Author: jwm

Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14–41 is the first recorded message of the church following the earthly ministry of Christ. Peter not only explains the strange events that had drawn the crowd, but he preaches Christ.

The Spirit was promised by the prophets. The last days have begun. The people had heard the sound of the powerful wind. They had seen the tongues of fire on the heads of God’s people. They had heard disciples speaking in many different languages, which some attributed to drunkenness. Peter goes to the prophet Joel, and quotes the promised pouring out of the Spirit when the day of the Lord comes. Notice how Peter modifies “afterwards” to “in these last days.” Peter is making clear that the day of the Lord, the messianic time towards which the prophet pointed, had arrived. The point he is making for his first century hearers is important for us today. The last days have arrived. However long the period between the first and second comings of Christ, we do live in the last days.

Continue reading “The Exalted Receiver-Giver of the Spirit”

The disciples had been waiting — and now it happened! The Father’s gift, promised by the resurrected Savior is given, and the church is baptized with the Holy Spirit. See Acts 2:1–13.

The Spirit was active in the Old Testament. The Spirit worked in the lives of believers. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve there has been only one way of salvation — by trusting in the Messiah. Old Testament saints looked forward to his coming. We look back on his finished work. In both the Old and New Testaments, however, the only way that someone who was dead in sin could come to faith in the Messiah, was if the Spirit worked in his life. David was conscious of the Spirit’s presence in his life, Psalm 51. Adam became a living creature only when God breathed into him the breath of life. The Spirit/wind of God gave life to those in the valley of dry bones to whom Ezekiel preached. Never assume that he was absent from Old Testament believers.

Continue reading “The Gift of the Spirit”

How do you get ready for a new school year? In the first part of Acts 1, Luke has introduced his second volume, recorded Christ’s great commission to his apostles, and described Jesus’ ascension into heaven. In our text, Acts 1:12–26, he pictures the church preparing, in a 10 day period, for the event of Pentecost. Even though you cannot repeat the event, what can you learn from that time of preparation?

Pray! Ask God for what he has promised. Absolutely essential is prayer. Luke is describing the beginning of the church in its New Testament form. He lists the apostles by name, the men that Jesus had chosen (Luke 6:12–16) to be his disciples during his earthly ministry and then to be the pillars, the foundation pieces, of the church after his resurrection. They were part of the whole body, numbering about 120. Luke describes the larger body, including the women, because the office of believer is very important. Jesus’ brothers have now come to believe. This is the last mention in Scripture of Mary, the mother of Jesus. While we are not told specifically the exact content of the the praying described in Acts 1:14, look back at Acts 1:4 and 8. Almost certainly Luke wants you to understand that the church was praying for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. When God has promised something, you know it’s going to happen. But God still wants you to ask him for it. Look at Daniel 9, as the prophet prays for what he knows God will do.

Continue reading “One Apostolic Church”

Acts 1:6–11 sets the stage for the accounts given in the rest of the book by showing you the majesty of your ascended Lord.

The good news is that your Lord has ascended. Serve your great King. Acts 1 makes clear that the ascended Lord is still very much in charge of his church. This account also is the antidote to a practical ignoring of the kingship of Christ. Your daily life, lived between his ascension and his return, is lived in the presence of and subject to the King. The life of the church and the lives of members of the church, is the life of the kingdom. The disciples ask Jesus if he is going to restore the kingdom to Israel at this time. He responds to the when question with a what answer, helping them and us understand what the kingdom is about.

“The force of [Jesus’s] answer is this: As the apostles are concerned about the kingdom, their immediate concern is not to be its future but its present, specifically the present or, strictly speaking, impending task before them, the task of their worldwide witnessing. The apostles’ concern about the kingdom, Jesus is saying, should be the kingdom task of gospel preaching, and that means with the church as the result of this forthcoming manifestation of the kingdom. Further, to the end of realizing this, their kingdom task, the apostles will receive ‘power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’—surely with what will take place at Pentecost in view.”

(Richard B. Gaffin Jr., In the Fullness of Time: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of Acts and Paul, p. 91)

Continue reading “The Spirit’s Power to the Ends of the Earth”

The risen Lord, addressing his disciples in Acts 1:5, points them back to the work of John the Baptist, recorded in Luke 3:15–18. John speaks of an ax biting into an unfruitful tree until it topples. It ends up on the burn pile. But John and Jesus both have in mind, not only the baptism in the fire of judgment, but also the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Repent, because Christ baptizes with fire! Jesus is the One heralded by John. Listen to the herald. God’s word comes into a sin-cursed world. The historical setting of verses 1 and 2 show how the subject of Luke’s study fits into the contemporary historical scene. Luke uses historical markers. Tiberius rules the empire. Herod’s kingdom has been divided among petty rulers, and two men share the office of High Priest. The historical setting is also a commentary on the times. Sin has had its effect on the world. John prepares for Christ’s coming. The focus is on John–but as a herald, a fore-runner. His importance points to Christ’s greater glory. The desert location recalls the Exodus. The Lord is again bringing salvation to his people, and they travel into the wilderness to experience it. The Word of God came to John. He prophesied about the coming Messiah, his cousin Jesus, but that Jesus is far greater than John. “[T]he greater the significance attached to John’s mission, the greater the glory of the One whom he was sent to herald. And Luke… is occupied here with his task of publishing the gospel of Jesus Christ which came to public expression in history with John’s witness to, and baptism of, Jesus.” (Ned B. Stonehouse, The Witness of Luke to Christ, p. 61)

Continue reading “Baptized with the Holy Spirit and with Fire”