FEATURES MARKING THE INCOMING OF THE SPIRIT

^[p. 341] FEATURES MARKING THE INCOMING OF THE SPIRIT

Acts 2:1 - 4; Acts 8:14 -17; Acts 10:44; Acts 19:1 - 7

JT These four scriptures seem to furnish the facts relative to the coming of the Spirit, and if we are to understand the Spirit’s presence here and His operations, I think that we need to understand these four scriptures. What is perhaps to be noticed in the first instance is that there was that present, those present, upon whom He could come. Their being together in one place, and His sitting upon each of them would point to the intimate knowledge that existed of the state of those persons. There is not only what they received but what they saw and heard. There is the sound that filled the house and the appearance of cloven tongues: “There appeared to them parted tongues as of fire and it sat upon each one of them” and they were all filled, calling attention to the idea of the capacity of the vessel. The incident is to be regarded in relation to all that preceded, particularly to what is related in chapter 1, that is to say, the kind of persons who were thus visited divinely.

Rem What is suggested in the parted tongues of fire?

JT I suppose there was that there then in which God would reach all men, as the sequel shows. “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the great things of God” Acts 2:11; and in the speaking there would be that present which would deal with the flesh — fire. There was present not only the means of communication, but the means of dealing with all that would be contrary to what would be spoken. In these languages of which a list is given, much that was corrupt was spoken. According to Romans 3, the speaking of ^[p. 342] man is corrupt; the poison of asps is there. All the vocal organs are alluded to in that chapter, calling attention to the corruptness of things amongst men. The Christian is to have no corrupt communication proceeding out of his mouth.

Rem So the fire was necessary to deal with the source of all that.

JT Well, I think that.

HS That would be in contrast to the Spirit coming down on the Lord in the form of a dove?

JT Exactly. There was nothing in Him to deal with, but instead infinite complacency. The Spirit as a dove abode upon Him; that was in keeping with the voice from heaven announcing heaven’s pleasure in Him. Here there is no voice, no articulation, but a sound, as of a rushing mighty wind, meaning that it was powerful, that which would deal in an unseen but in a felt way with all opposition. The operations of the Spirit are thus in connection with faith. I suppose the wind and faith go together. A cloud received the Lord out of sight, and so the faith period began; and the coming of the Spirit is in connection with that. Faith and the Holy Spirit go together. The power is in the form of wind. One of the great means by which God deals with things is the wind. The sound was there and it filled the house. That is where it should be heard — in the house. It is a token that there should be irresistible power to deal with evil; fire to deal with it in a purifying way, wind to overthrow. Thus we have unmistakably an order of things here (the house where they were sitting characterising it) in which God would speak. He would use men to speak apart from corruption and there should be power to enforce what was spoken.

JS Would that be seen in the Spirit descending like a mighty rushing wind and filling the house?

JT I thought that. “And there came suddenly ^[p. 343] a sound out of heaven as of a violent impetuous blowing and filled all the house where they were sitting” That is the first thing, a sound out of heaven, heaven intervening powerfully. It is not here a question of our relation with God as a family, but heaven coming in administratively; as of old in connection with the ark in the holy place, God was armed with means of enforcing His will. What we are connected with is a system of things in which heaven asserts itself. It is heaven’s sound. Then the power accompanying that was a rushing mighty wind. It is power to fill the capacity of the whole house. As the Lord in John 20 came where the disciples were, so the Spirit comes in this way where they were gathered together; and so as to note each individual there, there is the appearance to them of parted tongues of fire sitting upon each of them. Every one there has his own value and importance he is to be an agent of the Spirit. Thus an impression is conveyed to them to remind them of what is to mark them, the speaking and the fire.

CL Why is it referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit in chapter 1?

JT It means that while each one is an individual in the system, yet we are all merged in it. The baptism of the Spirit is a positive thing. As it says, “In [the power of] one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body” 1 Corinthians 12:13 You said there was individual fitness for it. That would be seen in that it sat on each of them.

JT Yes. It is as if the Spirit came in restfully. Sitting conveys that thought. It is not a temporary, but a permanent thought.

JS Do you mean that the Spirit carries with Him the power of permanency?

JT Yes, quite. It is a permanent state of things. The Lord had promised that He should be with them “for ever” The sitting on each of them indicates that they were fit for that. There was complacency.

^[p. 344] Rem That would seem to be in keeping with the thought that they were sitting in the house?

JT Yes, and all together. Any absentee at this point would mean deficiency. They had all been intended for this: “He that has wrought us for this very thing [is] God” 2 Corinthians 5:5 We should always bear in mind that we are wrought upon for the assembly, and we ought to be there. He needs us there. It was a time when God was going to do some great thing, and they were not absent; they were all there, all together at this particular time, “when the day of Pentecost was now accomplishing” It is a reminder of the importance of being in our places in the assembly. Absentees only interfere with the divine thought.

Rem And everyone is necessary in his place there.

WS No one could take the place of another.

JT No. The Holy Spirit coming on each has some particular thought. There are no duplicates amongst God’s people, for each one has his own distinct feature.

CL Was it your thought that each vessel is filled according to the measure?

JT Yes, according to the divine intent in each. It is the “crowd of names” in chapter 1. The number was 120. Each one had a distinctive character, for your name means what you are spiritually.

JC It is important to note that they were all with one accord in one place.

JT Just so. The first chapter shows how thoroughly that was so, and for that reason is a great study, showing the work of Christ in each of them. One would be concerned to be with the brethren not only bodily, but as the apostle Paul says to the Philippians: “that ye may think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking one thing” Philippians 2:2 That is what underlies unity. Thus there is nothing to disturb. We are enjoined not to grieve ^[p. 345] the Spirit, nor to quench Him. You have in Galatians that the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. The Spirit is thus hindered.

JS Do you think that when Nicodemus comes to the Lord that He takes up this subject with him? That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

JT There, of course, it is not the gift of the Spirit, but the effects of His sovereign action in new birth.

Rem I notice the Lord terms it earthly things.

JT Yes. New birth belongs to that. They need to be born anew for the millennium. It is a sound from heaven here, a light from heaven in chapter 9, and a sheet from heaven in chapter 10. We are to be prepared for the heavenly thing. The point to notice here is that not only did He sit on each of them, but they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them to speak forth. They were filled. You have the idea of vessels or a vessel. It does not say that the house was filled with the Spirit, but with the sound. They — that is persons — were filled with the Spirit. They spake with other tongues, but it is as the Spirit gave them to speak. They had already learned to let the Spirit have His way.

WS There would be no confusion in this chapter; everything would be done in order in their speaking together.

JT It would not be another Babel, but rather the very opposite. There would be understanding, as it says later “we hear them speaking in our own tongues the great things of God” Acts 2:11 The communications of God would be bound up with it?

JT Quite. We have been speaking of what marked the assembly, how these same people earlier were speaking about the Lord being risen, and about ^[p. 346] His appearing to Simon, and about the breaking of bread. Now they are speaking in another connection. It is not here the assembly exactly; it is the saints who form it in their attitude as ready to communicate the mind of God to all men, that is, the great things of God.

JS In that way they would be conveying the mind of heaven as being taken possession of by the Holy Spirit.

JT Yes. Instead of speaking about the great things of man as at Babel, for that is what they had in mind when they said, “Let us make us a name”, they speak the great things of God. In Babel the conversation would be about this great thing they were doing. It is like the newspapers and other writings of today; they are all occupied with great men and their exploits on earth. The theme at Mars Hill was the news of the day; it was about this great one, and that great one, whereas here they are speaking about the great things of God. It is a plain intimation of what should occupy us. It is not a question now of the exercise of gift, although it was the gift of tongues, nor is it preaching, but speaking the great things of God.

Ques Would that be what Paul means when speaking of the mystery of godliness, “justified in the Spirit”?

JT Yes. It came out in Christ personally and so here. God is justified in the Spirit. What He is is now coming out, so that all nations can hear it. “Seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world”. Peter and John going to Samaria may be taken as representing this great administrative action of God in its provisional relations at Jerusalem. Samaria had to learn that whilst God was acting in this wonderful way it was depending on Jerusalem. How careful God is in acting on a certain line to keep to that line. We have to see the line upon which He ^[p. 347] is acting. He will not be diverted from it until the tent of the testimony moves. So long as the cloud remains at a certain place the tent is there, and so the testimony is there. The cloud indicates the mind of God, and God was patiently waiting on His ancient people the Jews, and this wonderful intervention by the Spirit was His last great overture to them. It is the greatest evidence one can get of His patience. We won’t move God one iota; if He is moving on certain lines, He will stay there until, in His wisdom, He changes.

WS It is like John 4 — salvation is of the Jews.

JT Exactly. God is holding to His own line, and when He changes, we must change with Him. But He will not be moved from it until His own time comes. This passage shows that we have to follow the movements of the cloud whether it be a year, a month, or a day. The people were not to move until the cloud moved. Even regarding this great gift of the Spirit, intended for all, God conserves it, and keeps it in relation to Jerusalem for a while. We have to learn to be patient with God. Thus in connection with Peter’s action it was the apostles who were in Jerusalem, and not simply the apostles (see verse 14); it was God acting from that centre yet. We are reminded, and it often checks our wills, that God will not be moved by us.

JS I was wondering if Peter was identified with the whole company, with all the apostles. He stood up with the eleven.

JT It is a levitical touch. Elsewhere we were remarking that while the Lord told the apostles to go to all the nations and baptise them, yet that would not abrogate the levitical principle they were to be governed by. Whilst the mind of God is that the gospel should be carried to all the nations, yet those who are in His service must wait on divine directions. You cannot go where you please. As a Levite of God ^[p. 348] you are under the prince of the princes of the Levites, and you have to wait on directions; so in detail the apostle Paul was sent in a westerly direction. He was not sent in an easterly direction, for God knows the field better than any of us; and in keeping with this, I think, Peter shows in his first preaching that he was under levitical directions. Instead of standing up with all those there — 120 — he stands up with the eleven, that is to say, with the gifted ones, those who had commissions. It is to remind us that preaching is in that connection, that the assembly does not preach or teach, nor is the responsibility of preaching or teaching left with it, but with persons qualified. In setting up this great system for men, God has furnished it with everything; and the more we look into it, the more we see that there is nothing wanting to make it successful. The gifts are there for the work of the ministry. Of course, the assembly is to be in fellowship with them in every way, so Peter stands up with the eleven.

Rem You mean that it would not be right not to have someone responsible for the gospel?

JT Yes. He stands up with the eleven. The others were also there, and they would preach in their time. They would not all preach at once in the same place; they would go hither and thither at the Lord’s direction, but it is quite obvious that Peter had the position of leader in the service.

God was operating in relation to Jerusalem, but chapter 7 intimates a change. Stephen saw the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. “Son of man” means there is to be a change in relation to Jerusalem, but God still went on in patience, making His mind known before He puts it into execution. God waits still longer and we must not force His hand but pursue the line He is on. So the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard of the work at Samaria and they sent down Peter and ^[p. 349] John.

Rem They knew the vessels that would be helpful.

JT Yes. There are those qualified to lead and to rightly represent God in what He is doing, and you can see how right the choice was, because Peter detected Simon. I have no doubt that Philip and the others thought that Simon was converted, that he was a genuine case. He gave out that he was a great man; he was baptised, and continued with Philip, but Peter discovered that he was not converted at all, that he had neither part nor lot in the matter. That is a great service, for a man coming into fellowship in that connection would be a useful tool in the enemy’s hands. God allows things to happen and brings things to light. The apostles Peter and John prayed for those who had believed and they received the Spirit, and Simon seeing this says, ‘I would like to be able to do that’. But he is discovered. There have been those who have tried to buy divine privileges, and there are those today who give out that they can do this and that, but they are deceivers. So Peter says, “Thy money go with thee to destruction ... Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter” Acts 8:20,21 That was an important service. The Samaritans might say, ‘we do not want to recognise Jerusalem. Why should we? We have believed what Philip preached to us and that is enough for us’. But that is leaving out God. We must pursue the line God is on. The time will come when God will give the Spirit directly without Peter and John, but at the moment God is doing it in this way. It may be very humbling to national feeling and pride, but it is wholesome.

Rem When Stephen speaks it says that they were unable to resist the wisdom with which he spake.

JT Yes. He was full of the Spirit. But this chapter 8 is very important as showing that we are to be subject to what God is doing. We are to see ^[p. 350] what God is accrediting and move with that. We must not go before Him.

WS I was wondering whether you would say something as to why God kept on at this period so long as He did.

JT I think it was to show His patience. The patience of God is one of the greatest things. How patient He was with His people the Jews! In the light of this you may reckon on it today. As for the Samaritan believers, it was wholesome for them to bow to it. The Lord had said that salvation was of the Jews; the Samaritans never had any status. They were foreigners, they were not Jews at all. It is a good thing to have our national pride broken down, because a national spirit is a very naughty spirit in the things of God. It is inimical to the work of the Spirit of God.

Rem God knew that they were not ready for the sheet or the light, and so He went on in patience.

JT When you come to chapter 10 it is formally stated that the Holy Spirit is given, but quite apart from Peter’s instrumentality. He is doing something else. While Peter spoke, the Holy Spirit fell on them that heard the word. Now God is acting Himself directly. Peter is conveying the mind of God, but the Holy Spirit comes in directly from God.

Rem It comes in now in relation to the hearing of the word.

JT Yes; in relation to the heart, for it is the heart-knowing God. It is not in relation to any confession of faith; it is what they heard. They were listening to the word. This is historically the reception of the prodigal. The prodigal gets the Spirit directly from God. It is not the administrative act of anyone.

Rem It says the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard ^[p. 351] the word.

JT That is energetic action. It is the same word in Luke 15, where the father fell on the prodigal’s neck.

Ques Would Acts 10 suggest that we are taken out of all national feeling, and introduced into that spiritual system you were speaking about?

JT Yes. That is it. “Who have received the Holy Spirit as we also [did]?” Acts 10:47 It was not inferior to the manner of coming in to the Jewish system; that is, they are not beneath the Jews. The Samaritans had to learn their inferiority to the Jews, because they had been rivals wrongfully. If you are a rival against what God is accrediting, God will not let you off. He will make you own to that. It is for your blessing that you should own it, because God will not be diverted from what He has accredited. If you set it aside, you will have to come back and own it, because really it is disregarding God.

Ques Would you carry that principle to the present day?

JT Yes, I would. Where God is working something of the flesh will come up to compete with it. God accredits what He is doing and those whom He sends; He stands by them as the apostle says, “That through me the proclamation might be fully made” 2 Timothy 4:17 He stands by the vessel, and those who oppose that vessel will have to come and own it, else they will suffer.

Now you see a new movement in chapter 11, for the Gentiles are let in. The cloud has moved. They were scattered; that is the government of God, and the government of God always acts in relation to what He is doing. They preach in Antioch and tie hand of the Lord was with them.

Rem Cornelius sent for Peter. It would not be natural for him to do that.

JT No. The Lord prepared Peter to receive him. All these things are encouraging, for they ^[p. 352] show how God works governmentally in connection with what He is doing directly, so that the way should be cleared.

HB Would it be seen in Philadelphia? “I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet and shall know that I have loved thee” Revelation 3:9 Yes, it is applicable, exactly. Those who are rivals will have to own that He loves them. It is before thy feet, it is not before my feet. We leave those who are rivals with the Lord, and that is what He will do.

In chapter 19 it calls attention to the importance Paul attaches to the Spirit in the work at Ephesus. Paul’s hands denote, I think, the dispensation as a whole. It is his ministry in relation to the assembly that stamps the dispensation. It is not provisional, for the assembly is a permanent thought. The building is not much alluded to at Jerusalem. Peter and the twelve are not occupied with it. It is Paul. True enough it is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Ques In each of these passages the thought of baptism is mentioned, but in chapter 10 they had not been baptised?

JT They had the Spirit before; but the Jew had to be baptised first; the Gentile did not. He already has the Spirit so that the Gentiles were in the church before they were in the kingdom — the external thing. It is to show how the love of God did not wait for any external ordinances but gave the Spirit. Love will overstep all these things, for it is necessarily greater than these things. It is a heart-knowing God who gave them the Spirit.

Rem The Gentile had not been connected with anything.

JT No. I think that God was so delighted with the prodigal that He waited for no formalities. He ^[p. 353] ran to meet him. If He stood still, it would mean that he had to be baptised, but the father ran to meet him, and that was unusual. He disregarded formalities as head of the house. Were he to have considered for his own dignity, he would have stayed in the house until the son came back into it, but love overlooks all these things, so the father ran to meet him, for love is the greatest of all. You can never limit God.