"The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit" Sermon: Acts 2:1-21

“The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit”
[Acts 2:1-21]
May 31. 2009 Emmanuel OPC
June 14, 2009 Second Reformed Church

After the Resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with the disciples. While He was with them, He gave them proofs that He truly rose from the dead and was not a ghost. Jesus showed them His wounds from the nails and the spear. He allowed them to touch Him and see that He had flesh and bones. And He ate with them. Jesus had risen from the dead in His Physical Body, and in doing that, He assures all those who believe in Him Alone for salvation, that we shall also rise in our physical bodies, perfected, sinless, made like Him.

During those forty days, Jesus also taught them about the Kingdom of God and promised them that they would receive power through the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. And Jesus called them – and all believers after them – to be His witnesses to every people and nation throughout the world.

After the forty days had lapsed, Jesus ascended, bodily, before the eyes of His disciples, on a cloud, back to the Throne of the Son, and where He reigns over all creation. The disciples were confronted by two men who appeared and told them to stop staring into the heavens, but to go to Jerusalem as Jesus had instructed them, to wait for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And the men reminded the disciples that Jesus would return one day, just as He had left them, on a cloud.

So, the disciples returned to Jerusalem – there were one hundred and twenty in their company – and they waited in the upper room and prayed. While they were there, they discussed that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was prophesied in Scripture, as was Judas’ suicide. And they decided, under the direction of God, to choose Matthias to replace Judas.

When we reach this morning’s Scripture, it is ten days after the Ascension. It was the day that we now remember as the day of Pentecost. We celebrated Pentecost two weeks ago, but, today, let’s remember what the Scripture tells us about it.

Ten days after the Ascension, the disciples – one hundred and twenty of them – were in the upper room, praying, and suddenly a noise came from heaven like a mighty rushing wind, which filled the entire house. And then, divided tongues of fire, visibly appeared and rested on each one of the disciples. And they were all indwelt by God the Holy Spirit.

And we might wonder why – why the noise and the visuals? We understand that every one who believes in Jesus Alone for salvation is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but I would venture to guess that when we received Jesus, none of us heard a mighty, rushing wind and saw divided tongues of fire. Why was there noise and visuals for the one hundred and twenty?

The Holy Spirit indwelt the disciples with audible and visible signs so there would be no doubt that they had received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and His Power. God had work for the disciples to do – that day – and they needed to have the assurance that they had received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and now were empowered by Him.

John the Baptist indicated that this would be the way that the Holy Spirit would be received, as he said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11, ESV).

Luke tells us that when “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...[they] began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” What does that mean, and why were they all given that gift?

Luke tells us that there were people in Jerusalem at that time “from every nation under heaven”: Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontius, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and Romans. They were in Jerusalem: Jews, Gentiles, and Arabians. Why? Because it was the Feast of Weeks.

Moses recorded God’s Words in Leviticus 23:15-21: “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the Lord. And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering of pleasant aroma to the Lord. And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places through out your generations" (ESV).

Devout people from all over the world were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks and – here is the reason God gave the disciples the gift of tongues – that they all spoke different languages. The Holy Spirit gave them the gift – the ability – to speak in other languages instantly, because they did not have time to go to school to learn all of the languages that were represented at that time in Jerusalem. They needed to be able to speak in all of those languages instantly, so they could preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have everyone hear and understand it in their own language.

It was always God’s Purpose to call people to Himself from all over the world, as Isaiah prophesied, “In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea” (Isaiah 11:11, ESV).

Jesus, Himself, promised that they would be able to address the nations in their own tongues, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on they sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:15b-18, ESV).

God gave them the ability to speak in all of those languages because people from all over the world were worshiping in Jerusalem, and God wanted them to hear the Gospel in their own language; the disciples didn’t have the time to learn the languages, so the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to speak in all those languages immediately.

What about today? There are some denominations that say that the gift of tongues is still given. There are some who say that Christians are even given the ability to speak in a non-earthly, angelic language. Without going into a long apologetic on this, let us understand that the purpose of the gift of tongues was to be able to immediately preach the Gospel to people who spoke other languages, who would not be there long enough for the disciples to study the languages first. Let us also understand that even if there is a non-human angelic language, Jesus did not purchase salvation for them, so what would be the point of preaching the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness to them?

Hear what Paul wrote about the gifts of the Holy Spirit:”Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed ’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given through the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one, individually as he wills” (I Corinthians 12:1-11, ESV).

Paul continues, “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away” (II Corinthians 13:8, ESV).

So, the disciples were given the ability to speak in the languages of all those in Jerusalem for the feast that they would be able to preach the Gospel to everyone in their own language. And what was the response of the people? All the people were “amazed and perplexed” and asked themselves, “What does this mean?” Suddenly all these Galileans were speaking in the languages of the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, and Pontius, the inhabitants of Asia, Phrygians, Pamphylians, Egyptians, the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and the Romans.

Some answered, “They are filled with new wine.” Well, that makes sense, doesn’t it? The disciples suddenly had the ability to speak in all the languages of those there in Jerusalem. The only way they could have gained that ability was through getting drunk. Right? Were it only that easy to learn another language No. We see in this response that Satan will do anything to distract and dissuade from the message of the Gospel. The devil will resort to cunning and stupidity to try to get people to doubt or ignore the Gospel message. And we need to be aware of that when we talk with people about the Gospel.

When we talk with people about the Gospel, we need to gently keep the discussion on track. Very often when I talk with people, they bring up the sins of the Church – the Inquisition, the Crusades – or they tell me that they know Christians who are involved in this sin or that sin, or they tell me that they attended such-and-such a church and found this wrong and that wrong. We need to be honest: Christians sin; the Church sins. But then we need to gently guide the conversation back to looking at the Scripture and what Jesus has done. Because God’s Word is infallible and inerrant, and Jesus never sinned. If salvation were to be received based on the actual holiness of the Church and Christians in this life, then very few would reason to believe. It is through Jesus Christ and His Sinless Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, which the Holy Spirit had recorded without error in the Scripture, that anyone receives salvation.

So the apostle Peter guided those there away from Satan’s ridiculous accusation – Peter told them that they were not drunk; it was only nine o’clock in the morning – and he brought them back to the Scripture, “This is what was uttered by the prophet Joel.”

What the prophet Joel prophesied was this:

In the last days, God the Holy Spirit will indwell people from all over the world. Isaiah also prophesied, “For I will pour out water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessings on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3, ESV). And Ezekiel prophesied, “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:27, ESV).

Paul confirms that everyone who believes in Jesus Alone for salvation receives the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit: “And hope does not put to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5, ESV). And again, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7, ESV).

And God will shows His Power in the Creation: “blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke, the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.” Matthew wrote of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ... And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of their tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:45, 51-53, ESV).

And then Peter tells us, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe in Jesus Alone for salvation, then He has saved you, and He has given you the Gift of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, “But when the Helper, the Holy Spirit comes, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26, ESV). “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:8-15, ESV).

Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the disciples, and all we who believe, now have the power to do what God has called us to do. We have each been given gifts – many different gifts – by the Holy Spirit that we are to use in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit now helps us to remember and understand what God has said in His Word.

What shall we do with this truth? Now that we know that God the Holy Spirit lives within us and empowers us and leads us to remember and understand God’s Word, are we willing to be obedient to God’s call on us to proclaim the Gospel to all people?

We are not all pastors. We are not are evangelists. We are not all “professional” missionaries. But God has gifted you and God has gifted me in ways that He will use to proclaim His Salvation. Shall we teach in the public schools in such a way that people come to know that Only in Jesus Alone is there salvation? Shall we work as an accountant in such a way that people come to know that Only in Jesus Alone is there salvation? Shall we work at being a student in such a way that people come to know that Only in Jesus Alone is there salvation? Shall we work as a homemaker or a retired person in such a way that people come to know that Only in Jesus Alone is there salvation? Shall we do whatever we are gifted to do in such a way that people come to know that Only in Jesus Alone is there salvation? Jesus has placed that call upon our lives.

We are not called to be Billy Graham or R.C. Sproul or John Piper or any other figure that we may see God working through. God has called us to be who each of us is, with the gifts that He has given us, to be used for His Sake, for His Glory, for the proclaiming of His Gospel.

As we remember the day of Pentecost, let us seek to understand what gifts the Holy Spirit has given to us, and then let us purpose to use them to make the Gospel of salvation known, “that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You that we have not been left alone, but You have indwelt every Christian with God the Holy Spirit and gifted each one of us for Your Sake. Keep us from being afraid, and cause us to live out our faith as witnesses to You, for the salvation of Your people and to Your Glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.