Transcript Act Five: Spreading the News of the King & The

Act Five: Spreading the News
of the King & The Mission
of the Church
Scene One: From Jerusalem to Rome
All that Jesus continues to do and teach…
(Acts 1:1)
Acts tells the story of the continuing
mission of the exalted Christ by His Spirit
to give salvation to the church, and
through the church to the whole world.
Exaltation of Jesus

Coronation day: installation of
rightful king

Place: Right hand of God (Acts 2:33)

Name: Lord (Phil. 2:9-11)

Hidden (Heb. 2:8f.)
Work of Exalted Christ

Subdue his enemies (Acts 2:34f.)

Makes disciples (Matt.28:18-20)

Pours out blessings of salvation (Lk- Acts)

Directs world history (Revelation)
“The book of Acts, the epistles,
and Revelation… are
predominantly about the work of
the exalted Jesus in the church
and in the world.”
-Hendrikus Berkhof
“Exalted to the right hand of God,
he has received from the Father
the promised Holy Spirit and has
poured out what you now see
and hear.”
(Acts 2:33)
Pentecost: Coming of Spirit
Spirit pouring out
Spirit pouring out
Jesus
Luke 3:21-22
Church
Acts 2:1-13
Pentecost: Acts 2:1-13


Old Testament Promise
Jewish feast of Pentecost
 Firstfruits
 Inclusion


of nations
Wind and fire: Powerful presence of God
Tongues: Salvation for the nations
Pentecost: Acts 2:14-41
Peter’s Sermon Outline






Spirit means last days (17-21)
Life of Jesus (22)
Death of Jesus (23)
Resurrection (24-32)
Exaltation (33-36)
Response with promise of the Spirit (38-39)
A question about the kingdom (Acts 1:6)…
…An answer about the Spirit (Acts 1:8)
“It is not so much the case of
where Jesus is there is the Kingdom, as
where the Spirit is there is the Kingdom.”
-James Dunn
(Luke 3:21f; Matt. 12:28; Acts 10:38; Rom. 14: 17)
Era of Witness
Spirit
Kingdom
mission of
Jesus
to Israel
death
resurrection
exaltation
Pentecost
Kingdom
mission of
church
to nations
Pentecost: Acts 2:14-41
Witness to the Kingdom:

By Spirit through incarnate Jesus (gospels)

Of the exalted Christ by the Spirit through
the church (Acts)
Mission…




Israel’s mission to be light to nations:
Failure!
Jesus fulfills Israel’s mission
Jesus gathers new Israel to continue
mission to nations
Church continues Israel’s, Jesus’ mission
From Pentecost to Church





Formation of new Israel (1:12- 26)
Pentecost (2:1-13)
Peter’s sermon (2:14-36)
Response: 3000 added (2:37-41)
Formation of ideal witnessing community
(2:42-47)
The Spirit Forms a
Community: Acts 2:42-47



Devotion to apostles’ teaching, fellowship,
breaking of bread, and prayer: Celebrating
and nourishing kingdom life (v. 42)
Life of kingdom manifested: Attractive
‘good news people’ (v. 43-47)
Lord adds to number (v. 47)
Story of Acts (1:8)

Witness in Jerusalem 3:1-6:7

Witness in Samaria and Judea 6:8-12:24

Witness to Ends of Earth 12:25-end
“Acts narrates the progress of the gospel
from a small gathering of Jewish disciples of
the earthly Jesus in Jerusalem, across
formidable cultic, ethnic, relational, and
geographical boundaries, to Paul's bold and
unhindered preaching of the risen and
ascended Jesus to Gentiles in Rome. Acts is
unmistakably a story of missionary
expansion, which is announced in 1:8 and
confirmed along the way with the so-called
progress reports.”
-Rosner
Witness in Jerusalem:
Continuing Jesus’ Mission

Word and deed (3:1-26)

Suffering (4:1-22)

Prayer (4:23-31)

Work of God (6:7)

Attractive life of community (4:32-37; 6:1-6)
Witness in Samaria and Judea

Beyond Jerusalem
 Unplanned
expansion by persecution (8:1-3)
 To Judea and Samaria

Beyond Apostles
 Stephen,
Phillip (6:8-8:40)
 Common believers (8:4; 11:19-21)

Beyond Jews
 Gentiles
(10, 11)
Witness to the Ends of the Earth

Antioch: First Gentile church

Paul’s missionary journeys

Paul’s trials and witness

To Rome
Church as a Missionary
Community: Nearby and Faraway
Pattern in Antioch (Acts 11, 13)



Christians: ‘Evidence of grace of God’ in
church at Antioch (11:23)
‘Great number of people brought to the
Lord’ (11:24)
Sent Saul and Barnabas (13:1-3)
Spontaneous Expansion of the
Church (Roland Allen)



Attractive life of the community
Spontaneous evangelism by common
members of the church
Planting new churches
Paul’s Pattern

Pioneer church planting (Rom.15:23)
 Three

missionary journeys
Build them up for faithful witness
 Visits
on journeys
 Letters
The Apostle Paul

Rabbinic training: old age and age to
come
Prophetic
Spirit
Expectation
Messiah
Sin
Death
Evil
Satan
Knowledge
of God
Love
Joy
Justice
OLD AGE
AGE TO COME
The Apostle Paul
Rabbinic training: old age and age to
come
 Rejects Jesus’ proclamation that the
age to come has arrived
 Converted (Acts 9:1-18)


Sees everything in a new way
Paul’s Teaching

The kingdom of God has dawned in
Jesus’ death and resurrection
New Testament Fulfillment
Powers of
sin
death
evil
Satan
OLD AGE
Power of
Spirit’s
renewing
work
AGE TO COME
“The whole content of Paul's preaching can
be summarized as the proclamation and
explication of the eschatological day of
salvation inaugurated with Christ's advent,
death, and resurrection. It is from this
principal point of view and under this
denominator that all the separate themes of
Paul's preaching can be understood and
penetrated in their unity and relation to
each other.”
-Ridderbos
Paul’s Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned in
Jesus’ death and resurrection
 Nurturing the life of Christ
Organic: Growing up to maturity
Architectural: Building on a
foundation

Paul’s Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned in
Jesus’ death and resurrection
 Nurturing the life of Christ
 New life and new obedience

New Life and New Obedience






Obedience based on what God has done
Resurrection life in the Spirit
New relationship to God: Justification,
reconciliation, adoption
Obedience motivated by love
Obedience normed by law
Whole of human life
Paul’s Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned in
Jesus’ death and resurrection
 Nurturing the life of Christ
 New life and new obedience
 For the sake of the world

For the sake of the world

Exemplary and attractive
“The Christians’ lifestyle should not only be
exemplary, but also winsome. It should attract
outsiders and invite them to join the
community… Their ‘exemplary existence’ is a
powerful magnet that draws outsiders toward
the church.”
-Bosch
For the sake of the world
Exemplary and attractive
 Public life of culture

“…the obligation of Christians to ‘live as
citizens’ in the world of politeia [the public
life of the state] in a way that is worthy of
the gospel.”
-Winter
Paul’s Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned in
Jesus’ death and resurrection
 Nurturing the life of Christ
 New life and new obedience
 For the sake of the world
 The coming of the Lord

Ending of Acts
Why so abrupt? Loose ends?
 Story of Acts has not ended
 Continues today until Christ returns

“…the ending of Acts is truly an opening to the
continuing life of the messianic people, as it
continues to preach the kingdom and teach the
things concerning Jesus both boldly and without
hindrance.”
-Johnson
Scene Two: And into All the World
Tasting and Displaying the Kingdom:
The Church’s Witness
Our Place in the Story
Our Place in the Story


What time is it?’ Where are we at in the
story of the Bible?
Light to the world: Continuing Israel’s
mission
 Gen.12:2-3;
Gal.3:14: Channels of blessing
 Ex.19:3-6; I Pet.2:9: Model people
 Is.49:6; Matt.5:14-16: Light to the world

Making known the kingdom: Continuing
Jesus’ mission
Summary: Jesus’ Kingdom Mission

Announced reign of God with words

Demonstrated reign of God with deeds

Explained kingdom of God with teaching

Embodied reign of God with life

Prayed for reign of God to come

Suffered for reign of God

Formed community to live under rule of God
 ‘As
the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’
“Jesus has not left us with a rigid model
for action; rather he inspired his disciples
to prolong the logic of his own action in a
creative way amid the new and different
historical circumstances in which the
community would have to proclaim the
gospel.”
-Bosch
Our Place in the Story




What time is it?’ Where are we at in the
story of the Bible?
Light to the world: Continuing Israel’s
mission
Making known the kingdom: Continuing
Jesus’ mission
Bearing faithful witness: Continuing the
mission of the early church
Bearing Faithful Witness:
Continuing the Mission of the
Early Church


Foretaste
Preview
We have a foretaste of the Kingdom…
 Actual
taste now
 Complete meal in future
We are previews of the Kingdom…
 Actual
footage of movie/kingdom
 Designed to interest viewer in future
movie/kingdom so they will want to
participate
Bearing Faithful Witness:
Continuing the Mission of the
Early Church




Foretaste
Preview
Following the church in Jerusalem and
Antioch (Acts 2:42-47; 13:1)
Witness to God’s rule over all of life
Following the apostles, the church is sent–
Sent with the gospel of the kingdom
to make disciples of all nations,
to feed the hungry,
to proclaim the assurance that in the name of Christ
there is forgiveness of sin and new life
for all who repent an believe–
To tell the news that our world belongs to God.
In a world estranged from God,
where millions face confusing choices,
this mission is central to our being,
for we announce the one name that saves.
Contemporary Testimony: 44
The rule of Jesus Christ covers the whole world.
To follow this Lord is to serve him everywhere,
without fitting in,
as lights in the darkness,
as salt in a spoiling world.
Contemporary Testimony: 45
Embodying salvation means...
...living under Christ’s lordship
in all of life.
Sacred/Secular Dualism
(See Wolter’s p.66-68)
Sacred
Secular
Prayer
Worship
Minister
Missionary
Church
Family
Making love
Watching TV
Journalist
Politician
University
Government
Activities
Professions
Realms
Clash of Kingdoms
Antithesis
Kingdom
of darkness
Kingdom
of God
Creation
Bearing Faithful Witness:
Continuing the Mission of the
Early Church





Foretaste
Preview
Following the church in Jerusalem and
Antioch (Acts 2:42-47; 13:1)
Witness to God’s rule over all of life
To the ends of the earth
Our Place in the Story







‘What time is it?’
Already/not yet era of kingdom
Act five: Church continues the kingdom
mission of Jesus
Foretaste
Preview
Witness to Christ’s rule over all of life
To the ends of the earth
What does it mean to live in the
Biblical story today?




As university students
As citizens
In a world of poverty and overconsumption
In a world of diminishing resources
End of Act Five