Acts - Clothed in Power (Part 2)
In February 2022, we taught through Acts chapters one to eight in the first instalment of our teaching series ‘Clothed in Power’. We saw in these chapters the necessity of the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the formation and mission of the early church. Ahead of his Ascension, Jesus told the disciples to wait: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (1:8). In Acts 2, we saw the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the continuing presence with them, and the empowering of them as they healed the sick (3:7), preached with boldness (4:8), were filled with the Holy Spirit multiple times (4:31), and performed many signs and wonders (5:12). They viewed being filled with the Spirit as such a necessity for Christian life and service, that when choosing the seven to serve the church as deacons, they made it one of their only two criteria (6:3).
In Stephen’s speech (Acts 7) he tells the story of the people of God from Abraham to Solomon – a people marked out by the presence of God among them. The remarkable development in the story is that now, following the Ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the presence of God is now among his people, the Church! The Church is born to be a people full of the Holy Spirit, a people sent to be his witnesses to the world around them, and a people marked by his presence among them. As we return to the second instalment of this teaching series, we’ll see the Church expand geographically, culturally, and ethnically, as believers scatter across the surrounding area following the increasing persecution in Jerusalem. As they travel to different areas, begin to share the gospel and plant churches, one question may be – will the presence and work of the Holy Spirit travel with them?
The answer is, of course, an emphatic yes! He’s with them in Samaria (8:17); with them on the way to Ethiopia (8:39); with them among the Gentiles (10:44). He’s with them for signs and wonders (8:6); for guidance (8:29 & 10:28); for comfort (9:31). He’s with them following the laying on of hands (8:17); following the preaching of the gospel (10:44); following true repentance and sincere belief (8:22 & 9:18). The Church remains a people full of the Holy Spirit, a people marked by his presence – and now the presence of God is on the move with his people!
The movement of his people brought about new opportunities for the gospel. It bore fruit among despised people groups (Samaria), among different nations and ethnicities (Ethiopia), and among the Gentiles (Cornelius). This blew the doors off the Jewish paradigm, which so often tilted towards religiosity and superiority, and introduced a new paradigm of reconciliation, inclusion, and advance. Just as Jesus foretold to the woman at the well (John 4) - the true worship of God was no longer geocentric or ethnocentric– but rather in Spirit and truth. Chapters eight through to twelve tell the story of how the Church went from being Jerusalem-based and Judeocentric to dispersed and reconciled. We have lots to be inspired by, lots to learn from, and lots to hunger for!
Dave Layen