The Birth Of The Church, Part 1 Series

Completing the Mission that Jesus Began

The Birth of the Church, Part 1

Acts 2:1-4

Read Acts 2:1-4

This is a tremendous transitional passage. We have

the end of the Old Covenant and the birth of the

Church under the New Covenant."

All the great elements of God's redemptive plan are

right here. The death, resurrection, and ascension of

Jesus Christ results in the sending of the Spirit, the

birth of the church, and the age of the Spirit.

In the old age, the Spirit was with the believer. In

the new age, He is in the believer.

In the first four verses we have four important

supernatural elements that we need to examine

carefully in order to understand the implication of this

passage.

1. The church

2. The baptism of the Holy Spirit.

3. The filling of the Spirit.

4. The speaking in other languages

T. S. First the church

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1. The church

The church is the instrument through which God will

“Complete the Mission that Jesus Began”.

Matthew 16:18 …I will build my church, and the

gates of Hades will not overcome it. NIV

Remember that when the Bible talks about the

church, it’s talking about the real church, the people

who truly know Christ, not a building.

In the church there is one body of believers indwelt

by the Holy Spirit, all in an invisible union with

Jesus Christ and with each other. That is the mystery

that is unfolding, a mystery that was not understood by

those in the Old Testament period.

The Greek word for church is “Ecclesia”. Means

“called out ones”. Believers are called out of the world

to serve Christ in the world.

The church is the bride of Christ. It is the branches of

the vine Jesus Christ, the flock of the Good Shepherd,

the kingdom ruled by the Son of God, the family of

adopted children, a spiritual temple, the body of

Christ.

Jesus Christ is incarnated in His people. It is not one

body, but a multiplicity of bodies in whom Jesus lives.

Yet the church is one body with Christ as the head.

The church is a fellowship knit together, totally

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dependent on each other. The church is one people

and all barriers are abolished.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave

nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ

Jesus. NIV

All racial and gender barriers are abolished and we

need to honor that in the church.

The church is the body of Christ blended together, a

spiritual incarnation of Christ.

Words are too poor to fully describe the Church.

APP.

It should encourage your hearts as believers to

know that you are a part of the body of Christ the

church and you should do all that you can to grow it

and nurture it.

T.S. The second thing we want to look at in this

passage is the baptism of the Spirit which brings the

church into being.

Acts 2:2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent

wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where

they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues

of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

NIV

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This is the coming of the Holy Spirit and the Baptism

of the Holy Spirit revealed in the sudden sound “like

the blowing of a violent wind” and what seemed to be

tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each

of the believers.

There was no wind just the sound. There was no fire,

but what seemed to be tongues of fire.

Do you get the feeling they had a hard time explaining

what it was. It was the coming of the Holy Spirit, and

the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The word translated wind is not the ordinary word

pneuma, but it's the word pnoes, it means a blast of

breath.

Can you imagine? No motion in the air and yet the

sound of a tornado coming down.

Notice the word “suddenly”. I'm sure they didn't

really expect what happened, when it happened.

T. S. We need to understand the Baptism of the Spirit

in order to understand what is going on in this

passage.

2. The Baptism of the Spirit.

A. The baptism of the Spirit is the fulfillment of

prophecy.

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John the Baptist predicted the baptism of the Spirit

in Matthew 3:11 "I baptize you with water for

repentance. But after me will come one who is more

powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He

will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. NIV

John 7:37 Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If

anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38