HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

THE COMMISSIONING OF THE CHURCH

COMMISSIONING

Pentecost—Acts 2

Proclamation

Why tongues?

Tongues and the spread of the Gospel

PENTECOST

Who were the persons involved

Where were they?

When do these events take place?

What phenomena occurred?

THE PEOPLE INVOLVED

2:1, “all”—refers back to chapter 11:2, “apostles whom He had chosen.”1:3, 4, “wait for the promise. . .”1:6, came together with questions1:12-14, return to Jerusalem1:15, “about 120 persons . . .”

No division of group until 2:14They were believers . . .

WHERE WERE THEY?

In Jerusalem1:4, Jesus’ command

1:12, they returned to Jerusalem

2:14, “Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem”

WHERE WERE THEY?

In an upper room1:13, “upper room where they were staying”

Room in which Last Supper was held

Room where Jesus’ appeared after resurrection (Luke 24:33, 36; John 20:19, 26)

House of Mary, mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12)

Architecture of the day?

Large crowd to assemble?

WHERE WERE THEY?

In the TempleLuke 24:52-53, “continually in the temple, praising God.”

Acts 2:46, “continuing with one mind in the temple”

Festival day

Large crowd assembled quickly

WHEN? PENTECOST

Pentekoste, “fiftieth”

Exodus 23:16; 34:22

Lev. 23:15-21

Num. 28:26-31

Deut. 16:9-12

Possible linkage to the giving of the Law at Sinai—Maimonides (1135-1204)

WHAT?

Verses 2-3Sound of a violent wind

Old Testament precedentsNew Testament precedents

Tongues of fireSingular visual, that dividedAssociated with the presence of GodJohn the Baptist (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16)

Relevance of sound and visual?

WHAT?

Verse 4“All”—pantes, same “all” as 2:1

“Were filled”—eplesthesan

“Began to speak”—arzanto lalein

“With other tongues”– eterais glossais

“As the Spirit was giving them utterance”—apophthengesthai

Content of tongues—2:11

WHAT?

Verse 5Katoikeo—live, dwell, settle

Eulabas—devotion and commitment

Verses 6-13What drew the crowd?

Each hearing their own language

The responses of the crowd

COMMISSIONING

Pentecost—Acts 2

Proclamation

Why tongues?

Tongues and the spread of the Gospel

PROCLAMATION

Peter preaches—2:14Peter, the spokesperson

Peter “stands”

Peter “raises his voice,” eparen

Peter “declares to them,” apophthengesthai

True Christian preaching—always something of the prophetic involved

PROCLAMATION

Peter’s kerygma, 2:14-39Defense of the present situation (v. 15)

The text (vv. 16-21, from Joel 2:28-32)

Explanation of the Christ-event (vv. 22-24)

Scriptural defense of the resurrection (vv. 25-35)

The thesis of the sermon (v. 36)

The appeal (v. 38-39)

COMMISSIONING

Pentecost—Acts 2

Proclamation

Why tongues?

Tongues and the spread of the Gospel

WHY TONGUES?

A traditional answerTongues are an external evidence

Tongues are a uniform evidence

Tongues reveal the personality of the Spirit

Tongues evidence the truth of Spirit baptism

Tongues are a testimony to the nature of the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life

WHY TONGUES?

Another answer—the reversal of BabelBabel, the most obvious language event in the OT; Pentecost the most obvious language event in the NTSimilarities between the two accountsContrasts between the two accountsGod chose tongues as the unique sign of Spirit Baptism to signify the universality of the Gospel

WHY TONGUES?

Universal Revelation Universal RevelationRestricted Revelation (Israel)

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COMMISSIONING

Pentecost—Acts 2

Proclamation

Why tongues?

Tongues and the spread of the Gospel

TONGUES AND THE SPREAD

The Juncture TheoryJuncture One—Pentecost, Jerusalem (Acts 2)Juncture Two—Cornelius, Caesarea, (Acts 10)Juncture Three—Disciples of John, Ephesus, (Acts 19)

Benefits of this theoryActs does have a progression (Acts 1:8)Explains why Luke uses tongues selectively

TONGUES AND THE SPREAD

Arguments against the juncture theoryWhy was not tongues mentioned in the Samaria revival (Acts 8)?

There are other instances of tongues in the New Testament (other than Acts 2, 10, 19)

TIMELINE

A.D. 29-30, Acts 2, Pentecost

A.D. 30-32, Acts 8, Samaria

A.D. 31-33, Acts 9, Saul’s conversion

A.D. 33-35, Acts 10, Cornelius’ house

A.D. 53-55, Acts 18, Paul in Corinth

A.D. 53-55, Acts 19, Ephesian disciples

A.D. 55, 1 Corinthians written from Ephesus

OBSERVATIONS

1 Corinthians 12 shows that glossolalia was a prominent aspect of worship in Corinth

Precedes writing of the letter

Could have begun during Paul’s ministry there (A.D. 53-55)

1 Corinthians 14 shows Paul a tongues-speakerWhen did he begin?

Had to be before writing the letter (A.D. 55)

OBSERVATIONS

More occurrences of glossolalia than merely the three in Acts

Could argue that Luke chose to include glossolalia because it was commonly accepted

Deuteronomy 19:15b, “on the evidence of two or three witnesses . . .”