THE EVIDENCE OF THE SPIRIT’S COMING
And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. (2:1–4)
The events of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, according to Paul, were not held in a quiet corner (Acts 26:26) but out in the open before all the people. The same could be said of the birth of the church. It did not begin in an obscure manner in some out of the way place. Rather, it was born with a startling, dramatic event in the very heart of Jerusalem.
The coming of the day of Pentecost found the believers all together in one place, undoubtedly the same upper room described in 1:13. As already noted, that room was located just inside the Eastern Gate, probably in the vicinity of the temple. There is no reason to restrict all to the twelve apostles. It encompasses the entire gathering of 120 believers (1:15).
It was on the day of Pentecost that God’s sovereign timetable called for the Spirit to descend. It should be noted that the Spirit was not induced into coming because the believers prayed, tarried, or met certain spiritual requirements. Luke’s account points only to the sovereign timing of God as the cause of the Spirit’s descent.
Pentecost means “fiftieth.” It is the New Testament name for the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22–23), or Harvest (Ex. 23:16), which was celebrated fifty days after Passover. In post-exilic Judaism, it also celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses. The Spirit’s coming on that day was linked to the pattern of feasts in the Old Testament.
God’s redemptive New Testament timetable is pictured in the feasts of Leviticus 23. The first great feast mentioned in that chapter is Passover. The killing of the passover lamb pictured the death of Jesus Christ, the ultimate Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). A second feast was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, celebrated on the day after Passover. During that feast, an offering of the first fruits of the grain harvest was made. Leviticus 23:15 commands that offering to be made on the day after the sabbath. The Sadducees and Pharisees differed on what that sabbath was. The Sadducees interpreted it as the weekly sabbath, and hence the grain offering would always be on a Sunday. The Pharisees interpreted the sabbath as the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to that interpretation, the grain offering would always fall on the same day of the month but not the same day of the week. Until the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees’ interpretation was normative for Judaism (F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971], 53 n. 3). Hence, the day the first fruits were offered would have been on Sunday. That provides an apt picture of the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection as the “first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20).
Fifty days after the first Sunday following Passover, the Feast of Pentecost was celebrated (Lev. 23:15ff.). At Pentecost, another offering of first fruits was made (Lev. 23:20). Completing the cycle of the typical fulfillment of the feasts, the Spirit came on Pentecost as the first fruits of the believers’ inheritance (cf. 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:13–14). Further, those gathered into the church on that day were the first fruits of the full harvest of believers to come. God sent the Spirit on Pentecost, then, following the pattern of Leviticus 23, not in response to any activity of men.
Luke describes this sovereignly designed event by taking us to the upper room, where the believers were gathered. Suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind. Luke’s use of the word suddenly emphasizes the element of surprise. Even though the believers knew the Spirit’s coming to be imminent (cf. 1:5), they were nevertheless caught by surprise. The same will be true when the Lord returns to earth. Believers will know from the signs that His coming is imminent. Yet He will still come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:2; cf. Matt. 24:44). Those gathered in the upper room could not have expected the dramatic signs that accompanied the Spirit’s coming.
By describing the noise as emanating from heaven, Luke emphasizes that this was a supernatural action. That it was not a weather phenomenon, a physical violent, rushing wind is evident from the use of the term like. The supernatural activity of God is so utterly beyond the grasp of humans that the Bible writers have to employ similes to describe His manifestations to men (cf. Ezek. 43:2; Rev. 1:15).
In both Hebrew and Greek, the words for wind and spirit are the same. Wind is frequently used as a picture of the Spirit (cf. Ezek. 37:9ff.; John 3:8). Although the sound of the heavenly wind may have attracted the crowd that soon gathered, the Spirit’s presence filled only the whole house where the believers were sitting. They alone received the promised baptism with the Spirit (Acts 1:4–5; 11:15–17). That they were sitting offers further proof that they were not praying for the Spirit’s coming. Standing and kneeling were the postures for prayer.
After the auditory manifestation of the Spirit’s arrival came a visual one (cf. Luke 3:22). There appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. That these were not flames of literal fire, any more than the wind was moving air, is clear from the use of the phrase as of.
Some have tried to link the fire here with that of Matthew 3:11. As the context of that passage indicates, however, the fire in view there is the fire of eternal judgment (cf. Matt. 3:12). That the tongues rested on each one of them shows that all who were present received the Spirit in that moment. It was a uniform, sovereign work of God on all collectively, not something sought individually. At this point, by the baptism with the Spirit, they were all made into one spiritual body—the body of Christ.
Being filled with the Spirit must be distinguished from being baptized with the Spirit. The apostle Paul carefully defines the baptism with the Spirit as that act of Christ by which He places believers into His body (Rom. 6:4–6; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). In contrast to much errant teaching today, the New Testament nowhere commands believers to seek the baptism with the Spirit. It is a sovereign, single, unrepeatable act on God’s part, and is no more an experience than are its companions justification and adoption. Although some wrongly view the baptism with the Spirit as the initiation into the ranks of the spiritual elite, nothing could be further from the truth. The purpose of the baptism with the Spirit is not to divide the body of Christ, but to unify it. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, through the baptism with the Spirit “we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13; cf. Gal. 3:26–27; Eph. 4:4–6).
Unlike the baptism with the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit is an experience and should be continuous. Although filled initially on the Day of Pentecost, Peter was filled again in Acts 4:8. Many of the same people filled with the Spirit in Acts 2 were filled again in Acts 4:31. Acts 6:5 describes Stephen as a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” yet Acts 7:55 records his being filled again. Paul was filled with the Spirit in Acts 9:17 and again in Acts 13:9.
While there is no command in Scripture to be baptized with the Spirit, believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). The grammatical construction of that passage indicates believers are to be continuously being filled with the Spirit. Those who would be filled with the Spirit must first empty themselves. That involves confession of sin and dying to selfishness and self-will. To be filled with the Spirit is to consciously practice the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and to have a mind saturated with the Word of God. Colossians 3:16–25 delineates the results of “letting the word of Christ richly dwell” in us. They are the same ones that result from the filling of the Spirit (Eph. 5:19–33). As believers yield the moment by moment decisions of life to His control, they “walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16). (For a further discussion of the filling with the Spirit, see Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1986].) The baptism with the Spirit grants the power that the filling with the Spirit unleashes. (For a further discussion of the difference between the baptism and the filling with the Spirit, see my book Charismatic Chaos [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], 191–93.)
After being filled with the Spirit, they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. There has been much dispute in recent years over what it meant to speak with other tongues. The text, however, is not ambiguous. Far from being ecstatic speech, the tongues spoken on the Day of Pentecost were known languages. The term glōssa is the word for languages, and the context allows for no other interpretation (cf. the discussion of verses 8–11 below).
In contrast to much teaching today, being given the ability to speak in languages is associated not with the baptism with the Spirit but here with the filling with the Spirit. Nor is speaking in languages the normal response to being filled with the Spirit. Acts 4:8, 31, 6:5; 7:55; 9:17; and 13:9 all record instances where speaking in tongues did not accompany the filling with the Spirit. Paul taught that the filling of the Spirit should result in many things, such as worship, thankfulness, love, submissiveness, and obedience—but not speaking in tongues (Eph. 5:18ff.).
Paul states the purpose of speaking in languages in 1 Corinthians 14:21–22: they were to be a sign to unbelieving Israel. While that was true on the one hand, on the other they were the links given to show that Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans were all equal in the church (Acts 15:8–9). The Samaritans received the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:14–19. Although there is no reference to languages, that there was likely that supernatural sign is evident from Simon’s reaction (cf. verses 18–19). Acts 10:44–47 describes the receiving of the Spirit by the Gentiles of Cornelius’s household. That they spoke in languages convinced the Jewish believers, as well as Peter, that the Gentiles had received the Spirit too (cf. verses 45, 47). The last group to speak in tongues were John the Baptist’s disciples whom Paul encountered in Ephesus (Acts 19:1–7). They were among the last remnants of Old Testament saints, now coming to faith in Christ. They were given the ability to speak in languages in order to demonstrate their full equality with Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles in the church. Each case describes a unique, historical transition. No doctrinal teaching for today can be established from those incidents.
That the true biblical gift of languages no longer exists is clear from the following lines of evidence. First, it was a miraculous gift, and the age of miracles ended with the passing of the apostles (Heb. 2:3–4). It is significant that outside of Acts the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are mentioned only in the early epistle of 1 Corinthians. Later epistles, such as Ephesians, Romans, and 1 Peter, discuss spiritual gifts but make no mention of miraculous ones.
Contrary to much teaching today, the purpose of the gift of languages was not the edification of believers. As noted above, they were a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel (1 Cor. 14:21–22), showing that the church would encompass people from all nations and languages. The gift of languages was therefore a sign of the transition between the Old and New Covenants—a transition completed nearly two thousand years ago.
Having thus fulfilled its purpose, the gift of languages passed from the scene, just as 1 Corinthians 13:8 said it would. That fact is confirmed by church history. Speaking in tongues was unknown from the close of the apostolic era until the beginning of this century, except in heretical groups. (For a further discussion of speaking in tongues, see my book Charismatic Chaos [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], and 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1984].)
Those who spoke the languages at Pentecost did not have to be taught how to do so by reading a book, attending a seminar, or being coached by other people. Nor did they have to develop the gift through repeated practice on their own. Rather, they spoke as the Spirit was giving them utterance. He was in total control of the situation. They simply received what He gave.
The evidence of the Spirit’s coming was unmistakable. He manifested His presence to the ears, eyes, and mouths of the believers. But it didn’t stop there. His coming had a profound effect on the people of Jerusalem as well.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1994). Acts (Vol. 1, pp. 39–43). Moody Press.
- And suddenly a noise like a violently blowing wind came from heaven and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3. And to them tongues as of fire appeared that separated and rested on each one of them. 4. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them ability.
Note these three points:
a. Wind. In the morning hours of Pentecost, the people suddenly hear the sound of a violent wind blowing from heaven. One important aspect of the coming of the Holy Spirit is the suddenness of his appearance. Although, as they were instructed, the disciples stay in Jerusalem to wait for the outpouring of the Spirit, nonetheless his sudden arrival is surprising. Christ’s followers will experience a similar situation when Jesus suddenly returns. Despite the signs of the times Jesus reveals to his people, his return will be surprising and unexpected.
Luke states that there is the sound of the blowing of a violent wind. He does not indicate that the wind itself is making its effects known. From other parts of Scripture, we know that both in the Hebrew and in the Greek one word conveys the double meaning wind and spirit (Ezek. 37:9, 14; John 3:8). We hear and feel the effect of the wind but are unable to see it. So it is with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes from heaven, not from the sky, with the sound of a violent wind. He fills the house where the Christians are sitting and praying for his coming (compare 4:31).
We see the significance of the wind in Luke’s account. The wind symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who fills the house where the believers are sitting. The sound of the wind denotes heavenly power, and its suddenness reveals the inception of a supernatural event.
b. Fire. “And to them tongues as of fire appeared that separated and rested on each one of them.” This is the fulfillment of John the Baptist’s description of Jesus’ power: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16). In the Old Testament, fire is often a symbol of God’s presence in respect to holiness, judgment, and grace. For example, Moses heard the voice of God in the burning bush and was told to take off his sandals (Exod. 3:2–5); fire destroyed the sacrifice of Elijah at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:38); and a chariot of fire took Elijah to heaven (2 Kings 2:11).
The believers not only hear the coming of the Holy Spirit, but also see him appearing in what seem to be tongues of fire. The fire, symbol of the divine presence, takes the form of tongues that do not come out of the believers’ mouths, but rest on their heads. Therefore, we should not confuse these tongues with the “other tongues” mentioned in the next verse (v. 4), where Luke introduces the miracle of tongue speaking.
The Holy Spirit appears in this external sign and rests upon each of the believers. He is not illusory, because Luke clearly indicates that they saw tongues of fire. The coming of the Spirit fulfills John the Baptist’s prophecy that the disciples would be baptized with the Spirit and with fire. Therefore the coming of the Holy Spirit ushers in a new era, for he comes to take up his dwelling with men not temporarily but forever.
c. Tongues. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them ability.” The Greek text indicates that the filling with the Spirit occurred once for all. That is, the Spirit did not come and go but stayed, as is evident from Luke’s account. When Peter addresses the Sanhedrin, he is filled with the Spirit (4:8; and see 4:31). After his conversion, Saul receives the Holy Spirit (9:17; compare 13:9, 52). The outpouring of the Spirit is not repetitious, for the Spirit stays with the person who has been filled. Furthermore, the Spirit reaches out in ever-widening circles to the Samaritans (8:17), the Gentiles (10:44–46), and the disciples of John the Baptist (19:1–6). This occurs in harmony with and in fulfillment of the command Jesus gave to the apostles to witness in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (1:8).
What is the effect of the Holy Spirit on all the believers? Luke writes, “They were all filled.” We should not limit the adjective all as applying only to the apostles, for Peter in his sermon shows that Joel’s prophecy has been fulfilled: “Your sons and daughters will prophesy” (v. 17; Joel 2:28). And when subsequently Peter and John report the remarks of the chief priests to the believers, all were filled with the Holy Spirit (4:31). The effect of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is that he takes full possession of the individual believer.
The Christian who is filled with the Spirit becomes the Spirit’s mouthpiece. In the case of the believers in Jerusalem, they speak in other tongues and thereby prove that the Holy Spirit controls and enables them. The word tongue is the equivalent of the concept spoken language. This is evident from Luke’s comment that “each one was hearing them speaking in his own language” (v. 6); the multitude asks, “Then how is it that each of us hears them in his native tongue?” (v. 8); and they say, “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the mighty deeds of God” (v. 11). The tongues the believers speak are the known languages spoken in areas ranging from Persia in the east to Rome in the west. We cannot equate the Pentecost event with tongue speaking in the Corinthian church. The believers who speak in other tongues at Pentecost do not speak for the edification of the church (in distinction from ecstatic speech [1 Cor. 14]). Whereas in the Corinthian church ecstatic speech has to be interpreted, at Pentecost the hearers do not need interpreters because they hear and are able to understand their own languages. The ability to speak in tongues comes from within man as an internal sign of the Holy Spirit; the wind and the fire are external signs.
Doctrinal Considerations in 2:2 and 4
Verse 2
Here is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to the apostles: “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit within a few days” (1:5). On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit filled everyone sitting in the house, so that the 120 were spiritually baptized (vv. 2, 4). A study of Spirit baptism in Acts is significant. “Whenever baptism with the Spirit is mentioned after Pentecost, it is never an experience of believers who have already been baptized once with the Spirit but only of new groups of people who are brought to faith in Christ.”
After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Jews in Jerusalem, Jesus extended his church by adding the Samaritans, who received the Spirit (8:16–17). Next, he invited the Gentiles into his church. This occurred when Peter preached the gospel in the house of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles (10:44–45). Finally, the disciples of John the Baptist, who had not heard the gospel and did not know about the Holy Spirit, were added to the church. Paul baptized them in the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit came on them (19:6).
Peter told the Jerusalem crowd, “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” (2:38, NIV). We conclude from a study of Acts that water baptism and Spirit baptism normally occur simultaneously.
Verse 4
Although some scholars assert that the miracle of speaking in tongues relates more to the hearers than to the speakers, this view fails to do justice to those who, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues. The context of the Pentecost event features the remarks of those who heard the apostles speak in familiar languages, but a few questions must be faced. For instance, if we say that believers, by the power of the Spirit, spoke to the crowd in their own languages, why did Peter address all the people in only one language (v. 14)? Next, if the multitude understood Peter, we expect that those present were able to converse in Greek or Aramaic or both. Furthermore, the words other tongues do not apply to Judea (v. 9), for there Aramaic and Greek were spoken. And last, if everyone present was able to hear about “the mighty deeds of God” in his native language, why did some people mock the apostles and charge them with drunkenness (v. 13)? Specific questions concerning the Pentecost experience remain unanswered because of the brevity of the report. From the account, we are able to draw only general conclusions.
The Holy Spirit unites believers from many parts of the world by speaking miraculously to them in the language of faith. He makes it possible for the hearers to overcome the linguistic confusion of Babel (Gen. 11:1–9) when he calls them to respond to the gospel in repentance and faith (v. 38). As unbelievers scoff at the Pentecost miracle, three thousand believers repent, are baptized, and join the church (v. 41).
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (Vol. 17, pp. 76–79). Baker Book House.
2:4. The internal and invisible gift of the Spirit was manifested by the external and visible phenomenon of speaking in tongues.
In the OT era, the gift of the Spirit was often corroborated by prophetic proclamations (e.g., Eldad and Medad, Nm 11:26–29; Saul, 1Sm 10:6–12), but after the ministry of Malachi, the spirit of prophecy ceased (for support, see 1 Macc 9:27; 4 Ezra 14:44; Josephus, Against Apion 1.41). The Jews expected, however, with the coming of the messianic age, God would once again give His Spirit and people would prophesy (Jl 2:28–32; Ezk 36:25–27). That hope was realized on the day of Pentecost, but the prophecy was of a special type. They began to speak with other tongues (heterais glossais).
To understand this phenomenon it is necessary to answer four questions:
First, did the disciples speak a foreign language, or did they speak in a language they knew but the hearers heard it in their own language? Judging from the infinitive to speak (lalein) in 2:4, the disciples spoke in other languages. In addition, the audience did not receive a special capacity from the Spirit to understand the language spoken by the disciples in their own languages.
Second, was it a foreign language or ecstatic speech? More than likely, it was an earthly foreign language not learned formally by the disciples. In 2:6, 8 the word “language” is the Greek word dialektos, which means “the language of a nation or region” and not an ecstatic utterance (BDAG, 232). Plus, the list of fifteen ethnic regions in vv. 7–11 suggests foreign languages.
Third, what was the purpose of the phenomenon? In Acts, speaking in tongues was a “sign” indicating the beginning of a new era in God’s program of redemption. It was not confirmation to new believers that they had received the gift of the Spirit. In v. 16, Peter said the gift fulfilled what was predicted by the prophet Joel (Jl 2:28–32). For a fuller discussion of the purpose and nature of speaking in tongues, see the comments introducing the commentary on 1Co 14:1.
Fourth, is speaking in tongues a normative experience for all believers or a unique phenomenon related to the birth and growth of the early church? The evidence supports the latter. The phenomenon is mentioned explicitly only three times in Acts (among the Jewish people in 2:4, among the Gentiles in 10:45–46, and among the disciples of John in 19:6). The Samaritans (Ac 8) and Paul (Ac 9) may have spoken in tongues after they received the Spirit, but it is not stated. In reporting dozens of other conversion experiences, Luke did not mention speaking in tongues. Furthermore, none of the major characters in Acts commanded or instructed others on how or whether they should speak in tongues (which is not the case for many practices in Acts, e.g., baptism). This fact supports the idea that Luke did not intend speaking in tongues to be understood as normative or binding upon the church perpetually. Instead, Acts simply recorded what did happen, not what should happen consistently. The phenomenon of tongues, like many of the experiences in Acts, is a unique event, signaling the beginning of the era of the Spirit who has come to empower believers to take the gospel to all nations.
Marty, W. H. (2014). Acts. In M. A. Rydelnik & M. Vanlaningham (Eds.), The moody bible commentary (pp. 1674–1675). Moody Publishers.
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