Bulletins - Formosa Baptist Church -k

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- - Acts 2:32–33ESV
Big Idea for the Series: In the book of Acts, we see God advancing his Kingdom by his Spirit through his Church.
Introduction: When I was in seminary, I took a course called “Building an Evangelistic Church.” For the course, we had to read several different books dealing with church growth strategy. Some were great and emphasized solid, biblical principles like expository preaching rooted in the authority of Scripture, prayer, and the like.
But there was one book that the instructor had included, I think, just to provide a contrast to the other more biblically rooted books and as an example of the approach that many churches take. This book advocated a model that looked more like a business strategy for gaining customers than a Scripture-rooted model for biblical church growth. Drawing from the example of Pentecost in Acts 2, it argued that churches can see explosive numerical growth in a single day if they just follow the right recipe. That recipe included lots of mailers and marketing promotions, all lights and bells and whistles the church could muster, all pointing towards one “Big Day” where the church would essentially “shock and awe” visitors into coming back for more.
Now, it’s not wrong to use mailers or to have a “Bring a friend day”—in fact, i think some of the ideas in the book are actually helpful tools. But, as a whole, the book seems to learn the wrong lesson from Acts 2. And, as we survey the landscape of churches nowadays, there’s a lot of churches that have learned the wrong lessons from the book of Acts.
FCF: Sometimes we get so focused on our methods and strategies that we loose sight of God’s sovereignty in the advancement of his Kingdom. But, the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost shows us that the Kingdom of God advances according to the sovereign plan of God, by the power of the Spirit of God, through the humble and willing people of God.
Not long ago, we read the account of Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah in Matthew 16:
Matthew 16:18 ESV
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
In this account, I want you to see what Jesus says to Peter—he says “I [Jesus] will build my church...” And here in Acts chapter 2, that’s exactly what we see happening. Matthew 16 provides the backdrop for our understanding of what is happening here in Acts 2. God is building his church. What we see in this passage very closely echoes the big idea for the book of Acts:
God advances his Kingdom according to his sovereign plan, by the power of his Holy Spirit , through his humble and willing Church.
Acts 2:1–41 ESV
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘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, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “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. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Prayer
First, we need to take a look from the 30,000 ft view so we can understand what is happening here in this passage and see where it fits in redemption history...
The Father has sovereignly foreordained the advancement of his Kingdom.
Jesus, during his earthly ministry, had pointed forward to this day
Matthew 16:18 ESV
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
But, it wasn’t just the Son’s plan, because we know that all that the Son does he does according to the will of the Father.
John 6:38 ESV
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
So, the building of the Church of Christ at Pentecost was part of the Father’s sovereign plan.
What happened at Pentecost was a unique, milestone event in salvation history.
Much like the Exodus, the inauguration the Davidic Kingdom, the crucifixion, and the resurrection, this is a significant milestone in the unfolding plan of God.
It is not repeatable or prescriptive.
For us as New Testament believers, it’s hard to imagine a time without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, but that’s exactly what the situation was before this moment in Acts 2. That’s part of what makes this event such a significant and unrepeatable event.
In the Old Testament, we see moments when the Holy Spirit indwells believers. But, by and large, these experiences are rare; they are for a specific people (mostly prophets, priests, and kings), specific purposes, and for a specific period of time.
We’re told that the Spirit descended upon Moses and the 70 elders, but apparently only for a brief period of time for most of the elders:
Numbers 11:25 ESV
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
The Spirit descends upon the judges, like Sampson, for brief periods of time in order to enable them to win a battle:
Judges 15:14–15 ESV
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.
David was a rare exception and seems to have been indwelt with the Spirit of the Lord for most, if not all, of his life from the point when he was anointed onward:
1 Samuel 16:13 ESV
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward...
But, for normal, everyday believers in God, they did not have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit like we do. The Spirit would descend upon their leaders or in their temple, but not upon them individually.
But, the Old Testament foretold of a day when all that would change.
OT Prophecies foretold the outpouring of the Spirit and the regeneration of the people of God.
Prophets like Ezekiel had foretold of a day when the Spirit of God would be poured out upon the people of God—not just upon the leaders for certain special occasions, but upon all the people in order to help them to obey God.
Ezekiel 36:26–27 ESV
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
When the Spirit of God came, God’s people would receive a new heart (“regeneration”) and would be able to obey God.
In his sermon, in Acts 2:17-21, Peter is quoting a passage from Joel 2 which foretold of a coming day when God would be in the midst of his people Israel, and would afterwards pour out his Spirit upon his people:
Joel 2:27–32 ESV
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
Now, put yourself in their shoes for a moment and realize how significant this prophecy and its fulfillment were to Israel. Joel was one of the last prophets in Israel. Israel had gone in a downward spiral and as the Old Testament closes, God’s people have been defeated and exiled.
Then there’s 400 years that go by where there is no prophet in Israel. No one has the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. There’s silence from heaven, and God’s people are again suffering under the rule of foreigners, just like they had in Egypt. They’re waiting for another Exodus, another prophet like Moses, another Elijah.
And then along comes John the Baptist, and he looks, acts, and preaches like Elijah. And then along comes Jesus who has power over the wind and the sea, but his power goes way further than Moses’ ever did.
And in his life and ministry there were signs, and in his death and burial and resurrection there were signs—the darkness during his crucifixion and the earthquakes at his death and resurrection.
And then from Pentecost onward, believers no longer had to go to the temple or a priest to be in the presence of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God would indwell them perpetually.
Do you realize what this means? A privilege that used to belong to prophets, priests, and kings is now yours through Christ.
1 Peter 2:9 ESV
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
A privilege that OT believers could have only dreamed of is now your everyday reality! You have the Holy Spirit within you, to convict you of sin, to help guide you into truth, to illuminate God’s Word for you as you read it and help you apply it to your life.
The outpouring of the Spirit was not something manufactured by the Apostles.
(2:1), it was something “the Father has fixed by his own authority” (1:7)
Acts 1:7 ESV
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
A lot of people will search for clues from the text here in Acts 2 to try to figure out how we can “recreate” Pentecost in our churches—what strategies and methods can we duplicate here to achieve a movement of the Holy Spirit.
But, if you look at verse 1, you’ll find no mailers, no marketing campaign, not even any door-to-door evangelism. Again, not that any of those things are bad in themselves, they just weren’t necessary for God to do what he wanted to do.
Acts 2:1 ESV
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
All the Apostles and disciples were doing was gathering together in unity.
As we talked about last week, unity is important. The disciples in Acts 1 were unified because they had all submitted their wills to God’s. They wanted what Jesus wanted.
Now, unity doesn’t automatically create growth; Our unity doesn’t force the hand of God to do anything. But, God is pleased to work through people who have submitted their wills to his and want to see him glorified.
So, that’s what we see happening here. The church has laid down their own will and are pursuing the will of God and the glory of God, and they’re gathered together expectantly waiting for God to do what only God can do.
They’re not trying to manufacture something or manipulate God. I see on social media all the time videos of people working themselves up into a frenzy, jumping around and trying to manufacture a movement of the Holy Spirit. But that’s nowhere in Scripture.
What is in Scripture is that the Spirit of God goes where he wishes when he wishes.
John 3:8 ESV
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The Spirit of God was poured out at Pentecost, ultimately, because that’s what he was pleased to do and that’s when he was pleased to do it.
You and I cannot force a revival or a “movement of the Spirit.” The Spirit is a person and he goes when and where he and the Father wish.
Some people look at Acts 2 and try to figure out how to recreate Pentecost. There’s even a song by Jesus Culture that has a repeated refrain that says, “We need another Pentecost.”
Well, the fact is that we can’t and shouldn’t try to recreate Pentecost any more than we could or should try to recreate the Exodus or the crucifixion. This was a one-time historical event that is unrepeatable and served a specific purpose in the unfolding plan of God.
But, even if the writers of this song mean that we need revival—as true as that is and as well intentioned as that may be, we don’t get to pick and choose when the Kingdom of God advances.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t play a part in it, it just means that we need to understand our part. Our part is to be humble, ready, and willing so that when God, in his sovereignty and wisdom, is ready to advance the Kingdom, we are ready to be a part of that.
We must willingly submit ourselves to the Father’s plan and be ready and willing to be used whenever he sees fit.
God will build his Church!
God advances his Kingdom according to his sovereign plan, by the power of his Holy Spirit , through his humble and willing Church.
So, first and foremost, Pentecost shows us that it is God who chooses when to advance his kingdom and he does so according to his sovereign plan.
The advancement of the Kingdom of God happens by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit brings about the advancement of the Kingdom of God in two primary ways:
The Spirit emboldens believers to proclaim the gospel.
In verse 2, they’re in the upper room of a house:
Acts 2:2 ESV
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
But, as they’re emboldened by the Spirit, apparently they change venues to accommodate the large crowd that begins to gather.
Based upon the number of people that came to faith that day—3,000 (according to v. 41)—it’s safe to assume that this was only a portion of the people that were present for Peter’s sermon.
We know that there were a large number of people present from verse 5, and this isn’t surprising because Pentecost was one of the three feasts each year that Jews were required to travel to Jerusalem to observe.
Acts 2:5 ESV
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
So, we don’t know how many people were actually present for this sermon, but it’s safe to assume several thousand, perhaps 10,000.
The only place in Jerusalem—with its narrow streets and small homes—that could accommodate such a large gathering would be the courtyard of the temple.
So, here we have Peter—who only a few weeks prior had been so timid and afraid that he had denied Jesus with an oath to a servant girl—now boldly standing before a massive crowd and unapologetically laying out the case for Jesus as Messiah and Lord, probably in the Temple complex itself!
Acts 2:14 ESV
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.
Acts 2:40 ESV
40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
What happened? Well, two things. 1) he saw the risen Jesus, and 2) he was filled with the Holy Spirit.
And this is a pattern that we’re going to see in Acts. When people get filled with the Spirit, they proclaim the gospel.
There’s a common misconception in some circles that being filled with the Spirit means flopping around on the ground, or shaking violently—well, that does happen in Scripture when people are filled with a spirit, but not when it’s the Spirit of God!
When the Spirit of God filled the disciples and apostles, they preached the word of God and the gospel. And, they weren’t just rambling on and on—Peter preached a coherent, persuasive, Scripture filled sermon. He cites multiple Old Testament passages and ties them together and makes a fairly intricate argument from the OT that Jesus is both Messiah and Lord.
When you suddenly have the boldness and courage to share the gospel with someone—that’s the Spirit at work in you. When you suddenly have the ability to clearly explain Scripture—that’s the Spirit at work in you.
Peter interprets the speaking in tongues that happens at Pentecost not as something that is supposed to happen all the time, but as a sign that points to the unique event that is happening before their eyes in salvation history.
So, if you’re nervous about sharing your faith or don’t feel like you know how, pray to God and ask for the Spirit’s help. He will give you the boldness and clarity you need to share the gospel.
The Spirit brings sinners to repentance and faith in Christ.
Jesus prophesied of the coming of the Spirit and what he would do:
John 16:7–11 ESV
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
In John 16, Jesus tells his disciples that his death and departure would pave the way for the “Helper” to come. The Helper, Jesus said, would bring conviction for sins, awareness of Jesus’ righteousness, and judgement upon the powers of sin in the world.
We see all of this fulfilled in Acts 2 as many Jews are brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost.
Acts 2:37 ESV
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
The advancement of the Kingdom of God happens through the Church’s proclamation of Jesus as Lord.
It’s often argued by skeptics and cults that the Trinity was something that later Christians made up that is not taught in Scripture. If you’ve been with us for our study through Matthew, then you’ve seen references to Jesus’ divinity pointed out numerous times already. You might get tired of it, but it seems to me that there’s a renewed assault upon this time-tested doctrine, so I’m going to point it out every time I get a chance. This is not something we “made up,” this is simply the result of what Scripture itself teaches.
Peter points to three Old Testament passages that foretold of the exaltation of the Messiah as someone who would be more than a mere man. Taken together and with the context of Peter’s sermon, these form a powerful testimony to the Apostles’ belief in Jesus’ divinity and that the entire OT pointed towards this truth that would be later revealed in Christ.
Outline of Peter’s Sermon:
The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost is a fulfillment of OT prophecies (Joel 2) and verifies that Jesus is the Messiah. (vv. 14-23)
The Messiah’s resurrection was foretold in Ps. 16 and was fulfilled by Jesus. (vv. 24-32)
Jesus’ resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit, in light of Ps. 110, mean that he must not only be Messiah but also Lord. (vv. 33-36)
OT Prophecies pointed to a divine Messiah
Psalm 16 attributes more to the Messiah than what can be said of a mere human.
Peter is pointing out that there are things that David wrote in this Psalm that don’t seem to apply well to David himself:
Psalm 16:8 ESV
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
How could David say that the LORD was always before him, that the Lord was at his right hand? That would be pretty bold claims. Nowhere in Scripture is any human ever said to be seated at the right hand of God, and certainly David while he was living could not make that claim. But Jesus did claim to have come from the Father and claimed to be ascending back to the Father after his resurrection.
Psalm 16:10 ESV
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
David writes that he won’t be abandoned to the grave (Sheol) and that he won’t “see corruption,” which is a euphemism for a decaying body. Basically, this is a claim to immortality.
So, as Peter points out, David couldn’t have been talking about himself but was rather prophesying about the future Messiah:
Acts 2:29–31 ESV
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Peter’s point in all of this is that Psalm 16, like many other Psalms (including the other one he quotes here in Acts 2), is actually about the coming Messiah, not about David. And these Messianic Psalms assert things about the Messiah that no mere mortal could fulfill.
Ps. 110 equates the Messiah with Adonai (God)
Acts 2:34–35 ESV
34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’
Peter here cites a well-known Messianic Psalm, one that pretty much every Jew realized had to be referring to the Messiah (not to David himself)
Psalm 110:1 ESV
1 The Lord (YHWH) says to my (David’s) Lord (Adonai): “Sit at my (YHWH’s) right hand, until I make your (Adonai’s) enemies your footstool.”
Jesus himself cited this passage in Matthew 22 when he was speaking to the Pharisees to demonstrate their ignorance about his identity. Since I preached a whole sermon on that, I’m not going to repeat everything but simply summarize.
This Psalm refers to a descendant of David that David himself calls “Adonai.” That’s pretty remarkable, considering that Jews only ever used that name, “Adonai,” to refer to God himself.
When Peter said “Jesus is Lord” he meant “Jesus is God.”
Three pieces of evidence from Peter’s sermon that he believed Jesus was God.
1. While the OT says salvation comes through the name of YHWH, Peter says salvation comes in the name of Jesus.
Joel 2:32 ESV
32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [YHWH] shall be saved...
Acts 2:38 ESV
38 And Peter said to them, “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.
2. Peter uses the same word (kyrios) of Jesus as he uses to translate the divine names YHWH and Adonai without clarifying any distinction.
Now, the Greek word which is translated “Lord” is kyrios.
And skeptics will point out that the word kyrios in Greek is not a perfect match for the word YHWH—kyrios can simply mean, “master,” and in fact it’s used that way in Scripture a number of times. Really, the only way you can distinguish between Kyrios meaning “God” and kyrios meaning “master” is from context.
Throughout Peter’s sermon, he translates a divine name from the OT as kyrios five times (Acts 2:20, 21, 25, 34). The very next usage of kyrios is his next sentence, where he proclaims:
Acts 2:36 ESV
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Greek speaking Jews, no doubt, would have known well to be careful of the context in which they used that word, knowing that it was also the word they used for the proper name of God.
Peter and everyone there knew full well that Jesus had made claims to divinity and that was what had gotten him crucified.
If the Apostles did not intend us to interpret “Jesus is Lord” as meaning “Jesus is God,” then they were blasphemously careless with their words.
Then, right after asserting that “Jesus is Lord”...
3. Peter refers to Jesus as “the Lord our God.”
Acts 2:39 ESV
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord (kurios) our God (theos) calls to himself.”
Now, Peter is tying together two verses from Joel 2 that we’ve already looked at:
Joel 2:27 ESV
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
Joel 2:32 ESV
32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
We’ve already seen that Peter interprets this entire passage to be referring to Jesus. In v. 32, for example, “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Peter interprets to mean calling upon the name of Jesus. So, again, the most natural referent in Peter’s sermon for the phrase “the Lord our God” is Jesus himself.
Here, Peter equates kyrios (Lord, referring to Jesus Christ) with theos (an unambiguous word that refers only to God).
Conclusion:
Now, the point of all this is simple. God advances his Kingdom according to his sovereign plan, and by the power of his Spirit. But he usually does so through people like you and me. People who have surrendered their wills to the will of God. People who are on mission for God and want to be used by him to advance his Kingdom.
Now, I have pointed out several ways of interpreting Acts 2 that I think are misguided, but I don’t want to leave you with the impression that everything you read in Acts was for “Bible times” and not for us. That’s simply not true.
We are living in Bible times still. We are still a part of the unfolding plan of God, and the Spirit is still alive and he still moves today. You are all witnesses of this fact yourselves, as we’ve seen a little revival here in our church ourselves. And I have seen and been a part of things that sound like they could have come straight out of the pages of Acts.
I have seen people be saved from what should have been fatal injuries through prayer. I have seen drunk and, I believe, demonized men come under conviction of the Holy Spirit and give their lives to Christ. I’ve seen a man spared from the jaws of a crocodile, transformed from a life of drunkenness and domestic abuse into a powerful preacher, man of God, and Bible translator. I’ve seen a regular old testimonial service transformed unexpectedly into a revival. And every day, I see the Spirit opening my eyes to the truth of his word, convicting me of sin, drawing me into a closer walk with God, and giving me opportunities and boldness to declare that Jesus is Lord.
The Spirit of God still moves today. Are you ready and willing to be used by him to advance the kingdom of God? Are you willing to boldly proclaim Jesus is Lord?
Benediction:
Revelation 1:5–6 ESV
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
- - Matthew 16:18ESV
- - Acts 2:1–41ESV
- - Matthew 16:18ESV
- - John 6:38ESV
- - Numbers 11:25ESV
- - Judges 15:14–15ESV
- - 1 Samuel 16:13ESV
- - Ezekiel 36:26–27ESV
- - Joel 2:27–32ESV
- - 1 Peter 2:9ESV
- - Acts 1:7ESV
- - Acts 2:1ESV
- - John 3:8ESV
- - Acts 2:2ESV
- - Acts 2:5ESV
- - Acts 2:14ESV
- - Acts 2:40ESV
- - John 16:7–11ESV
- - Acts 2:37ESV
- - Psalm 16:8ESV
- - Psalm 16:10ESV
- - Acts 2:29–31ESV
- - Acts 2:34–35ESV
- - Psalm 110:1ESV
- - Joel 2:32ESV
- - Acts 2:38ESV
- - Acts 2:36ESV
- - Acts 2:39ESV
- - Joel 2:27ESV
- - Joel 2:32ESV
- - Revelation 1:5–6ESV

Acts 2:32–33ESV

The Father has sovereignly foreordained the advancement of his Kingdom.

What happened at Pentecost was a unique, milestone event in salvation history.

OT Prophecies foretold the outpouring of the Spirit and the regeneration of the people of God.

The outpouring of the Spirit was not something manufactured by the Apostles.

The advancement of the Kingdom of God happens by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit emboldens believers to proclaim the gospel.

The Spirit brings sinners to repentance and faith in Christ.

The advancement of the Kingdom of God happens through the Church’s proclamation of Jesus as Lord.

OT Prophecies pointed to a divine Messiah

Psalm 16 attributes more to the Messiah than what can be said of a mere human.

Ps. 110 equates the Messiah with Adonai (God)

When Peter said “Jesus is Lord” he meant “Jesus is God.”

1. While the OT says salvation comes through the name of YHWH, Peter says salvation comes in the name of Jesus.

2. Peter uses the same word (kyrios) of Jesus as he uses to translate the divine names YHWH and Adonai without clarifying any distinction.

3. Peter refers to Jesus as “the Lord our God.”

Matthew 16:18ESV

Acts 2:1–41ESV

Matthew 16:18ESV

John 6:38ESV

Numbers 11:25ESV

Judges 15:14–15ESV

1 Samuel 16:13ESV

Ezekiel 36:26–27ESV

Joel 2:27–32ESV

1 Peter 2:9ESV

Acts 1:7ESV

Acts 2:1ESV

John 3:8ESV

Acts 2:2ESV

Acts 2:5ESV

Acts 2:14ESV

Acts 2:40ESV

John 16:7–11ESV

Acts 2:37ESV

Psalm 16:8ESV

Psalm 16:10ESV

Acts 2:29–31ESV

Acts 2:34–35ESV

Psalm 110:1ESV

Joel 2:32ESV

Acts 2:38ESV

Acts 2:36ESV

Acts 2:39ESV

Joel 2:27ESV

Joel 2:32ESV

Revelation 1:5–6ESV