Acts 2:1-13 - Homiletics

The unity of the Spirit.

If, with the idea of unity in our minds, we read this description of the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, we cannot but be struck with the manner in which that great idea is exhibited and illustrated.

I. There is first THE LOCAL UNITY OF THE CHURCH . They were all together in one place. Many in number, but all of that many come together; drawn by one common impulse to merge their separate existences, their various pursuits, their divergent vocations, their several movements, their independent actions, in one common action, and by that action to come together to one place. All the different reasons and motives which would have kept them separate, and which would have attracted them to different places, were overcome by the common reason and motive which drew them to one place. Nor must we overlook some of the aspects of this local unity. It reveals to us that there was something in the heart of each one of the assembly which felt the need of contact with the others, because there was known to be in those others a like nature and a like spirit and a like yearning to their own. No one felt himself sufficient to himself; there was an outlook in each breast for that which should make up the complement of its own wants, and that complement could only be found in the love of the brethren. It reveals also that sense which each had of mutual support and encouragement, that expectation of strength and countenance to be derived from the presence and the communion of the rest. The Christian instinct told each one, "It is not good to be alone;" faith, love, courage, holy enthusiasm, heavenly zeal, power to act for Christ and his kingdom, wisdom to know, and boldness to execute, counsel before the time of action comes, and decision when it is come,—all are increased and perfected "by that which every joint supplieth." And then, again, this local unity had its immense importance considered in regard to its outward aspect—the aspect which it presented to the world. The individual Simon, or John, or James, might be thrust aside with contempt as an ignorant enthusiast or an eccentric fanatic; but the compact body of the twelve, with the hundred and twenty firmly attached to them, already presented a front to the world imposing from its compactness and the close coherence of all its parts. And, in like manner, a little thought will reveal other aspects of this local unity. The one temple at Jerusalem had contributed not a little to the unity of the twelve tribes, who looked upon it as their common center, and who met together periodically at that one center for the offices of their common faith. And so this local unity of the Church, to whom the upper chamber—consecrated, perhaps, by the Lord's presence at the Paschal feast, and endeared by the hours of prayer and waiting passed in it between Easter and Pentecost-was the common place of meeting, was a material prop and buttress to that spiritual unity of which the Lord Jesus Christ was the true Center.

II. But mark next what we may call THE OBJECTIVE UNITY OF THE CHURCH as contemplated by the Holy Ghost. It is not only that the disciples felt their unity, and displayed it in the local unity of which we have spoken, but God the Holy Ghost looked upon them as one, and treated them as one. We read in verse 3 that "it sat upon each one of them;" not upon the apostles only, not upon certain favored persons, but upon each one of the assembled saints. It was the one Spirit filling the one body (see Exposition, verse 3). It is added with emphasis," They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Here, then, we have clearly and most impressively set before us the unity of the Church in the sight of God; its unity in respect of privilege and covenanted possession. It is an exposition in practice of St. Paul's saying, "If any man hath net the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" ( Romans 8:1-39 . 9), which is here laid before us. It is the baptism with the Holy Ghost, promised by Christ to all his disciples. Here there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female. Sons and daughters alike, bond and free, apostles and children, are all partakers of that one Spirit, because all have been baptized into one body. The invisible bands which tie together in one bundle of spiritual life each particular member of the mystical Body of Christ are seemed by the Holy Ghost.

III. But thirdly, what we may call THE WILFUL UNITY OF THE CHURCH stands out prominently in the passage before us: the unity i.e. of will and purpose, resulting from the common possession and indwelling of one and the same Spirit, and the fixed desire to act together. Their voices were many, but their theme was one—"the mighty works of God." Their voices were many, but they had one end and aim—to proclaim God's glory, to praise God's works, and to draw all men, however diverse, to his blessed worship and service. The grand design of uniting all mankind in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, of bringing men of all creeds and all colors, of all nations and all languages, into one close unity and fellowship, was present to all their minds and influenced their common action. It was the work they had to do together. The end was dear to each single heart among them, but it was to be accomplished by united effort. And what wonders can be accomplished by united effort! Where one spirit runs through anti moves many wills in one direction with an unbroken movement, and those many wills run willingly, harmoniously, and unitedly in their onward course, realizing their union with the Divine will, and rejoicing in the harmony of their own several wills,—what can withstand them? It is the waste of force in the antagonistic movement of the several wills which hinders and checks progress; when one thwarts another, and subtracts his own motive power from that of his brother, instead of adding it thereto. Hence the slow progress of Christianity in our own day compared with that of the apostolic age; hence the weakness of the Church, its feebler victories over sin, its almost defeats by the spirit of infidelity, its apparent inability to cope with the powers of this world. Surely the contemplation of the unity of the Spirit, as seen on the day of Pentecost, should kindle in every Christian breast a longing for a like unity among ourselves.

IV. We may notice lastly, THE PROSPECTIVE UNITY OF THE CHURCH in its completeness. The long list of nationalities detailed by the historian, when he enumerates Parthians and Medea and Elamites, and so many other nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, as all hearing in their own several languages the mighty works of God; the striking narrative of the Holy Spirit of God lighting upon the heads of the Galilaean disciples, and, by enabling them to speak with other tongues, removing the barrier of separation between man and man caused by the confusion of tongues; the exhibition of Jerusalem as the Christian metropolis, the birthplace of so many sons and daughters, the center of union between the apostles of the Lord and believers " out of every nation under heaven" (verse 5);—all this was surely intended to lead our thoughts and our hopes forward to that blessed day, seen by St. John in vision, when" the great multitude, which no man can number, out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, shall stand before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands, crying with a loud voice and saying, Salvation unto our God which sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb." It is to this blessed consummation, when all things shall be gathered together into one in Christ, that every weary heart should look forward. It is a vision of glory to keep before the mind amidst the strife and discord, the divisions and separations, of the existing age. It is light which, seen even at the end of the long perspective of this world's troublous way, should reflect back a softening cheering ray upon each step of our wearisome path, and encourage us to press forward with unfaltering purpose till we reach Mount Zion, and behold the Church in her glory. Then shall the brightness of the Pentecostal day pale before the beauty of that day of Christ, and God's purpose will be accomplished in the perfect unity of heart and voice, of will and purpose, of thought and speech, of work and habitation, of the whole multitude whom Christ has redeemed and made kings and priests, that they may reign for ever in the new Jerusalem of God.