New Beginning

The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 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. 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. 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; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:1-5

Continuing with Luke, who wrote the gospel that bears his name, we now move into his narrative of the beginning of the Church. The Church was not known to Old Testament believers. It did not yet exist and there were no specific prophesies of it in the Age of Israel. It was a mystery, known only to God. Luke's "first account," addressed to his friend Theophilus was the book known as Luke's Gospel. Here he continues to give Theophilus the facts as he knows them, having observed the birth and early work of the Church. Luke was the companion and personal physician of the man we know as the Apostle Paul. Acts is the New Testament's only book of history. It records the transition between the Age of Israel and Jesus' new creation: His Church.

Jesus stayed close to His disciples "whom He had chosen" for about six weeks after His death and resurrection, showing Himself to be real and teaching them about His kingdom. V.3: "speaking"- Greek word lego. It means to lay forth a systematic discourse. "things"- Greek word logos. Treatise concerning doctrine. Divine Expression. These were not just spooky pop-up appearances, but lengthy visits and lectures regarding the important things His Apostles to the Church would need to know as this momentous event occurred. They would need to have solid doctrinal training to prepare for the rigors of evangelism and the certain persecution they were going to face. I praise God for His written Word, and for the dedicated scholars who have made it their life's work to translate the books and record the references that enable us to understand exactly what is communicated therein. Works such as Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. That is a wonderfully handy, basic tool for learning what the original language is telling us.

His command: stay together at Jerusalem and wait for the promised power from on high. It is coming. I told you about it. You were baptized in water by John, but the Holy Spirit will baptize you in Himself. It will happen soon. Baptize: identify by immersion. As the warrior's sword, dipped in blood, identified that instrument with battle, our baptism in the Holy Spirit identifies us with Jesus and makes us His Church. Church: ecclesia. body of called-out ones. There was no way these believers could have anticipated what that experience would be like, or how it would change their being. They loved and believed Jesus, however, and if He promised them this, it had to be a good thing; and yes, they would wait.

Jesus came to atone for the sins of the world. He came first to His people, the Jews, to introduce this perfect plan of grace. These few gathered with Him at Jerusalem were the only ones who believed and belonged to Him at the time of His resurrection and ascension, but that was about to change. These few Jews, and those to whom they would preach, would soon evangelize the entire known world. Jesus had to go back to His home in glory in order to send the "helper" Who would energize His spiritual body, the Church, to continue His work in the world. "...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24