ex.3:12 & 34). 5 The wind was more than symbol because it was heard, the tongues of fire were seen, like Moses’ burning bush (Gen.15:17; Ex.3:2; LXX; 1Ki.18:38; Heb.12:29). They were signs pointing to the powerful actions of the Spirit taking place at that very moment. Compare the symbol of the dove at Jesus’ baptism (Lk.3:22).
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
6 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
Spiritual transformation came about through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, resulting in corporate fellowship - the church functioning together in agape love and engaging in significant actions/activities, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now, all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 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, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (2:42-47). The above verses are a summary description of the first ever recorded activities of the New Testament church, we consider that these things were as authentically the manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s actions as speaking in foreign languages or preaching as Peter had done with the Spirit’s anointing. The second reference follows the second outpouring, which produced the same inward transformation, which is mirrored in their fellowship together, “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need” (4:31-37). 1) They continued in the apostle’s teaching as clearly stated in Peter’s preaching – he gives an outline of Jesus’ life from His conception to His exaltation - (see Paul’s apostolic teaching in Eph.4:46) which is based on the schema, (Deut.6:4), that God is “one.” By a survey of the preaching in Acts you are able to bring together the content of the apostolic teaching. Clearly, an essential part of the apostolic preaching included repentance, baptism, forgiveness, and the immediate availability of the Holy Spirit. 2) “Fellowship” koinonia. The context of this word koinonia is found in the inter-relationship of the triune God, as they love, converse and worship –the holiness and truth of their communion together is called fellowship and for the very first time this same fellowship has become the experience of these Spirit filled disciples. The word speaks of intimacy and oneness of being/nature, character, and will/purpose. Jesus’ koinonia with Father during the period of His humiliation was marked by utter devoted love, total submission to Father’s will and full obedience to Him. What do these qualities of God, these character attributes look like in the context of fellowship in the corporate life of brothers and sisters living in community together? What we have here is the koinonia of the eternal triune God reproduced in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in the church at Jerusalem. How was this possible? – only by the outpourings of the Holy Spirit from the
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
7 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
heart of Jesus Christ resulting in men and women experiencing the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit means that the nature of God is reproduced in my life, but this also means that when I meet together with other brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, we corporately reproduce the nature of God in our love for one another which is manifested in tangible acts of sacrifice. Things happen in Christ’s outpourings which are entirely the work of God, they have the unique stamp of God upon them. We can have out blue-print of what we understand as the New Testament church, but it is only the power of God that makes it a reality. It was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that created the church and gave to it is unique core-values and features. Not only must we have a blue-print of the early church but we must also have a theology of the Holy Spirit’s power to create and reproduce what takes place in Acts. 3) Breaking of Bread, – this is also called the Lord’s Supper and in our next reference we read that they broke bread daily and from house to house. The informality of the home, or house church meant accessibility for slaves and intimacy. Paul has in his mind these precious times of Breaking Bread together when he tells the Corinthians to “tarry, one for another” (1Cor.11:33). Jesus chose on one occasion following His resurrection in the home of two of His disciples to make Himself known to them in breaking of bread (Lk.24:30-31). 4) Wide-spread fear – was this fear in the believers or fear outside in the community/city? It certainly is not only a NT phenomenon, because we encounter fear on the part of Israel’s enemies. There are further references to fear in Acts (2:43; 5:5, 11, 13, 26; 9:31; 10:2, 22, 35; 13;16, 26; 19:17; 23:10; 27:17, 29). Fear is one pointer to the presence of God evoked in the heart through the evidence of the supernatural presence and actions of God. The death of Ananias and Sapphira brought fear to the heart of believers and unbelievers alike (5:11). I remember Duncan Campbell relating how that when the Holy Spirit came to the Training Home in Edinburgh, everybody was afraid to offend the Holy Spirit’s presence – there is no place for familiarity in the presence of God! 5) In sharp contrast to the fear of the multitude was the boldness of the disciples as they continually spoke and preached the gospel without regard for their own lives (3:12; 4:1ff; 13, 20; 4:29-30, 33; 5:19-20, 32; etc.). This fearlessness was a powerful evidence of the baptism in the Spirit, but it has always characterized the children of God throughout Scripture and can be summed up in the words of Daniel’s three friends when they faced the burning furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Dan.3:16-18). The writer to the Hebrews summed up the martyr mentality of the people of God, “and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev.12:5). 6 Significantly, the first outcome of the second outpouring was boldness (4:33), and this had been their first request when faced with persecution/imprisonment, 6
I discuss martyrdom at length in my document on “Revival in the context of scripture and church history” https://www.christian-history.org/felix-manz-martyrdom.html 6 https://www.ccel.org/v/vanbraght/mirror/cache/mirror.pdf
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
8 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
“And now, Lord, behold their threatening’s: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word” (v29). The evidence of their brave witnessing the gospel is almost on every page of Acts. 6) Unity together is one of the marked characteristics of their fellowship. Unity of doctrine, - yes, but this unity is also one of love - who wants to be together except it be love that attracts and leads to sacrifice? At the heart of God’s love there is costly sacrifice, a depth of love that considers no sacrifice too great because of its love for others. It says an awful lot when we read that these loving believers sold their properties and lands to meet the extreme poverty in the church. I cannot imagine a greater proof of inward change wrought by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of these brothers and sisters. Luke described this so well, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions” (vv44-45; see Mk.10:21-22). This was also unity in corporate mission (Acts ch.13) and it was a tested and proven unity demonstrated at the Jerusalem Council (Acts ch.15). Later christian history gives us a useful expression to describe this phenomenon of people living together, calling it - “community of goods.” This came about through persecution, when the Anabaptists were stripped of their homes and lands, hounded, and killed by Protestants and Catholics alike.7 In no other N.T. church do we read that community of goods took place. Living together in rich fellowship was not living in a community which was apart and separated from the populace of Jerusalem. To live in Christian community means that you do not segregate yourself apart from the world, but you live next door to worldly neighbours and your children go to the local school and as a family you live as close as you can to your church which is situated in the heart of a community. For the Anabaptists living in community included caring for their disabled, young, elderly and widows. It is very moving to read the history of these groups who originated in Europe in the sixteenth century, who sought to live by the core values of the early church as they lived together in loving community as the family of God and to see them as they were persecuted across Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, migrating from country to country, eventually ending up in America and Canada.
3. The Wider Features of the Early Church Moving from the two references in ch.2 and ch.4 regarding the inner characteristics of the churches fellowship together we move to a wider view of the work of God. Everything is the outworking of the outpourings of the Holy Spirit which began in ch.2. 7) The House Church It is understood across the board by Bible teachers and scholars that the early church consisted of multiple house churches. It was not until the fourth century, when Constantine the Roman Caesar embraced Christianity and became the churches greatest benefactor and ally that the church was moved from the home to the public square and church buildings were erected modelled on the secular basilica. Suddenly, the church moved from obscurity to prominence, from persecution to 7
http://www.hutterites.org/history/hutterite-history-overview/
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
9 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
official favour and sponsorship, from poverty to riches and from defencelessness to the protection of the Roman army – from the pastoral staff to the lethal weapon of the sword. Where is revival to be found in the Constantinian church? If you wish to pursue the course of the Lord’s outpourings in the context of Christian history, I suggest that you read my document entitled “Revival in the context of Scripture and Church History” which you can access from my website). Can you imagine their gatherings – informality is one of the features of small house churches, another is accessibility/flexibility - slave converts would have found it difficult to meet at set-times for meetings, instead these homes would have been constantly open for fellowship, Breaking of Bread, and prayer – John Mark’s home was a good example (12:12; see also 4:23), there was probably a high boundary wall around the property giving them space to congregate and fellowship. The Roman villa, like the home of Cornelius would have been perfect for a house church. The house church model avoids the need for formality and hierarchical leadership, in contrast leadership is viewed in the context of the family and functions in that loving context, the house church also has the best advantage of functioning and surviving under intense persecution. Preaching and teaching in every house, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (5:42). Many of Wesley’s future preachers began as new believers in the class-meeting. The real life of the church and the maturing of new believers took place in the context of the house, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (2:46). When Saul persecuted the early Christians, he knew where to find them, “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). One of the primary keys to the growth of the church during the ministry of John Wesley was the vast network of class meetings he established; it was estimated that eventually more people came to the Lord in those house meetings than in the wider context of the revival. Many of his future leaders and preachers were nurtured and developed in these home meetings. 8) Church Growth Looking, at the wider picture of the church we are immediately struck from the first day at the phenomenal growth experienced by the church. 3,000 new believers are converted, baptized and added to them (v41); see also 4:4 where 5,000 are added to the church and later we read, “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” One of the marks of the Spirit’s outpouring is the remarkable success of the gospel and the vast harvest of souls added to the church (5:14). This happens in revival times. We do not read of the vast numbers later, - following the progress of Paul we note that sometimes those who responded to his message were few as when he debated at Athens (17:34). However, if we were to trace the history of the Lord’s work at Athens, we would be surprised at the fruit which came out from that house church. Similarly, at Ephesus, the apostle prayed for about 13 people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, resulting in each simultaneously receiving the gifts of prophecy and tongues (19:1-6) – read on to see what followed! Luke has always been aware of numerical growth (2:47; 5:14-16; 6:1, 7; 11:21 etc.).
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
10 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
9) “Signs and wonders” by the apostles, the miraculous marks the progress of the church as it expands throughout the empire (2:43). Initially these miracles took place through the apostle’s ministry (Acts 2:43; 3:6; 4:30, 33; 5:12-16; 6:8; 8:6-7; 14:3; 15:12; 19:11-12; cf. Rom.15:19; 1Cor.12:10, 28; 2Cor.12:12; Gal.3:5; Heb.2:4). On the first occasion of Peter and John visiting the temple following the outpouring they heal a man who was lame from birth (ch.3), resulting in powerful witness and preaching about Jesus Christ. Stephen also encountered signs and wonders in his ministry (6:8) and Philip the evangelist experienced a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Samaria, accompanied by signs and wonders (8:5-8). Surprisingly, Ananias, an unknown disciple from Damascus prayrd for Paul to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Note the occasion when the Spirit was poured out in miracle power on the church and particularly through Peter as God’s instrument of miracle power (Acts 5:12-16). Incredibly this powerful outpouring followed the dramatic judgement of Ananias and Sapphira. Even the shadow of Peter passing over sick people brought immediate healing to them. A similar outpouring of miracle power was also manifested in Paul’s ministry at Ephesus, “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them” (19:11-12). A similar manifestation of miracle power was experienced among the Galatian churches, “He therefore that ministers to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you ...” (Gal.3:3). Of course, when we are examining the core-features of the apostolic church we remind ourselves of Paul’s teaching on the subject of spiritual gifts (1Cor.12, 14). 10) Following the previous paragraph on the subject of spiritual gifts I will discuss the gifts of tongues (glossolalia). The only reason I did not begin my list of characteristics of the churches corporate life by discussing the gift of tongues is simply because it is not mentioned there in Luke’s two descriptions in ch.2 and ch.4. and the other reason was because I had dealt with it as one of the outward manifestations of the Spirit’s outpouring – in actual fact the gift of “other tongues” other languages to their own, accompanied by the living symbols of the wind and fire. These two symbols were not repeated again, but tongues recur repeatedly throughout Acts. The correct word for speaking in unknown languages is xenoglossia, a miraculous ability that marked their baptism in the Holy Spirit. This point is crucial, that we recognise that they were actual languages which people recognised and understood (there have been occasions when this phenomenon has been repeated). Luke records that there were dwelling (residents as well as pilgrims?) at Jerusalem, “Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven” (v5). Luke is pointing us back to Babel - “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech” (Gen.1:11). He underlines this by using a striking word to describe the reaction of the startled onlookers whose first reaction when they heard their native tongue was thst they were confounded/confused (συνεχύθη – συγχέω, the original verb), hearing their own tongue in the midst of many other tongues being spoken at the same time caused the bewilderment. Luke has used the exact same word here as we find in the LXX translation, “Come, let Us go down and there confound/confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Gen.11:7). (The KJV transition uses the word confound and the NKJV uses the word confuse, but the direct link is there. Pentecost’s manifestation of understood languages is a phenomenal sign from God, demonstrating that the Holy Spirit will unite all men and women in
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
11 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
Christ who is Lord and overcome every barrier which hinders communication between the people of God throughout the world, but it speaks even louder about God’s intension to reach every people group in the world. God does not remove the impediment to mission which came about through Babel – foreign languages have to be learned in order to communicate the gospel, nevertheless, the outpoured Spirit, baptizing men and women for mission will overcome all barriers which hinder mission and unity in the body of Christ. Later, this same phenomenon occurred in the home of Cornelius when Gentile believers were simultaneously baptized in the Holy Spirit as Peter was preaching and immediately, they began to speak in tongues, “While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” (10:44-46). Having established that “tongues” is unknown languages (ch.2), we have the testimony of Peter to the Jerusalem church that this speaking in tongues was the same as what they had experienced in the beginning, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ” (11:15-17). The one significant difference between the manifestation of tongues here and Pentecost is that the languages were not required to be interpreted because these people were locals and thy had understood every word which Peter had spoken to them. Nevertheless, he maintained that the tongues manifested here were the same gift as in Acts ch.2. Take this further and examine Paul’s unique teaching about tongues being exercised in the church at Corinth, this means that thy were also unknown languages which required interpreting to the hearers – Paul is quite radical here because he says that if there is no interpreter present the tongues speaker must remain silent. Of course, he is saying this in the context of a church where the gift is not being used properly. Paul then teaches about the proper exercise of this gift in direct relationship to God and not in the context of the church where messages from God in tongues must be interpreted. No higher view of the gift if tongues is conceivable than to see its operation in relationship to God, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries” (1Cor.14:2). It is not difficult to identify those occasions in Acts when the gift of tongues marks the Spirit’s filling (e.g., Jerusalem, Caesarea, Ephesus) and those occasions when there is no reference to tongues (e.g., Samaria, Antioch, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth etc,). Of course, from Paul’s letter to Corinth we know that the gift of tongues was predominant in the church there. A further point of significance is that spiritual gifts of healing were evident in each of the places I have named and the fact that tongues is not mentioned in these places does not mean that tongues was not present. When Paul wrote about tongues at Corinth, he referred to, “the tongues of men and angels”
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
12 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
(1Cor.13:1). The final question we have to ask ourselves is whether the gift of tongues manifested in the church today is the same as manifested in the early church, but we would also ask ourselves the same question regarding prophecy. 11) The early church encountered persecution which continues throughout the history of the church through to today. The intensity of persecution is revealed in the book of Revelation. The churches of the New Testament were first persecuted by the Jews – see the opposition Jesus faced and His crucifixion by the Jewish authorities. Peter’s first sermon accuses the Jews of crucifying their Messiah. Throughout Acts we encounter Jewish opposition to the gospel. Later, the Roman over-lords of Palestine persecuted the church as well as the Caesar’s in the context of the Empire, nevertheless the gospel spread – and it spread from the beginning by persecution and the gospel’s progress was continually accompanied by persecution (4:1-3, 5-22, 29-30; 5:17-42; 6:9-7:60; 8:1-4; 9:1-2, 23-25; 12:1-23; 14:19; 16:19-24, 35-40; 17:5-10, 13-15; 18:12-17; 19:23-20:1; 21:27-28:31). Paul was taken captive as a prisoner in Acts ch.21:33; and he remained so throughout the remainder of the book. On several occasions in Paul’s letters, he refers to the extent of his sufferings on account of preaching the gospel (e.g., 2Cor.11:23-33). Again, I have considered this topic further in my module on Revival. Outpourings of the Holy Spirit have immediate results, but they also have long-term outcomes and as we observe these, we begin to see the reasons for God’s outpouring. It would take us longer to piece together the outcomes of Pentecost than simply to identify the immediate results we listed from Acts ch.2 and ch.4; we would need to read the whole of Acts to see what God is doing. It is true that in all revivals and outpourings of the Holy Spirit we can identify the purposes of God in outpouring His Spirit upon the church. Revival initiates new chapters in the work of God, gives new insights into truths which have often been lost and gives new impetus and energy to the work of God in mission. Can we expect further outpourings? Of course, as we encounter end-time conditions as they were described by Jesus (Mat.ch.24) so we can anticipate end-time outpourings of God’s power to engage with men and women who are hostile to God and to face conditions which threaten the survival of our human race. 12) The church engages in mission, we can expect God to further outpour His Spirit when the church engages in mission, this happened in the early church, wherever the gospel advanced into new unreached areas the preaching was accompanied by signs and wonders as God poured out His Holy Spirit. Both Peter, Philip, Stephen and no doubt many others including Paul encountered this. The missionary church at Antioch was begun by believers from Jerusalem who had been scattered by persecution spear-headed by Saul of Tarsus, they talked the good news of the gospel to everyone (Acts 11:19-21). The same thing happened in the 1859 revival as took place in the outpouring at Pentecost, young men and women who came to the Lord in the revival became missionaries and as they pioneered among new people groups, as they preached the gospel and planted churches, they experienced further outpourings of the Holy Spirit. Notice how Stephen and Philip were catapulted into a ministry of healing, deliverance and preaching having been filled with the Holy Spirit in the context of a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit at Jerusalem and how they took that blessing with them wherever they ministered.
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
13 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021
The Day of Pentecost
If we ask ourselves, what fuels revival? - we have plenty of material to answer that question from the story of the early church. But we must then ask ourselves, what puts out the fire of revival? Did the early church lose its fire and with its loss the momentum of mission and the manifestation of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit? Again, to answer these questions we would have to consider the state of the churches which had been founded mostly by apostles. We would need to examine the churches which Paul founded from the evidence of Acts and the letters he wrote to them. The state of the churches of Asia is shown to us in the Revelation when Jesus comes to diagnose their spiritual condition and to oversee their repentance and restoration. It was John Wesley’s view that the church lost its power in relationship to the manifestation of spiritual gifts due to its lukewarm condition. It is illuminating to read a letter written by him (it took 20 days to write!) to Dr Middleton of Cambridge University where he demonstrates from the N.T. and subsequent church history, his conviction about spiritual gifts (including tongues) and miracles in contradiction of the learned professor. 8 Long term results of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts would require us to study the whole of the book, but to gain a New Testament perspective regarding the outcomes of God’s outpourings is a much greater task. This will then lead us to examine the Old Testament for evidence of revival features and to a wider consideration of the phenomenon of revival in the context Christian history. I am still on that journey – it an exciting exploration but it is also a quest of the heart, a hungering for the manifestation of God’s Holy Spirit in revival power. It is a thoroughly biblical journey which is grounded in the nature of God and the truth of salvation. It is a journey of discovery which is to be found in the history of the church from Pentecost right up to the present time and prayer for further outpourings of the Holy Spirit in the future, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). A prayer for personal & corporate outpouring: “Holy Spirit bring repentance to our churches and forgive our lukewarm condition, our unbelief, our fearfulness, our worldliness, our materialism and pride. Transform our lives by filling us now with the Holy Spirit, enabling us to live in holiness and love before You. Transform our churches by outpouring the Holy Spirit so that in our fellowship together we reproduce the nature of God and fulfil Your will.” The promise of Jesus to His disciples: “but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (1:5), and “you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (1:8).
8
John Wesley, “The Letters of John Wesley, Vol.2” (Epworth Press 1931) pp312-388
New Life Radio – Talk No 34
14 Derrick Harrison
02/06/2021