Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1901-05-24
THB SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson in the International Series for
HAY 20, z9O1-The Holy Spirit
Given.
Prepared by H. c. Lenington.l
THE LESSON TEXT.

(Acts BILLY
1. And when the day of Pentecost was |
fully come, they were ali with one accord |
in one place.
q And suddenly there came sound from |
heaven as of rushing mighty wind, and |
1t filled all the house where they were sit |
ting.
8. And there appeared unto them cloven |
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each
of them.
4. And they were all filled with the Holy |
Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
s. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem
Jews, devout men. out of every nation IN
6. Now when this was noised abroad. the
multitude came together, and were con-
founded, because that every man heard
them speak in his own language.
Z. And they were all amazed and mar
veled, saying one to another, Behold, are
not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8. And how hear we every man IN our
own tongue, wherein we were born?
8. Parthians, and Modes, and Eiamites,
and the jewellers in Mesopotamia, and Is
Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus' and
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia. in Egypt,
strangers of Rome. Jews and proselytes,
Ii CreteS and Arabians, we do hear them
e Of GOD m our tongues the "0'oefiu' "0,A'
GOLDEN TEXT.-When He, tia
spirit of Truth, is come, He VIII guild
you iAkO all Truth.-JOhn 1913.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
The lesson really includes the whole
second chapter of Acts describing tho
gift of the Holy Spirit and its immedi-
ate results. The chapter may be stud
led following this brief analysis:
/. The Gift of the Spirit. L /
2. Erect on City's Multitudes.......vs. 5-'&
8. Peters Sermon:
(a) Prophecy FULFILLED ...........vs. 14-i1
OBJ Jesus the Christ. A-Sk
(c) The Call to Repentance.-...V 3t-41
4. A Multitude Baptized. A-4f
The Gift of the Spirit Pentecost
was the fiftieth day after the passover
and one of the three great fsasts of
the Jews. It has been remarked that
a Jewish tradition made PenteSost
the anniversary of the giving of tbs
law from Mount Sinai. It may well
have been that upon the anniversary
| of the revelation that marked the be"
! ginning of the Old Testament dispen.
sation, the gift of the Holy Spirit
should mark the beginning of new
dispensation. No longer is it the old
Mosaic law, but the love of Christ,
| that constraineth US.
| It is to be noted that the descent OF
| the Spirit was made manifest in three
significant symbols. In the Bible the
Spirit is ikened to three things with"
out which life would be impossible on
earth: air Tor wind), fire and water.
The first two of these are mentioned
in our text. The Spirit is like the wind
because it is invisible and powerful,
yet gentle and delicate. It is the
breath of life to all things living. It is
like fire in that it is purifying and gives
comfort and light. Fire worship is one
| of the religions of the east, being con-
sidered the source of all life. Water
is not mentioned in the passage. but
the gift of the Spirit is further sym
bolized in the power 'tto speak with
other tongues" representing the chief
method of spreading the truths of the
Gospel and its universally. All peo-
pies are to hear it, all peoples of what
ever nationality, of whatever age, of
whatever experiences, can understand
it, each in their own tongue.
Effect on the City's Multitudes.-
Such great power became Immediately
manifest not only among the few, but
among the many. Strangers in Jeru-
salem from far-away nations were
surprised to hear themselves addressed
in their own language. The Jews, not
understanding any but their own Ian
| guage and seeing the commotion
caused among the foreigners as well
as their own people, accused the apos-
ties of being drunk with wine.
Peter Sermon.-The charge of
drunkenness was out of all keeping
with the facts of the case. Drunken
ness stood then as it stands now for
Righteousness. The descent of the
Holy Spirit meant directly the oppo-
site; for it came not upon the self-in-
dulgent, but upon those who submit
ted themselves to the Divine law of
love. The Bible speaks of men pos
sessed of demons; maniacs they
were, defying all law, human or Dr.
vine. So we have come now to speak
of those upon whom the Spirit of
Christ has come as possessed" of the
Holy Spirit. Demoniacs and Chris
tians (using both terms in their
strict and derivative as opposed
to their acquired meanings) are at
the very opposite spiritual extremes.
Peter became the spokesman of the
followers of Jesus and explained to
the multitude that had gathered ~
how the phenomenon was the full
filing of prophecies all the Jews had
long accepted as messages from
God; W that II was anoIher PROOF or
the Messiahship of the Jesus they
had crucifed; and (3) that salvation
should thenceforth come only through
faith in the risen Christ.
Multitude Baptized.-The imz4e-
date effect of this sermon Greatly the
effect of the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit) was the inquiring of a great
multitude of the way of salvation.
Peter says: ''Repent and be baptized
This was the beginning of the Chris
tian church, for thus it showed its
power to attract to itself the people.
About 5000 were baptized that very
day, "and fear came upon every soul;
and many wonders and signs were done
by the apostles