The first incident involving the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts happened on the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts chapter 2.

Jesus had died on Calvary’s cross, was then resurrected from the dead, and finally, after various incidents with His disciples, He had ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives. Prior to His ascension, He commanded his disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, for they would receive the promise of the Father. He told them, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 11:16 ESV)

After answering some questions about the coming of the Kingdom, He told them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:4-8) Notice some important things in all this. All three members of the Trinity are mentioned: Jesus spoke of the promise of the Father and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Triune God is one God and although certain activities are attributed to a particular member of the Trinity, all are included.

So the disciples waited as commanded in Jerusalem, and they continued in one accord in prayer. Notice also they were told you shall receive power not you shall receive salvation. It was to receive the power of the Holy Spirit.

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 ESV)

It needs to be noticed that some signs, such as a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire, seem unique to this initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Nowhere else in the New Testament do they occur. However, across the centuries of history, unusual signs have accompanied the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, including speaking in tongues.

IT STILL HAPPENS TODAY

On one occasion, I was ministering in Brisbane, Australia, with a good friend of mine, Pastor Doug Stanton, who has a fine and powerful ministry. One night, after I had preached and Pastor Doug was about to come up to the pulpit, something unusual took place – a mighty rushing wind came through the room where there were no open windows or doors and blew over the congregation. One man told me he had been thrown back six feet or more by the wind. Pastor Doug himself ended up on the floor. For one reason or another, it didn’t hit me, but I will never forget that night when a supernatural mighty wind blew through the congregation.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

We come now to speaking in tongues. Acts 2:4 records they began to speak with other tongues. “Tongues” here refers to “spoken human languages unknown to the speaker but known by others.” “Now they begin to speak” indicates they continued to speak, possibly for an extended time. i.e., the practice continued. It was not a once and for all experience.

This incident was unique for the time when it occurred, as they heard them speak in a variety of languages and dialects – which in turn led to the crowd being amazed. Now, whilst that is not a regular occurrence, it still happens today.

A MODERN DAY OCCURRENCE

When I was in ministry in Sydney, Australia, I led a meeting in a Methodist Church on a Monday night. On one occasion, I was teaching on the gifts of the Spirit and, in turn, conducting a spiritual workshop, praying for people to receive the gifts of the Spirit. Then one young man came out with a message in tongues, and then a lady interpreted the tongues.

That’s not the end of the story. There was a young couple who came to our meetings. That week, the wife’s mom was visiting from out of town. She was not a Christian believer and was welcome to either come to the meeting or, if she preferred, stay home. She decided to come.

It was all a bit different to her, but when she heard the young man give the message in tongues, she understood all that he was saying because he was speaking in her native language from the upper north of Scotland. Then, when the lady gave the interpretation, it was the correct interpretation of the message in tongues. The mom realized that God was at work, and she decided to start going back to church. I checked up with the young man and the lady, and neither of them understood the message in their tongues. While this is not common, it does still happen today.

THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

What followed on the Day of Pentecost was Peter’s first Christian sermon in the new Church Age. As a result, people cried out, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 ESV).

Peter proclaimed, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 ESV). The result was that those who gladly received the word were baptized, in this case, about three thousand souls.

By now, in the early Christian Church, there were three steps in an initial Christian experience on hearing the Gospel message.

  • Repentance
  • Faith, followed by
  • Water Baptism, followed by
  • Baptism with the Holy Spirit, which for the 120 in the upper room included speaking in tongues.

Subsequent stories in the Book of Acts are consistent with this pattern.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Peters first delivered a word following the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit:

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
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.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Acts 2:17-21 ESV

If we are living in the last days of the last days, then we should expect and experience a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.