In the book of Acts, the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost stresses the theme of fulfillment. On that day, what was foreshadowed in the ancient feast began to receive its substance. The bestowal of the Spirit was an epochal event that marked the start of the messianic age, and the gift fulfilled what the Levitical feast symbolized.
Quickening Spirit
In Jesus, the promised Gift of the Spirit has arrived
21 February 2023
20 February 2023
Spiritual Power
Cross,
Discipleship,
Gift-Ministry
Jesus performed miracles, exorcised demons, and taught with great authority. For a time, he attracted great crowds. But his contemporaries failed to recognize who he was despite his miraculous deeds. In the end, only the Roman centurion at Golgotha recognized him as the “son of God” when he breathed his last.
16 February 2023
Assembly of God
Church,
Temple,
Worship
The New Testament usage of the term “assembly” is based on the image of Israel assembled before Yahweh for worship in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek noun rendered “church” in English is ekklésia, meaning “assembly, congregation.” In secular Greek it may refer to an “assembly” of citizens gathered to conduct matters of state; however, that is not the sense found in the New Testament in reference to the church.
12 February 2023
Message and Mission
Gospel,
Mission,
Salvation
After his
resurrection, Jesus declared - “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.”
During his ministry, the disciples did not preach to the nations, although he
did minister to individual Gentiles on occasion. The disciples were to preach only
to the “lost sheep of Israel.”
24 January 2023
Superior New Covenant
Apostasy,
Covenant
In his death, Jesus inaugurated the vastly superior new covenant, rendering the old one obsolete. The “word”
that God now speaks “in the Son” surpasses all the past revelations
made in “the prophets.” Jesus went beyond them, “having achieved the
purification of sins.” Consequently, he “sat down” at the right hand
of God and inherited “all things.”