A Mighty Rushing Wind

by Maurice Pujol
Published May 26, 2006

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)

On June 4, Christians everywhere will celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the church.

One would think a birthday celebration would be a big deal; but, in many churches, this will be “just another Sunday,” with perhaps an observation or two about what happened to the 120 faithful in the upper room that fateful day.

Actually, Pentecost was a Jewish festival at which the first fruits of the harvest were offered to God. It literally means “fiftieth,” a celebration that comes after a week’s worth of weeks (7x7=49) following the Passover. For Christians, it is the “fiftieth” day after Easter.

Tradition has it that Jesus returned to heaven 40 days after His resurrection, with final instructions to His disciples calling for them to go to Jerusalem and to wait upon a great event that would empower them to preach the gospel to the world. Jesus said they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

As is always the case, God’s timing was excellent. Jerusalem began to fill up with Jewish worshippers from throughout the region, gathering to offer God their first fruits in thanksgiving for another good early harvest. Peter and the others gathered together “in one accord,” as the King James Version puts it, to wait on the Lord’s promise to be fulfilled.

On the day of Pentecost, the 120 faithful were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit manifested Himself so powerfully they could see “tongues like fire” above each of them.

They were changed on the inside, changed quite dramatically. They were filled with all the revelation knowledge the Spirit had to offer and inspired to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to the multitudes gathered in Jerusalem.

Pentecost reversed the curse that had been placed on mankind during ancient times at the Tower of Babel. Just as men suddenly speaking different languages disrupted this work and not being able to understand each other, the blessed disciples of Pentecost spoke in various languages the multicultural multitudes understood.

They had come to Jerusalem from different areas, speaking various languages, yet marveled that this group of Galileans “spoke their language.” They heard all about Jesus and His resurrection, and thousands of new believers were brought into the fold. They realized the gift of tongues was a miracle, and that got their attention as they heard about “the wonderful works of God.”

Of course, as always, there were some hard-hearted in their midst who heard the various languages and assumed the faithful were drunk. They missed hearing the Word because of spiritual deafness.

Early believers considered this “gift of tongues” evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism, a tradition upheld by many Pentecostal denominations today. There were disagreements among Pentecostals early in the 20th century over whether this gift is the evidence or just one of several ways this special “baptism” is manifested.

Other groups of Christians backed away from this discussion altogether, downplaying the whole concept of a separate “baptism” of the Holy Spirit. Some teach that there is an “infilling” of the Holy Spirit, a mystical experience that empowers believers to live out their faith, while others teach that every new believer becomes filled with the Spirit at the very moment of salvation.

The common thread among all these groups and denominations is this: Believers need the Holy Spirit to become the people God intends for them to be. Salvation is just the first step of a Christian’s eternal life, part of which will be lived on this earth as a witness to the truth of Jesus Christ. We need the Holy Spirit to keep us on track and to lead us on to higher levels of holiness in this life, always aware that our complete sanctification won’t occur until we are called home to be with the Lord.

The Bible clearly indicates that Holy Spirit baptism is a special, and necessary, event in the life of a believer. Whether you believe this is a separate experience that must be sought after salvation or that it comes simultaneously with your salvation experience, it’s clear that the Spirit’s presence in the heart of every believer is quite essential.

Jesus said the Comforter would come after He left, the Spirit of truth Who would guide us into all truth, Who would convict us of our sins and Who would be with us always in our times of need. However you believe this great gift is manifested, know this – those who are filled with the Holy Spirit show evidence of it in their everyday lives, not just in their weekly church services.

If their words and actions don’t conform with each other, everyone is quick to recognize the absence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. On the other hand, the Spirit manifests Himself powerfully to others through those who are truly filled.

So, how can someone tell if the Holy Spirit is present in another’s life, in another’s teaching? Well, one gift of the Spirit is discernment, and that goes a long way in helping us seeing His presence in others and being able to separate truth from falsehood.

There are also two objective ways to judge another’s words or actions in this regard.

First, the Holy Spirit always points us to Jesus, since He and Jesus are one, one with each other and one with the Father.

Second, the Spirit never prompts anyone to say anything that disagrees with the Bible, since He is the truth author, Who inspired all the human authors in the first place.

So, let us celebrate Pentecost this week. It is a very big day for believers, well deserving of more than just a passing nod.

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