The Birth Of The Church, Part 2 Series

“Completing the Mission that Jesus Began”

Seeking and Saving Those Who are Lost

The Birth of the Church, Part 2

Acts 2:1-13

We are continuing the series in the book of Acts called, “Completing the Mission that Jesus Began”. Acts is a wonderful New Testament book that gives us the history of the birth of the church, and the progress of the Church as it begins “Completing the Mission that Jesus Began”.

Remember, that the Mission is Seeking and Saving Those Who are Lost!

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." NIV

Remember that the church is not a building, but the people of God. When the Bible talks about the church, it is always referring to the people of God.

Jesus promised two great events that occur in Acts 2.

1. The birth of the church

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, "I will build My church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it."

2. The coming of the Holy Spirit

In John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. NIV

Both of those events took place at the same time on the same day and are recorded for us in Acts, chapter 2.

Read Acts 2:1-13

We began this message last week entitled “The Birth of the Church”.

Brief review.

In the first four verses we have four important supernatural elements that we need to examine carefully in order to understand the implications and applications of this passage.

Last week we looked at the first two:

1. The church:

The church is one body of believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit, all in an invisible union with Jesus Christ and with each other. The church is the instrument through which God will “Complete the Mission that Jesus Began”.

2. The baptism of the Holy Spirit.

All believers are made one, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At the moment of salvation a person is baptized by the Spirit into union with Christ and His body, the church.

This week we are going to look at

1. The filling of the Spirit

2. The speaking in other languages

We start with:

1. The filling of the Spirit.

Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. NIV

In verses 2 and 3 they received the Spirit of God. In verse 4 the Spirit of God fills them and His power is released.

The Bible teaches that there is a distinction between the baptism of the Spirit and the filling.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink NIV

Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at the moment of salvation, and all believers, are baptized into the body of Christ the church.

Romans 8:9 if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. NIV

(1.) What is the filling of the Spirit?

Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. NIV

Do not yield your body to alcohol (Which leads to all kinds of immorality.) The wine controls the person that is drunk.

But instead

Yield yourself to the Holy Spirit of God (which leads to the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control NIV).

(a.) The person who is filled with the Spirit is controlled by the Spirit of God.

It is important to look at the word “filled” in Ephesians 5:18. A more accurate translation would be “being filled continually”. That is the meaning of the present tense verb in Greek.

The believer is not commanded to be baptized by the Spirit, because he is baptized at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God is in him and never leaves him. We do not need more of the Spirit. He needs us to yield more of ourself to Him.

The word “filled” confuses us. If a glass in empty it needs to be filled with water. If it is full it does not need to be filled. That is not the picture here.

The picture here is about control and yielding.

For example, Acts 6:5 says, “they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; NIV When he was stoned, the overwhelming, controlling thing in his life was faith and the Holy Spirit. It was the dominant force in his life at that moment.

The Scripture, Acts 5:17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. NIV Jealousy was the controlling thing in their life at that moment.