Acts 2:4

They were all filled. Here is the fulfillment of “the promise of the Father” (see on ch. 1:4, 5), and the fruition of ten days of prayerful waiting. The disciples had been taught to pray for the Spirit (Luke 11:13). On the night following the resurrection, Christ had “breathed on them” and declared, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22). Suffusing the inner depths of their beings, and stirring their every faculty to intense activity, the promised Spirit came upon them. Now they entered into the experience of the prophets, thinking thoughts and, with the gift of tongues, speaking words that were not their own (cf. 2 Peter 1:21).

It is not to be thought that this filling was confined to the apostles. The words and the context lead the reader to believe that all who were assembled, not excepting the women, were sharers in this distribution of the gift of the Holy Spirit. If this were not so, Peter could scarcely have made of Joel’s prophecy the application he did (Acts 2:16-18).

Holy Ghost. There are many clear OT references to the Spirit of God (Num. 24:2; Judges 6:34; 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Chron. 24:20; Ps. 51:11; Isa. 48:16; Eze. 11:5; Joel 2:28, 29; etc.). But no manifestation of the Spirit in the OT can compare with that made to the disciples on Pentecost: (1) in the unmistakable identification of the Agent, (2) in the fullness of the outpouring, and (3) in the results that followed. Hence that day is often called the birthday of the church. The great episodes in the incarnate life of Jesus, His birth, His baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His ascension, were of supreme importance, and central to the unfolding plan of salvation. But the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost followed upon the heavenly acceptance of Christ’s great sacrifice, and His enthronement with the Father (see AA 38, 39). By that outpouring the church was empowered to do for Christ what had never before been attempted, the preaching of the good news of salvation to all nations.

This was not a mere “moving” of the Spirit. It was not merely the “breath” of the Spirit. It was an in-filling of the disciples, the complete possession of them by the Holy Spirit. From that time on the church was the instalment of the Spirit. There is nothing in the later record to suggest that any of those possessed with the Spirit on that memorable day ever lost that possession. Succeeding generations of Christians, ever further removed from the experience of Pentecost, grew less and less receptive to the divine gift, and apostasy resulted. Present-believers may profit from this sober fact of early church history.

Began. This marks the immediate effect of the Spirit’s descent upon the disciples. There was no waiting, no period of apprenticeship; they “began to speak” immediately.

Other tongues. Or, “different tongues,” that is, tongues different from their native speech. The Greek word translated “tongues” (glossai) here and in v. 11 refers primarily to the organ of speech, but it is often used with reference to language.

The ability to speak foreign languages was a gift given to the disciples for the special purpose of carrying the gospel message into all the world. Pilgrims from the four corners of the earth (see on vs. 9-11) were assembled in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. These, being Jews of the Dispersion (see The Diaspora; Vol. V, pp. 59-61), may have understood enough Hebrew to enjoy the Temple services, but they may have been unable to cope with the Aramaic in which the disciples would ordinarily have been speaking. For their sakes, and for those who would receive the message through them, the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to proclaim the gospel fluently in the pilgrims’ home languages.

This was a major miracle and fulfilled one of the Lord’s last promises (see on Mark 16:17). It facilitated the reaping of a large harvest on that day (Acts 2:41) and had worldwide effects in the years that followed. See also on Acts 10:45, 46; 1 Cor. 14.

The record does not explicitly state that this gift of speaking with other tongues was permanent, but it should be borne in mind that what the Spirit once performed He was well able to repeat whenever there was a need (cf. AA 40).

As the Spirit. The Spirit gave the disciples not only the gift of speaking other languages but also their message. They spoke under the Spirit’s direct guidance.

Gave. The tense of the Greek verb suggests “kept on giving,” which evokes a picture of the Spirit giving words to each of the speakers as the need arose. It is possible that the disciples addressed the different language groups in turn, and that Peter’s sermon (vs. 14-36), given to the whole multitude, summarized their messages.

Utterance. Gr. apophtheggomai, “to speak forth.” In the LXX this word is used to describe prophesying (1 Chron. 25:1; Eze. 13:19; Zech. 10:2). Here it is employed to convey the idea of clear, elevated, vigorous speech, which led to the conversion of 3,000 people in one day. For the connection between the day of Pentecost and the “former rain” see on Joel 2:23.