Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation Acts
2:1 – 4
A Sound Like the Blowing of a Violent Wind
by
Robert T. Cooper
I am not
particularly a fan of what I call “nasty 20th and 21st
century music.” One of the strains of that genre has been music enhanced by
recorded electronic effects. The first time I heard a church anthem with such
effects was when I was in seminary. It was an anthem based on Acts 2:1 – 4. The
recorded electronic effects were for the portion of anthem in which there was “a
sound like the blowing of a violent wind.” At least I understood what was
happening in that music.
It is not
uncommon for preachers to emphasize that the word is one and the same for
spirit, for breath, and for wind. Therefore, if we want to understand some
things about the Holy Spirit, it would be good for us to think some about the
characteristics of wind.
For one thing,
wind is simply the moving of bodies of air. It can be gentle. It can be
blustery. It can be steady. It can be destructive. It can be forceful. These
can all be metaphors for the way God’s Holy Spirit moves within our own lives.
For another
thing, wind doesn’t really make any sound of its own. What makes the sound is
the vibrations the moving air sets up as it passes by various objects,
including our own ears. Similarly, the Holy Spirit doesn’t really call
attention to Himself. Rather, He causes resonance within people and events as
He moves upon them.
For us, the
most violent winds usually take the force of tornados, hurricanes, and
hurricane-force winds. Some people say tornados sound like a train. The coming
of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost made “a sound like the blowing of a violent
wind.” Therefore, we have to believe that the significance of Pentecost was the
forcefulness of what God was doing.
"Wind of the Spirit" by Jennifer Jones
We usually
think of violent winds as being destructive. What could the Holy Spirit have
been doing when He came upon the 120 (that just counted the grown men, so we
can be certain there were more) praying believers in the upper room? What could
the Spirit have been doing that was so destructive? Perhaps we will have to
wait until all things are revealed to understand it fully. However, I believe
it may have had to do with the passing of the era when the Holy Spirit merely
came upon certain individuals for a time; that era was replaced with a new era
in which the Holy Spirit would come to indwell everyone who places his or her
faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We still have to stop and listen
to the Holy Spirit. How have you heard the Spirit in recent days? I look forward
to your comments.
