“THE POWERFUL MOVEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” ACTS 2:1-13

Prior to the powerful moving of the Holy Spirit, a great company of believers met on one accord as they waited on the promise of Jesus that they would be endued by the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5). Yes, with great anticipation, these believers waited on the great promise of Christ as recorded in Acts 1:5 which reads, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.”  Ten days after Jesus’ marvelous ascension (Acts 1:9-11), we find the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit baptizing the believers.  The same company of believers referred to in Acts 1:14-15 experienced the powerful fulfillment of the Holy Spirit coming on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1).  These believers were unified, for “they were all with one accord in one place” (v. 1).

The day on which this powerful manifestation of the Spirit’s coming was indeed a planned event (Leviticus 23:15-21).  Pentecost was a tremendous event in the life of all Jewish people.  This event occurred fifty days after the Feast of First Fruits, which is a type of resurrection of Christ (St. John 12:24; I Corinthians 15:23).  So, the day of Pentecost occurred fifty days after the resurrection of Christ.  Pentecost is often referred to as the “Feast of Weeks”, because it occurred seven weeks after the Feast of First Fruits.  Pentecost marks the beginning of the church age in which the Holy Spirit baptized each believer into the body of Christ.

According to verses 2-3, the Holy Spirit manifested His awesome power and presence in an unusual way, for these verses read, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”  These believers both heard and witnessed to the phenomenal power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

In verse 4, the believers were filled by the Holy Spirit.  The filling of the Spirit is not the same as the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  At the point of salvation, each believer is placed into the body of Christ by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13).  We are placed into Christ’s body, the church, only once; however, we are commanded to be filled by the Holy Spirit daily, for Ephesians 5:18 says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”  According to verse 4, no mention is made that the believers were baptized by the Holy Spirit as promised in Acts 1:5; however, a reference to Acts 11:15-16 points to the fact that these believers were baptized by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

According to verses 5-13, the Jews from various areas attending Pentecost were amazed to hear the Galileans speaking their languages.  These Galileans were not speaking unknown languages, but known languages that were understandable (Acts 2:6-8).  The Jews that experienced the phenomenon of Pentecost were from countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (Acts 2:9-11).  The fact that these men were able to speak in the dialects of the people visiting Pentecost caused many to wonder, for verse 12 says, “And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?”  However, many of the unbelieving Jews were in scorn stating that, “These men are full of new wine” (v. 13).

May God Bless!