The Holy Spirit Comes to Empower
Tom Shrader walks through Acts 2:1-4, setting the Day of Pentecost in its Old Testament context and explaining the three symbols of wind, fire, and tongues as signs of the Holy Spirit's empowering arrival. He carefully distinguishes between baptism of the Holy Spirit, which he identifies with conversion and happens once, and the filling of the Holy Spirit, which is a repeated, ongoing experience tied to obedience and ministry. The teaching closes with a call for believers to examine whether they are truly following God's will, submitting to Scripture, and allowing the Spirit to produce observable change in their lives.
“Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place when the Holy Spirit invades a person's life, regenerates their heart, causes them to be born again — it's something that every person in the body of Christ has experienced.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Acts
Recorded: 1999 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 52 min
Themes: holy spirit, empowerment, pentecost, obedience, spiritual power, transformation, waiting on god, witnessing, new believer, feeling powerless, struggling with obedience, seeking spiritual growth, young adult, evangelist, stagnant in faith, questioning god's control
Scripture: Acts 1:4, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:7-8, Acts 4:8, Acts 4:31, Acts 6, Acts 7:55, Acts 9, Acts 13, Leviticus 23:15, Genesis 1:1-2, Genesis 2:7, John 3:5-8, Hebrews 12:9, Mark 8:34, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 5:19-23, Ephesians 4:4, Ephesians 5:18
Theological Themes: pneumatology, baptism of the holy spirit, filling of the spirit, conversion, sanctification, biblical authority, acts of the apostles, spirit indwelling
Full Transcript
Setting the Stage: Acts Chapter 2 in Context
Let me invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Acts. That is where we are this morning, as we begin our study of Acts chapter 2. As we do, we are continually taking you back to make sure we understand context, to make sure we remember what is happening in the story before us.
In Acts chapter 1 verse 4, Jesus says something unusual, at least in our minds. Here are these disciples who are prepared and trained and have now seen the risen Christ. He says to them, what I want you to do is wait. Do not leave Jerusalem. Stop and wait. It is not that you need to wait forever, but you need to wait for the promise of the Father. We do not have to guess what that is. Jesus, throughout the gospel of John, has said there is another one coming — a comforter, an advocate, the promised one. It is the Holy Spirit.
Verse 8 of Acts chapter 1 says this: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." You are already ready. You do not need more information at this point. You do not need more desire. Apparently they are ready to go, and He says, no, stop, wait, pause. There is something you need. What you need is real power — supernatural power, not just human motivation. You need supernatural power, and that power will come when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. When that happens, you will be His witnesses — first here at home in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth itself.
In chapter 1, we saw the waiting for the Holy Spirit. In chapter 2, we see the Holy Spirit come. In chapter 1, they were equipped; in chapter 2, they are empowered. In chapter 1, the disciples were held back; now in chapter 2, they are sent forth. In chapter 1, the Savior ascends into heaven; but in Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit descends to this earth to indwell His people.
God's Plan Unfolding
This is an important study for us. As we look at the book of Acts, we begin to understand the whole New Testament. James Boyce reminds us that everything we see happening in the book of Acts happens according to the plan of God. His plan is revealed and executed. He is working out His plan in His people, in mankind in general, in the church. God is in control.
This is a brief reminder to us as we look at a world and say it is out of control. It is not out of control. It is beyond our control — it is beyond your control — but it is not out of God's control. We are reminded in the book of Acts of the reality that here is God in control.
Donald Gray Barnhouse elaborates perhaps a little more. He says the second chapter of the book of Acts is one of the pivotal portions of the book — it is, in a sense, the linchpin. When I understand this, I begin to see that the Holy Spirit is working through the men He has chosen. Barnhouse adds that if he does not understand this, he is not going to understand what happens at Pentecost, and beyond that, he is not going to understand the early development of the church at all. This chapter is really important for understanding what we will see throughout the book of Acts, through the New Testament, and even to us today.
John MacArthur says it simply: the second chapter of Acts marks a turning point in the history of God's kingdom. Something very special is going to take place in Acts chapter 2.
A Historical and Doctrinal Account
I will remind you of this throughout our study of this chapter and throughout the book — we come back to this again and again. All Scripture is inspired by God. The book of Acts is doctrinally accurate. It is filled with doctrine that is important for us. It is also a historical account of what is happening in the early church, and the early church is in transition.
As we look at this historical account of this transition, we come face to face with episodes and events that we will not see happen again in the history of the church. These are things that point us to the reality of an indwelling Christ and Holy Spirit — a Holy Spirit that lives in us — and to the empowering of the church. The day of Pentecost is indeed one of those events that we will not see again in the history of the church or the history of mankind.
Reading the Text: Acts 2:1–4
Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 4. Let us read them.
"When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Now, there is a great desire — a great passion — especially in the time we live in, when there is so much talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the filling of the Holy Spirit, and speaking in tongues. There is such a great desire to rush to verse 4 and talk about what this tongues thing means. We will address that, but we will not do so until we have set the context and understand what is happening. So we proceed in a very deliberate way as we work through chapter 2.
The Feast of Pentecost
Verse 1 tells us: "When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." There is a sense of unity here. Pentecost is the last of three Old Testament feasts that give us a picture of God's intent in redemption. The first is the Feast of Passover — that is the lamb, the substitutionary lamb designed symbolically to take away sin. The second is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. There is some disagreement among the Sadducees and Pharisees as they studied what this meant, but it was a time of the first offering of firstfruits — a grain offering commanded in Leviticus 23 verse 15 to be given on the day after the Sabbath, after Passover, the Sunday after Passover. It is the firstfruits, symbolic of something that is to come.
The Feasts Fulfilled
Pentecost means literally "50" or "fiftieth" — it falls 50 days after Passover. Historically, it symbolizes the giving of the law to Moses at Mount Sinai, and it was also another time of offering of first fruits, a grain offering, a partial offering of the whole. It symbolizes the closure, the completion of these 50 days in this redemptive picture of what God was going to do.
As we study the book of Acts, we see not a picture but a reality. The Passover points to Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay the price of the sin of His people. The Feast of Unleavened Bread points to that first Sunday after the Sabbath when Jesus Christ rises from the dead, the first among many who would rise. And then the Feast of Pentecost — not a giving of law, but a giving of grace in which the church is empowered.
This is the completion of that cycle. That cycle is done, and now we move on toward the expansion. The church is given birth, and now it begins to grow.
Three Symbols at Pentecost
When we look at Pentecost, we see an event. We see three symbols that take place: wind, fire, and the speaking in tongues.
Verse two tells us it was sudden and unexpected — a surprise, just like the second coming, a thief in the night or a twinkling of an eye. They weren't praying for this, they weren't anticipating this. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, and it sounded like a violent, mighty wind that filled the whole house where they were sitting.
What does this mean? In the ancient languages — Greek, Hebrew, and even Latin — the word used for "spirit" is also the word used for "wind." The symbolism becomes clear with that understanding. Genesis chapter 1, verses 1 and 2 reads: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness fell on the earth, and the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters." It is the Spirit of God, the wind of God, the breath of God, in this act of creation.
Genesis chapter 2, verse 7 says: "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." He became a living being — the Spirit, the wind, the life-giving Spirit comes into him.
We see this same idea clearly in John chapter 3, when Nicodemus comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit the kingdom. Jesus says he must be born again. Nicodemus responds that he cannot climb back into his mother's womb. Then in verse 5, Jesus answered: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
The wind that comes on this day of Pentecost is a picture of this life-giving, creative, powerful force of God.
Fire and Fullness
Then there is a second symbol. Just as suddenly, there appear divided tongues as of fire, and one sits upon each of them. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 9 says God is a consuming fire. Fire would picture two things and carry two functions for these people.
First, fire meant light. That was the only light they had in the midst of darkness. The fire was light to them, and when the Holy Spirit comes and there is fire, there is light. Second, fire provided warmth. John Wesley, speaking of his conversion, said, "My heart was strangely warmed." We could say in the language of our day that without the Holy Spirit, you are out in the cold.
So the Holy Spirit comes with this life-giving, creative power. With it comes enlightenment — the ability to see spiritual things — and there is a warmth, a passion that comes with this. The Holy Spirit, the One they had been waiting for, comes in a picture of wind and of fire.
Filled with the Holy Spirit
Then in verse 4, something happens: they were all — every person there — filled with the Holy Spirit. The evidence of this was that they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now, two phrases come up frequently in conversation when we talk about the Holy Spirit: being baptized with the Holy Spirit, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. What do they mean?
Not long ago a man from Orlando called and wanted to know if I could come and speak. He told me it would be couples, probably four or five hundred to six hundred couples, over a weekend. I told him I would need to check my calendar, and since I use a year-at-a-glance, I found the date and confirmed I was free. Then he said he had a couple of questions for me.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Spirit-Filling: Getting the Terms Right
As we study this, it is important to look carefully at the terms we are working with. Throughout the study in the book of Acts, Luke uses different verbs to talk about the coming of the Holy Spirit. This first event we are looking at is unique and will never be repeated in the same way. When we look at the whole New Testament, we see — with a few exceptions in the midst of transition in the book of Acts — that baptism of the Holy Spirit is associated with conversion, and filling is associated with ministry.
When we begin to search the Scripture on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we discover a couple of things. You are never commanded to go and be baptized with the Holy Spirit, or even to seek it. It is not something set aside for a super-elite group of Christians or some special class of believers. It is not something to be sought after.
First Corinthians 12:13 tells us, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether we're Jews or Greeks or slave or free." Galatians 3:26 adds, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many as of you were baptized into Christ, you have put on Christ." And Ephesians 4:4 says, "There is one body, one Spirit, just as you were called into one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father for all." There is a singleness to baptism.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit symbolizes our being born again. It takes place when the Holy Spirit invades a person's life, regenerates their heart, and causes them to be born again. It is something every person in the body of Christ has experienced. New Testament baptism of the Holy Spirit is not something that happens subsequent to conversion — it is conversion.
The Filling of the Holy Spirit
The filling of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is different. It is linked with ministry. Baptism of the Holy Spirit happens once, without repetition. Filling occurs with frequency, as a believer allows God's Spirit to powerfully work through them.
Notice that while you are never commanded to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, you are commanded to be filled. Ephesians 5:18 tells us that we are to be filled with the Spirit — the tense means literally to keep on being filled. Before that filling takes place, I have to be emptied in order to be filled. Emptied of what?
Jesus says it this way in Mark 8:34. The New Living Translation — which I will confess I have really enjoyed and found myself spending a great deal of time in — renders it this way: "If any of you want to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow Me." What do I have to empty myself of? My selfish ambition. My pride.
It is important to be clear that we are talking here to Christians. We are talking about the battle we face as believers — the way that self, selfish ambition, and pride creep in. As they creep in, as I begin to serve my agenda rather than His agenda, my filling begins to leave. I am still His, still in the body of Christ, but I have grieved or quenched the Holy Spirit through my sin and rebellion. I tend to exalt myself, and in a sense I begin to push God's agenda to the back and move my own concerns to the front. Everything that occurs in my life I start to filter through one question: what does this mean for me? Me, me, me. I have my own trinity going — I, me, and mine. But He says, "I want you to be filled with the Spirit."
Walking in the Spirit and Being Led by the Spirit
Two more phrases deserve attention: walk in the Spirit, and be led by the Spirit. You may have heard people use these expressions and wondered what they actually mean. Frequently the assumption is that something extraordinary is taking place — some gift of healing, some sign, some unusual display of power. People ask, "Are you walking in the Spirit? Are you being led by the Spirit?" as though it describes a realm of supernatural spectacle.
Let us go to the context. Galatians chapter 5 is where these phrases appear. Paul says, "I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The flesh lusts against the Spirit, the Spirit against the flesh." There is a battle going on. If you are walking in the Spirit, you are not doing the things of the flesh — you are doing the things of the Spirit. If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
I remember being at a conference where the man next to me had nothing in front of him — no notes, no PowerPoint, no overheads. I had everything prepared. I said, "That's pretty impressive. You have it all memorized?" He said, "Well, not exactly. I just get up there and let the Spirit lead me." I told him I tried that once. My experience has been that the Spirit leads best when I study hardest. He leads best when I am prepared.
Walking in the Spirit
He is talking about behavior here. Look at the context. Verse 19 lists the works of the flesh — the works of those who are not walking in the Spirit, not being led by the Spirit. Their life is filled with adultery, fornication, and idolatry. All sorts of destructive things: outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, dissension, heresy, envy, murder, and more. If I am not being led by the Spirit, if I am not walking in the Spirit, that is what we see.
On the other hand, if I am being led by the Spirit, if I am walking in the Spirit, I will see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. So when somebody talks about being led by the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, or being filled with the Spirit, we can stop and understand what that means.
When Paul says to you — and therefore the Holy Spirit says to you — "be filled with the Spirit," here is what he is talking about. He is talking about God working in and through you. Things are happening around you. It is the result of salvation.
Being Filled Again and Again
Being filled with the Spirit is not something that happens to a non-Christian. It is the Christian who is called to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it is a recurring act. We just read in Acts chapter 2 verse 4 that Peter and all of those present were filled with the Spirit. Yet in Acts chapter 4 verse 8, Peter is filled again. Acts chapter 4 verse 31, this group is filled again.
Stephen is introduced to us in Acts chapter 6 as a man filled with the Spirit, but in Acts chapter 7 verse 55, he is filled again. In Acts chapter 9, we meet Paul at the point of his conversion and he is filled with the Spirit. Then in Acts chapter 13, he is filled again. To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled again and again and again.
It is to be led by, driven by, and walking in obedience to what God has for us. Life has a way of putting holes in us and emptying out the Spirit, and so we come again and again to be filled up. J. Vernon McGee used to say that being filled with the Spirit is like pulling up every day and saying, "Fill her up, Lord."
This is not about praying by yourself in a heavenly language — we will talk about that later — and it is not about laying down on some platform being filled with the Spirit. There is an observable difference in the way I live.
The Observable Difference
I became a Christian in March of 1980, and around that same time there was another man named Tom Woods who also became a Christian. About nine months later, we were having a cheeseburger together and talking about this. Tom was pointing to changes he had seen in my life — things I used to do that I no longer did, things I now did that I had not done before. Not perfect, but change.
Then he said something interesting. He said he did not see the same kind of visible change in his own life from the outside — he had always appeared to be a decent, upstanding person. But then he explained what others could not see. He said he used to do all those good things, but he did them with a rebellious heart. He would do a good thing so that people would look at him and say he was a good guy. He was not doing good things to meet a need; he was doing them to enhance his own image. The change for him was on the inside.
There is always an observable difference — in some cases visible to others, but always visible to yourself. If you are His, you are going to see the difference. If I am filled with the Spirit, there is going to be a difference. You cannot remain unchanged. Perfection, no, but there is going to be change.
Understanding Spiritual Things
All of a sudden, as I am filled with the Spirit, I start to understand spiritual things. That is how I know it is happening. It occurs at conversion, and it continues as I am filled with the Spirit. I will have people in Bible studies through the week, and it is wonderful to have someone come in and say they read a passage or listened to something and suddenly understand what it means — something they had never grasped before. All of a sudden, you open God's Word for the first time, and it makes sense. Spiritual things become real. The world around you is understandable because you are looking at it through His eyes, not your own.
Vibrant Fellowship, Vertical and Horizontal
If I am filled with the Spirit, I have vibrant fellowship — vertically with God and horizontally with those around me. I might be driving along in the car, and people on the outside would think I am talking to myself, but I am not. I am talking to the Holy Spirit who is right there. The presence of God is so real. I understand that He is there all the time. There is a vibrancy in which I want to get into His Word, to let Him speak to me, so I can begin to pray and speak to Him, and we communicate together. That fellowship is alive and real.
Here is the key: if I am Spirit-filled and I have this relationship going with God, it spreads out to the relationships around me. I ought not to be at war with everybody. This fellowship with Him ought to translate into fellowship, friendship, and love with those around me. If you go back and look at the works of the flesh, one of them is dissension, strife, and outbursts of wrath. But if I am filled with the Spirit, there is friendship and fellowship in my life. There is a submission —
Moving Toward Maturity
Someone who has been a Christian for a week and someone who has been a Christian for forty years can both be filled with the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit doesn't guarantee maturity, but it moves us toward maturity. Maturity takes time. You cannot microwave spiritual maturity, and you cannot transplant it. It is something that comes with life.
When I am truly being led by the Spirit, that is what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and walking in the Holy Spirit. I see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in my life. There is an observable difference. People can look at me and see a distinctiveness.
Being filled means being filled with a desire to please Him, to do His will, and to understand that one day He will judge my life. My deepest desire, way deep down inside, is to please Him.
Speaking in Tongues at Pentecost
Now, back to the context. Acts 2, verse 4: "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." What does that mean? What is happening there? Does it mean that if I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I ought to speak in some heavenly language?
We are going to look at that more fully next week, but let me give you a sneak preview. Look at verses 7 and 8. The city of Jerusalem is filled with pilgrims passing through for the holy days. These Galileans begin to speak, and the question arises: are they speaking in some unknown language? It is unknown to them, evidently, but the hearers each hear in their own original language. They say, "Aren't these guys Galileans? How is it we hear them each in our own language where we were born?"
The picture is something like this: imagine me flying to Beijing, getting off the plane, stepping onto the tarmac, and suddenly beginning to speak Chinese. It is unknown to me, but it is known to them. They would say, "How did he do that?" That is exactly what the crowd is asking. How did it happen? What is going on?
Remember the context: "When I come upon you, you will have power." Power for what? To be His witnesses. The speaking in tongues at Pentecost is God giving these men the ability to speak a known language to a people who understand it, a language they had never learned or been trained in. It is a direct demonstration of that promised power.
The Three Symbols of Pentecost
When we look at Pentecost, we see three symbols: the wind, the fire, and the speaking in tongues. The wind represents life-giving power, the power of creation, something new being born. There is a passion and an enlightenment — all of a sudden, spiritual things become clear. The tongues become a symbol of effective, bold witnessing for the gospel and the cause of Christ.
That is what happens on the day of Pentecost. That is what happens in these first four verses. Next week we will pick up at verse 5 and see what happens to the people around, the results of all of this. We have seen the Holy Spirit come and we have seen the effects. Next week we will see an explanation and a result.
Two Questions to Take With You
Let me close with the two questions the fellow from Orlando asked me. The first question is: have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit? When we ask that, what we are really asking is, are you a Christian? Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you come to a point in your life where you understand that your sin and rebellion has separated you from God, that the wages of sin is death, and that Jesus Christ is the antidote to that?
What do you have to do? You have to acknowledge you are a sinner and accept the provision of Christ, and Christ alone, as your life-giver. If you have done that, you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. So when someone says to you, "Are you baptized with the Holy Spirit?" you can say, "Yes — I am a Christian."
The second question is: are you Spirit-filled? What that question is really asking is, are you doing the will of God? When we talk about doing the will of God, we are not talking about something we cannot understand. We mean taking everything that is in Scripture and obediently following all that God prescribes for us to do — everything He says to do, we are about doing it, and everything He prohibits, we stay away from it.
Here is a practical tip as we close. If there is sin in your life, something God has already made clear to you, and every night your prayer is, "Father, show me what Your will for my life is," He is likely going to say, "Why? You don't want to know. I already showed you something, and you ignored it." There are many people trying to figure out the will of God, searching everywhere as if it were an Easter egg hunt. God's will is right here in His Word. Go do whatever He calls you to do. When I make decisions, I make them within the context of that revealed will.
So here are the two big questions for the week. Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit — that is, are you a Christian? And are you Spirit-filled — that is, are you following the law of God, the law of Christ, the law of love? Next week we pick up at verse 5.
Father, help us not only to see and understand this truth, but to live it. Thank You that today we, as Christians, have been baptized with Your Spirit, and that we can seek and be filled.