Explore the Bible: Empowered

• The Explore the Bible lesson for March 13 focuses on Acts 2:1-15

The Spirit Squad

“We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit, how ’bout you?” That’s a rather personal question, but everyone knows the proper response is to repeat that phrase again, as loud as possible. In pep rallies and sporting events, the way you and the others around you know you have spirit is your volume. Easy enough.

Many have a more difficult time, though, with the Holy Spirit. Before we engage with today’s passage, we need to ask, “Why?” I suspect one reason simply is the Spirit is difficult to picture in our minds. We “know” what Jesus looks like through his common and generally similar portrayal by artists—even though we have no idea how accurate that portrayal is. We all likely picture God as he is portrayed on the Sistine Chapel or other similar works of art, even though we know that is not an accurate picture of a spiritual being. We realize references to God in a physical way (his eyes, hands, arm, throne, etc.) are an accommodation to the human mind and heart. But how do you draw a picture of the Holy Spirit? A dove? A tongue of fire—whatever that looks like?

Another reason for the difficulty some have is some of our Christian brothers and sisters have been very specific and insistent about how we recognize the presence and power of the Spirit, namely, by speaking in tongues. To that issue, a word is required from two angles, and fortunately, Scripture provides us with excellent perspective in back-to-back verses. In 1 Corinthians 14 as the apostle Paul is winding up his discussion on spiritual gifts in general, and the gift of tongues in particular, he writes in verse 18, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” One side of this issue is that speaking in tongues is affirmed as a spiritual gift by the Apostle Paul, and when we think of “those people who speak in tongues” we should remember the Apostle Paul was in that group. However, in the next verse, Paul states “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue (1 Corinthians 14:19).” For Paul, the key issue is the purpose of the gift and that it is used in its proper function to build up the body, never to divide it.       

How then do we recognize the presence and work of the Holy Spirit? To do so is to recognize the presence and power of God (“the Lord is the Spirit” 2 Corinthians 3:17) and of Jesus Christ (“the Spirit of Christ” Romans 8:9) at work in the world through the church. We must learn to love, know and follow the Holy Spirit. It is an indispensable part of the Christian life. The Spirit, in fact, makes the Christian life possible. The story of the believers at Pentecost offers us an answer.

Free Translation

When God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to the gathered believers on the day of Pentecost, that gift was manifested in a particular way and for a particular purpose. With a sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire resting on them, the gathered believers (likely the same group of about 120 mentioned in Acts 1:15), begin speaking in “other tongues.” The Greek word used in Acts 2:4 and throughout 1 Corinthians is ‘glossa’ and can mean both the body part ‘the tongue,’ but frequently means ‘language.’

At some point, the party moved outside, and the crowd of international Jews and Jewish converts who had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost suddenly heard their own language being spoken. Anyone who has traveled internationally can tell you what a relief it is to find someone you can communicate with in your native tongue. It especially was surprising to this internationally diverse crowd to find such education among people who were obviously Galileans, widely considered the country bumpkins of the first-century Jewish world. They were speaking languages of Parthians, Medes, Elamites (all groups in modern-day Iran), those from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phyrgia, Pamphylia (all regions in modern-day Turkey), Egypt and Libya in North Africa, the island of Crete and Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula. Some, however, mocked the believers and supposed they were drunk. Drunkenness does not typically make people speak fluently in foreign languages, but perhaps the cacophony of overlapping languages from simple Galileans led some observers to be less amazed than amused.  

Peter addresses this last group particularly when he stands to deliver the first Christian sermon. “First of all, we are not drunk!” is an excellent sermon intro. All of what has happened since the beginning of the chapter, in fact, has been an introduction to the proclamation of God’s promises fulfilled through the giving of Spirit and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The Spirit has done exactly what Jesus said it would do, and empowered the apostles to be his witnesses.

One Body and One Spirit

It is important for us to realize the method the Spirit used to bring about the circumstances of the apostles witness. I do not mean tongues specifically, but the broader pattern that will appear repeatedly in Acts and throughout the New Testament. The Spirit draws together in unity those who otherwise would remain separate. In Acts 2, it is those who are separated by language and culture (although not religion), a reversal of the confusion of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). The prophecy Peter quotes from Joel promises the gift of the Spirit on young and old, both genders and slaves. No one is excluded from the new covenant. There are no second-class citizens in the reign of Jesus Christ. Soon, the barrier between Jew and Gentile will be broken down, as well. The Spirit of God that hovered over creation (Genesis 1:2), inaugurates the creation of a new humanity, the people of faith in Jesus Christ. The ongoing work of empowering, unifying and growing that people, who are the church, is the work of the Holy Spirit.    

The issue of recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit constantly is at work but doesn’t get credit for it. When a believer is empowered and inspired to be a witness for Jesus Christ, in word or action, the Holy Spirit did that. When someone reaches across a barrier to offer reconciliation and make peace, the Holy Spirit did that. When a church agrees not to let minor things sabotage their witness and focus on the work of the gospel, the Holy Spirit did that. Where there is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) in a believer’s life or in the church, the Holy Spirit did that. Where has the Holy Spirit been at work in your life and in your church, but you have not recognized the Spirit’s work? We’ve got Spirit, yes we do!