Pentecost

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."   (Acts 2:1-4)

What a moment that was in that upper room. 120 people gathered together, 120 individual names all known to heaven, gathered there and praying. They were obedient to the Lord's directions, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). What a wonderful way to spend the time while waiting for the promise of the Father.

When the power did come what a mighty thing it was. What a tremendous thing it was for the Son of God to come into this world, but I believe that the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world is of almost equal importance with that great descent from glory when the Son of God became a little babe.

The descent of the Holy Spirit, who is coequal with the Father and the Son, into this world is an event that turned the world upside down. When He came into that upper room it was as "a mighty rushing noise". It was known by all and it filled the whole room. What a tremendous presence that must have been. Then the tongues of fire sat upon each one, each one was blessed by the incoming of the Spirit, they were filled by the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

We know from further teaching in the epistles that at that moment the body of Christ was formed according 1 Corinthians 12, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body" (v.13). The church was formed and is always looked upon in Scripture as a complete thing at any given time upon earth. The Holy Spirit formed it, the Holy Spirit maintains it. This is something that is infinitely beyond our understanding, how Christians form one body that is maintained in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God for that. On the day of Pentecost the body of Christ, the church of God, the family of the Father was formed. All these wonderful things were formed because Christ had done the work and the Spirit had come and filled all those believers at that particular moment.