Acts (Part 7) – Acts 2:1-4

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Acts (Part 7) – Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1 – And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

1. The day of Pentecost was 50 days after the Passover and seven days after Jesus ascended to heaven (see comments on Act 1:5).
2. The disciples tarried in Jerusalem until the Holy Ghost came, as they were instructed (Act 1:4-5).
3. They were “all with one accord” together.
   1. Accord n. – 1. Reconciliation, agreement, harmony; concurrence of opinion, will, or action; consent.
   2. Church members are supposed to be of one mind and one accord (Act 2:46; 1Co 1:10; Php 2:2).
4. They were “in one place,” which means that they were assembling themselves together as churches should (Heb 10:25).
   1. The Holy Ghost did not come upon them when they were in their houses studying on their own, but when there were assembled together in harmony as the church of God.
   2. The NT church existed before the day of Pentecost (Mat 16:18; Mat 18:17).

Acts 2:2 – And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

1. The Jerusalem Church met in a house at this time, but it was not a “house church” in the modern sense.
   1. The “house church” movement is an anti-church, anti-pastor, anti-authority movement.
      1. “House churches” are often started by an unordained man with a bright idea and a distain for true churches and pastors.
      2. See sermon on The House Church Movement: https://pastorwagner.com/sermons/house-church-movement/.
   2. A true church can meet in a house, and many churches in the Bible did (Rom 16:5; 1Co 16:19; Col 4:15; Phm 1:2).
   3. A church is a congregation of baptized believers, not a building.
2. The Holy Ghost filled the church’s meeting house like a rushing mighty wind.
   1. The Holy Ghost is likened unto wind in the scriptures (Joh 3:8).
   2. This could have been part of what Jesus referred to as the kingdom of God coming with power (Mar 9:1).
   3. A similar thing happened when the tabernacle (Exo 40:34) and the temple were built (2Ch 5:12-14; 1Ki 8:10-11).
   4. God was showing that the place of His worship where He dwelt had changed from the temple to the NT church.
   5. The time of reformation had come (Heb 9:10).

Acts 2:3 – And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

1. 1. Cloven adj. – Divided lengthwise; split. b. Split to a certain depth, so as to give a double extremity; bifurcate, bipartite, double. (cites Tindale Bible, Act 2:3)
   2. When the Holy Spirit filled the church, the apostles were given, as it were, cloven (split) tongues so that they could speak multiple languages simultaneously (Act 2:4-8).
   3. It appears that the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues He provided was physically visible (it sat upon each of them) and had the appearance of fire.
   4. The flames of a fire are cloven at the upper end, which would serve as a good symbol of cloven tongues.
   5. The tongue is likened to fire (Isa 30:27; Jam 3:5-6).

Acts 2:4 – And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

1. The Jerusalem Church was filled with the Holy Ghost, which was evident by the Spirit giving them the ability to speak with tongues.
   1. A similar thing happened when the gospel went to the Gentiles (Act 10:44-46).
   2. On two other occasions―one at the beginning of a Jewish church in Samaria (Act 8:15-17), and another at the beginning of a Gentile church in Ephesus (Act 19:6)―the apostles laid hands on newly converted church members and gave them the gift of the Holy Ghost.
   3. By these four instances, God was showing that there was no difference between Jewish and Gentile Christians and churches (Act 11:15-17; Act 15:7-9; Eph 2:11-22).
   4. This being filled with the Holy Ghost was being baptized with the Holy Ghost (Act 1:5).
2. A similar thing happened in the days of Moses when God took of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders, which caused them to prophesy (Num 11:25).
3. “Tongues” refer to languages (Act 2:6 c/w Act 2:8).
4. Tongues was one of the gifts of the Spirit given to the first century churches (1Co 12:10-11).
   1. The Holy Spirit gave them the ability to speak in other languages which they knew not.
   2. The reason for the Spirit giving the gift of tongues at that time is evident from the verses which follow.