The Universal Church

Intro

Last week, we began to explore some of the Biblical truths about church

And we really jumped right in to the middle of the topic,

We started with “When sin entered the Church”

What I want to do today is back track a bit,

and focus on what is church.

There are really two aspects of church that we are going to focus on over the next two weeks.

The first is the local church

In the Bible, the most common use of the word church is used for a group of believers that identified in a local congregation.

There were no special buildings,

they met in their homes

They came for instruction, to worship, to fellowship, and for ministry

this is the local church, when a group of believers gather together in a specific place.

We will be diving deeper in to the local church next week,

This week I want to explain the universal church.

The universal church consists of everyone, everywhere, who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ

The Universal church, is described in 1 Cor. 12:13

1 Corinthians 12:13 (KJV 1900)

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

So whether someone is a believer at Langston, or they are a believer at a church in Africa they are a part of the universal church.

They are a part of the Bride of Christ.

To understand this concept of church, We have to start where the Church started in Act’s chapter 2

So if you will turn in your bibles to Acts 2.

Opening Remarks

As you are finding your place in the Bible, I want to you to understand why we revere God’s Holy Word.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” –A. W. Tozer

Man’s understanding of God, shapes everything about him

How you view God affects your relationship with your spouse,

It affects your relationship with your kids,

It affects every action that you do

In order for man to have the proper mindset about God,

He has to know what God has revealed about himself.

In order to have the proper view of God,

We have to have the proper tool to understand him.

If I want to study the star’s I look through a telescope.

If I want to study microorganism’s I look through a microscope.

I cannot look at stars through a microscope,

And I cannot look at microorganisms through a telescope.

I have to have the proper lens to study each.

And the proper lens in which we view the Bible

Is this verse.

2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV 1900)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The word for inspired here in the Greek is theopneustos

This means “God Breathed”, all scripture is God breathed.

That means that if all scripture is God Breathed,

that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, word of God.

And since the Bible is the inspired word of God,

We must spend time in it,

in order to understand what God has revealed to us.

Numbers 23:19 (KJV 1900)

God is not a man, that he should lie;

That means that God cannot lie and what he says in this book is truth!

And we must be stewards of God’s Word

And That is also why we revere God’s Holy Word,

And on that note I would like to ask you to stand in reverence as we read

Acts 2:1–4 (KJV 1900)

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

What is found, in the 47 verses of chapter 2 in Acts, is one of the greatest miracles in the NT.

Why does this event mark the start of the church?

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the clear marker that the church began at this point.

Now there is a little bit of misunderstanding about what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is.

A very clear definition of the Baptisim of the Holy Spirit is

defined as that work that the Spirit of God does when He places the believer into Union with Christ.

The believer is now a part of the body of Christ.

The prophets spoke about this, John the baptist spoke of this, and Jesus spoke of this prior to the Spirit coming here in Acts 2.

Back in Acts 1:5 Jesus says, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

If you remember last week, we talked about the structure of Luke and of Acts

Luke starts the book of Acts off by saying this.

Acts 1:1–2 (ESV)

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

We see in the opening of Acts, that Luke said in the Gospel of Luke you see all That Jesus began to do and teach,

But here in the Book of Acts you will see the Holy Spirit coming and indwelling in believers.

Continuing the ministry that Christ began.

So the inaugural event, where believers are placed into the Body of Christ is what happens here on the Day of Pentecost.

Paul explaines that this baptism places people in the body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:13 (KJV 1900)

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,

Paul emphasizes to us that the Church is the Body of Christ

So, the first verse here in Acts 2 tells us they were all with one accord in one place.”

The Disciples were all gathered together, waiting on the promised Holy Spirit.

OT imagery

Now look back at verse 2 and 3

Acts 2:2–3 (KJV 1900)

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

In verse 2 and 3

Luke references two things that links this event back to some things from the OT.

There are overarching themes that run through the entire Bible.

Some from Genesis to Revelation.

Luke alludes to two of these themes here in this text.

Of both wind and fire

And I want you to see these this morning.

Ruakh

In order to do this we have to start on page 1 of our Bible

In the Hebrew language, the words are very pregnant with meaning

The meaning of a single word has more depth often times than it does in the English Language.

In the OT the word Ruakh can refer to a number of different things

It can refer to breath, spirit, and wind

but what they have in common is energy

So when we see the sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind in Acts 2,

this word Ruakh comes to mind

If we think about the wind,

there is this invisible force that makes the clouds move or the trees sway

The energy that does this in the Hebrew is Ruakh

Now I want everyone in here to take a big breath

Do you feel that?

·That energy, the vitality that is in you that too is Ruakh

The same word is used in the Bible to describe the Spirit of God Ruach Elohim

In Genesis 1:2 The earth is Tohu Vavohu

without form and void, it was dark

But above this void, formless, and dark place, hovered the Spirit of God

Ready to bring about life and order out of this formless and dark place.

The spirit is the way that the Biblical authors talk about God’s personal presence.

And we see the Spirit of God in Gen 1 creating

It is bringing order out of nothing

Not only does it create life but it sustains life

Our Breath is what keeps us alive and so God’s spirit sustains all of life.

If you remember when God created Adam, he breathed into him the Breath of Life in Gen 2

God is the sustainer of Life

Throughout the Bible we see God’s Ruakh, his spirit empowering people for specific tasks

We first see this with Joseph

God’s spirit enabled him to understand and interpret pharaoh’s dreams.

Then we see God’s spirit enable this guy named Betzalel

Betzalel was the artist who built the ark of the covenant.

He is given creative artistic ability by God to create beautiful things in the tabernacle.

Then God’s Spirit enables an entire group of people called prophets

The prophet’s were God’s mouthpiece

speaking the very words of God to his people.

If you follow the prophet’s message,

It’s that God’s Ruakh had created this beautiful world full of life,

In creation God brought order out of nothing

But through Adam, Sin has entered the world

This beautiful world that God had brought to order, now had a new characteristic.

Chaos and disorder had been introduced into God’s good World through sin.

But the prophets prophesied, they foretold

Of time that the Spirit of God would come,

And once again bring about order Just as he did in Gen 1,

And how the Spirit would do this

Is he would come and bring order to the human heart.

The spirit would empower people to truly love God and love others.

When Jesus comes on to the scene centuries later

There is an incredible scene at the beginning of his ministry where he is baptized by John the baptist.

And the heavens open up and God’s spirit rest on him like a bird.

·Watch this now

What we see here is God’s spirit is empowering Jesus

to begin this new creation that the prophets were talking about

When we see Jesus healing people and forgiving their sins

Jesus is creating life where there once was death.

After Jesus Christ was crucified,

The disciples explain that it was God’s energizing spirit that raised him from the dead.

this is what we see here when we get to Acts 2.

We see the receiving of God’s Spirit.

In the receiving of the Holy Spirit,

We see a continuation of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

The Holy spirit is given to enable and equip God’s saints

To point people to Jesus Christ

Paul connects a dot for us when he says

Romans 8:11 (ESV)

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Let me Say this another way

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is in believers today.

Do you understand that church?

The same power that rose Jesus Christ is In Us Who are Believers.

This is what the universal church is.

There is a direct connection between the receiving of the Holy Spirt,

Being Placed into the Body of Christ,

And continuing the ministry of Jesus Christ.

If you are a part of the Body of Christ,

The Goal is to evangelize,

And not only witness, but to make disciples.

That is the great commission.

There is an aspect of witnessing

but also there is an aspect of growing

in your faith and helping others grow and become more Christ-like.

The story of the bible ends in Revelation

with a future vision of a new humanity

Living in a new world where God’s love abounds

Where all that sin had brought to death,

Has been restored.

with every breath we take,

we remind ourselves God gives us life.

His breath has filled our lungs.

It is God and only God who sustains our life

The Spirit of God empowers us and drives us to live for God in everything we do.

With every breath we take, we serve our God who fills us with the breath of life.

When we see this imagery being used here this is what we are to be reminded of.

Fire (God’s Presence)

Now I want you to notice how fire throughout the Bible is associated with God’s presence.

Acts 2:3 (KJV 1900)

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Here we see these tongues like as of fire

All Through the Bible fire symbolically represents God’s presence.

Remember when God appeared to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3.

Do you remember when Pharoah let God’s people go,

God led the people by A pillar of fire by night to lead the way in Exodus 13

Then in Exodus 24,

When Moses goes atop Mt. Sinai to receive the ten commandments

Exodus 24:13 “... the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain

In the NT in Hebrews 12:29 it says For our God is a consuming Fire.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus is identified by fire too

In both Revelation 1:14 as well as 19:12

Christ is identified with as having eyes like a flame of fire.

With the imagery that Luke uses here,

We see the tongues that were like fire indicate the coming of God’s presence with his people.

From the beginning God has always desired to be with his people

Adam and Eve had a very intimate relationship with God in the beginning.

Genesis 3:8 indicates to us

that they had a relationship where they would walk with God in the cool of the day in the garden.

This is a very personal relationship that they had with God.

But after sin entered this world It damaged man’s relationship with God.

God is a Holy and just God.

He cannot look upon sin.

Habakkuk 1:13 “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, And canst not look on iniquity:

That is why in Exodus 33 God tells Moses that no man can see my face and live.

But God, from the beginning had a plan to restore this relationship with His people.

So we see Man’s relationship with God, severed because of Sin.

But we begin to see in the OT, God’s plan to restore his presence with his people.

We see God’s presence in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and then the Temple

But when the OT ends, we are kind of left hanging

Because his presence has not fully been restored with his people

Then Jesus comes on to the scene

In John 1:14 it tells us that the Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us.

Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt, or in the Greek tented/tabernacled amongst us.

Jesus is God in the flesh, who came and dwelt with his people

In Joel chapter 2-3,

Joel prophecies that There will be a physical presence of the Lord among those who are His.

This is what we see with the Spirit being poured out here at Pentecost.

When the Holy spirit came at Pentecost, believers were baptized into the body of Christ.

Now God’s presence is with his people.

Acts 2 Summary

As we read Acts 2, we begin to understand that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is clearly connected to salvation.

Acts 2:38 (KJV 1900)

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

There is a direct correlation between salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a mark of our inheritance

Ephesians 1:14 (ESV)

who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

When we come to saving faith, and repent the Holy Spirit comes.

We become the temple of God’s Spirit

The very place where the Spirit of God resides

Paul says

If we are the temple,

God’s desire is for that temple to be HOLY

The word holy means to be set apart.

We are to be holy in our character, in our conduct, in everything that we do

The church is to be reflection of the holiness of God.

And as Langston is focusing forward

this is the focus

To be a reflection of the holiness of God.

· Peter states

1 Peter 1:14–16 (KJV 1900)

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

In Closing

For Langston to reflect the holiness of God

We have to start with the understanding,

That each one of us is the temple of God.

And As the temple of God,

I want you to spend time during this invitation

Reflecting on God’s command to be holy as I am holy.

What Does that look like?

It is holiness, that penetrates down to every aspect of our personality.

Every thought, every action that we do is to reflect Christ

· Paul says in

1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

He disciplines his body, to keep it under control, in the pursuit of holiness

Paul also adds in 2 Corinthians he takes every though Captive in order to make it obedient to Christ.

To be holy, is a challenge

It is against the grain of the world.

For us to be Holy it requires self discipline.

It requires us to be intentional

It requires saturating yourself with the word of God,

Meditating on it day and night,

Fellowship with God through prayer and worship

And knowing what his will for your life is.

As we enter this time of worship,

I want to invite everyone to spend time

praying for our pursuit of Holiness.

Salvation

·We walked through the birth of the church today.

We saw that it’s the Holy Spirit that baptizes us in to the Body of Christ.

As Christians we realize that the Holy Spirit is the Mark of our Inheritance.

The Seal of a King that signifies that we are adopted into his family.

If you realized today, that you are not a part of the Body of Christ.

That you have never truly experienced the baptism of the Spirt.

Never truly come to Saving faith.

The time is now.

I pray that you will come to this alter.

Accept Jesus Christ as your savior

and experience God’s presence in you.