Episode 4 Church age

Hook 200-300

- Do you remember when you were in school, and it was the time of year when yearbooks were passed out? What was the first thing everyone looked for? - Most people flipped through the yearbook counting how many times they were in the yearbook. Now that we are at the Church, we get to understand the part of this grand metanarrative that we get to play an active role in.

Orientation 150-200

-Episode one: God brings creation about and orders it in a way that will bring about flourishing. Humanity is to rule over creation as his representative, filling the earth with his image. However, sin enters into the world because of the failure of Adam and Eve. At every turn, humanity is in total rebellion against God. However, there is a remnant that trusts God. -It is from this remnant that Abraham comes, and episode 2 starts with Abraham receiving a promise to receive the land of Canaan, to become a great nation, and this nation will be a blessing to all the other nations. After the exodus, the people of Israel receive the Law and the priestly order. However, because of their sin, they are unable to become a kingdom of priests and a Holy nation. They take the land but not all the land that was promised because of their unwillingness. At the people's desire, they receive a king and the Davidic covenant. The people are still unable to display God’s kingdom because of their hard hearts. So they are carried into exile. However, just as before, God preserves a remnant who trust God. The remnant can return to the land, awaiting the messianic king. -Episode 3 picks up with the birth of Jesus Christ, who is Immanuel, the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. Jesus taught to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Calling all of Israel to turn to Jesus as king, however, the crowds turn against Jesus and the religious leaders outright reject him. This culminates with the crucifixion of Jesus, so through their rejection and by the hands of Jews and Gentiles, Christ's life is given to make atonement for the sins of humanity. But the story doesn’t end there because Christ is Immanuel; he does not stay dead.

Body 1300-1750

Act 1:2-8

-this is where we find ourselves today in this Story/grand metanarrative that defines and unites us. Turn with me to Act 1 starting in verse 2 Acts 1:2–8 “2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.””

-Side note here: this is one of those passages where the Trinity is displayed. We have the interaction between Jesus and the Holy Spirit in verse 2. The promises of the Father in verse 4. Baptized with the Holy Spirit in verse 5. Confession of Jesus as lord who will restore the Kingdom to Israel, in verse 6. Verse 7: only the authority of the Father. Finally, verse 8, they will receive power from the Holy Spirit.

-Back on track to the story, Christ is risen from the grave and spent 40 days with them; by the way, he is still teaching about the Kingdom of God. However, this kingdom is still not what they think it is. They ask whether Jesus is restoring the Kingdom “to” Israel, where the topic at hand is the Kingdom “of” God. Christ does not reject their assumption, but he is talking about something different, something new that is going to be marked by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This new thing will start in Jerusalem and Spread outward to the ends of the earth.

-Jesus ascends into heaven; the Apostles return to Jerusalem, continually devoting themselves to prayer. What were they praying for? (Pause) the Holy Spirit.

Day of Pentecost: the Church

-It is the day of Pentecost, also known as the day of the Fiftieth because it is fifty days after passover, or the Feast of the Harvest. Chapter 2 of Acts opens with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it is described as a violent rushing wind and tongues as of fire. Finally, as they are all filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in tongues. This description of the scene is meant to call you back to when God put Moses in the cleft of the rock at Mount Sinai and passed by with his back to Moses. And again, Elijah has a similar experience at his lowest point and encounters God. The Holy Spirit has arrived in a new way on the day of Pentecost, marking the beginning of the Church. Before we can move forward, we need to back up and understand some things.

Mystery of the Church

-First is the mystery of the Church. The description of the Church as a mystery may be new to many of you. However, this is because the coming of the Church is never mentioned in the Old Testament, and in the Gospel Jesus makes only a few references to the coming of the Church.

-If you're a scholar of the Old Testament and are familiar with passages such as Zechariah 8:22–23 “22 ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.’ 23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ””

But as you read Zechariah, it's clear that the Gentiles hold an inferior place to Israel. However, this observation does not line up with Jesus’ teaching and the epistles. Paul in Roman and Ephesians taught that a mystery previously unknown has been revealed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the workings of the Holy Spirit. The mystery is that Gentiles and jews were separate, but now, by the blood of Christ, we believing Gentiles have been united into the commonwealth of Israel and the covenants of promise.

-Jesus’ parables about the olive tree and the laborers also taught this principle. The contract laborers representing Jews and the day workers representing Gentiles are paid equally.

-I do want to reconcile promises like Zechariah, which are found in other prophets that follow gentile inferior status before moving on. There are Day of the Lord promises, aka end times, that all of the Jewish people will repent and receive Jesus as the Lord. A part of these end times is Gentiles who also submit to Israel and Jesus as Lord. This will take place after the closing of the Church age.

Tongues

-I have to preface that I have talked about tongues more in the last month than I ever have, to the point that some of you may think I’m a closet Charismatic. I promise you I am not.

-Tongues here can also be translated as languages. And if you read the passage, the context makes it quite obvious that it's referring to the 'apostles' ability to speak languages they shouldn’t know. The speaking in tongues also foreshadows the rest of Acts. Because as Acts unfolds, the Church is completely Jewish to start with.

-We saw in Acts 1:8 that they will testify of Christ progressively from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. However, as they spread out, the Church will become progressively more Gentile than Jewish. Therefore, the many different languages represent this progression.

-For example, Gentile conversion at the home of Cornelius. Before Peter meets the messenger from Cornelius, he has a vision of unclean animals descending, and He is told to eat. But Peter is like, “By no means, Lord; I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean. Now the messengers show up, and Peter goes to Cornelius’s home and proclaims that God is not showing partiality and preaches the Gospel to Cornelius’s household. While in the middle of preaching, the Gentiles are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak with tongues, exalting. Demonstrating for sure that Gentiles are a part of the Church.

-The third time tongues are mentioned in Acts is in chapter 19. twelve jews representing a remnant of Israel believe and speak in tongues.

Day of Pentecost conclusion

-Let's see if I can pull all these threads back together for our story. Day of Pentecost: Apostles and the 120 with them begin speaking in tongues. The crowd present is made of Jews and proselytes; some are amazed, others scoffed and mocked them. So Peter gives a sermon, and in summary it is this. Jesus was here and came as King, but you rejected him as God’s anointed one; therefore you had him crucified. Yet he could not stay dead, and he is now risen and reigning at the right hand of the Father until the day of the Lord comes. Peter closes with verse 36. Acts 2:36 “36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.””

-The Church starts as another opportunity for the people of Israel to turn to God; many repent, are baptized in the name of Jesus, are forgiven, and receive the Holy Spirit. However, many more still reject. Therefore, the Church stands as a witness to Christ and the nation of Israel’s rejection of Christ, and the gift of tongues is evidence of God’s judgment

-The day of Pentecost seems like a failure because the nation of Israel does not completely repent. Still, this failure is only Apparent because now the Church is going out to all the nations, making the blessings of the Kingdom of God available to all who will receive Christ as Lord.

Growth of the Church

-After the Day of Pentecost, the Church is still focused on Jerusalem and is only Jewish converts. However, due to the growth and diversity of Jews from the diaspora, the Church begins to have growing pains, which is a good problem to have. So Stephen is one of the men selected to become deacons.

-It is the trial and stoning of Stephen that causes the church to begin to disperse; however, the apostles stay behind in Jerusalem.

-With the dispersion of the Church, we meet the evangelist Philip who shares the gospel with the Samaritans. This is a real jump because they were the hated half-breeds to the Jews. However, the Samaritans repent, confess Jesus as lord, and are baptized. But there is a plot twist: this is the one time where people repent and believe, but the Holy Spirit does not show up. Until the Apostles come and lay hands on the Samaritans, then the Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit. Which I still hold is about the Apostles accepting the nation. I hold this based on the question they ask Jesus in Acts Chapter one about the kingdom returning to Israel and the vision Peter has before meating Cornileus.

-After this, Philip witnesses to the Ethiopian Eunuch along the roadway. The Eunuch receives Jesus as Lord and is baptized. The Eunuch is a Gentile, but based on the context, he was most likely a proselyte. So, as we move from being more Gentile and less Jewish, we are still not there yet, but moving in that direction.

-Now the story takes a bit of an interlude to introduce us to the development of Saul, who was a part of fueling the persecution of the Church. So, we get the miraculous conversion of Saul.

-Then we get the illustration of Peter and Cornelius, not to repeat too much here, but the point being that this marks the inclusion of Gentiles into the Church, and the apostles' acceptance. Acts 11:17-18 phrases it best (insert Acts 11:17–18 “17 “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.””

-Next we hear about the Multi-ethnic Church in Antioch made of Jews and Gentiles worshiping together. The Church in Jerusalem hears of what was happening in Antioch and sends Barnabas, who brings along Saul to help him teach the new disciples in Antioch, now called Christians.

-Even with the expansion and growth of the Church, they still face natural trials like famine, which they respond to by pulling together to meet the needs of fellow Christians. They also face persecution not only from Jews but also from Gentiles, most notably the Death of the first apostle James, the brother of John, at the hands of King Herod.

-Barnabas and Saul, who will now be called Paul, set out on their first missionary journey. What is most important here is the pattern they follow when entering a new region or city. Paul first starts with the synagogue and Jews. The majority of Jews reject the gospel, so Paul then turns to presenting the Gospel to the Gentiles. Even the apostle to the Gentiles still starts with the Jews; this pattern is true for all of Paul's journeys.

Jerusalem Council

-Now Paul and Barnabas return from their first missionary journey and report on all the things that happened. But there is a problem: a conflict within the Church. The big question is: do Gentiles have to become Jews before they can become Christians?

-The response is given in Acts 15:19–20 “19 “Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.” (insert)

-The answer is plainly no, and there are four things they find to be important they should stay away from.

Closing of Acts and the Church to Revelation

-From here the book of Acts follows Paul and his missionary journey to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is where we find ourselves in the story now. This is the part of the grand narrative that we get to be a part of to actively write. What is our mission? Matthew 28:18–20 “18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

-make disciples, baptize, teach the Lord's command, to the end of this age. When is the end of this age? Chapter 3 of Revelation, when Christ raptures his Church. The tribulation and judgment are to follow.

Application 150-250

Recap

Sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost marks the beginning of the Church.

The Church is first presented to the Jews, who reject

The Church transitions from being mostly Jews to mostly Gentiles.

The Church’s mission is to make disciples of Christ.

The Church will be preserved through all persecution until the rapture.

gospel presentations

-Acts is filled with so many gospel presentations. for example Peter, Paul, and Stephen all make gospel presentations, and they are each different because they personalize them to their audience. First, get to know your audience; there are many themes and threads that people can relate to in Scripture. Second, get to know Scripture. And third, these are key to put in: there is a God who created the universe who loves you and desires a relationship with you. However, there is a problem called sin, and because god is holy, sin cannot be in his presence. So God sent Christ to die on the cross for our sins. All you must do is repent and confess Jesus as Lord, and you shall be forgiven and united to God.