First Christian Church Convocation

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First Christian Church. Acts 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

To begin with, Luke is really writing volume two of the book of Luke the Gospel according to Luke (see Luke 1:1–4); and so Dr. Luke had to begin with the proper salutation and introduction.

The Book of Acts is also the account of the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the church. The Gospel of Luke records what Jesus “began both to do and teach” in His human body, and the Book of Acts tells us what Jesus continued to do and teach through His spiritual body, the church. If you want to know the formula to follow the book of acts is the raw data not the refined doctrine after the first ecumenical council that James held in Jerusalem. James ended up being the First superintendent of the Church Government, but Peter became the First Pope in Rome. And not get ahead of myself but I was in Seminary class and I asked why didn’t Jerusalem be the seat of power for Christianity. And why Rome? My professor from N.O.T.B.S said Brother Raymond they kicked the Christians out of Jerusalem. They wanted them dead for teaching and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And my attempt is to prove that, as well as the different directives presented to the disciples, the Ascension of Jesus back to Glory and the endowing Gift of the Holy Ghost that was imparted to the Apostles.

In verse 1 this is a semi formal greeting that usually accompany s and epistle of the NT. Luke says in Acts 1:1 To Theophilus.

The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus began to do and teach. In other words this is an extension of an end to the biography of Jesus. Also it’s an extension to the next set of directives that this newly founded Christian sect is forming into a religion that will later be called Christianity. The word Theophilus means Friend of God. Some scholars say it was a person, some say it was an institution, and some say it was a school of thought to say the least. I’ve discovered through research that Theophilus is a Greek Name. And so that means that Luke was appealing to a broader wider more international audience. And this is exactly what Jesus told them to do.

Turn to Matthew 28 17 when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. In verse 19 the first word is Go… Go is an action Verb. It means we’ve got to do some things. Go most of all means “DON’T STAY” Don’t stay stuck in a rut. Don’t stay stagnant and stail. Go means defy the odds and persevere into the greatness that God has for us. Go! Better yet YOU GO. Not so much they Go but individually You Go. You and I are on assignment. And we can’t get caught up in the forest for the trees. We have to be laser focused Why because Jesus said in Matthew 28:19 teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: This is a serious directive. And what Luke is simply doing is carrying over the directive. Because everybody has to be on one accord to get Kingdom Building assignments done. You can’t use the Phrase It’s Done if you’re not teaching the Gospel everywhere you can. You can’t use the phrase It’s done unless you’re Baptizing new converts into the Faith. And Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of The Son and of the Holy Ghost. The book of Acts excites me. Because I know that the origin of what I do starts here. Matthew Mark Luke and John are time stamped while Jesus was living. Because each book describes Jesus differently In Matthew Jesus is the King, In Mark Jesus is the Servant , in Luke Jesus is the Son of Man, In John Jesus is the Son of God, But in Acts Jesus s the Risen Savior. And so Luke greets Theophilus and says The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus began to do and teach.

Verse 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

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