Be Still, and Know That I Am God # 5

Pentecost

The Gospel period came to an end. It was followed by the new dispensation in which God's servants now have Divine power indwelling them by the Holy Spirit. Does that mean that the old basis of proving God has passed? Do the men of the New Covenant have to act in a different way? The answer is, NO. The very same basis of proving the power and presence of God still holds! The book of the Acts will bring all the evidence we need to prove this point.d We quote two examples, the first of them being Pentecost itself.

What were the disciples doing when the Spirit came so mightily upon them? Were they planning? Certainly not, for they evidently had no ideas of their own as to how the Lord's command to evangelize could be fulfilled. Were they discussing? No, not then! They had already talked a great deal about the composition of the apostolic band, and had discussed their sense of what the Scriptures taught in this connection. Whether or not they were right in feeling that it was incumbent on them to complete the Twelve, and whether their action in choosing Matthias was either correct or necessary, must remain a matter of opinion. In any case, by the time that the day of Pentecost had fully come, such considerations and actions had come to an end. They do not seem to have been talking to one another. Were they perhaps praying? We cannot say for certain, but it seems very doubtful. It is true that earlier they are described as continuing steadfastly in prayer (Acts 1:14), but we would expect that if Jews were praying they would either be on their knees or on their feet. In this case we know that they were neither.

The sole indication given to us is the simple disclosure of the fact that they were sitting in the house (Acts 2:2). Had they talked themselves to a standstill? It is quite possible. Had they exhausted the matters for prayer? Or better, had they prayed through to such an assurance that now they only had to wait confidently for the answer? We do not know. What we do know is that they were "sitting" - just sitting! That is all that the Holy Spirit sees fit to record. But evidently this was considered important enough to mention. Can it not be because this is in keeping with what we have already been saying? Is this because they were obeying the psalmist's exhortation to "Be still"? There is no doubt about the rest of his statement - "and know that I am God". There was a wonderful demonstration of how great God is, for as they sat in the house, there came to this earth one of the most astounding evidences of the reality of the Divine presence that has ever taken place. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit." In the days that followed there was no lack of action. The disciples were busy enough. But the action was Divine action, it proved that God is God, and it came to those who had first learned to be silent in His presence.

~Harry Foster~

(continued with # 6 - (Peter In Prison)