1. Acts 11:15 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

How did the Holy Spirit come upon the Gentiles?

Acts 11:15 (ESV)

15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.

Peter says that the coming of the Spirit upon Cornelius and his household was the same as the coming of the Spirit upon the apostles at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4).1 This implies that tongues of fire were also seen (see Acts 2:3). Peter was able to visibly confirm that the Spirit had come upon the Gentiles.