The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1916-01-07
LESSON FOR JANUARY 9
THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

LESSON TEXT-Acts Ellis.
~TENT-Know We not that ye
are a temple of God. and that the spirit
OF God dwelleth in you'll Cor. 3:Ie II. v.
Good teaching demands the use OF
the concrete: objective teaching IS
fundamental and essential. The incar-
nation is Gods objective teaching,
God manifest" (a) tn reveal him
self. John 1879; Cb) to AXE away sin.
l John 3:5; (c) to destroy the works
of the devil, l John 3:S. So likewise
Pentecost is a great objective lesson
This chapter has been divided as fol-
lows: % Tho Coming of Power wv
1-13), GU The Empowered Witness
tvv. 1896. go A Powerful Result (vv-
s7-4).
!. Power, -. At the end of our
last lesson the disciples were in
prayer. The Lords promise 1:5) was
conditioned upon obedience. AT last
the day" arrived (Lev. 23:15-2D.
Their hearts were fused and the fun
damental requirement for service. the
baptism Of the spirit. came upon them.
There has been no need since then to
tarry any time at all to receive a
like blessing. Lack of unity has much
to do with our not receiving the spirit
now and h consequent lack Of power.
Suddenly from out of heaven came a
mighty sound ". y and 1t Is such q
wind that the church needs today.
There were three manifestations at
this time and one other subsequently
(see 2:44, 4:34, 35: SD. % Wind.
Let us keep clear the difference be-
tween symbol and spirit. The mani
festation was "as Wind" Wind is mys.
FERROUS, universal ard mighty, but like
Elijah on the mountain God is not
alone as a mighty tempest. The
sound filled the whole house. Wind
is figurative of judgment Ger. 22:22,
Hos. 13:15) Of the Spirit John 3:S),
also Of heresy (Eph. 4:lS). This last
suggests the vagaries and limitations
suggested or abetted by Satan to keep
us from the truth. CD Fire. This
symbolizes power, light, heat and purf
flying, but the fire was not the spirit
nor do we recall another such mani
festation since CD Tongues. The fire
o the form of tongues which parted
or portioned themselves out to each
n of them" though Peter is alone
subsequently more prominent. The
blessing was individual, each one"
it was also for ALL" and was a full
fllment of the fathers promise. This
passage emphasizes that the disciples
were in complete possession, all OF
their faculties being given over TO the
spirit. Therefore the absurdity OF say
ing that the spirit can only have been
received by those who pass through
a given experience or evidence a
given manifestation. (Read l Cor. 14).
Every manifestation of the spirit is
always that Of some new power for
Christ q Cor. 14:2-19).
The disciples spake not in their wis
dom but as given utterance, so ought
we.
II. PerpIexity, w. 5-13. The Ques
ton may arise. had the spirit been
seen before? and the answer is yes"
Matt. 3:16, Jno. 1922. What then
was new? The answer to this is the
program of power. The first evidence
of power was the gathering of the peo
pie ". g.. The disciples az once testi,
fed to each of the sixteen classes men.
toned (9-1D of the mighty works OF
NOu. INOl VI lHc git, DuI lHG SiNGIi
a different sort of testimony than that
given by many who today profess ia
have the gift Of tongues. The second
result was an amazed people, per
picked" for them as now the world
cannot understand the spirit-flled
man. These spirit-flled men forget
self and were lost in their testimony
". ~.
1t is of interest to note that they did
not even say much if anything about
the spirit himself. Their testimony.
for which many later gave their lives.
was regarding Gods mighty work OF
the resurrection of Jesus from the
dead wv. "a, 32).
The spirit-flled man is sure to EN-.
phasize this mighty work and the evt'
dence Of the spirit in q mans life is
his loyalty to a crucified, risen and
assembled Lord.
The work of the spirit is thus to
testify John 1926, 1919.
A third result was that people mis-.
understood and charged drunkenness
a fact seized upon later by Paul to
teach us the truth (Eph. $50. The
only sure cure for intemperance. OF
any other evil, is an milling of the
+ holy spirit. The final and complete
fulfllment of the prophecy wv. 1927
Joel 2:28, 29) of which Pentecost was
a partial fulfllment will be in the day
Of the Lord" But then. as now, al
who call upon him shall be saved "
: 10. Rom. 1913. Some Knocked.
even as today ridicule or parody are
the enemy's choicest weapons. Pente
cost is an event well attested. tina
= marked the ushering in of a new dis
. pensation, that was misunderstood, bu
one that can be verified by experience
. Pentecost was a revelation, a mani
. festation of a new spiritual kingdom
distinctly Christian. that exposes sill
and exalts the son.
Pentecost is a prophecy Of rea
Christian unity. Of a spiritual admins
( ~tration, Of Christ's intercession and al
evidence of an abiding presence.
When we are spirit-filled the Lor'
Jesus Christ will occupy the who'll
d horizon of our experience, our test
Il mony and will control our service. TIL
d spirit-flled servant can exclaim "Th