Rushing Wind, Tongues of Fire

I still remember the morning my grandma laid her hands on me, convinced this was the day I’d speak in tongues. Her eyes, icy blue and alight with faith, met mine. I was certain she’d searched out my dubiety, found out the times I’d tried out different gifts of the Spirit without success. I followed her instructions and tried to keep pace with her prayer but couldn’t. With a final “amen” she left convinced that I was catching on. I left knowing that I wasn’t. I left with intense longing, desiring the Holy Spirit to choose me as a recipient—and wondering why He didn’t.

For many years, the Holy Spirit was incredibly mysterious. He was defined primarily by the more supernatural gifts and how his presence felt in my own life. He was understood mainly by that moment in Acts 2, when the Spirit descended at Pentecost. But oh, how I longed for the Holy Spirit’s presence to descend on me as it did on Jesus’ followers at Pentecost.

While Acts speaks of the Spirit’s coming in a new and special way, the rest of the New Testament speaks of the Spirit’s presence as a daily reality in the believer’s life. The Spirit’s presence is not a power to conjure, invoke, or enter. We don’t lose the Spirit’s presence or receive more than the Christian beside us. As Paul wrote definitively, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:9). So, the reverse is also true: Those who belong to Christ receive his Spirit (John 3:34).

I may not have heard the rushing wind, or beheld the tongues of fire, or been given the gift of speaking in tongues. But when I trusted in Christ, the Spirit of God indwelt me just as He did those early disciples. The best part? This indwelling wasn’t only for me—this indwelling made my life a living testimony to Christ’s death and resurrection.

The Spirit Applies Christ’s Teaching

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave his followers a promise, punctuated by his frequent teaching: “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). I wonder if they remembered Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit during these days of waiting? Maybe they recalled Jesus’ promise that the Father would provide the Holy Spirit to all who asked (Luke 11:13). Or maybe Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit was coming was enough. The anticipation was palpable, evident in the disciples’ fervent prayer and obedient waiting (Acts 1:12).

Soon, the day arrived, and the Holy Spirit descended. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit,” and the crowds heard about the mighty works of God in their own languages (Acts 2:4a, 2:6). Some scoff. Others lean in. But what we see is that the Holy Spirit’s indwelling is an inward work that reaches outward.

The crowds are brought close—so close that God’s Spirit rests on them and moves among them. The Holy Spirit makes the message of Christ resurrected comprehensible and convincing. Through the power of the Spirit, thousands are cut to the heart, believe, and are baptized (Acts 2:37; 41).

In this moment, the Holy Spirit did what mere words could not—He applied the gospel’s message like a balm to the souls of the gospel’s hearers. He opened blinded eyes and made the foolish wise. In a moment when everyone could have easily believed that these Christians were out of their minds, some saw and believed. God’s Spirit accomplished this work in their hearts and minds.

The Holy Spirit’s indwelling of believers was never meant to be kept secret. It wasn’t only for their personal benefit. Immediately, God gathered a crowd of the spiritually dead and brought them back to life, through the power of the Holy Spirit in his people.

The Spirit Applies the Father’s Wisdom

It’s human nature: we long to say the right thing at the right time, yet we fear we might say something wrong. A friend recently lost her dad and will celebrate her first Father’s Day without him—what do we say? A Bible study member shares her struggle with a deeply-rooted sin during prayer time—how do we respond? An unbelieving neighbor shares that he’s had a tough week—when is the right time to share the hope of the gospel?

The discomfort of uncertainty and fear should remind us that we may be weak, but we serve a strong God. We may struggle to know rightly, but God knows all. We may be limited, but God is not. Scripture reminds us that the Holy Spirit helps even when we don’t have the words: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). What a comfort that we don’t always have to know the exact right thing to say. We don’t even need to know the exact right thing to pray! Yet we go to God in prayer, dependent on the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness.

Imagine what might happen if we paused to pray personally or out loud when we were unsure what to say. Imagine how our dependence on the Lord and His Spirit might deepen and strengthen. Imagine how our churches and neighbors might grow in dependence on the Lord!

The Spirit Applies God’s Comfort

When Jesus spoke to his disciples about the day he would leave them, I’m sure they were disappointed. Yet he also assured them that the Holy Spirit would come: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

The word for the Holy Spirit used here is “paraclete”. It means “advocate, helper, comforter, counselor.” The Holy Spirit would comfort the disciples in Acts, when he descended at Pentecost. Doesn’t he do the same for us?

Too often, I think of this comfort as a one-time thing. In one prayer, no matter what I’m going through, the Holy Spirit will comfort me, and I won’t feel pain anymore. How disappointing it is when this doesn’t come true! Yet the truth of this comfort is better than my wishful thinking. The Holy Spirit is a continual comforter. We can return again and again to the well of his comfort.            

In a significant and special way, God’s Spirit—his very presence—resides in all of his people (Acts 2:17). Like my grandma and me, we may not all have the same gifts or experiences, but as Christians we have the indwelling Spirit in common.

What a gift!