God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Apart from our union with Christ every effort to imitate Christ, no matter how noble and inspired at the outset, inevitably leads to legalism and spiritual defeat. But once you understand the doctrine of union with Christ, you see that God doesn’t ask us to attain to what we’re not. He only calls us to accomplish what already is. The pursuit of holiness is not a quixotic effort to do just what Jesus did. It’s the fight to live out the life that has already been made alive in Christ.
(Acts 2)
BY way of introduction, we will consider a few facts
of prophetic nature:
1. The word of the Lord was to go forth from Jeru-
salem (Isa. 2:3).
2. In the last days of the Jewish economy, He would
pour out of His Spirit upon all -flesh (Jew and Gentile)
(Joel 2:28, 29).
3. Jesus delegated unto Peter the authority to open
the door of the church and state the terms of pardon
under the new covenant (Matt. 16:18, 19).
4. In a conversation with His apostles after the res-
urrection, He promised to baptize the apostles in the
Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5).
5. They were to tarry in Jerusalem until this power
came upon them (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4).
6. The new message of salvation through Christ was
to be preached first at Jerusalem (Luke 24:45-49).
We find all of this fulfilled in the second chapter of
Acts. The occasion was the day of Pentecost. The
apostles were waiting in J erusalem. They were baptized
in the Holy Spirit. Filled with this power, Peter
preached the death, burial and resurrection of Christ,
as facts, for the first time in the history of the world.
These facts constitute the gospel (1 Cor. 15:3, 4).
Peter also stated the terms of pardon (Acts 2:38).
Three thousand heard and believed the message, re-
pented, and were baptized. Thus the church was estab-
lished.
Pentecost was the day of beginnings.
1. The beginning of the preaching of the gospel.
Peter preached the death, burial and resurrection of
Christ. These facts could not have been preached until
they had occurred. Hence this was the first time the
gospel was preached in fact.
2. The beginning of the rule of the Spirit. The
patriarchal dispensation was the age of the Father.
The Jewish, the age of the Son. The Christian, the
age of the Spirit. He came on Pentecost to abide with
us forever (John 14:16). He was the Author of the
Word (2 Tim. 3: 16). He abides with us to-day in the
Word. What is done by the Word is done by the
Spirit, and vice versa. The Spirit and the Word agree
in all things. A man who has not obeyed the Word
has not obeyed the Spirit.
3. The beginning of salvation through Christ. For
the first time sinners asked what they must do, were
told what to do to be saved, and did what they were
told to do (Acts 2:37-47).
4. The beginning of the Christian era. The old
institution was completed with the death of Christ
(Matt. 5: 17, 18; Col. 2: 14). However, it did not pass
away until the establishment of the new on the day of
Pentecost. When a law is passed, to go into effect the
first of July, the old law stays in force until that time.
God never left His people without a law.
5. The beginning of the church of Jesus Christ. It
was one body (Bph. 4:4). It was the body of Christ
(Eph. 1:22, 23). Jesus Christ was the creed (Acts 8:
37; 16:31). The rule of faith and practice was the
apostles' doctrine (Acts 2:42). The Head was Jesus
Christ; His will, the absolute law (Eph. 5: 23).
The mission of this body, or this church, is to evan-
gelize the world. No sectarian institution can meet this
demand. We must restore the original institution as it
existed on Pentecost, and was set up by the Spirit of
the living God.
