The Arrival of God the Spirit

After waiting as instructed, the apostles experienced a loud and visible arrival of the Holy Spirit. Tongues of fire appeared, signifying the "tongues" which would shortly be manifested. God gifted the disciples with the instant ability to speak foreign languages. The content was Christ's resurrection, the forerunner of ours. The exhortations to call on the name of the Lord and be saved would naturally follow. As Christ was raised on the first day of the week, connoting a "new beginning" for him, so this event on this first day of the week was nothing less than the birth of the New Testament church. No wonder Peter saw this as the beginning of the fulfilment of Joel's prophecy. Finally, the point should be made that the activities and gifts of the Spirit vary according to time, place and subject. We cannot assume any is to be the normal experience of the Christian.