And he said unto
them, it is not for you
to know the times or
the seasons,
which the Father hath
put in his own power.
But ye shall receive
power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come
upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judæa, and
in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost
part of the earth.
Acts 1:7–9
(Stephanus text; 1550
A.D.)
The Church
began as a separate religion apart from Judaism when Jesus came and spoke to
those men who were waiting as instructed by Jesus: “Behold, I send the
Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are
endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:40). This power came upon those
assembled in ways that are simply miraculous and hard to understand. In fact,
there has and is much debate and misunderstanding about this event. I hope and
pray that I can bring some enlightenment to those debates.
Here is the Greek words in Acts 2:1-12: 1 Καὶ and ἐν This word
often translated “in” has a greater meaning and can and does mean as well,
“during.” τῷ
συμπληροῦσθαι
when
times have fully come or are completed τῆς
the ἡμέραν day τῆς the πεντηκοστῆς pentecost ἦσαν they were
άπάντες a
strengthen form of the word πάς and means, all, the whole ὁμοῦθυμαδόν together with one mind or
one accord ἐπὶ in τὸ the αὐτό same
(place), 2 καὶ and ἐγένετο came ἄφνω suddenly,
or unexpectantly ἐκ out
τοῦ of
οὐρανοῦ heaven
ἦχος a
sound, and the Greek word so often used for sound, θωνή, is not used rather this word. ἦχος , references
that this sound was a roaring or loud sound iὥσπερ so
as too, or simply, “as” φερομένης
to be under a moving influence, rushing πνοῆς breathe βιαίας violent
καὶ and
ἐπλήρωσεν
filled up ὅλον whole τὸν the οἶκον house οὗ where ἦσαν they καθήμενοι
sitting, 3 καὶ and ὤφθησαν appeared,
that is that they could behold αὐτοῖς to
them διαμεριζόμεναι
divided into parts γλῶσσαι tongues
or languages ὡσεὶ as
of πυρός fire,
this then admits that the tongues spoken of are not just languages, rather an
appearance that came upon those in the room, καὶ and
ἐκάθισεν and
sat ἐφ' upon ἕνα one ἕκαστον each
αὐτῶν of
them, 4 καὶ and ἐπλήσθησαν
they were filled up πάντες the
whole, or all, πνεύματος spirit ἁγίου holy, καὶ and
ἤρξαντο began
λαλεῖν to
speak άποφθέγγεσαι
to speak out γλώσσαις tongues
or languages as will be shown in the following verses that it was a language
that could be understood by those from foreign lands that spoke another language καθὼς as τὸ the πνεῦμα spirit ἐδίδου gave ἀποφθέγγεσθαι
to speak forth, or utter αὐτοῖς. them
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, fdevout
men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound
occurred, the gmultitude came together, and were confused, because
everyone heard them speak in his own language διαλέκτω
(dialect). 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled,
saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak hGalileans? 8
And how is it that we hear, each in our own 3language διαλέκτω (dialect). in which we were born? 9
Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and iCappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of
Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11
Cretans and 4Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the
wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed,
saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
How does this play out, this special event whereby
miraculous things occurred? First, it must be admitted that this was a work of
God to impress upon those gathered together that God was imparting to them a
new thing. They were to carry out the mission, and so are we, that is, to take
the Gospel, which is, the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus
Christ who came to pay the debt owed to God, sin. This is the work of the
Church, and you are the ekklesia, or called out ones, the Church and you are to
be ambassadors for Jesus Christ, His Gospel. Our desire is to be what God has called
us to be, a mission oriented people, a Church that has its eyes upon taking the
Gospel into the remotest parts of the earth. No, it does not mean that we are
all called to be missionaries that go to foreign lands, but, we are called to
missionaries wherever we are, at work, play, in our homes, to our neighbors,
and in all we do. The debate, that has sidetracked this mission or has given
rise to such theologies that are not present in the narrative given above. The
“tongues,” a misleading term if not correctly understood, and Scripture is very
clear. Two things happened on that first day of the Church. One, tongues as of
fire stood above the head of those attendance as a representative of this new
work. This new mission, and this new covenant, set forth by God towards His
children. Two, they spoke in languages that others could understand, and if we
are to understand this correctly then this is the only possible explanation and
is not some “gibberish” spiritual sounds that some make as though God need to hear
from them in this unexpressive manner, that which is unnecessary. This debate
that separates brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ is so harmful and so
misleading that it must stop and the Church must then begin to be what was set
forth on the day of Pentecost. How will this stop for it is engrained in some
theologies and people have claimed it to be the way, to have some “angelic”
sound, or “tongue” and the Bible never speaks this way. It stops with taking
time to read the Greek and this I attempted to do above, and to apply what
Scripture states for the people of God.
As the New Year approaches take time to take inventory of
your life, your beliefs, your theology and make the changes that are Scriptural
so that as you Consider Your Faith, you will make the necessary changes from
the Inside Out.
The
Church or God must by one
The Church finds it s unity
In
One Shepherd: Jesus Christ
Behold,
how good and how
Pleasant it is for
Brethren
to dwell together
In unity
Psalm
133:1
Praise
Him you servants of the LORD
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