March, 1942
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
IOS
For the International
show that salvation is all of God, by grace, and that wé owe Him every thing (Eph. 2:8, 9). APRIL 19, 1942 THE CHURCH GROWS IN POWER A cts 2:41-4-7 By Chester J. Padgett Introduction The day of Pentecost is one of the greatest days in the history of the Christian church. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit, the third Person- of .the Trinity, came to take up His abode in believers and to empower them for a life of witnessing to the deity and Saviourhood of the Lord Jesus Christ. v When the Holy Spirit came, with the attending signs and w o n d e r s (Acts 2:1-13), the people who saw the event were amazed and wondered what it meant. To explain the mean ing of the things witnessed on that occasion, Peter stood and preached his memorable sermon which resulted in the salvation of three, thousand souls. These new converts began immediate ly to evince the marks of the new birth; they grew in power and in abil ity to winsomely present the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. The growth in power of the early church was not a mere accident but was produced according to definite spiritual laws. The spiritual laws which g o v e r n e d the phenomenal growth of the infant church are the same laws which g o v e r n spiritual growth today arid which have gov erned it since the . inception of the c h u r c h as a Spirit-filled organism at the time of Pentecost. The indi vidual Christian or the,church organi zation desirous of spiritual growth must obey the laws set forth in Acts 2:42-47. The observance of these laws will, without exception, produce pow er In the life. For Those Wlio Have Topics I. POWER THROUGH APPROPRIAT ING THE GOD-GIVEN MEANS OF GRACE (Acts 2:42). 1. Power through the study of doc trine (the apostles’ teaching). T h e study of doctrine is the privilege of every Christian and the duty of every Christian. The Bible is the people’s Book and not intended for the clergy only. If every Christian would dig deep into the treasurès of the Scrip tures on his own volition, the revival for which many have been praying would be upon us. Notice that thè members of the early church “con tinued” ; that is, they were consist ent students of the Word. And they continued “steadfastly” ; that is, they
III. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHURCH (.v. 18). The matchless Son said, “I will build my church.” A 1th o u g h the church existed in the mind and pur pose of God from all eternity (Eph. 1:4), yet it is being constructed in time. Just as God’s glory was mani fested in thé tabernacle of old be cause it was His dwelling place, so today His tabernacle is in those who believe; and day by day the Lord adds to this heavenly construction, the true church, such individuals as are being saved (cf. Acts 2:47, R. V. margin). Emphasize the necessity of Christ’s doing the b u i l d i n g (Psa. 127:1). IV. THE OWNER OF THE CHURCH (v. 18). The Lord Jesus said, “I will build my church.” The church which is made up of born-again believers be longs only to the Lord. Denomina tions and sects may own the houses of w o r s h i p , but the Lord owns-His church. The church is His Body (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 1:22, 23); it is His inheritance (Eph. 1:11, R. V.); it is the result of the travail of His soul (Isa. 53:11). V. THE CHA R A C T E R OF THE CHURCH (vs. 18, 19). ^ 1. The church of Christ is a prevail ing church: “The gates of hell shaU not prevail against it.” Every mem ber of the true church shall receive his eternal reward; Christ shall in no wisq lose one of those whom He has purchased with His blood. His child is secure; the e t e r n a l God is his refuge, and underneath are the ever lasting arms (Deut. 33:27; John 6:37; 10:27-29). 2. The church of Christ is a privi leged church (v. 19). The keys of the kingdom were given to-all the dis ciples, not to Peter only (Matt. 18:18). Peter used the keys to open the door for three thousand souls at Pentecost (Acts 2) and for Cornelius (Acts 10). Are you opening the doors of salva tion for your lost friends? 3. The church of Christ is a power ful church (v. 19). Whatever the closing words of verse 19 mean, they certainly imply power in life and tes timony for the followers of Christ (cf. Acts 1:8). For the Leader 1. Press the necessity of a personal evaluation of Jesus Christ. The ques tion, “But whom say ye that I am?” must be answered by every soul indi vidually. The world does not believe in the deity of Christ and in His Sav- iourhood (vs. 13, 14); whom say ye that He is? ■* 2. Stress the grace and the love of God in revealing Christ (v. 17), and
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LET US GIVE THANKS that we have an abundance of food and the Bread of Life and religious liberty. LET US PRAY for the peoples of the war-ridden lands, the homeless, the sick, the • suffering, the wounded . .. “We are debtors” to them, for Christ’s sake, therefore LET US REMEMBER them with a special gift right now and send them comfort of the Gos pel- and something for their daily bread. |Send all your love-gifts cheerfully to the RUSSIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, Ine. Miss M. N. Fetter, Secretary 1844 W . Monroe St., Room 2, Chicago, III. A sk fo r our free magazine ' — 1 “ T h e . Friend o f Russians
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