All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in others tongues as the Spirit enabled them. [....] When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment... [....] Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another.... Acts 2:4,6,12The "birth" of the Church is recorded in Act 2 with the disciples hearing the sound of a violent wind and tongues of fire coming to rest upon each one of them. They begin to speak in other languages and Jewish folks all around the world who are visiting in Jerusalem hear them declaring the wonders of God in their own language. The foreigners were bewildered, amazed and perplexed and were struggling to understand what all of this meant. So, Peter stands up, addresses the crowd, assuring the visitors that those speaking in tongues are not drunk. Then he quotes Joel 2 and intimates that these things are normal for the "last days." Next, Peter reminds the "men of Israel" that they were the ones who nailed God's son Jesus to the cross, but, good news, God raised him from the dead. He then preaches his heart out and concludes with exhorting them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus....and about 3,000 folks accepted Christ on that day.
Come on!....what a strangely bewildering, amazing and perplexing plot....seriously. As such, one thing is for sure- the church is now characterized by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the church is not primarily some sociological phenomenon of human creation; it is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, divinely created to carry out a very particular mission. Wonder what we should do with this truth? I have a few ideas.....(to be continued).
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