Radical Generosity and the Holy Spirit
The Five Outpourings of Acts: Part 1
Announcing: The Five Outpourings of Acts Series
I have never heard the word “revival” on so many lips before. Every believer suddenly realizes that we need it. Even unbelievers and mainstream media outlets are noticing, wondering if we are experiencing a religious revival.
The book of Acts is the original revival manual. Believers who are hungering for an authentic move of God invariably turn to the book of Acts. For the next several months, I’ll be focusing on the outpourings of the Spirit in the book of Acts as we seek God for fresh outpourings today.
Radical Generosity as Evidence of the Outpouring of the Spirit
The book of Acts records five outpourings of the Holy Spirit: Acts 2, 4, 8, 10, and 19. By “outpouring”, I mean a moment in time when the Spirit fell on a group of people in a way that was immediately evident, resulting in a “new normal” among the people touched by the outpouring.
In addition to the five outpourings, Acts also records Paul being filled with the Spirit as an individual in Acts 9.
It is significant that there are multiple outpourings.
Some would like to view Acts 2 as a stand-alone, one-time event where the Holy Spirit enters the church. The book of Acts certainly sees Acts 2 as a world-transforming pivot point. Everything changes when the Holy Spirit comes to live in the Church, as Joel 2 prophesies and Peter preaches.
However, the outpouring of Acts 2 is not a one-time event. It is repeated throughout the book of Acts. Peter, incredibly, is present for four of the five outpourings. In Acts 2 and 4, he is among those “filled” with the Spirit. In Acts 8, he releases the Spirit through the laying on of hands, but we do not get the sense he himself is “filled” again. In Acts 10, he is never able to lay hands, as the Spirit interrupts his sermon to fill Cornelius’s household as he preaches.
The activity of the Spirit has patterns, but cannot be reduced to a formula.
There are patterns repeated across several outpourings. For instance, in three of five outpourings, we see people speaking in tongues (Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19), prophesying (Acts 2, Acts 19), and praising God (Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19). There are activities that regularly precede outpourings of the Spirit: persecution and an extended time of prayer precede the Acts 2 outpouring. Persecution and a single prayer meeting precede the Acts 4 outpouring. In Acts 8 and 19, the key is the laying on of hands by the apostles. But, in Acts 10, an apostle is present but never gets to lay hands as the Spirit falls sovereignly in response to the prayers, piety, and generosity of Caiphas.
The movement of the Spirit has patterns but resists formula. For instance, we are right to believe the laying on of hands from apostles for impartation is important—this is one way people receive the gift of the Spirit. However, regular believers like Ananias can also lay hands and impart the gift of the Spirit (Acts 9). So, does the Spirit come through the laying on of hands? Yes, sometimes. Do those hands need to be apostolic hands? In Acts 8 and 19, yes. But not in Acts 9. The Spirit blows where He wills.
Evidence of the Spirit’s Presence
Pentecostal Pioneers like Charles Fox Parham and William Seymour taught that the gift of speaking in tongues was the initial evidence of the baptism of the Spirit. This is not a bad inference from the book of Acts. After all, speaking in tongues is clearly mentioned in three of the five outpourings.
Personally, I began experiencing the Holy Spirit’s presence in a new way in 2003. I had experiences with the Spirit before I began speaking in tongues, including many prophetic experiences. By 2008, I had been in prayer circles long enough that I was often the only person who did not speak in tongues. Some of my friends who spoke in tongues thought of me as “more charismatic” than they were, which I thought was funny. I was convinced God simply did not want me to have that gift. And then, suddenly, I received it. Without a doubt, speaking in tongues personally brought my experience of God to a higher level and resulted in greater fruitfulness in ministry. I’m incredibly thankful for the Pentecostal Pioneers who brought this gift of the Spirit to the forefront in the 20th century.
However, another manifestation of the Spirit is mentioned directly in three of the five outpourings. In fact, it may be indirectly present in all five.
That manifestation of the Spirit is radical generosity.
Radical Generosity as a Sign of the Spirit
Acts 2:42-47 is a “go-to” verse for anyone desiring a normative, New Testament church experience. This is Luke’s description of the “new normal” for a Spirit-filled community.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Many elements are present in the early church: teaching, fellowship, communion, prayer, awe, miracles, simplicity, joy. No doubt, all of these are evidence of the Spirit’s presence.
However, generosity stands out as both a fruit and a fuel of their joy. Believers held all their possessions in common. Likewise, the presence of the Spirit inspired those with property or other possessions to sell them and give to other believers.
When the Spirit shows up, people speak in tongues. Certainly, this is true.
However, we could imagine an alternate history of early Pentecostalism in which believers tarried in prayer until they were filled with the Spirit, as manifested by selling their land and possessions and sharing all things in common.
How would the modern church look different if radical generosity, rather than tongues, had become the defining evidence of God’s presence?
Radical Generosity in Acts 4
Radical Generosity was a significant manifestation of the Spirit in the first outpouring. However, it is even more prominent in the Acts 4 outpouring of the Spirit. In fact, the Scripture says, “God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them…”
Did you catch that? The preferred metric Luke used to measure the power of God in the early church was this: they had no needs among them. Is the Spirit moving with such power that everyone in our community is provided for? That’s a sign of His presence.
Importantly, the metric is not “how many are prophesying?” or “how many are speaking in tongues?” It’s the community’s generosity.
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Acts 4:32-35
There are two elements to this generosity. First, there is a weakening of private property claims. No one claims their possessions as their own; they share all they have.
We might say the early church viewed their personal possessions relative to one another, as parents do with their children. In other words, “what’s mine is here for you” and “all that I have is yours.” The early church extended the familial mindset to include the entire believing community, with the overflow impacting unbelievers as well, resulting in favor with all the people.
This is the communal attitude that Communism has attempted (and catastrophically failed) to bring about apart from the Spirit. However, we also see a clear rebuke of Capitalism in this description. Communism attempts to bring about Acts 2 and 4 at the point of a gun, rather than under the freedom of the Spirit. Capitalism leaves everyone to their own selfish devices, serving Mammon and ignoring God’s deeper plans for a human family of fellowship, belonging, and generosity.
The economy of the Kingdom is different from both of these. It is an economy of freely giving and receiving. The economy of the Kingdom can only operate under the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit.
Along with a communal mindset that sees other believers as members of one’s own household, the early church demonstrated radical and sacrificial generosity, in which believers sold land, possessions, and homes to care for one another. The early church had both: A communal mindset and radical generosity.
They saw their own possessions as really belonging to God and, therefore, to the Christian community. (Note: believers did not view the possessions of others as belonging to the community—they viewed their own in this way.) Then, they freely and generously gave from those possessions to others. The result of this mindset and these actions would “turn the world upside down” within a generation.
Radical Rebukes: Money and the Gift of the Spirit in Acts 5 and 8
Jesus taught, “Where your treasure [money] is, there your heart will be also.” Acts 2 and 4 contain positive examples of this: radical generosity and considering possessions to be in common. However, the narrative of the Acts 4 outpouring also contains a radical rebuke for those foolish enough to fabricate the Spirit’s generosity.
Lying to the Spirit
Ananias and Sapphira were early believers who had experienced the power of the Spirit and the warm fellowship of the early church. Looking back, we would be right to envy their experience in this special community.
However, rather than simply basking in the glow of what God was doing or adding their own generosity to the mix, they decided to exaggerate their generosity for the sake of status. Of all the people in Scripture who commit the mysterious crime of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”, we can certainly count them among that number. They are killed by the Holy Spirit for counterfeiting His gift of generosity, lying about their generosity to God. Once again, we see how essential generosity is to the person of the Holy Spirit—if you try to counterfeit this gift, beware of your life.
The Acts 8 Rebuke
In Acts 8:17, there is no explicit mention of the Samaritans’ generosity after they received the Holy Spirit. However, there is a clear negative example, similar to Acts 5. Here, Simon the sorcerer, a new believer, offers to pay Peter money to enable him to impart the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands.
Peter responds with a stinging rebuke:
“May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Acts 8:20-23
Simon is humble and repents. No doubt, he survives this close call with the Spirit because of his ignorance, in contrast to Ananias and Sapphira, who knew better. The Spirit cannot be bought and sold. The gift of the Spirit can only be given freely.
Radical Generosity is a Sign of the Spirit’s Presence
It should be clear by now that radical generosity is one of the significant indications of the outpouring of the Spirit. If the Spirit is being poured out, we should expect radical generosity to follow, transforming entire communities. While this generosity cannot be forced, it must look like something.
Here are some New Testament examples of what radical generosity looks like in practice.
Selling Everything: Jesus challenges the rich young ruler to do this, and yet he is unable to do so apart from the power of the Spirit. It is no wonder that we see early believers joyfully “selling everything” after the Spirit is poured out. The ability to sell everything and follow Jesus comes by the power of the Spirit (Luke 18:18-27)
Considering Nothing as Our Own: Those who have experienced the power of the Spirit think about their own possessions differently and count other members of the church as part of their extended family. While we do not envy others or covet their possessions, we consider our personal property to belong to God and to other believers.
Selling Lands, Houses, and Possessions: Communities that have experienced an outpouring of the Spirit will see members sell things of great value and give both to apostolic leaders (Acts 4) and to individual believers in need (Acts 2). We should expect cars, homes, lands, large investment holdings, inheritances, and other major gifts to be given joyfully in communities where the Spirit has sway. Generosity is the fruit of joy and fuels joy as those in need receive all they need from others.
Suffering and Sacrificial Living: In Acts 9, when Paul receives the Holy Spirit, Ananias (not the same Ananias!) is told by the Spirit, “I will show [Paul] how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” While not all of us have great material wealth to give to others, we also participate in radical generosity by suffering for the sake of the gospel and living sacrificially in obedience to Jesus.
Missionary Sacrifice: While the Acts 10 outpouring does not directly mention generosity, the direct result is the Acts 13 missionary expedition:
The Holy Spirit said, “Set aside for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Acts 13:2
The missionary calling is an example of “selling everything” for the gospel, foregoing normal work and profit to work for God. Saying “yes” to a missionary calling, whatever it may look like, is an example of radical generosity, allowing one’s entire life to be sown as a seed for the furtherance of the gospel.
In Conclusion, Radical Generosity is explicitly mentioned, positively and negatively, in three of the five outpourings of Acts. Other manifestations of generosity, such as missionary sacrifice, are mentioned in the other outpourings. The absence of needy people in the early church was the preferred “metric” for the level of God’s grace in the community.
Radical generosity is reliable evidence that the Spirit has been poured out. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and God the Father is radically generous to His core. Nowhere is the radical generosity of God more clearly demonstrated than on the cross, where He gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice so that we might live. When we receive the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, we are infused with the same generosity that drove Him to the cross.
When we are possessed by the Spirit of Jesus, giving everything for each other is the only thing that makes sense.