Lesson 10/14/07

PETER EXPERIENCES THE WONDER OF PENTECOST TWICE!

      A few days ago Jack asked me how he was doing as president of the class, or rather co-president. After thinking about it for a moment, which Gidget took as a bad sign, I told him that I really appreciated his relaxed demeanor as I thought it was good for the class. I then realized and commented on the fact that Brenda, our other co-president, has more of a let's get down to business demeanor and that too is good for the class.
      I then mentioned that whether he was opening up the class, or Brenda, we just needed to be alert to starting the class on time - on time meaning when most people have their coffee and refreshments. I also mentioned that if he ever sees me pacing back and forth in the back of the room it means I'm wanting things to move along at a faster pace.
      In other words, when I'm ready for things to happen I am not very good at waiting. What is interesting to note in this regard is that there is an art to this matter of waiting. I can't say that I'm in tune with the "art of waiting" but I know Scripture has a lot to say about it. For example, Psalm 62:5, in the RSV version of the Bible, reads,
"For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him."
      Here it is clear that the word "wait" means to be quiet - to hold our peace.
      Psalm 37:5 also uses the word "wait" and, in the NIV, it reads,
      Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
      In this case the word "wait" means to wait with expectation. It's refusing to take matters into our own hands. It's choosing to not interfere with God's work in this world. Instead we are to patiently wait and see what is going to happen. It's remembering God's schedule, his program, is different from our schedule.
      Then in Isaiah 40:29 - 31, in regards to this matter of waiting, we read,
      He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope (wait) in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
      Here the word "wait" means to collect or bind together for strength. To carry a heavy load you would bind several poles together to carry the weight. In like manner, the best way to wait on God is to bind together his promises in regards to a particular matter.
      So the disciples waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. They persevered not knowing what Jesus meant by a few days. Maybe he meant two or three days, which is what I mean whenever I use the phrase "a few days", or maybe he meant a week or longer. Whatever the case, this company of believers must have purposed as a group to wait as long as they would have to wait.
      While they waited they prayed with each other. Perhaps they prayed as they read the scrolls and were reminded of the fact that God always keeps his promises. Perhaps they prayed about the fact that there was a spot to be filled among the apostles and as they meditated on this issue they were reminded of what the Word had to say about it.
      In short, as a company of believers they were:
                              - persevering
                              - purposeful
                              - prayerful
                              &
                              - precious
      But they were not a powerful company of believers. In fact, I suspect some of their prayers had to do with the fact that they were fearful of the religious authorities; that they were in need of God's protection. Then too, it is easy for me to picture Peter pacing back and forth as he waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
      I can picture him pacing for any number or reasons. He paced because he wasn't any better at the art of waiting than I am. He paced because he was ready to do something - anything. But most of all he paced because he had no idea of what was going to happen. That is, he had no idea of what it meant to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and neither did anyone else. And as Peter paced, it happened. In Acts 2:1 - 4 we read,
      When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place (which suggest there was some coming and going while they waited). 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.1
      It sounded like a violent wind but it wasn't wind. They evidently heard this wind but did not physically feel or see it blowing things about the room. In speaking to Nicodemus of the new birth Jesus said,
      "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
      Here, as well as in Acts 2, wind is one of those divinely chosen symbols representing the Spirit of God. Like the wind, the Spirit comes from heaven, fills the world, moves at will, and cannot be cornered or contained by man.
      First they heard the sound rushing into the room and then they saw what appeared to be tongues of fire.   Fire, like wind, is a divinely chosen symbol representing the Spirit of God. It may begin with a small flame but it can spread quickly - especially with a good wind behind it. Then too fire is often associated with judgment, illumination, and warmth. When John the Baptist spoke of what was going to happen down the line in Matthew 3:11 he said,
      "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."2
      This was the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they all partook of it. It embraced them all equally. Peter didn't get a special baptism. He didn't get a double-filling of the Holy Spirit. His filling wasn't super-sized. The most unknown believer among this small company of believers had just as much of this baptism as did Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Peter. They were each given all of the Holy Spirit. The only question that remained to be answered was - Did the Holy Spirit have all of them?3
      But why doesn't it say "And they were all baptized by the Holy Spirit"? Isn't that what Jesus promised in Acts 1:5? Isn't that what John the Baptist predicted as Jesus began his public ministry?   Or why doesn't it say they were "clothed with power from on high"? Isn't that the phrase used by Luke in Luke 24:49?
      Yes, and this is what happened. They were clothed with power from on high, they were baptized into the Holy Spirit, they were filled, they were indwelt, they were filled with rivers of living waters (see John 7:38 - 39), and they were filled by the Holy Spirit. All these phrases are synonymous. In Scripture they are used interchangeably to describe the coming of the Holy Spirit into the heart of every believer.
      Now I want to jump ahead in Peter's ministry. Through a series of transforming events Peter was compelled to take a hard look at himself, in particular at his own set of prejudices. During this process the Spirit was preparing Peter to reach out to the Gentile world by entering the home of a Roman centurion by the name of Cornelius.
      In that home, Peter delivered his fourth sermon as recorded in the book of Acts. It was a sermon destined to be interrupted by an experience not unlike the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 10:34 - 46 we read,
      Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached- 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
      "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen-by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
      While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on (fell) all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
      Note, we now have the Holy Spirit falling on and being poured out on all those who heard the message. Is this a new ministry of the Holy Spirit? No! It is just another way of saying that these God-fearing Gentiles were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
      Peter, according to Luke, simply called it as he saw it. A group of Gentiles heard the message, believed, and with no begging, pleading, or prompting were clothed with the Holy Spirit - it simply came upon them like a new suit of clothes falling off the rack. In fact, Peter had the glory and privilege of seeing the events of Pentecost happening in the home of Cornelius all over again.
      When others heard about it, Peter was criticized and we once again see him explaining things to others - something he does quite often in Acts. In Acts 11:15 - 18 we read,
      "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
      When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
      The response to the explanation somewhat catches us off guard. Why wouldn't they say, "So then, they were baptized into the Holy Spirit just like us." Or, "It looks like God is filling them with the Holy Spirit just as he filled us." But they didn't, they spoke of the fact that God evidently had worked a spirit of repentance into this group of Gentiles that blossomed into life.
      In short, they recognized that this group of Gentiles had been saved by grace. For they knew that salvation and the giving of the Spirit amount to the same thing!

1     The word Pentecost literally means "fiftieth" and refers to the time of harvest. It began with the ingathering of the first fruits and ended with a celebration much like our Thanksgiving Day. In First Corinthians 15:20 Christ is referred to as the firstfruits of those who are asleep. At Pentecost, the Spirit concluded this festive period by indwelling believers - assuring them that they too will be part of the harvest.
2     The importance of tongues is related to the fact that for two thousand years, if God had anything to say He said it in Hebrew; from now on he was going to speak in such a fashion that even Gentiles could understand him. From now on God was going to bring Gentiles into the place of religious privilege. He was going to reach out to every tribe, every kingdom, and every nation - in their own tongue.
3     It has occurred to me that Acts 2:1 - 4 presents us with a problem. It tells us that the initial company of believers were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were not simply given the Holy Spirit as a gift. Nor were they simply indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Spirit.
      The reason this is somewhat of a problem is that in Ephesians 5:18 Paul tells us, " Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." This suggest that "filling" is different from "indwelling." It tells us that "filling" is conditional. Even if we don't understand the tense of the Greek, which I understand to be the present continuous tense, the comparison with drinking wine tells us that "filling" is a fluctuating state. Paul, of course, encourages us to be filled completely. This means, he encourages us to allow the Spirit of God to impact, or have a major influence, in every area of our life.
      So it appears to me that the initial company of believers were either given, by a special act of grace, an immediate filling or they were in such a state of mind and heart that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit immediately "filled" them. In my experience this is unusual. In my own case, when I came to know Christ I was immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Then as I grew in Christ I allowed the Spirit to fill every area of my life. In other words, when I accepted Christ I was given all of the Holy Spirit. But, since I had the bad habit of running my own life the way I saw fit to run it, the Holy Sprit did not have all of me. But eventually I made a mess of my life to such an extent that I finally turned it over to him - I let the Spirit be in the drivers seat for a change!

PETER: THE MAN AND HIS LETTERS 10/14/07 1

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