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HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. THE COMMISSIONING OF THE CHURCH. COMMISSIONING. Pentecost—Acts 2 Proclamation Why tongues? Tongues and the spread of the Gospel. PENTECOST. Who were the persons involved Where were they? When do these events take place? What phenomena occurred?.
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HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH THE COMMISSIONING OF THE CHURCH
COMMISSIONING • Pentecost—Acts 2 • Proclamation • Why tongues? • Tongues and the spread of the Gospel
PENTECOST • Who were the persons involved • Where were they? • When do these events take place? • What phenomena occurred?
THE PEOPLE INVOLVED • 2:1, “all”—refers back to chapter 1 • 1:2, “apostles whom He had chosen.” • 1:3, 4, “wait for the promise. . .” • 1:6, came together with questions • 1:12-14, return to Jerusalem • 1:15, “about 120 persons . . .” • No division of group until 2:14 • They were believers . . .
WHERE WERE THEY? • In Jerusalem • 1:4, Jesus’ command • 1:12, they returned to Jerusalem • 2:14, “Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem”
WHERE WERE THEY? • In an upper room • 1:13, “upper room where they were staying” • Room in which Last Supper was held • Room where Jesus’ appeared after resurrection (Luke 24:33, 36; John 20:19, 26) • House of Mary, mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12) • Architecture of the day? • Large crowd to assemble?
WHERE WERE THEY? • In the Temple • Luke 24:52-53, “continually in the temple, praising God.” • Acts 2:46, “continuing with one mind in the temple” • Festival day • Large crowd assembled quickly
WHEN? PENTECOST • Pentekoste, “fiftieth” • Exodus 23:16; 34:22 • Lev. 23:15-21 • Num. 28:26-31 • Deut. 16:9-12 • Possible linkage to the giving of the Law at Sinai—Maimonides (1135-1204)
WHAT? • Verses 2-3 • Sound of a violent wind • Old Testament precedents • New Testament precedents • Tongues of fire • Singular visual, that divided • Associated with the presence of God • John the Baptist (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16) • Relevance of sound and visual?
WHAT? • Verse 4 • “All”—pantes, same “all” as 2:1 • “Were filled”—eplesthesan • “Began to speak”—arzanto lalein • “With other tongues”– eterais glossais • “As the Spirit was giving them utterance”—apophthengesthai • Content of tongues—2:11
WHAT? • Verse 5 • Katoikeo—live, dwell, settle • Eulabas—devotion and commitment • Verses 6-13 • What drew the crowd? • Each hearing their own language • The responses of the crowd
COMMISSIONING • Pentecost—Acts 2 • Proclamation • Why tongues? • Tongues and the spread of the Gospel
PROCLAMATION • Peter preaches—2:14 • Peter, the spokesperson • Peter “stands” • Peter “raises his voice,” eparen • Peter “declares to them,” apophthengesthai • True Christian preaching—always something of the prophetic involved
PROCLAMATION • Peter’s kerygma, 2:14-39 • Defense of the present situation (v. 15) • The text (vv. 16-21, from Joel 2:28-32) • Explanation of the Christ-event (vv. 22-24) • Scriptural defense of the resurrection (vv. 25-35) • The thesis of the sermon (v. 36) • The appeal (v. 38-39)
COMMISSIONING • Pentecost—Acts 2 • Proclamation • Why tongues? • Tongues and the spread of the Gospel
WHY TONGUES? • A traditional answer • Tongues are an external evidence • Tongues are a uniform evidence • Tongues reveal the personality of the Spirit • Tongues evidence the truth of Spirit baptism • Tongues are a testimony to the nature of the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life
WHY TONGUES? • Another answer—the reversal of Babel • Babel, the most obvious language event in the OT; Pentecost the most obvious language event in the NT • Similarities between the two accounts • Contrasts between the two accounts • God chose tongues as the unique sign of Spirit Baptism to signify the universality of the Gospel
WHY TONGUES? PENTECOST BABEL Universal Revelation Restricted Revelation (Israel) Universal Revelation
COMMISSIONING • Pentecost—Acts 2 • Proclamation • Why tongues? • Tongues and the spread of the Gospel
TONGUES AND THE SPREAD • The Juncture Theory • Juncture One—Pentecost, Jerusalem (Acts 2) • Juncture Two—Cornelius, Caesarea, (Acts 10) • Juncture Three—Disciples of John, Ephesus, (Acts 19) • Benefits of this theory • Acts does have a progression (Acts 1:8) • Explains why Luke uses tongues selectively
TONGUES AND THE SPREAD • Arguments against the juncture theory • Why was not tongues mentioned in the Samaria revival (Acts 8)? • There are other instances of tongues in the New Testament (other than Acts 2, 10, 19)
TIMELINE • A.D. 29-30, Acts 2, Pentecost • A.D. 30-32, Acts 8, Samaria • A.D. 31-33, Acts 9, Saul’s conversion • A.D. 33-35, Acts 10, Cornelius’ house • A.D. 53-55, Acts 18, Paul in Corinth • A.D. 53-55, Acts 19, Ephesian disciples • A.D. 55, 1 Corinthians written from Ephesus
OBSERVATIONS • 1 Corinthians 12 shows that glossolalia was a prominent aspect of worship in Corinth • Precedes writing of the letter • Could have begun during Paul’s ministry there (A.D. 53-55) • 1 Corinthians 14 shows Paul a tongues-speaker • When did he begin? • Had to be before writing the letter (A.D. 55)
OBSERVATIONS • More occurrences of glossolalia than merely the three in Acts • Could argue that Luke chose to include glossolalia because it was commonly accepted • Deuteronomy 19:15b, “on the evidence of two or three witnesses . . .”