An Acts 2 Church - Spirit-Filled

An Acts 2 Church - Spirit-Filled The church is the body of Christ, the visible manifestation of Jesus to the world. Jesus promised to build His church. How does He build it? How is it to function? Over the coming weeks we plan to look at Acts 2 as the pattern for His church. The first thing we see in Acts 2 is that His church is Spirit-filled. Let us begin with Peter's explanation of the events on Pentecost morning in verses 16-18: This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: " 'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.' " Peter was quoting a prophecy of Joel given about 900 years earlier. Joel had just spoken of God's judgment on Israel, calling them to repentance. After promising renewal in their day, Joel now looks to their future. God would pour out His Spirit and bring salvation to all who call upon Him. Pentecost was the initial fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. God pours out His Spirit on all people, young and old, men and women. All will prophesy, speaking forth the message of God. The result is a day of salvation. As Joel puts it: And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Pentecost is what Joel was talking about. The fulfillment has begun. So, what happened on Pentecost? Listen to Acts 2:1-4: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 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. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. First, there came a sound like a violent wind. Both in Hebrew and Greek one word means both wind and spirit. This sound of wind symbolizes the coming of the Spirit. The violent sound stresses that He comes with great power. Next, what looked like tongues of fire rested on each believer. Fire represents the presence, power, and holiness of God. The Holy Spirit was coming on each of them in power to fill them. Both the wind and fire appear before they were filled. Then, all of them were filled. This is the baptism in the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus and by John the Baptist before Him. All of them spoke in tongues as they were filled. Luke emphasizes the importance of speaking in tongues in the verses that follow. They spoke in tongues as the Holy Spirit enabled them. This was not a learned behavior. No one taught them. Tongues are a manifestation of the Spirit as He fills the believer. Tongues are a seal assuring the believer of one's new relationship with the Spirit of God. Tongues remain as a means of prayer to enhance our relationship with God. Tongues introduce us to speaking by the Spirit. As we read the whole second chapter of Acts, we see that the Holy Spirit desires to manifest Himself through us in the church. He speaks through prophecy, enabling us to speak words of strength, encouragement, correction, and comfort to one another. He proves God's power and love through signs and wonders. He moves through God's people to bring many to salvation as we witness by the power of the Spirit. Enabling our witness is the purpose of our being filled. The coming of the Spirit is our gift from our risen Lord. As Peter puts it in verses 32-33: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. First, Jesus is risen. God has raised Him from the dead. This declares Jesus to be the Christ, the Anointed One promised by God. This also declares Jesus to be our Lord, our Master. Having been raised, Jesus is now exalted to the Father's right hand, the place of honor, power, and authority. There He has received from the Father and for His church the promised Holy Spirit. What happened in verse 4 was Jesus pouring out the Spirit as His promised gift to us. Jesus has kept His promise and fulfilled Joel's prophecy. Is this all? Has the promise been fully satisfied? Acts 2 tells us otherwise. Listen to verses 38-39: Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call. The promise had been received. But if others would repent and be baptized, they too would receive this gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:4 was the beginning of the fulfillment, not the end. The promise was for everyone present. 3000 were saved that day after the Spirit was given. The promise was for all of them and for their children. The children would include grandchildren and later generations. It was not just for that day or even just that time period. The promise was also for those far off. This not only includes those far off in distance from Jerusalem or in time from the first century. It includes the Gentiles as Acts 10, 11, and 15 clearly show. The promise is for all whom the Lord our God shall call, for every believer until Jesus returns. God's plan for His church is that it should always be Spirit-filled. Every believer can and should be filled with the Spirit to be empowered to witness for Jesus. Every believer should speak in tongues. Every believer should prophetically speak to others for God. Wonders and miraculous signs should occur to meet needs and to draw others to faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to exalt Jesus as Lord and Christ. The church is to live as the body of Christ here on earth. The church needs the Holy Spirit to enable us to manifest Jesus as Christ to the world. Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you living daily filled with the Spirit? As the chorus says, "Come, Holy Spirit, I need Thee!" But the gift of the Spirit is only for those who have repented, who have chosen to turn from their sins and turn to Jesus to put their faith in Him as Savior and to live for Him as Lord. Have you received Jesus as your Savior and Lord?