This individual study guide draws directly from Jeremy Wood's sermon “Born of fire” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
In-Depth Bible Study Guide
Born in Fire: The Spirit, Unity, and the Gospel That Sets Us Free
Primary Texts: Acts 2:1–4, 37–38 | Romans 6:1–13 | Mark 16:16
1. Introduction & Overview
This sermon, preached on Pentecost Sunday, centers on the birth of the church as recorded in Acts 2 — not merely as a historical event to admire, but as a living template for what God still desires to do among surrendered, unified people. The pastor wove together Acts 2, Romans 6, and Mark 16:16 to make a compelling case: before the fire of the Spirit falls, the conditions of the room must be right — unity, surrender, and prayer. And the foundation of all three is a genuine, transforming grasp of the gospel itself, particularly the death-and-resurrection reality that baptism enacts and Romans 6 describes.
Key Biblical Passages: Acts 2:1–4, 37–38; Romans 6:1–13; Mark 16:16; John 14:16–17; 1 John 1:9
Study Objectives: By the end of this study, you will be able to (1) understand the historical and theological significance of Pentecost within the biblical storyline; (2) trace the connection between unity, surrender, and the outpouring of the Spirit; (3) engage deeply with Romans 6's theology of baptism, death to sin, and new-creation identity; and (4) understand what it means to "reckon" yourself dead to sin and alive to God.
Estimated Study Time: 2.5–3 hours
Why This Matters: Acts 2 is not merely church history — it is ecclesiology in action. And Romans 6 is arguably the most important chapter in the New Testament for understanding what happens to a person who is united with Christ. Together, these texts answer the question the crowd asked Peter: "What shall we do?" — and they answer it with gospel depth that transforms identity, not just behavior.
How This Guide Builds on the Sermon: The pastor opened these texts with pastoral urgency and personal transparency. This guide goes deeper into the Greek vocabulary, historical setting, and theological architecture that undergirds what was preached, so that the truths proclaimed on Sunday become truths you can inhabit all week.
2. Exegetical Analysis
Acts 2:1–4 — The Conditions and the Coming
Acts 2 opens the second volume of Luke's two-part work (Luke–Acts). The genre is historical narrative with theological intent — Luke is not writing a neutral chronicle but a theologically shaped account of what God is doing through Jesus and the Spirit in the world. Acts 1:8 functions as the thesis statement of the entire book: the disciples will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they will be witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Verse 1 is structurally foundational. The phrase "when the day of Pentecost had fully come" (Greek: en tō symplērousthai, "in the filling up of") signals divine timing — this is not accidental. The phrase "with one accord" (homothumadon) appears eleven times in Acts and is virtually a signature of the early church's communal posture. The 120 gathered in Acts 1:15 had been praying together for ten days (Acts 1:14). The condition of the room preceded the content of the event.
Verse 2 introduces the first of three sensory phenomena: sound (like a rushing mighty wind), sight (divided tongues of fire), and speech (other tongues). The wind imagery (pnoē biaias, "violent breath/wind") deliberately echoes Genesis 1:2 (the Spirit hovering over the waters) and Ezekiel 37:9–10 (the breath called into the valley of dry bones). This is creation-language — God is doing something new.
Verse 3 introduces the fire imagery. The tongues of fire "sat upon each of them" — distributed, individual, personal. This is not a corporate phenomenon only. Every person in that room received.
Verse 4 names the result: they were filled (eplēsthēsan, aorist passive — they were acted upon by the Spirit) and began to speak in other tongues "as the Spirit gave them utterance." The initiative is entirely the Spirit's.
Acts 2:37–38 — The Response and the Promise
After Peter's sermon (vv. 14–36), the crowd is "cut to the heart" — a phrase that signals genuine conviction, not mere emotional response. Peter's answer is structured in two imperatives and two promises:
- Imperative 1: Repent (metanoēsate)
- Imperative 2: Be baptized (baptisthētō) in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins
- Promise 1: You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
- Promise 2: This promise is for you, your children, and all who are far off
Romans 6:1–13 — Dead to Sin, Alive to God
Paul's letter to the Romans is a sustained theological argument. By chapter 6, Paul has established that all humanity stands condemned (1:18–3:20), that justification comes through faith in Christ (3:21–5:21), and that grace superabounds where sin abounded (5:20). The natural objection: "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" (6:1). Paul's answer is not merely ethical but ontological — you cannot continue in sin because you have died to it.
The theological logic of vv. 3–5 rests on union with Christ. Baptism is the enacted sign of that union — a burial and resurrection. Verses 6–7 introduce the "old man" (palaios anthrōpos) — the pre-conversion self — as having been crucified with Christ. Verse 11 contains the crucial command: "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." The word "reckon" (logizesthe) is an accounting term — count it as true, treat it as fact. This is not wishful thinking; it is faith applied to identity.
3. Historical & Cultural Context
Pentecost in Jewish History
Pentecost (Greek: Pentēkostē, "fiftieth") was originally the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), celebrated fifty days after Passover. It was one of three pilgrimage festivals requiring Jewish men to travel to Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). By the first century, Pentecost had also become associated with the giving of the Torah at Sinai — the covenant between God and Israel. This background is theologically rich: just as God gave the law written on stone tablets at Sinai, now God gives the Spirit to write his law on human hearts (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26–27). The old covenant's external code gives way to the new covenant's internal transformation.
The Crowd in Jerusalem
Acts 2:5–11 lists the nations represented in Jerusalem that day — devout Jews from across the Roman Empire and beyond. Jerusalem during pilgrimage festivals swelled dramatically; historians estimate the city's population could increase fivefold. The miracle of tongues was immediately intelligible to this diaspora crowd — each heard the disciples speaking in their own native language. This reverses the fragmentation of Babel (Genesis 11) and anticipates the eschatological gathering of all nations.
Baptism in First-Century Judaism
Ritual immersion (mikveh) was deeply embedded in Jewish practice — used for purification, conversion of Gentile proselytes, and various ceremonial cleansings. John the Baptist's baptism was distinctive: it was a public, once-for-all act of repentance and preparation. Christian baptism, as seen in Acts 2:38 and Romans 6, carries this forward but adds a new dimension: it is specifically into the name of Jesus Christ and into his death and resurrection. As Craig Keener notes in his IVP Bible Background Commentary, "Jewish proselyte baptism involved self-immersion; Christian baptism was performed by another, symbolizing that one's new status was a gift received, not an achievement attained."
The Roman World and the Concept of "Slavery"
Paul's language in Romans 6 about slavery (doulos, slave/servant) and dominion would have resonated sharply with his Roman audience. Slavery was ubiquitous in the Roman Empire — perhaps one-third of Rome's population were slaves. Paul's argument that believers have been transferred from one master (sin) to another (righteousness) used the most visceral social category available to him. The point was not abstract: you are not your own; you belong to someone. The question is only who.
4. Word Studies
"Filled" (Greek: πληρόω / eplēsthēsan, plēroō)
- Meaning: To fill completely, to make full, to supply abundantly. The aorist passive form in Acts 2:4 indicates that the disciples were the recipients of an action performed upon them — they did not fill themselves.
- Etymology: From plērēs ("full"). Related to plērōma ("fullness"), used in Colossians 2:9 of Christ in whom "all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily."
- Biblical Usage: Used of the Spirit's filling in Acts 4:8, 4:31, 9:17, and 13:52. Also used in Ephesians 5:18: "Be filled with the Spirit" — notably a present passive imperative, indicating ongoing, repeated filling.
- Theological Significance: The pastor drew an important distinction between a visitor and an occupant. The Greek supports this: plēroō does not suggest a temporary visit but a thorough, complete inhabitation. The Spirit does not merely pass through; he fills.
- Translation Considerations: The ESV and NKJV render this "filled"; the NIV similarly. The passive voice is theologically crucial and is preserved across translations.
"Repent" (Greek: μετανοέω, metanoeō)
- Meaning: Literally, "to change one's mind" (meta = after/change, noeō = to perceive/think). But in biblical usage, this is not merely intellectual — it involves a turning of the whole person: mind, will, and direction of life.
- Etymology: From nous (mind) with the prefix meta indicating change or movement. The Hebrew equivalent, shûv, means "to turn" or "return" — the prophetic call to return to God (Isaiah 55:7; Joel 2:12–13).
- Biblical Usage: Used by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2), Jesus (Mark 1:15), Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:38), and Paul in Acts 17:30: "God commands all people everywhere to repent."
- Theological Significance: Repentance is not self-improvement or behavior modification. It is a fundamental reorientation — a change of masters, allegiances, and direction. Peter's command in Acts 2:38 pairs repentance with baptism, suggesting that the inner turning finds its outward expression in the water.
"Reckon / Consider" (Greek: λογίζομαι, logizomai)
- Meaning: To count, calculate, reckon, consider as true. This is an accounting term — to credit something to an account, to treat something as a settled fact.
- Etymology: From logos (word, reason, account). Related to logismos (calculation, reasoning).
- Biblical Usage: Paul uses this word extensively in Romans — notably in Romans 4:3–5, where Abraham's faith was "reckoned" (logizomai) as righteousness. The same word appears in Romans 6:11: "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin."
- Theological Significance: The pastor's point that belief must be actively applied to identity is precisely what logizomai demands. It is not passive resignation but active, reasoned faith — treating the gospel's declaration about you as the operating reality of your life. Douglas Moo, in his Romans commentary (NICNT), notes that this is "the appropriate human response to what God has done — to align one's thinking with the theological reality of union with Christ."
"Sōzō" (Greek: σῴζω, sōzō)
- Meaning: To save, deliver, heal, preserve, make whole. The semantic range is remarkably broad — it encompasses rescue from physical danger, healing of disease, and eschatological salvation.
- Etymology: Related to sōs (safe, healthy). The noun form sōtēria (salvation) and sōtēr (savior) derive from the same root.
- Biblical Usage: Used of physical healing (Matthew 9:21–22), deliverance from danger (Matthew 8:25), and spiritual salvation (Romans 10:9–10; Ephesians 2:8). In Mark 16:16, "he who believes and is baptized will be saved (sōthēsetai)."
- Theological Significance: The pastor highlighted this word as encompassing wholeness — not merely a future ticket to heaven but present healing, deliverance, and restoration. The word resists the reduction of salvation to a single moment; it describes an ongoing state of being kept whole by God.
"Homothumadon" (Greek: ὁμοθυμαδόν, homothumadon)
- Meaning: With one mind, with one accord, unanimously. Literally, "with the same thumos" — thumos meaning passionate impulse, spirit, or soul.
- Etymology: From homos (same) and thumos (passion, soul, spirit). It describes not merely external agreement but shared inner orientation.
- Biblical Usage: Appears 11 times in Acts (1:14; 2:1; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; etc.) and once in Romans 15:6. In Acts, it consistently describes the early church's communal prayer and worship.
- Theological Significance: This word is the key to Acts 2:1. Unity in Acts is not organizational consensus — it is a shared spiritual posture of surrender and expectation. The pastor's emphasis that "unity attracts heaven" finds its textual anchor here. The Spirit fell on people who were homothumadon — passionately, soul-deep, together.
5. Cross-References & Biblical Theology
Parallel Passages
Joel 2:28–32 — Peter explicitly quotes this in Acts 2:17–21. The outpouring of the Spirit on "all flesh" was a prophetic promise centuries old. Pentecost is not an innovation; it is fulfillment.
Ezekiel 36:26–27 — "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you... I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes." The Pentecost event is the fulfillment of this new-covenant promise.
Thematic Connections
Genesis 11:1–9 (Babel) — Humanity's unified rebellion led to the confusion of languages and scattering. Pentecost reverses Babel: the Spirit-filled community speaks across language barriers, gathering the scattered nations.
Exodus 19–20 (Sinai) — The giving of the Law at Sinai was accompanied by fire, wind, and trembling. Pentecost echoes these phenomena, signaling that the new covenant is being enacted with the same divine gravity as the old.
John 14:16–17 — Jesus promises the Paraclete (Helper, Advocate): "He will abide with you forever... He dwells with you and will be in you." The shift from "with" to "in" is the Pentecost transition.
John 16:7 — "It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you." The ascension is the precondition for Pentecost.
Old Testament Background
Numbers 11:29 — Moses' longing: "Oh, that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!" Pentecost answers this prayer.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 — The new covenant promise: God's law written on hearts, not stone. The Spirit's indwelling is the mechanism of this internalization.
Progressive Revelation
Romans 8:9–11 — Paul ties the Spirit's indwelling to resurrection life: the same Spirit who raised Christ dwells in believers and will give life to mortal bodies. Pentecost is not the end of the Spirit's work — it is the beginning of the resurrection age breaking into the present.
Ephesians 1:13–14 — The Spirit is the "seal" and "guarantee" (arrabōn, down payment) of the inheritance. The Pentecost filling is the first installment of eschatological life.
Revelation 21:3 — The culmination: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them." What begins at Pentecost — God dwelling in his people — finds its eternal completion in the new creation.
6. Interpretive Considerations
Acts 2:38 — Baptism "For the Remission of Sins"
This verse is one of the most debated in the New Testament. The Greek preposition eis (translated "for") in "baptized... for the remission of sins" has generated significant discussion:
- One view (held by Churches of Christ and some Restoration Movement traditions) reads eis as causal or instrumental: baptism effects the forgiveness of sins. On this reading, baptism is necessary for salvation.
- A second view (held by many Reformed and evangelical scholars) reads eis as expressing purpose or result that flows from an already-accomplished reality: be baptized because of (or in light of) the forgiveness you have received through repentance and faith. This parallels Matthew 3:11, where John baptizes "for repentance" — not to produce repentance but as its expression.
- A third view (common in sacramental traditions — Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican) holds that baptism is a genuine means of grace through which God conveys forgiveness, without reducing salvation to the water itself.
The sermon's approach aligns with the second and third perspectives, emphasizing that repentance and faith are the primary realities, with baptism as their enacted expression and seal. This is a defensible and widely held reading. What is clear across all traditions: baptism is not optional or decorative — it is the normative, public, embodied response to the gospel.
Romans 6 — Is Paul Describing All Believers or a Second Experience?
Some Wesleyan-Holiness and Pentecostal traditions have read Romans 6 as describing a second work of grace — a deeper consecration available after initial salvation. The Reformed reading sees Paul describing the objective reality of every believer's union with Christ, which must be appropriated by faith and reckoning (logizomai). The sermon's approach aligns with the latter: the reality is already true; the command is to believe it and live accordingly. This is not a diminishment of the Spirit's ongoing work but a grounding of it in the objective gospel.
Mark 16:16 — Textual Considerations
Scholars note that Mark 16:9–20 (the "longer ending") is absent from the earliest and most reliable Greek manuscripts. Most modern translations include it with a footnote. The theological content of 16:16 is consistent with the rest of the New Testament, but serious students should be aware of this textual question when building doctrine on this verse.
7. Theological Implications
The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology)
Pentecost is the defining pneumatological event of the New Testament. It establishes that the Spirit is not an occasional visitor but the permanent indwelling presence of God in his people. The Spirit is the Paraclete — a word meaning advocate, helper, counselor, one called alongside. The Spirit's role is not to draw attention to himself but to glorify Christ (John 16:14) and to empower witness (Acts 1:8).
Union with Christ
Romans 6 is the most concentrated treatment of union with Christ in Paul's letters. The believer's death, burial, and resurrection are not metaphors — they are spiritual realities enacted through faith and baptism. As John Murray wrote in his classic Redemption Accomplished and Applied, "Union with Christ is the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation." Everything else — justification, sanctification, glorification — flows from this union.
The Gospel and Identity
The sermon's most pastorally urgent point was that sin-consciousness produces sin-bondage, while gospel-consciousness produces gospel-freedom. This is not positive thinking — it is the theological logic of Romans 6:11. The believer's identity is not "sinner trying to do better" but "one who has died with Christ and been raised to new life." This has profound implications for how Christians approach both failure and growth. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
Unity as Spiritual Condition
The theological claim that "unity attracts heaven" is not sentimental. It is rooted in the Trinitarian nature of God himself — Father, Son, and Spirit exist in perfect, eternal perichoresis (mutual indwelling and communion). The church's unity is a participation in and reflection of divine unity (John 17:21–23). Division, therefore, is not merely a relational problem — it is a theological contradiction of the church's nature.
8. Practical Application
The scholarship of this study is not an end in itself — it is meant to produce transformed people and communities. Here are the concrete applications that flow from the deep truths of these texts:
Regarding Identity: Romans 6:11 commands an act of faith: reckon yourself dead to sin. This means beginning each day not with a rehearsal of failures but with a declaration of gospel reality. What you believe about yourself determines how you live. Spend time this week meditating on Romans 6:1–13 — not as a duty but as a daily recalibration of identity.
Regarding Unity: Homothumadon — one accord — was the condition before the fire fell. Ask yourself honestly: Is there an unresolved offense, a withheld forgiveness, or a preference-driven division in your relationships with other believers? The Spirit's fullness flows into unified vessels. Reconciliation is not optional for Spirit-filled community.
Regarding Prayer: The 120 prayed for ten days before Pentecost came. The sermon's call to return to prayer is not a program — it is a posture. Consider establishing a daily rhythm of prayer that moves from declaration ("Here I am, Lord") to intercession to listening.
Regarding Baptism: If you have come to a deeper understanding of the gospel since your baptism, or if you have never been baptized as a believing disciple, the pastor's invitation stands: today can be the day. Baptism is not a graduation ceremony — it is an enactment of the gospel story in your own body.
Regarding Community: The early church was not a collection of spiritual individuals — they were together, in one place, with one accord. Involvement in a small group, a serving team, or a missional initiative is not a church program to consume — it is the shape of homothumadon life.
9. Discussion Questions
Observational
Read Acts 2:1–4 carefully. What three sensory phenomena accompanied the coming of the Spirit? What Old Testament events do these phenomena recall, and why might Luke have chosen to describe them this way?
In Romans 6:1–13, identify every verb that describes what has already happened to the believer (past tense) versus what the believer is commanded to do (imperative). What does this distribution tell you about the relationship between gospel indicative and gospel imperative?
What is the sequence Peter gives in Acts 2:38? What are the two commands and the two promises? How does the order matter?
Interpretive
The pastor argued that "unity attracts heaven" — that the condition of homothumadon in Acts 2:1 was the precondition for the Spirit's outpouring. Do you think this is a theological principle or a one-time historical circumstance? What other passages would help you answer this?
How does the word logizomai (reckon/consider) in Romans 6:11 change how you understand the command to "be holy"? Is Paul asking believers to pretend they are something they are not, or to believe something that is genuinely true about them? What is the difference?
The Greek preposition eis in Acts 2:38 ("baptized for the remission of sins") is interpreted differently across Christian traditions. After reading the interpretive considerations section, which view do you find most compelling, and why? What other passages would you bring into the conversation?
Theological
The sermon emphasized that the Holy Spirit does not merely visit — he fills and abides. What are the theological implications of God's permanent indwelling presence for how Christians approach sin, suffering, and spiritual growth? How does John 14:16–17 and Romans 8:9–11 develop this truth?
If union with Christ means that the believer has genuinely died to sin and been raised to new life (Romans 6:3–5), why do believers still sin? How do you hold together the objective reality of death to sin with the ongoing experience of temptation and failure? What resources does Romans 6 itself offer for this tension?
Applicational
The pastor shared that sin-consciousness — being constantly focused on what you're trying not to do — can actually reinforce the very patterns you want to escape. How has this been true in your own experience? What would it look like practically to shift from sin-consciousness to gospel-consciousness in your daily life?
The sermon called the congregation to fight for unity, describing division as "strategic" rather than random. Where are you most tempted to let preferences, offenses, or misunderstandings create distance from other believers? What would it cost you — and what might it release — to pursue reconciliation there?
The pastor connected the gospel to community life: you cannot give forgiveness you have not received. How does a deeper grasp of Romans 6 (you have been forgiven completely, the past is gone) change your capacity to forgive others? Where do you need to apply this today?
Investigative
- Research the Jewish Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) and its connection to the giving of the Torah at Sinai. How does this background enrich your understanding of what God was doing on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2? What is the theological significance of the Spirit being given on the same feast that commemorated the Law?
10. Recommended Resources
Commentaries on Acts
Accessible:
- John Stott, The Message of Acts (The Bible Speaks Today series, IVP) — Warm, pastoral, and theologically rich without being technical. Excellent starting point.
Intermediate:
- Craig Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, 4 vols. (Baker Academic) — Encyclopedic historical and cultural background. Keener's one-volume IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament is a more accessible entry point.
Advanced:
- F.F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (NICNT, Eerdmans) — A classic scholarly commentary combining exegetical rigor with theological insight.
Commentaries on Romans
Accessible:
- Timothy Keller, Romans 1–7 For You (The Good Book Company) — Accessible, gospel-centered, and practically oriented. Ideal for personal study or small groups.
Intermediate:
- Thomas Schreiner, Romans (BECNT, Baker Academic) — Thorough, evangelical, and accessible to motivated lay readers willing to engage theological depth.
Advanced:
- Douglas Moo, The Letter to the Romans (NICNT, Eerdmans, 2nd ed.) — The gold standard evangelical commentary on Romans. Moo's treatment of Romans 6 is especially thorough.
Biblical Theology and Background
Accessible:
- Gordon Fee, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God (Hendrickson) — A readable and profound exploration of Pauline pneumatology by one of the foremost New Testament scholars of the twentieth century.
Intermediate:
- Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Contours of Christian Theology, IVP) — A comprehensive, accessible treatment of the Spirit's person and work across the whole Bible.
Online Resources
- Blue Letter Bible (blueletterbible.org) — Free access to Greek/Hebrew lexicons (Strong's, Thayer's, BDAG), interlinear texts, and multiple translations. Excellent for the word studies in this guide.
- Bible Gateway (biblegateway.com) — Side-by-side translation comparisons and access to many study Bible notes.
- The Gospel Coalition (thegospelcoalition.org) — Searchable library of theologically rigorous articles on Acts, Romans, Pentecost, and baptism.
This study guide is designed to be a companion to the sermon, not a replacement for it. The goal is that the truths proclaimed on Sunday take root at greater depth through the week — not merely informing the mind but forming the person. As the pastor reminded us: we have to believe this. And believing it changes everything.