The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1901-05-23
THE; SUNDAY SCHOOL.
lesson In tne' '1nternati~aal Series fer
May 28, 10O1-The Hsly Spirit
Given,
Prepared by II. G. Lenington.1
THE LESSON TEXT.

heaven as OF q ruSnlnS mighty vino, anu
1t filled all the house where they were sit
ting.
8. And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and 1t sat upon each
of them.
I. And they were all filled with the Holy
tongues. as the Spirit gave them utterance.
s. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem
Jews, devout men, out of every nation un-
s. 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.
T. And they were all amazed and mar
veled. saying one to another, Behold. are
not all these which speak Galilaeans1
s. And how hear we every man in our
own tongue, wherein we were born7
g. Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites.
and the dwellers In Mesopotamia. and in
Judea. and Cappadocia, in Pontus. and
10. Phrygia, and Pamphylia. in Egypt,
and In the parts Of Libya about Cyrene, and
II. .Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them
speak in our tongues the wonderful works
GOLDEN TExT.-when He, the
spirit of Truth, Is come, He viii guide
you into all Truth.-John 1913.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
The lesson really includes the whole
second chapter of Acts describing the
gift of the Holy Spirit and its immedi-
ate results. The chapter may be stud
led following this brief analysis:
l. The Gift of the Spirit it...........vs. l. 4
T. Effect on Citys Muititudes ......vs. s-1S
3. Peters Sermon:
(a) Prophecy Fulfilled. It-2l
90 & Jssus & the ,c: Christ;;.;..;:...ys' S2SS
4. Multitude Baptized. Tvs. 4-41
The Gift of the Sprit.-Pentecost
was the fiftieth day after the passover
and one of the three great feasts of
the Jews. 1t has been remarked that
a Jewish tradition made Pentecost
the anniversary Of the giving of the
law from Mount Sinai. 1t 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 a new
dispensation. No longer is it the old
Mosaic law, but the love of Christ,
that constraineth us.
1t is to be noted that the descent of
the Spirit was made manifest in three
significant symbols. In the Bible the
Spirit is likened to three things with
out which life would be impossible on
earth: air (or 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. 1t is
like fire in that it is purifying and gives
comfort and light. Fire worship is one
Of he ir;n ,f ho c< 1,nsr
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 ''to speak with
other tongues" representing the chief
method of spreading the truths of the
Gospel and its universality. 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 we'll
as their own people, accused the apos-
ties of being drunk with wine.
Peter S 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 Di-
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; (2) that it was another proof OF
the Messiahship of the Jesus they
had crucified; and (3) that salvation
should thenceforth come only through
faith in the risen Christ.
A Multitude Baptized.-The imme.
diate effect of this sermon (really the
effect of the outpouring of the Holy
SpiriD was the inquiring of 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"