Although the traditional name for the book of Acts is The Acts of the Apostles, the apostles are not the main focus of this historical book. This book could more correctly be called The Acts of the Son in the Authority of the Father, by the Power of the Holy Spirit, through the Church (though this title would be much too long to use). Acts traces the working of the Trinity in the lives of the members of the Church as they spread the message of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Since the Church is the primary vehicle by which God spreads his glory, entire volumes can and have been written about the Church in Acts. This series of articles will focus on three aspects of the Church in Acts: the Church is empowered by the Spirit, the Church is universal yet local, and the Church is led by elders and deacons.
Empowered by the Spirit
As we enter the book of Acts, we witness Christ’s miraculous building of his Church. In Acts 1, Jesus gives the disciples their mission and the mission of the Church. He tells them that, although he will not reveal to them when he will return, he will send them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Christ has previously taught on the coming of the Spirit, recorded in John 14–16, telling the disciples that the Helper or Comforter will come to give the disciples assurance of their message and standing before God, give them the words to say when faced with persecution, and convict the world of their sin and need for a Savior. Throughout the book of Acts, we see that the Church is completely dependent on the power of the Spirit.
Instigator of the Church
The Spirit is first the instigator of the Church. Christ commanded his apostles to wait in Jerusalem until the coming of the Spirit (Acts 1:4). After their Savior’s ascension, the disciples followed this command by gathering together in Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost, Scripture tells us that “there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance (Ac 2:2–4).” Then the disciples, through the power of the Spirit, began to preach in languages that they had never learned.
God used this stunning display to show the Jews gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost that these men were speaking the Truth of God. These Jews recognized the Holy Spirit’s divine seal upon the disciples and on the preaching of Peter saying, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Ac 2:37). These devout Jews who were committed to God and his laws for their entire lives were willing to embrace the message of the Gospel–that God sent his Son to earth, and that this Son died a shameful death on a cross instead of rescuing them from Roman oppression! They were indeed “cut to the heart” by Peter’s Holy Spirit-empowered message to reject their long-held identity and view of God! And this display of the Spirit’s power was not small in scope: over 3,000 Jews were added to the Church that day.
Even after the birth of the Church, the Spirit’s power constantly propels the preaching and message of the Gospel. Philip was led by the Spirit down to Gaza to witness of Christ’s redeeming work to the Ethiopian eunuch (Ac 8:26–39), which may have very well instigated the beginning of the Church in Africa (Christianity Today). In Acts 9, the church was built up such that they walked “in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit” and “multiplied” (Ac 9:31). Throughout the book of Acts, the Spirit instigates the birth of the Church.
Evidence of Salvation
The Spirit is also the Church’s evidence of salvation. Although Christ first promised the Spirit to the Twelve, the Spirit became the seal by which the followers of the Way could see who was a true believer and who was not. The first group that received the Holy Spirit was the disciples gathered in the upper room at Pentecost. At the end of Peter’s powerful and convicting sermon, the once-denier of Christ tells the eager seekers that they must “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Ac 2:38). As these new believers received the Gospel, they were baptized and received the Holy Spirit as evidence of their new faith. However, Christ was determined to convict all nations of his power and glory. The evidence of the Spirit in three groups of people became so evident that it changed the way that the apostles themselves viewed the Way.
After the death of Stephen, we read that the disciples—especially Philip—are eager to carry out Christ’s command to be his witnesses in Samaria (Ac 8). Philip arrives in the despised city of Samaria and begins to preach to them the Good News about Christ. Just as in Jerusalem, the Spirit empowers Philip’s message, and the crowds believe the miraculous works that Christ accomplishes—this time through the casting out of unclean spirits and healing of the sick. The apostles, hearing that the Samaritans have accepted the Gospel, send Peter and John to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit “had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Ac 8:16). By this unique event, the Holy Spirit shows the Jews that not only were the foreign Jews at Pentecost part of the Church, the Samaritans—long hated by the Jews—were now part of Christ’s promised kingdom. From this city, the news of Christ’s redemption spread throughout the whole of Samaria (Ac 8:25).
In Acts 10, we find that Christ has an even more surprising plan to build his Church. God sends an angel to a gentile named Cornelius to tell him that he needs to seek out a man named Peter. This faithful centurion obeys the heavenly messenger and sends for Peter. Meanwhile, Christ has been working in Peter’s heart to receive them. God shows the apostle a vision of animals considered unclean by the Jews and tells him to satiate his hunger by killing and eating these animals. Peter is aghast that Christ would command him to do such a thing, but the Savior rebukes Peter saying “What God has made clean, do not call common” (Ac 10:15). While Peter is pondering what this vision might mean, the Spirit tells him to go with the three men whom Cornelius has sent to fetch him. Peter obeys and the next day, he finds Cornelius gathered with his friends and family, all waiting to hear the news that this man would bring. Peter preaches the Gospel to them, even though he knows that, as a Jew, he should not associate with them. As soon as they hear the wondrous news of Christ’s death and resurrection, these gathered Gentiles are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in foreign tongues, just as the disciples did at Pentecost! Peter is amazed and declares “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” (Ac 10:47). In Acts 11, the Church is skeptical when they hear that Peter has been preaching Christ to the “unclean” Gentiles. But when Peter tells them about the Holy Spirit falling upon the Gentiles, even those who hold to the Jewish customs while following Christ fall silent, agreeing with Peter’s words that “If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” (Ac 11:17). Through this wondrous pouring out of his Spirit, Christ showed to the Jews that he had now welcomed the nations into the Church! The followers of the Way could now begin to preach the Gospel to “the ends of the earth” (Ac 1:8)!
Though often overlooked, there is one more group in the book of Acts that God showed to be his own through the seal of the Spirit. In Acts 19, Paul finds a group of “disciples” in Ephesus. When the apostle asks these men if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, they answered “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Ac 19:2). Upon finding that they were John’s disciples, Paul tells them that “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus” (Ac 19:4). They receive this news gladly and are baptized in the Name of Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit. Once again, as evidence of the Spirit’s working, they begin to speak in foreign languages and prophesy. Although this group is relatively small, it shows just how important the seal of the Holy Spirit is in the life of the believer. Believers now see that these groups are part of the Church because they have the Spirit—the evidence of salvation.
Strength in Persecution
Finally, the Spirit is the Church’s strength in persecution. In Matthew 10, Christ warns his disciples that preaching the Gospel will not be easy or free from danger. He tells them:
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (Mt 10:16–20, 24–25).
In the book of Acts, we see that Christ will indeed keep his Church strong during persecution through the Spirit. Throughout Acts, believers are subjected to every persecution imaginable, yet remain strong, bold, and faithful through the power of the Spirit.
On the heels of the victorious explosion of the Church at Pentecost, the disciples begin to face opposition from the Jewish leaders. Peter and John heal a man who has been begging at one of the gates of the Temple in Jerusalem. Entering the temple, these apostles preach to the astonished crowd the same message that they preached at Pentecost: “God, having raised up his servant [Jesus], sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (Ac 3:26). Once again, the Spirit powerfully works in the hearts of those who hear this message, and the believers grow to be 5,000 strong (Ac 4:4). However, the Jewish leaders are greatly annoyed at Peter and John’s preaching and throw these apostles into prison. The next day before the Council, Peter and John—filled with the Holy Spirit—present their defense. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” they reply when commanded to cease preaching about Christ (Ac 4:12). “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Ac 4:19–20). Even amid opposition from the civil and religious leaders of their city, the apostles were unashamed. After being threatened further, Peter and John gathered with other believers and prayed a magnificent prayer for boldness (Ac 4:24–31). Even after being imprisoned and beaten, the apostles rejoiced that they had been counted worthy to suffer for Christ and continue to preach, showing that the Spirit is strengthening them, even when opposed by the Council.
Immediately after this, the Church gains her first martyr for the cause of Christ. Stephen, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Ac 6:5), was “doing great wonders and signs among the people” (Ac 6:8). This Hellenist (Greek-speaking Jew) was boldly preaching the Gospel when men who were not able to counter his words spread false rumors against him and had him brought before the Council. Stephen walks the council through their history as the nation of Israel, showing them that God has been working his plan, culminating in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Stephen accuses the Jewish leader of being “stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears” who always resist the Holy Spirit (Ac 7:51). Enraged, the Council drags him out of the city and stones him. Even as he dies, this faithful disciple cries out “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Ac 7:60). Stephen demonstrated strength because he was filled with the Spirit, and through his death, the Church spreads throughout Judea and Samaria, spreading the Gospel from Jerusalem to the nations (Ac 8:1)!
One of the most evident examples of the work of the Holy Spirit strengthening believers amidst persecution is the apostle Paul. The end of the record of Stephen’s martyrdom tells us that the man who held the coats of those stoning Stephen was a man named Saul (Ac 7:58; 8:1–3). Although Saul was a zealous persecutor of the Church, encountering the Savior on the road to Damascus showed him that Christ was the only one deserving of service. Paul suffered many things for the cause of Christ. He was threatened (Ac 9:23–25), beaten (Ac 16:22–24), thrown in prison (Ac 24:27), stoned (Ac 1:19), and shipwrecked (Ac 27)—yet he did not despair. Paul summarizes his journey when he was going up to Jerusalem that he was “constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me” (Ac 20:22–23). Even in these extreme difficulties, Paul says that he does not consider his life valuable; he only wants to serve Christ and preach the Gospel wherever he goes. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul tells believers they must not lose heart because Christ has saved them. He tells them they are “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Co 4:8–9). Paul exemplified in his life the power of the Spirit to give strength in persecution.
Acts clearly shows that the Spirit himself empowered the Church. The Spirit not only instigated the Church, but he also sealed believers, showing others that the Gospel is for all nations! Finally, the Spirit strengthened the First-Century Church in swift, severe, and unrelenting persecution. But the Spirit did not only empower the Church in the book of Acts. The Spirit still instigates and drives the Church today. He provides believers with the power and conviction to bring the Gospel to our communities, countries, and world. The Spirit still seals believers today. Although we do not need a new demonstration of the Spirit’s power to accept new people-groups into our assembly, the working of the Spirit in the lives of others shows believers who are the followers of Christ. Finally, the Spirit still gives us strength in persecution. The Spirit empowers believers all around the world to persevere in affliction and opposition. Just as the Spirit empowered the Church in Acts, the Spirit empowers believers today.