Before, During, and After An Outpouring of God's Spirit

Part 3 of The Five Outpourings of Acts Series

The book of Acts is the original revival manual.

Believers who are hungering for an authentic move of God invariably turn back to the patterns of the early church.

The book of Acts records five outpourings of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, 4, 8, 10, and 19. In addition, there is one “filling” of an individual, the apostle Paul, in Acts 9. By “outpouring”, I mean a moment in time when the Spirit fell on and filled a group of people, resulting in immediate impact and lasting transformation in those touched by the outpouring.

This pattern of regular, repeated outpourings gives us hope for renewal in our day. The outpouring of the Spirit is not a one-time event that occurred on Pentecost. It happens regularly, like the breaking of waves on the shore. Indeed, as church history makes clear, these outpourings have continued throughout the past 2,000 years since the second chapter of Acts.

We have every reason to expect God to continue releasing these waves of glory until the Lord returns. And yet, as lovers of God, many of us long to become participants and partners in future outpourings of the Spirit.

Is there a consistent formula in the book of Acts that leads to an outpouring of the Spirit? Or, if not a formula, at least are there discernible patterns?

As we seek to understand authentic revival today and how we can partner with God, we will examine what happens before, during, and after each of the five outpourings of Acts, starting with Acts 2 and Acts 4.

Before, During, After

The five outpourings of Acts follow the paradigmatic statement of Jesus in Acts 1, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

So, the first two outpourings take place in the region of Jerusalem and Judea. Using the gospel accounts and Acts, we can discern some patterns in what comes before the outpourings of Acts 2 and 4.

Before

• Proclamation

  • The Pentecost outpouring is preceded by the events of Holy Week, including Jesus’s bold preaching in the Temple that leads to His death.

  • The Acts 4 outpouring is preceded by Peter and John’s bold preaching in the Temple in Acts 3.

• Persecution

  • Jesus is arrested, killed, and his disciples are scattered prior to Pentecost.

  • Peter and John are arrested, imprisoned, and threatened prior to the Acts 4 outpouring.

• Power Encounters

  • Jesus Christ is resurrected from the dead, appears to over 500 believers, and visibly ascends into heaven, accompanied by a corporate angelic witness prior to the Pentecost outpouring.

  • Peter and John heal a man born lame prior to the Acts 4 outpouring.

• Prophetic Promises

  • Prior to Pentecost, Jesus predicts that the disciples would be filled with power “a few days from now” and that they would be empowered as His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

  • While there was no separate prophetic promise related to the Acts 4 outpouring, the disciples appropriated the prophetic promise of Psalm 2, seeing their lives and actions as a fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy.

• United Prayer

  • The Acts 2 outpouring comes after ten days of united prayer, with about 120 participants.

  • The Acts 4 outpouring comes in response to bold and united prayer from a gathered group of believers.

There may be other patterns to be gleaned from the biblical texts regarding what precedes outpourings. For instance, in Acts 2, we see deliberations regarding church leadership. However, this conversation about leadership does not seem directly related to the outpouring; it simply appears to be part of normal church life.

It may be a surprise to see bold gospel proclamation, persecution, and power encounters on the “before” side of outpouring of the Spirit, considering we often consider those to be signs the Spirit has already been poured out. However, the narratives are very clear in mentioning how these things preceded the release of the Spirit’s presence.

In terms of persecution, God uses injustice committed against His witnesses as a legal right to release His Spirit into the earth. Often, the bold, public proclamation of the gospel with miraculous power is what leads to persecution. This was certainly what happened in the case of Jesus, as well as Peter and John. In other words, we may want to think of outpourings more as a cycle or a wave than as stand-alone events.

During

What happens during an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Acts 2 and 4 present remarkably similar descriptions.

• A Natural, Sensible Manifestation

In both outpourings, something happened that was evident to the five senses and affected the natural realm.

Acts 2:2-3 A sound like a mighty, rushing wind filled the house, and visible tongues of fire divided and rested on them.

Acts 4:31 The place where they had gathered was physically shaken.

In an Old Testament context, this would be considered a Theophany—a physical manifestation of God’s Presence.

Psalm 29:5 “The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars…”

Exodus 19:18 “Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire.”

• A Filling

Acts 2 and Acts 4 use the language of “filling”. It is as though human beings are jars or containers that can hold the Holy Spirit, who is described as a liquid pouring into human beings.

Acts 2:4 “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 4:31 “and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

• Prophetic Proclamation of the Gospel

In both cases, the outcome of being filled with the Spirit is immediate speech that glorifies God and declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This speech is both “prophetic”, or speech inspired by God (Joel 2:28ff), but also speech focused on proclaiming the gospel and salvation available in the name of Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:4 “and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance…” (including preaching to a gathering crowd, Acts 2:5ff).

Acts 2:11 “we hear them telling in our own languages the mighty works of God…”

Acts 4:31 “They continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

The outpouring itself is a fairly brief moment in time that results in God’s presence sensibly affecting the natural world, human beings being filled with the Holy Spirit, and the immediate result that they begin to prophesy and proclaim the gospel, even speaking in different languages (Acts 2) and with great boldness (Acts 4).

After: A New Normal

Both Acts 2 and Acts 4 have extended descriptions of what the early church looked like immediately AFTER an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. These describe the new normal that takes place once the initial wave of the Spirit’s presence has washed over and filled a community.

Here’s the new normal as described in Acts 2:

^“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

And here is the new normal described immediately after the Acts 4 outpouring:

“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. 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 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 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” Acts 4:32-35

Here are some summary statements of the new normal:

Rhythms of Piety become central to the life of believers following the outpouring, including a devotion to prayer, the word of God, fellowship with one another, and communion (Acts 2:42).

Supernatural Power is regularly displayed following an outpouring, with signs, wonders, and miracles resulting in a sense of awe among God’s people.

Proclamation of the Gospel with boldness and power, and Salvation with great regularity, leading to the church growing daily.

Radical Generosity, including each person considering their personal possessions as belonging to others and the sale of land and property, is one of the most prevalent signs emphasized in Acts 2 and especially in Acts 4. The early Christian community had so much grace from God that there were “no needy people among them.”

Love and Unity: Really, radical generosity is just an outflow of love for one another and the unity of the Spirit that is the new normal after an outpouring of the Spirit. This is exactly what Jesus spoke of in John 13:34-35, “A New Commandment I give to you, love one another, just as I loved you.” As Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 13, it is love that is the greatest manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

In Conclusion, there are discernible patterns in what happens before, during, and after an outpouring of the Spirit. So far, we have just considered Acts 2 and 4. In our next installment, we will look at the three additional outpourings “in Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth…”