O UR L ord ’ s last commission is recorded in the first chapter of Acts: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). This verse gives us our Lord’s final commission to His disciples as well as the outline of the book of Acts, and describes the program for the Church which began at Pentecost, and will be completed at the Second Com ing of Christ. It was in three stages: 1. Jerusalem and Judaea 2. Samaria 3. The uttermost part of the earth The book of Acts is therefore easily divided accord ing to this commission and program. The first seven chapters record the first division—the ministry of the apostles to the Jews “ in Jerusalem and Judaea.” They preached to no one but Jews. They did not go beyond Judaea and they still preached the message of the King dom. The second stage of this program “ and in Sama ria” is recorded in chapters 8 to 12, and marks a transi tion period. The Gospel now goes beyond Judaea into Samaria. It had been preached in Jerusalem to the Jew first, and now it is to go beyond Judaea. After Philip carries the message to Samaria, the third stage of the commission begins in chapter 13, with the sending forth of the first missionaries to the Gentiles. This last stage of sending the Gospel to the “ uttermost part of the earth” occupies the rest of Acts, from chapter 13 to 28, and is still in the process of being carried out. The Gospel was to “ the Jew first” (that is history); then to Samaria (that, too, is history); and we believe the last part, “ to the uttermost part of the earth,” is rapidly nearing fulfillment in this age o f radio, literacy and the printed page. In the first two parts of the pro gram, to the Jews and the Samaritans (who were half Jewish), Peter and the apostles do the preaching. In the fulfillment of the last phase, to the Gentiles—“ the uttermost part of the earth,” the Apostle Paul takes over the stage. We emphasize the importance of recog nizing this threefold commission and its development
in the book of Acts, so we repeat: (1) To Jerusalem and Judaea (Acts 1 to 7 ) ; (2) To Samaria (Acts 8 to 12 ); (3) To the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 13 to 28). P reparation for the T ask We come now to the most important chapter in Acts, the second chapter. It records the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, in preparing the disciples for their great task of carrying out this pro gram to Jerusalem, Samaria, and all the earth. Failure to rightly interpret the events of this day of Pentecost will becloud the study of the rest of Acts. The right interpretation of all that follows in Acts depends upon the right interpretation of the meaning of the baptism in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The chapter opens:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, ' as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 1:1-4).
This was not the first day of Pentecost. This day had been annually celebrated for hundreds of years by the nation of Israel, and this particular day recorded in Acts was the prophetic fulfillment of the typical Pen- tecosts which had foreshadowed the outpouring o f the Spirit upon the disciples. Pentecost was one of the seven Jewish feasts mentioned in Leviticus 23, begin ning with the Passover and ending with the Feast of Tabernacles. These were annual, prophetic, typical feasts, pointing forward to Christ’s coming. The Pass- over was fulfilled at Calvary; the Unleavened Bread in His burial; the Firstfruits in His resurrection; and Pentecost was fulfilled in Acts 2. The word “ pentecost” means literally “ fiftieth” so the literal translation of Acts 2:1 should be “and when
THE KING 'S BUSINESS
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