What Now? (Week 2)

A Study in the Book of Acts (ESV)

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.

(ESV)

Acts 1:3–5 ESV

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:6–11 ESV

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But 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.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Verses 4 and 5 narrate an event occurring at one of the appearances of Jesus. Being assembled together with the disciples, He charged them not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the fulfillment of “the promise of the Father.”The commandment to “wait for” the promise often is lifted out of context and urged upon believers as a condition of receiving the fullness of the Spirit. This, however, reveals a misunderstanding of the passage. The stress is on the words “in Jerusalem.” The charge then does not concern spiritual preparation but geographical direction.The promise, which concerns the gift of the Holy Spirit, is described in three ways: First, it is “the promise of the Father” (cf. Luke 24:49; “the gift my Father promised”, NIV). The phrase suggests that there is something special about this promise. It was originally given in Joel 2:28ff. and was reiterated by both John the Baptist (cf. Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8, etc.) and by Jesus (cf. John 14:16, 26, etc.), but its ultimate source is in the Father. That is, it proceeds from Him. Second, it finds its realization in a baptism in (with) the Holy Spirit. References to being baptized in, with, or by the Spirit are found in the four accounts of John’s testimony to Jesus (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33); in the present passage; in Acts 11:16, where Peter simply quotes this statement of Jesus; and in 1 Corinthians 12:13, which affirms that all Christians are baptized in or by the Spirit. The imagery of baptism suggests, among other things, abundant supply. Third, the fulfillment of the promise is at hand: the disciples would be baptized in the Holy Spirit “not many days hence,” that is, within the next few days. The inference to be drawn is that the promise would find its fulfillment in the experience at Pentecost.

A Chinese farmer, after having cataracts removed from his eyes, made his way from the Christian compound to the far interior of China. Only a few days elapsed, however, before the missionary doctor looked out his bamboo window and noticed the formerly blind man holding the front end of a long rope. In a single file and holding to the rope behind him came several blind Chinese whom the farmer had told about his operation. They all knew the farmer had been blind, but now he could see. He told them of the doctor who had cured him; naturally, all these other blind people wanted to meet the doctor who cured the blind man.The cured man could not explain the physiology of the eye or the technique of the operation. He could tell others he had been blind, the doctor had operated on him, and now he could see. That was all the others needed to hear. They came to the doctor.So it is in our Christian lives. We need not all be trained theologians. We need not understand all the intricacies of God’s mysteries, nor be perfect examples of flawless Christian living. We can all tell everyone what Christ has done for us. We may not all be teachers. We may not all be like Mother Teresa. We can all be witnesses. That is the point of the Book of Acts, a written witness, a faithful telling of the work of God in the first days of Christianity and the church.Acts is not a devotional book like the Psalms, nor a teaching letter like the epistles. It reads similiar to some of the historical books of the Old Testament, and even more like the four Gospels which precede it. We call this kind of Bible writing “narrative” and recognize that we can learn the truth of God’s Word and principles of Christian living by seeing how God worked with people in the early church. These are our brothers and sisters who faced many of the same kind of issues and problems we have experienced or will yet experience.Acts 1 delves immediately into the theme of the book. We enjoy the splendor of the Lord’s ascension and immediately fall into the abyss of depression with this small and struggling group of believers who must deal with the “Judas issue” before they can get on with their work. Luke never avoids reality—he tells the story exactly as it happened.When we grasp the significance of new life in Christ and the internal power of his resurrection through the Holy Spirit, we can live out the words of a modern chorus, “Get all excited and tell everybody” that Jesus Christ the Son of God lives today in the lives of his people even as he did back in the days of the New Testament.

Now he would turn the reins of responsibility over to the apostles and other believers. Jesus’ life on earth was finished, but his work had only begun; the disciples now assumed the responsibility to carry on Jesus’ work. We should never forget the full title of our book—“Acts of the Apostles”—though many have suggested it could more properly be titled “The Continuing Acts of Jesus Christ through the Apostles.”Luke uses the phrase “kingdom of God” throughout Acts as a summary for God’s work in the world. We should not confuse it with references either in the Old Testament or in other New Testament books. Jesus’ teaching did not center on prophecy alone but on the ongoing role of the King on earth through his people.1:4–5. What would these disciples do after the Lord left them? The first command was to wait. They were not to engage in ministry until they had been empowered by the gift my Father promised. As we read words like this in the Bible, we’re reminded of the great history of the church that has preceded us and the resources he has provided to continue that heritage.Jesus taught the disciples, the disciples taught people of their generation, who taught others, until today you and I have both the opportunity and responsibility to enjoy the gift and to tell others about it. In this case the gift is not just the gospel in general, but the specific coming of the Holy Spirit. This was not a new theme. Jesus had talked about it in John 14:16–21; 15:26–27; 16:7–15.Believers are somewhat divided on the terminology “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” To argue that issue in detail here is beyond the scope of this work. Certainly Luke had in view that as the New Testament church got under way, Spirit baptism placed believers into that group of believers the New Testament calls the body of Christ.Throughout the Book of Acts we will see different reactions when people receive the Holy Spirit so we should not conclude that any one particular pattern is the only way God deals with us. The coming of the Holy Spirit took place ten days after Jesus’ ascension at which time the believers experienced the same power in which Jesus carried out his ministry. What a lesson for us … wait. Don’t rush off into ministry unprepared. Don’t carry on the Lord’s work in the strength of the flesh. The only way we can fulfill Christ’s command to witness is to be under control of the Holy Spirit who energizes us for service.