In this chapter, we want to see God’s New Testament economy concerning the Spirit in the book of Acts.
The first thing accomplished in God’s New Testament economy concerning the Spirit in the book of Acts was the baptism in the Spirit. This was accomplished by two instances. One happened on the day of Pentecost when the one hundred twenty were baptized (Acts 2:1-4), and the other was in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:24, 44-46). By these two instances, the Head, Christ, accomplished the baptism in the Spirit on His entire Body. On the day of Pentecost, He baptized the Jewish side of the Body, and in the house of Cornelius He baptized the Gentile side since the Body of Christ is composed of the Jews and the Gentiles. All the Jewish believers need to realize that they were baptized in the Spirit on the day of Pentecost with Peter and the one hundred twenty. The Gentile believers must realize that they were all baptized in the house of Cornelius.
On the day of Pentecost, the one hundred twenty disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (Acts 2:4). At that time many Jews from the dispersion had come back to Jerusalem (Acts 2:5). Most of these Jews could not speak Hebrew so well; therefore, there was the need for the speaking in tongues. Acts 2:7-11 shows us that these Jews spoke many different languages. The speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost was economical because it was needed to unify the people by language so they all could understand each other.
Also, the Holy Spirit fell on the house of Cornelius and they spoke in tongues (Acts 10:44, 46). Because the house of Cornelius was Gentile, there was the need for them to speak in tongues. The Jewish believers thought that the Lord’s salvation was only for Israel. Even Peter thought this way until the Lord revealed otherwise (Acts 10:28-29). To receive the Gentiles was a great thing for the Jews. The Jews would never be one with the Gentiles. They would not eat and communicate with the Gentiles nor contact the Gentiles. They even condemned the Roman rulers and viewed them as robbing ones. Cornelius was a Roman ruler (Acts 10:1), a ruler of the ancient Roman imperialism. Therefore, the Lord had to do something to cause the house of Cornelius to speak in tongues to show Peter and the other Jewish brothers that all these Gentiles had received the same gift and the same grace that they had on the day of Pentecost (Acts 10:44-48). After they heard the house of Cornelius speak in tongues and magnify God Peter said, “Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit even as we?” (10:47). The speaking in tongues in this instance was for the unifying of the believers into one Body. The speaking in tongues in today’s Pentecostalism, however, does not unite people but divides them.
Being filled (Gk. pletho) with the Spirit outwardly for power is the experience of the baptism in the Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5, 8). In Acts 2:2 a rushing mighty wind filled all the house where the disciples were sitting. In this verse there is another Greek word for filled—pleroo. This Greek word means the inner filling, to fill something within. At the same time the wind filled the house, it also filled the one hundred twenty. For the wind to fill the house is an inner filling, but to the one hundred twenty, it was an outward filling (pletho—Acts 2:4). When water fills a baptistry, that is an inner filling (pleroo). When the persons who are being baptized enter into the water, the water fills them outwardly. This is the outer filling (pletho).
Peter was filled (pletho) with the Holy Spirit again and spoke the word in Acts 4:8. On the day of Pentecost, Peter was filled once. That was his initial experience of the baptism, and Acts 4:8 is the following experience. This does not mean that he was baptized in the Spirit twice, but that he applied the experience of the baptism in the Spirit a second time.
In Acts 4:31 Peter and his company were filled (pletho) again with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. This was the third time for Peter to experience the baptism in the Spirit. This was not the third time for him to be baptized, but for him to experience the baptism. In this verse it does not say that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and he spoke in tongues. Rather it says that he and the other disciples spoke the word of God with boldness. Today in some Pentecostal groups, however, every time they come together they speak in tongues. It was different, however, with Peter and the other disciples. Peter repeated the speaking of the word with boldness again and again, not the speaking in tongues. He spoke forth Christ; he prophesied in this way again and again. When there was the need, though, of speaking in tongues, God did it through them.