THE SPIRIT AND THE MISSION (4 OF 56)
Scripture: Acts 2:1-10, Acts 2:12-13
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The Spirit and the Mission (4 of 56)
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 2:1-13
Read Acts 2:1-13
Have you ever heard of xenoglossy? Xenoglossy is the phenomenon in which a person wakes up from a coma or emerges from some traumatic experience speaking a foreign language. It is somewhat akin to Foreign Accent Syndrome, or FAS, accept that FAS involves a person suddenly having a thick foreign accent that they somehow cannot turn off. (Think, for instance, of Madonna and the strange British accent she developed upon moving to England. I jest.)
Xenoglossy is apparently a disputed phenomenon, with many doctors questioning if it is even real. Even so, for those who claim to be suffering from it, it appears to be real enough. It would indeed be a strange phenomenon, would it not, to wake up speaking a foreign language?
Interestingly, the Wikipedia article on xenoglossy lists our text as an early example. Of course, the New Testament sees what happened at Pentecost as something else entirely. In the scriptures, this is not a freak occurrence resulting from trauma or other mysterious causes. Rather, it is the deliberate act of God, granted at just the right moment and for very specific reasons. This miraculous and astounding visitation of the Spirit was foretold by Jesus and had the worldwide proclamation of the gospel of Christ as its aim. As such, it has distinctly theological, not neurological, overtones.
To get at the events described by Luke in Acts 2:1-13, let us construct a sentence. Our sentence will have three parts, each highlighting an aspect of this miraculous display.
The Church is a God-empowered body...
We will begin our sentence like this: ''The Church is a God-empowered body...'' Whatever else is happening here, it is clear that God is visiting His people in power. This is more than evident in the vivid imagery of our passage.
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly ...
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 2:1-13
Read Acts 2:1-13
Have you ever heard of xenoglossy? Xenoglossy is the phenomenon in which a person wakes up from a coma or emerges from some traumatic experience speaking a foreign language. It is somewhat akin to Foreign Accent Syndrome, or FAS, accept that FAS involves a person suddenly having a thick foreign accent that they somehow cannot turn off. (Think, for instance, of Madonna and the strange British accent she developed upon moving to England. I jest.)
Xenoglossy is apparently a disputed phenomenon, with many doctors questioning if it is even real. Even so, for those who claim to be suffering from it, it appears to be real enough. It would indeed be a strange phenomenon, would it not, to wake up speaking a foreign language?
Interestingly, the Wikipedia article on xenoglossy lists our text as an early example. Of course, the New Testament sees what happened at Pentecost as something else entirely. In the scriptures, this is not a freak occurrence resulting from trauma or other mysterious causes. Rather, it is the deliberate act of God, granted at just the right moment and for very specific reasons. This miraculous and astounding visitation of the Spirit was foretold by Jesus and had the worldwide proclamation of the gospel of Christ as its aim. As such, it has distinctly theological, not neurological, overtones.
To get at the events described by Luke in Acts 2:1-13, let us construct a sentence. Our sentence will have three parts, each highlighting an aspect of this miraculous display.
The Church is a God-empowered body...
We will begin our sentence like this: ''The Church is a God-empowered body...'' Whatever else is happening here, it is clear that God is visiting His people in power. This is more than evident in the vivid imagery of our passage.
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly ...
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