The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1909-01-07
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INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM
MENTS FOR JANUARY 10.

Subject: The Descent Of the HoI,
Spirit. Acts 2:f-21 - Golden
Text. John 14:16, 1.-Commit
Verses s2-4-Exposition Of Lesson
TNIE.--Sunday, May 2s, A. d. 30,
a. m. PLACE.-An upper room
in Jerusalem.
EXPOSITION I. The Disciples
Filled With the Holy Spirit, Ia. The
| disciples had been hidden not to de.
part from Jerusalem, but to wait for
the promise of the Father, the bap.
tism with the Holy Spirit (ch. ia,
3D. They had faithfully obeyed this
command. After the ascension of
Jesus they had returned at once to
Jerusalem G:12) to wait Gods time
and Gods blessing. The following
days had been spent largely in pray
er N:1G. Those were not wasted
days. More was accomplished in the
ultimate outcome than II they had
spent those days inpreaching. Though
they continued steadfastly" in pray
er (I:14, r. W the entire time was
not spent in prayer (ch. 1885;
Luke 24;53). There was absolute
unity in their prayer. It was with
one accord" Their minds were all
united in one thing, "the promise of
the Father" the baptism with the
Holy Spirit tLu. 11:13; Ac. 4:31; 8:
15-1D. They did not regard the pos
Tive promise of Christ (1:5) as re-
| lieving them from the necessity of
| prayer, but as an incentive to and
foundation for prayer. The women
were there as we'll as the men (ch.
| 1:14. Ten days passed without an
answer. The day of Pentecost, the
day of FIRST fruits" the gathering
! OF the church D.ev. 23:15-21) came
at last. Not till that day could the
| Holy Spirit be given. Now that Pen
tecost has come no one needs wait ten
davs for the baptism with the Holy
! Spirit. There is no record of any watt
ing since Pentecost fsee ch. 4.31: 3:
15-17; 9:17-22: 1914: 1916. The
bantism with the Snirit is every be-
levers brthright through the cru
| cited. risen and assembled Christ Tvs.
SO, 99), and the moment the condi-
; lions are fulfilled this blessing will
4 be ours. II We have to wait. the diff
, ficulty is with us. and not with God.
1t is because we have not met the
conditions. The disciples seemed to
have been exD scting the promise that
very day. they were together in one
piaNV W. v -. II as dl VI DtlOTb
| in the morning ". 15) They were
of one accord (cf 1:13. ID; 2:46;
4:24. 32; SID This unity doubt
| less had much to do with the bestow-
al of the gift, and the absence of this
unity has much to do with the failure
OF many churches TO-DAY to receive It,
| The blessing came suddenly" at the
last (cf. ch. 1925, &c: Nal. 3:1;
Luke 2:1S). There was not a mo-
ment's warning. There was a roar as
OF hurricane. Emphasis Is laid
upon the fact that this sound came
from heaven. 1t Is wind from heav-
en-" we need. We have too much wind
OF another sort. On another occasion
the place where they even gathered
| together was shaken (ch. 4.31).
| This sound "filled ali the house" The
disciples were Sitting" not kneeling
in prayer as they are so often repre-
! sented. There was not only wind"
| from heaven. but fire as we'll fcf.
Matt. 3:11; Is. 4:4; Jer. $500. The
| fire was in the form of tongues, the
new power was to manifest itself In
J tongue of fire granted to them ".
| A.. The tongues parted asunder (R.
W or portioned themselves out to
leach one of them" Peter only is
| ulduS pTOHlIHbHL III tue SIOTy tUdI IOl-
lows, but each one of them received a
! tongue OF fire. The tongues of fire
rested upon the women as we'll as
upon the men (cf. also VS.. IT. 18).
| The blessing was not 20 the church
as body. but to leach one of them"
as individuals. They were all filled
with the Spirit" This Is fulfillment
Of ch. 49,, So the expressions "filled
with the Spirit" and "baptized with
the Spirit" are practically synony-
nous. The expression used here
brings out the thought that the Holy
! Spirit takes complete possession Of
I :he faculties. The immediate result
was they began to speak with other
tongues" (cf. ch. 10:46; 1850.
III. The Multitude Amazed, oil.
rhe noise of the wind from heaven
was heard by the multitudes without
! ". 6. r. W. They rushed together
% find out what 1t meant. The multi
:udes always gather when. the Spirit
comes upon Gods people. The disci-
pies began to speak % them of the
mighty works of God. Each one
heard them speaking in his own Ian
guage. The effects were startling and
various. They were "confounded,"
amazed" they ''marveled" and
! were perpleXeQ. some tnOugnt the
disciples were drunk. Others "gladly
received the word" and were bap-
tized. The conversions were very
numerous and very thorough Tvs. G,
I, ~, 13, 81. Al, AZ. A, 45). Simi-
lar and equally varied effects follow
to-day when men and women are
filled with the Holy Spirit and speak
as the Spirit gives them utterance.
These Spirit-flled men and women
lid not talk much about themselves,
but about "the mighty works of God"
". ~. The mighty work of God
that they especially emphasized was
His raising Jesus Christ from the
dead Tvs. "a, 32). The Spirit-filled
man is quite likely to be much occu-
pied with the resurrection of Christ
(cf. ch. 3:15; 4:8. 10, 81, 33). That
some attributed the state of the disci-
pies to intoxication is not strange. for
the effect OF both wine and OF the
Spirit is 10 stimulate. one unnatur-
ally. the other supernaturally-