Doctrine Series – It

s all about GodPart 10 – Church: God Sends

We believe in the

Trinity

– that God has revealed Himself as 3persons living in Community as 1 God – there is one God who isFather, Son and Holy Spirit. This we know from the

Bible

, which isHis perfect, inerrant and sufficient Word to us, necessary for us toknow God and what He expects of us. As His

created

imagebearers, we have fallen short of His glory and any act of sinagainst a Holy God results in consequences – which includescurse and

death

, which we see all around us.But God in His loyal mercy and love

pursues

the best for us, andcome as a man in flesh to subject Himself to all our experience, issinless and as we have heard leading up to and at Easter,

Jesus

,who is God the Son, born of a virgin, dies on a cursed

cross

foryou and for me to be

forgiven

of our falleness, and the greatestnews of all is that He has

risen

and is alive to the glory of God, sothat we who repent of sin and believe in Him may be

restored

asHis image bearers once again, but also get to live as a

people

united to our Trinitarian God

forever

!Wow, this is a great story, but how does its message and itspower, and the reality of this, break into your life and my life in atangible way?For this answer I would like you to turn to the book of

Actschapter 1 & chapter 2.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus beganto do and teach,

until the day when he was taken up, after he hadgiven commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he hadchosen.

To them he presented himself

alive

after his suffering bymany proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking aboutthe kingdom of God.

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart fromJerusalem, 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

We are using a book by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears called “Doctrine: What Christians ShouldBelieve”, Crossway Books, 2010 as a guide for our doctrine series. Todays message on Church, hasbeen further resourced from one of my favorite books: Wayne Grudem

s “Systematic Theology” IVP,1994. Check out our book table!

baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you atthis time restore the kingdom to Israel?

He said to them,

It is not for you to know 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 Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

And when he had saidthese things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloudtook him out of their sight.

And while they were gazing into heavenas 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 asyou saw him go into heaven.

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, whichis near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

And when theyhad entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying,Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon theZealot and Judas the son of James.

All these with one accord weredevoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary themother of Jesus, and his brothers…

Matthias is chosen by God as a witness of the resurrection ofChrist to replace Judas who betrayed Jesus.

Now Chapter 2:

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in oneplace.

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mightyrushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on eachone of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began tospeak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance

….(to 11)

both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear themtelling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.

And all wereamazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean?

But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressedthem, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be knownto you, and give ear to my words.

For these men are not drunk, asyou suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

But this is whatwas uttered through the prophet Joel:

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,and your young men shall see visions,

3and your old men shall dream dreams;

even on my male servants and female servantsin those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders in the heavens aboveand signs on the earth below,blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

the sun shall be turned to darknessand the moon to blood,before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name ofthe Lord shall be saved.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attestedto you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God didthrough him in your midst, as you yourselves know—

this Jesus,delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

God raised himup, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him tobe held by it….

(to 32)

This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

Beingtherefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received fromthe Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this thatyou yourselves are seeing and hearing.

For David did not ascendinto the heavens, but he himself says,“The Lord said to my Lord,Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God hasmade him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said toPeter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do?

AndPeter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in thename of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you willreceive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and foryour children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord ourGod calls to himself.

And with many other words he bore witness andcontinued to exhort them, saying, Save yourselves from this crookedgeneration.

So those who received his word were baptized, andthere were added that day about three thousand souls.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching andfellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

And awe cameupon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being donethrough the apostles.

And all who believed were together and had allthings in common.

And they were selling their possessions and