After the disciples had experienced the manifestations of the
Spirit it raised an important question from others in the city. “Amazed
and perplexed, they asked one another: ‘What does this mean?’”
(Acts 2:12).
It was a good question. While there is no end to discussions
about the place and veracity of “tongues speaking” in the Church,
no one ever seems to get around to answering the question: “What does
this mean?”
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came
from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what
seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them”
(Acts 2:2-3). These features (signs) of wind, fire, and tongues were not really
new to the people of God. It was their application that was new.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon
the believers just as Jesus had said, and these signs accompanied the moment.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The signs of Pentecost were descriptive
of what the power of the Holy Spirit would accomplish in the lives of believers.
Every time the Lord chooses to “infill” a place it
becomes a holy place. God marks His presence with various images. These images
are not only manifestations of His presence, but often symbolize the kind
of work God wants to do among His people.
Consider the following passages:
“Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the
camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone
inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And
whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the
entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses
went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance,
while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud
standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at
the entrance to his tent” (Exodus 33:7-10).
“Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle
and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so
Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of
Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled
the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:33-35).
“When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud
filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service
because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. Then Solomon
said, ‘The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have
indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.’
While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around
and blessed them. Then he said: ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to
my father David. For he said, “Since the day I brought my people Israel
out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple
built for my Name to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel”’”
(1 Kings 8:10-16).
“When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven
and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord
filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because
the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming
down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement
with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the
Lord, saying, ‘He is good; his love endures forever’” (2 Chronicles
7:1-3).
On each of these occasions, the Lord chose to fill these places
with His presence and accompany the occasions with signs: fire, smoke, pillars
of cloud, and the Shekinah glory of the Lord. These signs became visible,
tangible evidence of a present God. So also the signs of Pentecost are visible,
tangible reminders that “God with us,” has now become “God
indwelling us.”
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
On the day of Pentecost, the Lord once again filled His temple.
Not a temple made of wood, hay, or stubble. But this time a living temple
(1 Peter 2:4-5).
There was a major change happening among the people of God, but they needed
some confirmation concerning this change. How else would they know that this
change was of God? Their traditions were too ingrained; their historic temple
in Jerusalem too huge. In Jerusalem, on the Day of Pentecost, that change
took place. The locus of the Holy Spirit was no longer associated with places,
but with people—the people of God.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 tells us: “Don’t you know that
you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s
temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”
In times past, the Holy Spirit had been given to individuals,
but never to the collective. Consider the occasion of Saul, King of Israel,
being rejected by God and the transfer of authority to David, the newly appointed
and anointed King of Israel: “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed
[David] in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of
the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah. Now the Spirit
of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented
him” (1 Samuel 16:13-14).
This was an occasion of the infilling of the Holy Spirit, but only for one man. In addition, a case could be made that it was for one man at a time, but that might be stretching the text too far. However, at Pentecost something different, something new is happening. The Holy Spirit is being poured out upon all believers. As each of those in attendance in that upper room could attest: “Look, the Holy Spirit is upon you! And you . . . and even you!” This was new. It was amazing, and it was reenacted each time a people group came to believe throughout the Book of Acts.
