Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Transformed by the Spirit – Part 2

/ Bob

In the second chapter of Acts we are told of the birthday of the church. 120 followers of Jesus were gathered together as Jesus had instructed them to do. Then, with the sound of a violent, rushing wind the fire of the Spirit entered into the room and rested on each of those gathered there. In response to the commotion, people came to find out what was going on. What happened next amazed them. The followers of Jesus began to speaking to them about Christ, but in the languages of those who came to see what was going on. Well over a dozen different languages were heard by the people who spoke those languages. Sometimes the word “awesome” is used almost in a trite way, but this was an AWESOME display of the Spirit’s power.

There were those who scoffed and even accused the disciples of being drunk. I personally have never been around someone who got drunk and then started speaking fluently in a foreign language that they did not previously know, but when you’re trying to explain something away you’ll grasp at anything. Peter responded to them with the first sermon ever preached at church. God’s Spirit spoke through him and moved those who heard. The church grew from 120 to over 3,000 that day. Hallelujah.

Today’s lesson focused on Acts 2:41-47 – the characteristics of that first church. They learned from the teaching of the apostles. They ate together. They prayed. They shared their faith and they shared their money and belongings, helping out any of the group who were in need. We as individual Christians must follow their example by praying and worshiping; reading and studying God’s Word; fellowshiping with other believers and helping them in any way we can; and sharing our faith with those around us. And we as the church must also be worshiping and praying; reading and studying God’s Word; fellowshiping together; and sharing our faith and resources with the community in which we have been planted. This is what the first church did and the Lord added to their number DAILY those who were saved. God gave us the blueprints for the church. The first church followed the plan. So should we.

Next week we will move into Acts 3 to see how the Spirit moved through the apostles as they moved about in the city.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, March 20, 2022. It is part of a series of Bible study sessions from The Gospel Project – a Bible study curriculum developed by Lifeway Christian Resources. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org

Twitter – From the Back Porch @ nationalfast

Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

Transformed by the Spirit – Part One

/ Bob

Following His resurrection Jesus was with His disciples and “He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. ‘Which,’ he said, ‘you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.’” (Acts 1:4-5) Shavuot was only 10 days away and they did as Jesus had commanded them – they waited.

Shavuot is a celebration of the day that God gave the Torah to His people on Mt. Sinai. It occurs 7 weeks after the first day of Passover. The Greek term used for this celebration is Pentecost which means fiftieth – the 50th day after Passover and our Christian Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter. It is so fitting that the One Who gave the Law on Mt. Sinai on Shavuot would also give us the Holy Spirit on the same day. It was a fulfillment of the promise made to the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 31:31-33:

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

At Pentecost the very Spirit of God filled His believers, transferring the written Law of God into a personal understanding of Who He Is and who we are in Him. Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law, but rather to fulfill the law. (Matthew 5:17) He fulfilled the law on the Cross and He completed the full purpose of the law by giving us His Spirit to guide us into all truth including the truth of the law and the truth of grace. Acts 2 marks a new beginning for God’s people – an opportunity to live intimately with the One Who Was and Is and Evermore Shall Be.

Next week we will continue to look into Acts 2 – the Birthday of the Church – to see what this new beginning means for us in the here and now.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, March 13, 2022. It is part of a series of Bible study sessions from The Gospel Project – a Bible study curriculum developed by Lifeway Christian Resources. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org

Twitter – From the Back Porch @ nationalfast

Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas