| In the Beginning, God Created - article by Joel Hempel No, this is not an article about the Genesis creation account; it is about the creation account from in the Book of Acts – the account that describes God’s creation of the church.
The last two Scripture texts we are studying for Discerning God’s Will are among the most provocative in the Bible. They are Acts 2:1-4, 42-47, and Acts 4:32-35. These verses describe the church in its prime and purest form following Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first poured out upon that born anew community of Christians.
Before his ascension, Jesus told his disciples to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. He told them to be patient, not to go off on their own, regardless of how excited and inspired they were to take over in his absence. Instead, they were to wait for the guidance and counsel the Spirit would provide. So, they waited. To say they were glad they did wait would be the understatement of their century. Because ten days later, there was such an outpouring of power and love that it ignited a fire in those who already believed, and in the thousands who would come to believe because of (a) the love the faithful demonstrated openly, and (b) the apostles’ preaching about the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection to life.
Then, another miracle happened! It was not your run-of-the-mill healing of a paralytic or giving sight to a blind person. It was far more dramatic and future-forming. The people, the believers, loved each other like no one had ever seen before. They wanted to spend time together in their homes and at gathering places. They got to know each other intimately, so much so that when someone – a friend or a foreigner – was hurting or in financial distress, they took care of it.1 The Jesus-lovers yearned to be taught God’s Word, to commune together, and to praise God with united voices. Truly, God’s grace was upon them.
That was then! What would you say the impact of God’s grace is on us today as individual Christians and as a congregation? What could it be?
Are we as rich in grace as that first community of Spirit-empowered believers? Are we so rich in grace that we have no choice but to be the community of believers God is aching to recreate like his faithful followers of old?
Are we?
Personally, I think we are. I also think resistance is natural. God needs us to face our resistance, by His strength and courage overcome it, and be the church God needs us to be.
With God, nothing is impossible.2 1. Acts 2:45, 4:34-35, 6:1-7. 2. Luke 1:37; Matthew 19:26; Romans 8:28, 31; James 5:13-16.
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