When the Day of Pentecost
had fully come, they
were all with one accord
in one place.
And suddenly there came
a sound from heaven,
as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire,
and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with
the Holy Spirit and began
to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:1-4
There are four things mentioned in the above verses: 1. A sound from heaven as of (the Greek word used here means to be born along) a mighty (the Greek word here is derived from the root word meaning a violent, or forceful) wind, and that wind filled the whole house. 2. There appeared to them, tongues as resembling tongues of fire, that sat upon each one of them. 3. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. 45. They spoke in tongues, that is a language that they had not learned so that they would be able to speak to the foreigners gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover feast and had remained fifty days unto Pentecost another feast to be celebrated by the Israelites. These four elements that came upon those in the room are nothing more than a miracle. Signs that something new was to begin. Christ had come and He fulfilled all that the Old Testament spoke of, His coming. Jesus used miracles and signs; i.e., healing, walking on water, calming the raging winds and seas, etc. denoting His Godhood, and now by signs promised to a certain people (Joel 2:2:28-32) had come preparing the way for His ekklesia, the Church, those called out ones from the world.
In Acts 4:8 the word "filled" appears in Peter for he was "filled" with the Holy Spirit, but, tongue speaking is absent. This filling of the Holy Spirit was used in connection with John the Baptist (Luke 1:15), even while he was in his mother's womb, no record of anyone speaking in tongues. Paul was said to have his sight regained and to be "filled' with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17). Tongues are not mentioned, only that once he regained his sight and was filled with the Holy Spirit he began to preach the Gospel in the synagogues, saying that: "He is the Son of God" (Acts 19:20). At Ephesus Paul found some believers who had not heard of the Spirit's coming; Paul laid his hands upon them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. We are not told whether or not it was anything other than a foreign language or some form of gibberish as being practiced in some Churches today. There was no tongues of fire that sat upon those believers, there was not a rushing violent wind, in fact there was no wind mentioned. Tongues are mentioned as a person having been caused by the filling of the Holy Spirit to speak in foreign languages and there is no reason to assume anything different on this occasion.
There is no question; miraculous gifts, such as having the ability to speak in a language that was previously unlearned did occur in the early Church. Yet, Paul in writing to the Corinthian Church to address problems that had arose in that Church, those misuses of the freedom a Christian has in Christ, were to be signs that God had begun a new era, not a dispensation as Darby and some others would have us believe, rather, that His Church begun and that the work of the Church, believers, is to spread the Gospel. Signs ended, and history denotes that fact. Yes, there are those who would point out that in some early Church Fathers there are accounts of some miraculous occurrences, but none of the Fathers state that they have seen such occurrences, only that the heard of such occurrences and none of the Early Church Fathers promoted any of the sign gifts. Not until some 200 years ago did these "sign" gifts once again appear in the Churches, and much of those occurrences occurred in Churches here is the United States. With the onslaught of liberal Christianity, with liberal preaching, came those gifts, only the gifts practiced in those Churches are not identical to the gifts originally given to the early Church. Much misuse and abused, as I pointed out in earlier blogs, has occurred, and people are looking for such gifts as to have Christianity to be validated. This is wrong, for the Church of Jesus Christ does not need such validation, for the Church is to aid brothers and sisters in their Churches, and to prepare themselves to meet the objection to the faith by preaching the Gospel, and that a person must not make a decision for Christ by some emotional appeal, rather they are to come to repentance for they, as all men are, sinners deserving the full justice of a Holy God. Just to see the "signs" so often demonstrated in some Churches that hold that the "sign" gifts of the early Church are for believers today, that they might receive some blessing, some prosperity, something that is missing in their lives, a desire for some happiness, are wrong motivations. A person must repent, and when they have repented and being drawn and enabled by God and given the gift of faith, they submit to God, and to our Savior Jesus Christ, and as Paul did, they preach the Gospel, in their lives, openly and preachers and teachers, missionaries, for it is the Gospel that saves a person, not the gifts. There is a danger of misplacing one's faith upon things that are not elevating the Gospel, placing more importance upon the Gifts of the Spirit than on Jesus Christ as Savior. Just because there has been growth in those Churches that believe that "sign" gifts are for the believers, that growth is not evidence that those Churches are teaching the truth. Because some people of those liberal Churches do some good, a philanthropic service, is not proof that they are saved, and that they are practicing the truth. We are warned: "Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines..." (Hebrews 13:9a). By this misuse of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit some have come to believe that by their possessing such gifts, they are saved. Wrong! God gives gifts as they are needed so that the Gospel will be preached, the Gospel, allow me to remind you, is simply that that God came to earth and became man, that the very Wisdom of God, the Word of God, God clothed in human flesh, so that by His mercy through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Only Begotten Son, would pay the debt that His Children, or none of this world, could pay, and that by Him drawing those He chose before the foundation of the world (Romans 8:28-29), would hear this good news and by the faith they have been given, repent of their sins and are saved: "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God...We are of God. He who know God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (1John 4: 2, 6).
Do not become obsessed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, for if He decides to give you a gift, then He will, we are to desire gifts but we are never to seek them. These Gifts of the Spirit have been exploited by many, misused by many, and what is needed? The Gospel, we are to live and be obedient to the Gospel and those requirements set forth in God's word. Whatever you do, whatever occupation you find yourself in, make your life to be that "light" the "light" of the world, be a Christian in everything you do, don't allow yourself to be misled, and stand for Jesus Christ, don't allow others to usurp what God has placed in you, causing you to be confused, and often ridiculed; it is Christ we live for, and it is Christ that will be our Savior for eternity, we will live with Him eternally, and all that this world has to offer will cease. Rejoice in the Lord!
Beloved, do not believe
every spirit, but test
the spirits, whether they
are of God....
1John 4:1a
God is Your Witness And Your Savior
Richard L. Crumb
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