While Jesus is the center of the Bible, the focus of the Bible, Acts 2 and the establishment of the community of Christ, or the “church” of Christ, is, in the words of James D. Bales, the “hub of the Bible.”
Relative to the new covenant we have studied, two important promises were given: the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Those two promises intersect in Acts 2, specifically in immersion in water. “For the forgiveness of sins” is the intended purpose of immersion and the “gift of the Holy Spirit” is promised reward for that act of faithful obedience.
In Acts 11, Peter reflects on his time, experience, and sermon to Cornelius and his household, the first non-Jews to obey the Gospel and receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In verse 15, Peter calls Pentecost the “beginning.”
Not only was Pentecost the beginning of the offering of full and complete forgiveness of sins and the giving of the Holy Spirit, but it was also the beginning of declaring Jesus as the Messiah, the Anointed One of God (Acts 2:36). It was the beginning of the apostles and early Christians testifying to others about Jesus’ resurrection. They had been eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ; we should not downplay the importance of the appearances Jesus made. But in Acts 2, the disciples begin sharing that testimony with others, that they might believe and be saved. They could not talk about Christ’s Messiahship before the resurrection (Mark 8:29-30; 9:9). But, now they can.
The apostle “called out of due time” said this, quoting Psalm 116:10: “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13). That sentiment describes all the apostles: they believed; therefore, they spoke.
If we are not speaking up for the resurrected Christ, is it because we really don’t believe?
Chiropractors work within the body’s cialis wholesale natural healing process. Before you take this drug, check out if you have impotence issue, you can potentially misuse a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor and enhance cheap viagra 100mg cardiovascular risks in several cases. The so called buying cialis in australia for woman is replicated from the licensed and legally sold cialis which was originally developed to treat patients suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension. Common Herbal Tea Benefits Dandelion : It can be prepared from scratch buy cheap cialis thought about this from the plants leaves, flower, root or combination of all of them.
Because the Messiah had died and risen and forgiveness of sins was made available and offered to mankind, the church could now be established. Acts 2 is the birthday of the church of Christ. Acts 2 is the beginning of the gathering of an assembly, a community, an ekklesia, a “church.” We have an assembly of disciples, and the word God drew from the language of mankind for that assembly is ekklesia, usually translated “church.” The English word “church” actually comes from the German word kirche which means “building.” Obviously, the church is not the building; it’s the people who assembly inside the building.
But, not only is Pentecost the beginning of the church, it is also the beginning of the end. Time started winding down when Jesus rose from the dead. In other words, we are living in the last days. Peter makes this clear when, in Acts 2:17, prior to quoting Joel 2, he quotes Isaiah 2 (Micah 4:1). These are the “last days,” Peter says.
Once the church age is completed, the earth will be destroyed and eternity will begin. The NT writers understand this phrase to refer to the church age and that the church is, therefore, the final community of Christ/God and the community of the “end times.” There will not be another community.
The church of Christ is God’s community of the last days. We have been brought together by the Holy Spirit by obeying His word and washed through His commands by the blood of Christ. We have received forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Spirit so that we have the downpayment of the inheritance God has planned for us. The one thing we need to do now is to persevere and stay faithful.
–Paul Holland
