Acts 2:3-4
"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."
I don't think there has ever been a miracle before or after like this one. When the Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost, they began to speak in other tongues so that others from around the world understood them in their own languages.
We don't know if the disciples all spoke in one heavenly tongue, understood by others ready for salvation in a miracle of hearing (my view, since there were those in crowd who really never understood their words, believing the disciples were speaking unintelligently as drunkards), or if they were simply transformed by the Spirit so they could speak fluently in worldly languages in which they had no training. Regardless, a miracle occurred as the Spirit gave utterance.
With this miracle, most would say the Church was born. The Spirit had come. God's promises were fulfilled. Christ had not left his church as orphans.
The point is, the Spirit reached out and touched the disciples and gave them voice. With the Spirit's presence, the Church began to have utterance.
It's been the same ever since, with the words we speak in testimony of Christ no longer our own. They belong to the Spirit. No true testimony of faith is of ourselves, but speaks of the Lord at work in us and in this world. This is the utterance of the Spirit, magnifying Christ and giving glory to the Father.
Today, I'm afraid many of the Church are holding their hands over what should be a loud and clear utterance for Christ. We've grown ashamed of the Lord's possession of our souls and have thus tried to silence the Spirit. May that not be our legacy among those of the world.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for the Spirit's utterance. My prayer is for a two-fold miracle – that of speaking through my voice and that of hearing in the hearts of those you are calling to faith. Amen.
Is baptism of the holy spirit different than baptism which follows the acceptance of Jesus Christ (salvation)?
ReplyDeleteI've now written 173 lessons on the Spirit as I've read through the Bible. Quite frankly, there is simply no mention of a second filling of the Spirit in God's Word. In the New Testatment, we see clearly that the Spirit inhabits every believer. And if that is believed, how then can there be a second filling? Still, that doesn't mean the Spirit won't choose to move in a powerful way at times in our lives as we are fully submitted to being used of God. I suspect that is what could be meant of as a second filling of the Spirit, but that would also mean a third, and fourth, and fifth and on and on as the Spirit moves from time to time in our lives. Unfortunately, som wrongly teach that the only sign of this type of filling of the SPirit comes by speaking in tongues. Surely not, for that puts the Spirit in a box and adds more to God's Word than is there.
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