Thursday March 2
The Holy Spirit Unites the Church in Mission and Service
Read Acts 2:4-11, 16-21.
2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
2:7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
2:8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
2:19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
2:21 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
What was the result of the Holy Spirit's being poured out on the New Testament believers?
The conversion of thousands.
The Holy Spirit was responsible for the most powerful missionary outreach that history had witnessed to that point. God can do more through a small group that is united in their devotion to Him than He can through a large group divided in their loyalties. But God can do even greater things when we all have devoted our lives and our energies, our talents and our resources, to Him.
God does not work mightily when the church remains in a Laodicean condition. If many were brought into a Laodicean church, many would leave through the back door and be hard to bring back in.
Christ longs to work mightily by His Spirit for the conviction and conversion of sinners. But, according to His divine plan, the work must be performed through the instrumentality of His church; and her members have so far departed from Him that He cannot accomplish His will through them. He chooses to work by means, yet the means employed must be in harmony with His character.
Who are there in Battle Creek that are faithful and true? Let them come over on the Lord's side. If we would be in a position where God can use us, we must have an individual faith and an individual experience. Only those who trust wholly in God are safe now. We must not follow any human example or lean upon any human support. Many are constantly taking wrong positions and making wrong moves; if we trust to their guidance we shall be misled. 5T 189.
Out of the unity in life and mission of the believers grew the New Testament church. A small and timid group of believers was changed into a powerful troop that became an effective tool that reached people from many different cultures and languages. They were united in proclaiming "the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11). The same God who was active in New Testament times will be active at the end of time, when the work needs to be finished before He comes again.
Read Acts 2:42-47.
2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
2:45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all [men], as every man had need.
2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
In what other things were the New Testament believers united?
"They continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
The Pentecost mission enterprise was accompanied by a number of other factors where the early church stood united. They were united in Bible study and continually devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42). They were united in fellowship and the breaking of bread, possibly a reference to united worship (Acts 2:42). They were united in prayer (Acts 2:42) and in praising God (Acts 2:47). They were united in serving those in need when they freely shared what they possessed and had all things in common (Acts 2:44, 45). United Bible study and fellowship will result in the desire to share the good news with others and to help others in very practical ways. The Holy Spirit will open our eyes to the needs of those around us.
What activities in your local church help reveal the unity of your church? What more could be done?
It is the gospel of grace that enables souls to be unified in Christ. If we want to see unity of Spirit and doctrine, then we must have a converted church. It leads to perplexity and difficulties when new members are "buried alive". It happened in the day when a prophet was in the church. It still happens today. Evidence of a new heart must be seen before new members are baptized.
The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ
Vol 6, SDA Bible Commentary, pg 1075.