The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 74

life. Distinction from Greece and Rome, and the great absolutisms of the East. Providential education oi the Jews to be the world's messengers in Christ's Name. Rebuke of hum1m pride. Not to the wise, not to the wealthy, not to the politically powerful, was the function assigned, but to the small and despised people in whom the gracious preparation was made, to the Church when it was in the attitude of prayer. . II. THE FORII OF MANIFESTATION. 1. Tongues; not swords, not sceptres, but the sign of persuasion and moral victory over men's hearts. 2. Fire, changing, subduing, penetrating, purifying, irresistible. The element of the world's destruction. So the power of truth brings about the overthrow of error and the destruction of the evil world. 3. Accompanied with the sound of II mighty rushing wind from heaven, symbol_ of the 11ast11ess of the spiritual forces now to be sent upon earth, of their mysteNCU$11esS of operation, of their super-earthly origin ; not brought about by any de'l"ices or machinery of man's, but the free gift of God, that his Name alone be glorified. 4. Distributed amongst God's people; "sat upon each of them," "cloven tongues," probably referring to the flames being divided into portions-"parting asunder" (Revised Version). Whether the all of ver. I mean all the twelve apostles alone, or all the disciples, is of little consequence, for the promise of the Spirit was declared by Peter to be for all flesh (see below). 6, The tJoice of the Spirit, Either an unknown tongue which the Spirit interpreted, partly by inspiration of those who heard it, and partly by communication of its meaning to individuals, or the special gift of languages imparted for the occasion, by a miraculous elevation of the ,faculties, so that the uneducated Jew spoke a foreign tongue. The former seems the most likely. But the one great fa.et is the utterance of the Spirit's voice,-R. Ver. 4.-Baptz$m of the Holy Ghost. Connect with facts; the position and respon- sibilities of the Church, the promise given, the antecedent state of the world, the need of a Divine power for the mission of grace, the importance of such a miracle for the confirmation of faith and the establishment of Christianity, the uplifting of the agents above natural infirmities, errors, and sins. I. .A. GREAT EPOCH in human history. World filled with many things-thoughts, speculations, strivings, powers; capable of much, but the great want the Spirit. Truth, love, life, for a false world-a world at enmity with itself, full of disorder ; a dying world, needing to be renewed and restored. II. .A. GBEAT GIFT of God to man. "Suddenly" bestowed; freely, apart from man's· claims and merits ; upon all, without respect of persons, for the selection of the few believing Jews, with a view to the abolition of Judaism and of all restrictions; a~ndantly-" all filled," to their own astonishment, with supernatural powers. Spiritual gifts above all other gifts. Even science points to a continuous ascent of man. He is only highest when he is filled with the Spirit of God. HI. .A. GREAT CHANGE in individuals and in the community. We may anticipate a similar baptism of the Holy Ghost, not with the same external manifestation, but with substantially the same elevation of faith and life. Instances of such a baptism in great preachers and workers, in lowly men and women, in periods of the Church's history. Suddenly the fa.et may appear, but, like the first Christians, our duty is to be ready for it, waiting, expecting, with one accord, often in one place. Revival of the Church, conversion of the world. should be viewed in their relation to this stupendous change, and what came out of it. Baptism is consecration. 'l'he Holy Ghost is not given for signs and wonders, but to endow the Church for its mission to the world. The power of utterance. is the great test of Divine endowment, not in the sense of human eloquence, but in the fulfilment of the Spirit's work, to" convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment" (John xvi. 8-10). .And so- IV . .A. GBEAT OPENING OP HEAVEN. The one fact of Pentecost is the pledge of the f 11ture. It iB the gate through which we can see endless glory: "angels of God ucending and descending." " All the families of the earth " blessed in the true children of Abraham. We must admit of no compromise in the proclamation of such a message. If Christianity is no more than a moral doctrine, then Pentecost is lost in the background of a primitive antiquity; if it is "life from the dead," then we must ceaselessly repeat the watchword, "This is he that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." We can do nothing without a Di'IJine ChriBt• ~ Qi'l/ine Spiril, the F,Qmise of the Olt. II, 1-47,] TllE ACTS OF' THE APOSTLES. 89