Jesus Christ in His Church..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. So we are starting a new study, a new study in the book of Acts. That is the fifth book of our New Testament.

Now, our plan is to systematically, but not exhaustively, work through the whole book, which is, in fact, so rich in historical value, of course, but also, as we'll soon see, that it is very deeply theological in content as well. At a high view, the book describes the birth of the New Testament church on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. And it follows through the progress of the spirit-filled apostolic church as it grows into all corners of the earth, breaking the dividing walls of hostility between the true Jew and the Gentile, creating from the two peoples a single people, a single person united in Christ that is the church. the true Israel. The Book of Acts is the only account that we have that shows us how the early New Testament church was birthed, as I said earlier, Pentecost, and how it grew and its journeys throughout the first three decades of its existence.

Of course, we have some detail of the church's movements in the epistles. We can join the dots, but we can certainly not see the degree of clarity and specificity that we find here in the historical movements of the church in the Spirit-inspired book of Acts. But when we combine the book of Acts with the letter, say, of Paul in particular, we see a remarkable unity and a confirmation of the details in Acts, which should further support and ground our grounded confidence in the inerrancy and the infallibility of the word of God. Okay, so now let's start from the beginning, because it is our first study. So I need to give a bit of an intro of this book, give you a little bit of the basics of the book that we'll be studying over the several months ahead of us by God's grace.

But in saying that, we are going to be reasonably brief, as I still want us to dive into the first chapter and consider what is written there together also. Now, I'm assuming most of us, if not all of us, have read the Book of Acts before, maybe not all in the one setting, although that would be an exercise I would certainly highly recommend. But I'm assuming we all have a basic awareness or understand to some degree of the contents of the Book of Acts. So a lot of what I say in the background or the background knowledge of this book may actually be something that you already know or something you've studied before, but nonetheless, it should be a good reminder to us all. So Acts, as it's called, it's the Book of Acts, of course, and it's the Acts of the Apostles.

Because as the name suggests, it follows through the Acts of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. through their endeavors to proclaim the good news of the gospel of the resurrected savior. Having said that, although all the apostles are named in this book, in particular in the first chapter, as we'll come to see, its primary concern is tracking the course of the mission of the apostle Peter in the land of Palestine in the first 12 chapters. And then the narrative closely follows the apostle Paul, in his various missionary journeys throughout the Gentile world. Certainly we know from extra biblical sources that all the other apostles, they were all actively involved in partaking in the fulfilling of the great commission given to them by our Lord in differing parts throughout the known world then.

Probably James not so much because he was the first, that is James the brother of John, he was the first of the apostles to be martyred fairly early in chapter 12. We'll get to that. But Acts being a book that so expressly follows the Spirit's movement through Peter and Paul and through many of the ministers of the Gospel, it probably made it more fitting for us to actually think of the book as the book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Now unlike the Gospels, The title of this book is not suggestive of who the author is. Now, Matthew is authored by Matthew, Mark is authored by Mark, and then we know Luke is authored by Luke, or St.

John is authored by John. But then we get to the fifth book of the gospel, and the title is not descriptive of who the author is. But for the most part in the last 2,000 years, most conservative scholars and theologians were in agreement that the author is Luke. Luke. It's the same Luke that the Apostle Paul refers to as the beloved physician in Colossians chapter four, making him also the gospel writer, the gospel according to Luke.

He authored that book and he also authored this, the book of Acts, which makes him also the only Gentile New Testament author. Now Luke being the author of both the third gospel and Acts, It was largely undisputed for many centuries because of the striking similarities in the writing style in both of these books. But in the last two or three centuries, where biblical criticism became rampant among liberal scholars, skeptics have questioned Luke's authority, or authorship, my apologies. But then again, if we think about this, we'll know that they've cast a shadow practically on every book of the Bible, so I don't give their criticism much weight. Now the fact that Luke is not mentioned by name in Acts, when the other companions of the apostle Paul such as Timothy, and Silas, and Gaius, and Tychicus, and Aristarchus are, is yet another indicator, in my mind at least, of the Lukean authorship.

You see, his humility is something similar to the apostle John, who has avoided using his own name in the gospel that bears his name. You remember, he's referred to as the other disciple, or the disciple that Jesus loved. So here in Acts, this would also explain the many occurrences from chapter 16 onwards, when the narratives shift from the third person to the first person plural. Now we call these, or these narratives are called the we passages. And they're descriptive of when Luke's writing changes from him being a thorough inquirer, as we're told in the preface of the prologue in the gospel according to Luke.

He wasn't an eyewitness of the things of Christ and his ministry, but he inquired of these things and he did it very thoroughly. But it goes from him being a thorough inquirer of the events that taken place. In the wee passages, he becomes an actual eyewitness of these events, and we'll see that these start to take place from Acts chapter 16. Now, as far as the date that this book was composed, well, it's mostly agreed that it was somewhere in the early, mid-60s AD, about 62 AD is where I personally put it, because I think a good case can be made for a number of reasons for it to be at 62 AD, that's up around 32 years after the death of Christ. So beginning at the end, that is how the book ends, it concludes in chapter 28 with the Apostle Paul still subject to his first two year imprisonment in Rome.

which we know to have taken place or occurred between the year 60 and 62 AD. And that's where the Book of Acts ends. The fact couple, that fact coupled with the flavor of the narratives in this book, as we progress through the coming months, we'll see this. It's suggestive of a still vibrant Jewish culture or presence in Jerusalem. Adding to that, that there is no mention of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which took place in AD 70, which was a big event, and also no mention of the terrible persecution imposed by the Emperor Nero, who although was in power from 54 AD for some 13 or 14 years before he was killed.

You see, his persecution upon the Christians didn't really begin until the great fire of in 64 AD. Now rumors have it that the emperor was responsible for that fire. We don't know, but nonetheless, he blamed the Christians and the brutal persecution from the Romans against the Christians, which was horrific, began in 64 AD. But it's unmentioned by Luke in the book of Acts. All in all, because of these facts, I lean towards a date of authorship at approximately 62 AD, which as I said earlier, was about 30 or 32 years after the ascension of our Lord.

Luke is the author, and this book was written or authored around 30, 32 years after the ascension of our Lord. Now I was going to discuss the structure of the book and then discuss also with you the purpose and its themes. But at this point, I would rather get into the text of the first chapter for two reasons really. Firstly, chapter one actually reveals broadly the overarching structure of the book anyway. So once we go through chapter one, we'll answer that question.

The second purpose is this. Well, the second reason I should say is this, because the purpose and the themes in this book are quite complex and multifaceted, probably more than what people give credit for. See, this book is rich in historical value and deeply theological, too. Some have tried to narrow its purpose down to a single purpose, suggesting it to be simply an apologetic, for example, a defense of the Christian faith to prove to the Romans that Christians are peaceful, law-abiding citizens, that they weren't troublemakers as they thought. Now, it's not less than that, but so much more.

Simply because of the multiple themes that run through this book, I find it difficult to say it has a single purpose. As I said earlier, the book of Acts is incredibly rich and informative. Now just to name some of the themes that we'll come across and we'll confront over the coming months that are so clearly portrayed and taught in this book, themes like the sovereignty of God, We'll come across, this is the big one, the restoration of the kingdom of God. And we'll come across this even in the first chapter from the onset. Atonement for sins in Christ.

This is another big one. Salvation for both Jew and Gentile. Old Testament fulfillment in Christ. The ministry and the power of the Holy Spirit is another. foundational importance of prayer, church governance, church growth, the inevitable persecution upon God's people, demonic opposition, and the list goes on and on and on.

So narrowing it down can be quite difficult. But the overarching theme, beloved brothers and sisters, that I'd like for us to take away from this book, at the very least, is this, that when Jesus said, I will build my church. That's not the building, of course, but the people. Blood washed, sins forgiven, justified people. When Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

He meant it, beloved. It won't be smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination, as we'll come to see. It won't be without its obstacles and strong opposition, both by man and demonic opposition. It won't be without pain and it won't be without suffering, but he will ultimately build his church. Why?

Because he said he will. And he's faithful to do so. And beloved, as we course through this book, the book of Acts. And we see the church being formed, the New Testament church being formed in the next chapter on the day of Pentecost. And then we see how the church grows over the next 30 odd years.

We will know that there is nothing that could stand in the way of Jesus fulfilling the mandate that he gave, that he will build his church. So that's probably enough said about an intro to this book. Let's now get into the text itself. Let's open our Bibles together to Acts chapter one, Acts chapter one, and we'll be reading the whole chapter together. Acts chapter one, let's read from verse one.

In the first book of Theophilus, I 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. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 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, verse six.

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 the times or the seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth or 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 his sight. And while they were still, 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, 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying. Peter and John and James and Andrew, Peter, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers.

Those days Peter stood up among the brothers, the company of persons was about 120, and said, Brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in his ministry. Now this man acquired the field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open the middle, and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language, Akizdanma, that is, field of blood. 20, for he's written in the book of Psalms, may his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it, and let another take his office.

21. So one of the men who had accompanied us during all the time that the Lord went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us, one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection. And they put forward to Joseph called Bartholus, who was called Justice, Matthew 24. And they prayed and said, you Lord who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry, an apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go his own place. And they cast lots for them and the lot fell on Matthew and he was numbered with the 11 apostles.

Amen. This is indeed the word of the risen Lord. Now, as I said earlier, this will be a very quick high view of the chapter. We certainly cannot spend too much time here, or we can, but it will have to be spread over many weeks. But I'm going to give you a summary of the chapter this evening.

So Luke opens the first chapter addressing someone by the name of Theophilus. Yes, it is the same Theophilus as the Theophilus in the prologue of the gospel according to Luke. We know what the name means. It literally means love by God, Theogod. Theophilus is love, love by God.

We know most likely because of the Greek name and how Luke addresses him in the gospel that he's a Gentile of high rank. But that's all we know. That's it. The rest is going to be speculation. And brothers and sisters, there is a lot of speculation out there as to who this man possibly could be.

But we don't know beyond that. The Bible doesn't tell us. However, Luke in writing this second volume, volume one being the gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts is the second volume, I believe is at least partially for Theophilus to know the story of this Jesus doesn't end where the gospel ends. No, rather his story continues through the life of the church. Now, in the first five verses, there are several things that we need to see briefly.

First, Luke is emphasizing that Jesus is the resurrected Savior. Now, this is foundational. We spoke about the resurrection last week, and that should be clear and fresh in our mind. So, we spoke of Jesus being this resurrected Savior, the one who was buried, but the one who also rose from the dead. and that Jesus presented himself to a large number of people after his suffering, after his death, after his resurrection, over 40 days proving that he is indeed alive.

Actually, this is, as I said earlier, the only account that expresses how long Jesus remained on the earth before his ascension to the right hand of the Father. We don't have this information elsewhere. Now, in that time, we're told that Jesus spoke to his disciples about the kingdom of God. We have to remember that because it's a major theme throughout the book of Acts. Now, when he spoke to these disciples about the kingdom of God, there's no doubt in my mind, he would have explained to them once again the prophecies of the Old Testament that spoke of the kingdom of God and spoke of the messianic king and how that would be fulfilled in him.

Something I would think that he spoke to them about would be something similar to Luke 24, if you remember, on the road to Emmaus. I've referenced that passage over the last two Bible studies, where he was told, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. Probably something like that, I would think. Because it wasn't until after the resurrection that many of the things that Jesus had spoken to his disciples made sense to them. It didn't click until after the resurrection.

And now I believe Jesus is teaching his disciples in that 40 day period, how to interpret scripture Christologically. In other words, how to interpret the Old Testament scripture with Christ in mind, because Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of scripture. Jesus Christ is the King of whom the kingdom of God belongs. But the other thing I want us to see very early in this book is, in fact, it's in the very first verse of this book, and it's incredibly instrumental to the whole book and for us to understand it. is actually in the very first verse.

You see, sometimes, brothers and sisters, we look at the prefaces or if we're speaking about the epistles, maybe the greetings of one of the apostles, and we quickly read through the first few sentences thinking that we need to hurry into the body of the text. When in fact, beloved, every word In the inerrant, infallible Bible before us is God-breathed and is profitable for our souls. We ought to take the uttermost attention to every word, no matter how early it is in the text. And it's no different here. because I want you to listen to the first verse.

In the first verse, verse one, in the first book of 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 command through the Holy Spirit to the apostles who he has chosen. Now, Now we know that the first book Luke is referring to is the Gospel of Luke. And we know that the Gospel concludes, just as Luke states here, with the ascension of Christ. But look carefully at the interesting, inspired choice of words used in this verse. In the first book of Theophilus, I have dealt with all Jesus began to do and teach.

Hold on, Luke. The book was a historical account of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. That was the gospel that you wrote. Notably, the gospel that you wrote, Luke, will end with Jesus departing this earth, leaving his disciples and ascending to heaven to be at the right hand of the Father. But you say all that he has done till his ascension is only what he began to do and teach?

Yes. was from the very onset of this book of Acts. Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke is asserting Acts is a sequel. It's a continuation. It's a continuation of the work of the resurrected Savior.

Yes, he has physically, our Lord, has physically ascended, but his work continues. He's personally at work through His Spirit, through the empowerment of the ministry that is empowered by His Holy Spirit, the ministry of the apostles, as he mentions in verse 2. It's not inherently the apostles' work. No, it's the work of the risen Christ that continues by His Spirit. And we need to we need to take note of that.

Because everything we see being accomplished in this book, these 28 pages, 28 chapters in the book of Acts, this is the work of Jesus Christ continuing. He's at the right hand of the Father, but by his spirit, he continues to do and teach throughout the book. This is why we're told in verse four and five, 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. Now, you see, the disciples were not to depart Jerusalem, not to proceed with the work that Jesus had given them, not to proceed with the great commission. No, not unless they've received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father.

And the Holy Spirit that these disciples and indeed every believer in Christ will be baptized into is the Spirit Christ. Paul says in Galatians 4 verse 6, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. Beloved, We need to remember that God is one. You see, this is how Jesus will continue to work and teach the things he began to do before his ascension. This is how His work continues, how He will build the household of God, how He will build the church, how He will build the kingdom through His Holy Spirit.

And as the one who has the full measure of Spirit, as we're told in 1 Corinthians 15, He pours out His Spirit upon His apostles at the day of Pentecost, empowering them to do the work of the risen Savior. And beloved, these apostles, we know, will be foundational for that work. But they can only do that work when they are empowered by the Spirit to come. And when they are empowered by the Spirit, then they will go and speak the very words of Christ and do the very work of Christ. They are foundational for the church.

As Paul says in Ephesians 19, This is the foundation that he says, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the same household of God, but on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. Then after this section in the first chapter, we come to the critical verses in verses six through eight. Now, Brothers and sisters, I want to end in this section. I want to end with those verses because I do believe that these verses are paramount. They are of vital importance.

If we were to understand the whole thrust of the book of Acts, we need to understand verses six through eight. So we'll come back here in a few moments, but let me continue in the chapter to survey the rest of this chapter, and then we'll come back. And we'll finish off here. Now, walking through from verse 9 through 26. Firstly, the disciples witnessed the ascension of our Lord.

They see him ascend into the clouds where told and then two men dressed in white. These are these are angels that stand before the apostles, men of Galilee. Why do you stand looking into heaven, they say? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Now we're still looking intently into the sky when the angels confirm that Jesus will return.

Just like you saw him go up, he will come back in the same way. But he won't come back, beloved, until everything he said would happen does happen. including his words to a few of his disciples in Mark chapter 13, where he clearly states that the end will not come until the gospel is proclaimed to all the nations. In other words, the disciples who are there and witnessing the ascension of our Lord, although amazed and completely bewildered at this point, are now needing to gather themselves. They need to gather themselves, gird their loins, and make that 10-minute walk back from the Mount of Olivet to the West, into Jerusalem, and wait patiently there until the promised Holy Spirit is poured out upon them.

Because it's only then that they will be empowered to begin the mission that Jesus has sent them to do. And so they do. They make the journey back. And upon arriving back, they enter into the upper room, we're told, probably or very likely it is the same room that our Lord had the last supper with his disciples. And it's at this point in verse 13 that Luke names all the disciples one by one.

But there's only 11. There's only 11. Which opens up the next portion. of the first chapter, which lists the fate of the missing disciple, Judas. And it brings to the attention of the remaining 11 that a 12th apostle is needed to be chosen.

But before we go there, I want us to quickly turn our attention to what these disciples did as they patiently waited upon the Lord. Verse 14. they devoted themselves to prayer. For the sake of time, I'm not gonna elaborate too much on that, but it would suffice to say that to wait upon the Lord and wait for his timing is not to sit on your hands. No, these men and women gathered together in one accord and they devoted themselves to prayer.

Not once, but the term here connotes a continuing prayer. Now we know it's 10 days before the spirit pours upon them. I'm not saying they stayed in the upper room for 10 days. That's not what the text suggests, but they continued to pray together regularly. No doubt, no doubt they were praying essentially that the Lord will empower them to what is to come, that they would be emboldened to do the very things that Jesus has asked them to do.

It's a massive task that lies before them. And they learn from their savior. They learn from their master to pray as Jesus always did. Go up in the mountain to a desolate place. And what did he do?

He prayed. And this is a recurring theme in the book of Acts. I want us to keep our eye open as we course through this book over the coming months. I want you to see how many times before any major decisions, before big turning points that the disciples actually commit time to prayer and on many occasions, fasting. I want us to keep that in the back of our mind.

But then in verse 15, we're told Peter stands and brings to their attention the fact that Judas, was a betrayer in fulfillment of the prophecies in Scripture. And Luke, not Peter, we've got to recognize, Luke, not Peter, gives us the details of Judas's, well, of him purchasing the field of blood, which is appropriately named because it was purchased with the 30 pieces of silver that he betrayed the Lord with. It's blood money. Now, it seems like there is a discrepancy between the accounts we see or we've read of in Matthew, which we referred to, Matthew 28, which we referred to last week, and here in the book of Acts. You see, Matthew we're told that Judas returned the money to the priest, and after being riddled with guilt over the betrayal of Christ, and the priest didn't want the money, so he threw the money in the temple grounds, and then he goes and hangs himself.

That's what Matthew tells us in Matthew chapter 27. My apologies, I said 28 before I meant 27. But in Acts, we're told that Judas fell headlong and his body burst open in the field he purchased with that money. Which account, we ask, is correct? Which of these two accounts is correct?

Well, we don't have to choose. Both are indeed true. Brothers and sisters, the accounts can be quite easily harmonized as follows. Judas confronted the priests, his guilt and he threw the coins in the temple when they didn't want the money and he walked away. The priests wanting no association with the dirty money that was quite obvious with their reaction to Judas.

They went out and like they purchased a field in Judas's name with his money and they wanted no connection with the blood. The field was known as the field of blood because it was purchased well because of what happened to Judas but also because it was purchased with the Judas's blood money. albeit through the agency of the priests. Now, as far as the details of the death is concerned, the death of Judas, that is, Matthew states that Judas hung himself, and he did. If we assume that the priest purchased the field and Judas knew of it, he walked over to the field, still in despair, and hung himself.

The rope gives way, his corpse falls headlong to the ground and bursts open in the colorful description that we're given of the event here in the in the book of Acts. The accounts can be quite simply harmonized but the main point of both these authors, what they're trying to convey, I believe, is not so much how Judas killed himself but the fact that there is a divine retribution. there is a divine punishment. In this case, it is the result of Judas betraying the sinless Lamb of God. Those who oppose this Jesus, those who oppose this King, will suffer divine retribution.

Now, Judas, well, he was always the son of perdition. We remember that from John chapter 17. And he was the betrayer foretold in Scripture. in Scripture, it's fulfilled. So 12 and now down to 11, that's 12 disciples and now down to 11.

And if these disciples were to be the leaders in the restored kingdom of Israel, their number would need to be 12. But that is the complete number of tribes in Israel. And so we're given the criteria for these replacements. One, to be named among the apostles would, according to Peter's words in verse 21 and 22, We do have to be one who accompanied us during all the time that we, that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us. One of these men must be with us to witness his resurrection.

Two men were considered before them who met this criteria, Bartholomew, and Matthias, verse 24, and they prayed and said, you Lord who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in the ministry of the apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go his own place, 26. And they cast lots for them and the lot fell on Matthias and he was numbered with the 11 apostles. Just a side note, according to the criteria that we're given here of one to be an apostle, No one, no one in our day has the right to be an apostle. Because no one witnessed the baptism of Christ, the earthly ministry of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. This speaks volumes of those who claim to be modern day apostles of Jesus Christ.

Beloved, that is anti-biblical. But now back to the text. Notice again that in the times of decision-making, the response of these disciples, of these apostles, is once again prayer. They commit to prayer. Now they trust the sovereignty and the omniscience of the Lord.

And they believe that he has already chosen the 12th as he knows their hearts. That's what they say in here, in these verses. So casting lots is what they do. Now, casting lots was a way that decisions were often made in the Old Testament. This was a quite common thing that the Jews would do.

Now God never condemned this practice in the Old Testament. In fact, in our Lord's Day reading, our corporate reading in the Old Testament, we're going to very soon come across an event where the Lord actually sanctioned one of these casting of lots. And it's shown to us in Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus chapter 16 is a day of atonement. There's two goats that are brought and Aaron is to cast the lot and the lot that falls upon a particular goat, he's the goat that is offered as a sin offering and the other goat is to be sent out into the wilderness.

So he too, in Acts, they have two equal candidates as far as they were concerned. They will let the Lord choose. They believe that the Lord was sovereign over all things. He knows hearts, he's already chosen, and he'll be sovereign over the casting of lots. You remember Proverbs 16, verse 33, the lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is from the Lord.

These apostles believed this. Now, Now, of course, it would be inappropriate now for the post-Pentecostal church. The church is now filled with the Holy Spirit, and we have the complete canon of Scripture, and the Spirit's illumination of that canon, and the Spirit who leads us into wisdom and guidance and direction to do this. But as I said earlier, this was a time of the Old Testament was coming to a close, and then you was about to begin. This is why we must be very, very careful, beloved.

And I say this from the onset. very careful when we read the Book of Acts not to think, as some have fallen in the trap of thinking in our day and throughout history, that everything in the Book of Acts should be normative for the New Testament church, for the whole age of the church. That is just not so. This is a unique time in history with a unique events. Yes.

Some can be, some of the things we'll learn can be principles that can be emulated, but many things that happen in this time in the infancy of the church must not be seen to be normative. Matthias is chosen because the lot falls on him. And that brings the chapter to an end. Now let's, let's go back a few verses. Let's go back a few verses, back to verses six through eight.

And this is where I want to end, beloved brothers and sisters. Because these verses, as I said earlier, these are instrumental and foundational for our understanding of this book, the book of Acts. Let's read them. Verse six through eight. Lord, the disciples speaking, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

Verse seven, he said to them, It is not for you to know the 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 Judea and Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends, or the end of the earth. Now, the disciples asked a question. And do you realize how our Lord does not deny the disciples' motion for him to restore the kingdom of Israel? I believe it's because they were not totally mistaken.

They weren't totally misguided in asking this question. The details and timing of that restoration of the kingdom of God, of the kingdom of Israel, maybe they were out. But the big picture is about the restoration of the kingdom of true Israel. We'll see as the time goes on and we progress in this book, we will see that is the thrust of the book moving forward. Now we can't be sure how they interpreted the prophecies of the Old Testament that speak of the messianic kingdom and the end time restoration of that kingdom at this stage of their lives.

They may have hoped for the whole of the fulfillment of the Old Testament to be done here and now before the Lord. But this of course was not the sovereign plan of Jesus. It would bring about a restoration. But it begins with the outpouring of His Spirit to bring about His spiritual salvation. Through the Spirit-filled apostolic teaching, Jesus will restore and unite true Israel.

that is those who have been circumcised of the heart, both Jew and Gentile. But this restoration will be gradual. And the final consummation will take place when Jesus returns in glory, as the angels said he would in verse 11, proving that he will return bodily, but furthermore, also that he will come back and consummate his eternal kingdom. But as far as timing is concerned, or when that final consummation will occur, it seems at least partially that's what the disciples were getting at in their question. That's already been determined by the father in his own supreme authority, Jesus says.

But as far as the disciples were concerned, timing of the completion of that kingdom must be placed to one side, because there are more pressing and urgent matters before them. And that more pressing and urgent matter is the great commission to preach the gospel throughout the world from the moment they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. But we need to slow down for a moment. And we need to derive some incredible wisdom from this passage, from the words of our Lord. You see, in the original, the words our Lord uses here, verse 7, times and season, that's what's translated in English, is chronos and kairos in the original.

And the two are the most general terms used for period or generation. It's the Father's prerogative when the final day will come, and it should be left in His hands, not ours. Sure, we could hold to the glorious truth of His return, that it will happen, and we rejoice and hope for that day to come. But attempting to predict a time or even a generation that it will take place is foolish. No one knows when He returns.

The timing is in His hands. It's in the hands of God, who is perfect in all his ways, but we've all been given pressing matters also. It's different to the founding 12, yes, but it's continuation of what they began when they were filled with the Spirit. We ought to think and acknowledge is the thing that we ought to do also. We'll get to that.

But when you receive power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Severia to the end of the earth. The end time restoration begins when the Spirit is poured out to empower these disciples to the mission Christ has commissioned them to. This is the beginning of the restoration of the kingdom of Israel as they have so eagerly awaited. It won't be swift as they may have thought. They would have known by now surely with the words of our Lord in verse eight.

When you think about it, whatever had crossed their minds only moments earlier in regards to timing, well, they know now that the task is not going to be swift. because they have a witnessing task, and it's not confined to their own neighborhood, beloved. No, it's to the end of the earth, that Jesus says. That'll take quite a bit of time. It's a huge task that our Lord has given them.

He's assigned to them. We know that it's, we know it as the Great Commission. You remember in Matthew chapter 28, the first, the last paragraph in that chapter speaks of Jesus saying that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore, speaking to the disciples and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold, I will be with you always to the end of the age. This is This is a command.

He gives them a command to go and make disciples of all nations, baptize these disciples, and teach these disciples. That's what they're instructed to do by our Lord. All authority is granted to the risen Savior, and this mission that he's sending them on will be a success, but it will not be swift. But the glory is that he will be ever present with them, even until the end. of the age.

Because beloved, it will take that long for our Lord to redeem all the lost sheep. It'll be until the end of the age. The gospel would proclaim until the end of the age. And beloved, let me ask you this. Has the end of the age come?

No, it hasn't. because we are still living in the gospel age. And the apostles are all dead. They laid the foundation, but that age is not over. That's why it's important to recognize the great commission that we recognize it was given to the original recipients, which are the apostles.

And they had a special time and a special function in history to lay the foundation through the spirit of Christ in preaching the words of Jesus Christ, proclaiming the gospel, but the kingdom is still being restored to true Israel. Christ is still working through his spirit, but through the spirit that is in dwelling, his people, and through his written word. That is you and I, beloved brothers and sisters, we are now the witnesses to the resurrected Saviour. We are the heralds of the good news that saves. This is our duty.

This is our responsibility until it brings all things to completion, until the end of the age. Therefore, we continue the Great Commission. Now, there are things, as I said earlier, that are unique to the gospel, to the book of Acts. There are things that the Lord had spoken to his disciples that are unique to the disciples. They can claim it, but not us.

But beloved, I believe as Christians, we can claim this one, that we are to carry out the great commission until the Lord comes back. And not just that, but we can claim the fact that Jesus will be with us until he does. But now we turn to Acts chapter 8, chapter 1 and verse 8. This verse is very much, verse 8, is very much the structure of what will soon take place. in the witnessing endeavors of the disciples throughout the whole of Acts.

And understanding this point will help us comprehend the development of the progressive nature of the Great Commission by the apostles in the rest of this book. And it reads, but you, Jesus is saying, but you will receive power when old spirits come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea, all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. You see, the disciples will stay in Jerusalem until the Lord as per our Lord's instruction, until the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and then they will expand their witness from Jerusalem, which is where they would be, to Judea and Samaria, and then to the further parts, or the furthest parts, to the ends of the earth. Even the single statement of our Lord would have had an incredible impact on their understanding of this. the whole world will be united under the gospel.

The kingdom of their Savior, the kingdom of Jesus, the kingdom of this eternal King will be restored to true Israel is a kingdom that spans over to the end of the earth. He will have kingdom citizens from all over the earth. All ethnicities will be spiritually united. in the risen Savior. And it was also made known quite strongly to these men at this point not to get too comfortable in Jerusalem or even back in their hometown in Galilee.

Because what is stated in verse eight, unlike the Great Commission text in Matthew, which was a command back then, here, if you read the text carefully, the Lord is actually prophesying. He's giving them a statement of truth of what will actually happen. He says, you will receive the Spirit, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. These disciples will witness to the world of the sinless life, the profound teachings, the supernatural miracles, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will do these things.

And the kingdom of God will grow through the work of our Lord through His Spirit, through these apostles. They will witness that this Jesus is indeed the Messiah. They will witness that Jesus is indeed the only Savior, and He is the Savior not only of Jerusalem, but the whole world. The mission will start in Jerusalem. The mission will start with a Jewish Messiah, but Messiah is restoring true Israel, and true Israel is foretold in Genesis to be a light and a blessing to all the families of the earth.

theirs, this kingdom will be a worldwide kingdom and the apostles will have a worldwide mission. And beloved we know, and we'll get to know this more and more as we progress through this book, that they will do this work that has been given by the Savior with much suffering. The cup that the Lord had given them to drink is one that requires leaving home and family and to charter into new hostile lands as ambassadors to King Jesus of the good news that he brings. The road they embark upon is going to be difficult. Little do they know at this stage, they will suffer tremendously.

And apart from John, that's the apostle John, they will all die. painfully. In fact, the word that the Lord uses here that we've been translating witness for us is martyr. Because in fact, most of them will end up as martyrs. But also, we need to see that verse eight will be like a blueprint, an outline of the whole book of Acts.

For an oversimplified point of view, you can roughly divide this book into three sections. Three stages, you could say. In other words, the restoration of the kingdom, the true kingdom of true Israel will unfold in three regions. First, Jerusalem. What Jesus says, you start in Jerusalem, and that would be from chapters one through seven.

Then Judea and Samaria will see that unfolding in chapters eight through 12 of Acts, and then the ends of the earth, 13, that's chapters 13 through 28. Now, as far as how many years in each one of these stages, it's very difficult to know. In particular, the first two stages, when they go from Jerusalem into Samaria and Judea, it's hard to know exactly, but an estimate would be about 15 to 17 years between versa, from chapter one of the book of Acts to chapter 12, say about 30, say about 30 AD to 47 AD. The last stage, which is when these Gospels, or when these disciples, the apostles, will go into the furthest most parts of the Earth, which as I said earlier, will be seen in the Book of Acts in chapters 13 through 28, this will be seen through the Apostle Paul's ministry, predominantly among the Gentiles. And that will take place over about 15 years, from around 47 in 62 AD.

And let's look just a little bit more deeply, and we'll close with looking a little bit more deeply at this verse. Jerusalem, that's where it begins. See, beloved, it's because Jerusalem must be saved. And we see this in verses one through seven. This is the stage of the early church and the apostles witnessing in Jerusalem and preaching daily in the temples, we're told, in the homes nearby.

That's where it all begins, because the prophets of old foretold that the salvation will begin in Jerusalem, in Zion. The last chapter of this is the pivotal point, the last chapter in that chapter from verses 1 through 7. It begins with the longest speech of the book, the speech of Stephen, we know it as, and it ends in his subsequent stoning. And that brings the first stage, the stage of the witnessing of the disciples in Jerusalem to an end. And it closes that stage in the book of Acts.

Then in the beginning of the next stage, from chapter 8 through 12, stage 2, It's the kingdom of the true Israel being restored to Judea and Samaria. You see, the United Kingdom under the rule of King David was known as the Golden Age. That's when the Northern Kingdom as we know it, that's when the North, all the 10 tribes of Israel were all united. And the Bible tells us it was a time of peace for Israel. But due to sin and rebellion, the kingdoms were split in two.

Israel to the north, otherwise known as Ephraim sometimes in our Old Testament, or even Samaria. And the southern kingdom known as Judah or Judea. And they, this split kingdom. had always been in enmity with one another. The North against the South, even sometimes the North would ally with someone like Syria against the South.

It was horrific. But the prophets of old, in the Old Testament, throughout the Old Testament, they foretold of the Messiah. Davidic King, who will establish the throne and reign and rule once again, not over a fractured kingdom, not over a divided kingdom, but a fully restored, united kingdom. Israel will once again be united under the Messianic King. And so Judea and Samaria will be restored and united in the true Davidic King, Jesus Christ.

The gospel will, in the second stage, after salvation in Jerusalem, will be preached to Judea and Samaria in order for true Israel to be united under the rule and reign of Christ. And this, of course, we're still speaking of a spiritual kingdom. But from the onset in chapter eight, this is evident. Even in the first words of the chapter, in chapter eight, we're told, and there arose on the day of great persecution, that's after the stoning of Stephen, against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of, it is Judea, Samaria, except the apostles.

This scattering spoken of here in chapter eight, which is the first of the second stages, is due to the persecution, this scattering, finds Philip. Remember the deacon Philip? He finds him traveling to witness in Samaria and Judea. Firstly, in chapter 8, he travels to Samaria to preach the good news and the reception there is incredible. They receive the good news and many believe.

And then in verse 14 of that same chapter, when the good news of the gospel reaches, or its success reaches Jerusalem, the apostles, Peter and John, are sent to verify that indeed salvation has reached Mary. And only a few verses later, beloved, after witnessing to the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip, we're told in chapter 8, verse 40, We're told that Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel, hear this, to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Beloved, Azotus was on the western side of Judea, and Caesarea was known as the head and also the Roman capital of Judea. The gospel of Christ in the second stage, this is from chapters 8 through 12, unites Christ. He unites what has been severed over centuries, the north and the south of Israel.

The kingdom of true Israel is being spiritually united. A restoration has begun. the glory of the kingdom of the Son is much greater than the golden age of David. Much greater than the kingdom, the golden age of David's reign, because the King Jesus and his kingdom that he unites and restores is not only a kingdom of the northern parts of Israel and the southern parts of Israel, which he restores, he unites once again in his spiritual kingdom, but he will also graft in the Gentiles from all corners of the world. Abraham was told that his seed would be a blessing to all the families of the world.

Jesus is that unique seed of Abraham. And you see that takes us to the final and the longest section of the stages of the third stage of the book of Acts. From verses, from chapters 13 through 28, salvation to the Gentiles. In fact, the latter part of the second section preempts this truth with the conversion of Cornelius and his family. A Gentile Roman centurion, you probably remember when this great news is received by the church from the mouth of Peter.

Do you remember what the church says? This is what's written in chapter 11, verse 18. When they heard these things, they fell silent. That is, the elders of the Jerusalem church, they fell silent. And they glorified God saying, again, to the Gentiles also, God has granted repentance that leads to life.

So in chapters 13 through 28, the gospel to the Gentiles becomes the major theme. And it follows the apostle Paul's four missionary journeys throughout the Gentile world. The Old Testament foretold of the day that will come, the Messianic Kingdom. of the Messianic Kingdom when both the Jew and the Gentiles are saved. Isaiah 49, example of this, where he writes, is it too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel, speaking of course of the Messiah, I will make you as a light for the nation that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

And the Jews, did not know how this would work out. They had the text, they knew the scripture, but how does this all work out? They weren't clear about these things. They regarded the Messiah to be the savior of Israel. The messianic king, as far as they were concerned, was to reign and rule physically from a throne in Jerusalem over Israel.

They couldn't fathom that the restored kingdom of true Israel was not ethnocentric or nationalistic, rather a spiritual kingdom for which the Davidic king, the Davidic messianic king, would be a king over all ethnicities. Beloved, this is the mystery that once was hidden, now revealed, that the apostle Paul speaks of. In particular, in Ephesians 3, where he says, the mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through The gospel. Third stage is the witness of the apostles that will reach the Gentiles to the outermost parts of the world. And that's where the book ends.

Paul is in prison in Rome, and the last words recorded from his mouth in this book speaks, or he's speaking to the Jews, is this. Therefore, let it be known to you, that is the Jews, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen. There are the Apostles Paul's final words in the book of Acts. What the Lord Christ prophesied will happen just before he ascended to the Father's right hand, beloved, It happened perfectly as he said it would, showing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is indeed sovereign, that he is indeed in complete control, that he is indeed building his church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

And this church, beloved, is Christ uniting both Jew and Gentile from all over the world. as kingdom citizens in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the divinity king who rules and reigns from his throne forever and ever. This verse here in the first chapter of the book of Acts unfolds for us what we will come to see over the coming months and how this book, this glorious book, unfolds chapter by chapter by chapter. Beloved, if we get to the end of this book and we ask ourselves once again, what is the book of Acts about? We need to answer.

This book is indeed about King Jesus, who sits supreme on his throne, who will establish and build and consummate his kingdom with kingdom citizens that he has purchased by his shed blood. It's about King Jesus beloved. The book of Acts is about King Jesus. Let's end with that. Let's pray.