Acts 2:1-4 – When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
I wonder what it was like in that upper room that day. Apparently there was a sudden change in the atmosphere of that room. The scripture says that suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a rushing mighty wind. The Amplified Bible says it was like the sound of “a violent tempest blast”. This passage always reminds us of what Jesus said to Nicodemus, “the Spirit is like the wind”. What was Jesus getting at? I believe the answer to that question will help us understand what happened in Acts 2.
The word for wind in Greek is pneuma. Pneuma has multiple meanings; it means breath, wind or Spirit. If this is true Jesus was telling us that the Spirit of God is the breath of God. This wind in the upper room was the very breath and life of God. These disciples were being filled through and through with the life of God. Wind brings several pictures into our mind. Wind, especially the violent rushing kind is powerful. This wind is a picture of the power of God. When we are filled with the Spirit we are filled with exactly that, we are filled with God’s power.
The wind also has an unpredictable nature about it. Jesus said that we don’t know where it comes from or where it goes. The moving of the Spirit is just like the wind; it is sudden and very unpredictable.
Wind also has a refreshing or renewing quality to it. When it is hot outside we can easily be overwhelmed by the exposure to the heat. A gust of wind refreshes us and seems to fill us with strength. The Lord said that He would send times of refreshing into our lives, that is exactly what the wind does.
Then of course there is the breath of God. This wind is not impersonal, it is the life and breath of God. Receiving His Spirit is an intimate interaction with God Himself. This intimacy is the beginning of life. This rushing mighty wind marked the beginning of the Christian church. We need the Wind of God today more than ever.
