Daily Devotion 12 August 2024 Introduction to Acts/Acts 2:1-13 The Holy Ghost fills the 120

Introduction to Acts

Timeline

Author and Date

Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Both were written by Luke, a physician who traveled with the apostle Paul. Acts ends with Paul under house arrest, awaiting trial before Caesar, c. A.D. 62. Many scholars assume Acts was written then because it does not record Paul’s defense, release, and further gospel preaching.

Theme

The Holy Spirit empowers believers to declare the gospel among both Jews and Gentiles. In doing so they establish the church. The church is the fulfillment of God’s promises from the beginning of time.

Purpose

Luke’s purpose for writing his Gospel (see Luke 1:3–4) applies to Acts as well: to give an “orderly” account of the early church after Christ’s resurrection. Dedicating the two-volume work to Theophilus, Luke wanted him to have “certainty” about what he had been taught.

Key Themes

Acts tells of the witness of the early church to the truth of the gospel—a theme first introduced in 1:8:

1. The witness is worldwide—Judea, Samaria, the “end of the earth” (1:8).
2. The witness includes all kinds of people (chs. 2–5; 10:1–11:18; 14:8–18; 16:11–15, 25–34; 17:22–31).
3. God guides the church’s witness (4:5–22; 23:12–22; 24:1–23; 27:21–26).
4. Faithful witnesses must be prepared to suffer and even die because of their testimony to Christ (5:41–42; 7:54–60).
5. The Holy Spirit empowers the witness (1:8; 2:1–13; 8:17; 13:2–12; 19:6).
6. Effective witness demands unity in the church (2:42–47; 4:32–37; 5:12–14).
7. Jesus’ resurrection is a key part of the witness (1:22; 2:22–36; 17:30–31).
8. Acceptance of the message depends both on human response and on God’s sovereign will (2:47; 11:18; 13:48).
9. The witness to the gospel calls for a response (26:27–29). It requires repenting of one’s sins in the name of Christ. This brings forgiveness of sins (e.g., 2:38).
10. Witnesses must always maintain integrity before the world (18:12–15; 23:29; 25:18; 26:31–32).
11. Christian witnesses continue the ministry that Christ “began” (1:1).
12. Faithful witness can bring great results (4:4; 13:48–49; 17:4; 28:30–31).

Outline

1. Preparation for Witness (1:1–2:13)
2. The Witness in Jerusalem (2:14–5:42)
3. The Witness beyond Jerusalem (6:1–12:25)
4. The Witness in Cyprus and Southern Galatia (13:1–14:28)
5. The Jerusalem Council (15:1–35)
6. The Witness in Greece (15:36–18:22)
7. The Witness in Ephesus (18:23–21:16)
8. The Arrest in Jerusalem (21:17–23:35)
9. The Witness in Caesarea (24:1–26:32)
10. The Witness in Rome (27:1–28:31)

The Setting of Acts

c. A.D. 30–60

The book of Acts records the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome, thus fulfilling the risen Christ’s words to his apostles in Acts 1:8.

Good morning,

Christ died to pay the sin debt for all mankind. He was buried in a rich man’s tomb. He arose the third day.

So what happens next? Christ ascending back to heaven, waiting in the upper room, the replacement of Judas as an apostle, the 120 are filled with the Holy Ghost, and the 120 preaching and every one hears them in their own language.

We will explore each of these this week.

The Holy Ghost fills the 120 (Acts 2:1-4)

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.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.³ And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Picture in your mind. You are involved in a prayer meeting. All of a sudden, a hurricane force wind, (rushing mighty wind), blows through. You are frightened because of the wind, when “…cloven tongues like as fire…”, sits on you. Nothing like this has ever happened before and you are scared out of your mind. Then you are filled with the Holy Ghost (Spirit) and begin speaking in languages you have never spoken before. For most of us, this would freak us out.

This surreal picture is what happened to the 120 believers in the upper room. They had been patiently waiting for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This probably shocked them, as it would us.

That moment changed their lives forever. They left that room bold witnesses for Jesus Christ.

All hear in their own language (Acts 2:5-13)

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.⁶ Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.⁷ And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?⁸ And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?⁹ Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,¹¹ Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.¹² And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?¹³ Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.”

The 120 now descend on Jerusalem. They began to preach and the people understood them in their own language. The city was made up of many different ethnic groups, which spoke different languages. What was happening was amazing.

There is a two-fold reason God allowed the residents of Jerusalem to understand in their own language.

First, it confirmed the message was from God. Only God could allow the residents of Jerusalem to hear the gospel message in their own language.

Second, it authenticated the messenger was from God. God was the one who filled the 120 with the Holy Ghost. These messengers were God’s witnesses.

We have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us. It is one thing to be indwelled with the Spirit and quite another to be controlled by the Spirit. How often does the Spirit of God move us to do something and we say no. When the Spirit shows us clear Bible teaching and we reject it. This is called quenching the Spirit.  God wants us to be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants the Spirit of God to be in control of our lives.

Will we let Him?

Next we will look at Peter’s preaching at Pentecost. His life was dramatically changed from the night he denied Christ three times to standing before a great group and preaching about Christ.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com