Bible Study Week 8
Part 1
The Birth of the Church
The Death of the Testator
When Jesus died on the cross, He was the "propitiation for our sins" (I John 2:2). His death was necessary, as it is written in the Book of Hebrews. "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth" (Hebrews 9:16-17). Jesus' death gave humankind the possibility of an inheritance of eternal life.
The Promise of the Holy Ghost
Just prior to His ascension, Jesus told His disciples not to begin their ministry yet, but to wait in the city of Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. Without the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the Great Commission would have been a hopeless task to fulfill. The preaching of the gospel was to be done in the power and the inspiration of the Spirit. In Acts 1:8 Jesus promised the disciples power. The Holy Ghost was the power that would extend the influence of the disciples' ministry to the uttermost parts of the earth. It was to begin at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.
The Upper Room
About 120 of Jesus' disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem. Among them were Mary the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14), His brothers, and the twelve apostles. For approximately seven to ten days, they remained there in constant prayer and supplication. Then the Jewish feast day of Pentecost arrived.
>>> Why do you think prayer prepared those in the upper room for receiving the promise of the Holy Ghost?
Prayer is our way of connecting to God. During prayer, we can confess and repent of any sin to prepare our heart for God, and we can speak out our praises to God to invite Him to fill our lives. While we don't know the words those in the upper room used, their example of diligent prayer is a model for us.
The Outpouring of the Holy Ghost
The disciples were all with one accord in their worship and prayer. Acts 2:1-4 records the details of this first glorious outpouring of the Holy Ghost. The place where they were sitting was overwhelmed by the sound of a rushing, mighty wind that came from Heaven.
Acts 2:3 records another supernatural event immediately following the wind. Cloven tongues of fire appeared and sat upon each of them.
Of the Many wonderful things that took place in the upper room, the greatest miracle was the one recorded in verse 4. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues (languages) as the Spirit gave them utterance. When they were all filled with the Spirit, the initial sign of the baptism of the Holy Ghost was given. The disciples began to speak with other tongues, glorifying God in languages they had never learned.
The Crowd Asks Questions about the Holy Ghost
The Feast of Pentecost was a holy day in Israel fifty days after the Passover. Jews from all over the Roman Empire were gathered at Jerusalem. The news spread through the city of the events that took place in the upper room. A Great multitude gathered to see what was happening. The disciples were still rejoicing and speaking in tongues under the intoxicating influence of the Spirit.
Jesus had promised the disciples in John 16:22 that the day would come when their hearts would be filled with joy that no could take from them. The baptism of the Holy Ghost fulfilled that promise. The apostle Peter later described it as "joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8).
As the disciples continued to rejoice, suddenly amazement rippled through the crowd like a wave. The multitude of foreign Jews began to hear the disciples praising God in their own native languages. They knew the disciples had no way of knowing these languages on their own. Some reacted by asking the question, "What meaneth this?" Others dismissed the whole event by accusing the disciples of being drunk.