We have
begun to look at unity and the indwelling Spirit of God. The early was
confronted with this problem almost immediately. We are still basking in the glory of the
church’s earl experiences in Jerusalem in Acts chapters 2 through 5. The
arrival of the Holy Spirit, the lightning like growth of the church, the miraculous
healings, the apostles standing up to councils and imprisonments.
This is
heady, intoxicating stuff!
Suddenly, we
are brought back down to earth. There is a petty disagreement between believing
factions. They call on the apostles to mediate. The apostles had been present
when Jesus prayed for unity. They, no doubt, remembered His solution. They gave
the solution to the church:
Then the
twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable
that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren,
seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit
and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;”
Acts
6:2-3
Full of the Holy Spirit
The apostles of the Lord believed that unity would be restored and maintained by
leaders who were full of the Holy Spirit. They immediately turned to what the
Lord had prayed the night before He was crucified – the indwelling presence of
God.
In Acts
chapter 7, Stephen preaches to a crowd. This is the pinnacle of his message:
“However,
the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth in My footstool.
What house will you build for Me?
Says the LORD,
Or what is the place of My rest?
Has My hand not made all these
things?’
Acts
7:48-50
And as
Stephen is being martyred, he has this testimony:
“But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of the God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,”
Acts
7:55
Finally, as
he is about to go be with the Lord, Stephen prays for his murderers:
“Then he
knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this
sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Acts
7:60
Being filled
with the Holy Spirit, Stephen is able to continue to pursue unity in the face
of death.
May each of
us be given this grace.
Peter and Gentile Believers
In Acts
chapter 10, Peter is instructed by God to go to Caesarea and share the Good
News of Jesus with a gentile named Cornelius. As Peter is preaching, the Holy
Spirit falls in Cornelius’ house and fills every gentile there. They speak in
tongues just like all the believers in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost,
years earlier.
“For they
heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, ‘Can anyone
forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have?’”
Acts
10:46-47
Once back in
Jerusalem, Peter gets called on the carpet for his actions. Peter gives a
detailed account to the church in Jerusalem. He ends with this appeal:
“And as I
began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.
Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with
water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If therefore
God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?
When they
heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then
God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.’”
Acts
11:15-18
First, in
Caesarea, Peter appeals to the gift of
the indwelling Holy Spirit, to maintain unity with the Jewish believers who
were with him. Then, back in Jerusalem, he makes the same appeal, although a
little more forcefully, to maintain unity in the entire church.
The Jerusalem Council
Finally,
Paul and Barnabas are confronted by some men from the church in Jerusalem. Paul
and Barnabas are leading many gentiles to faith in Christ but, they are not
teaching these new believers to obey the Law of Moses. These men took it upon
themselves to preach,
“Unless you
are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Acts
15:1
When Paul
and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem they reported “to the church and the
apostles and the elders” (notice the order).
“But some of
the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, ‘It is necessary to
circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.’”
Acts
15:5
The apostle
and elders of the church in Jerusalem decide they need to call a council.
“And when
there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: ‘Men and brethren,
you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the
Gentiles should hear the world of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the
heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy spirit, just as He did to us,
and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Now
therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples
which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as
they.’”
Acts
15:7-11
What was the
result?
“Then all
the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many
miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.”
Acts 15: 12
Here is an excerpt from the letter the church
in Jerusalem sent to the Gentile church:
“it seemed
good to us, being assembled with one
accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men
who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have
therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of
mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit,
and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things…”
Acts
15:25-28
Again and
again, the early church, the apostles and the elders turned to the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit to secure and maintain unity.
Shouldn't we
do the same?
Lord, by Your Holy Spirit who lives
within us, I ask You to bring us back to unity in Your church!
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