Lesson 1.31: The King Begins His Rule

Loved one, WORK AT YOUR OWN PACE, and please be patient as you study. Reply with ONLY the 11 answers to the exam. The next lesson will then be sent with your corrected exam answers. A beautiful completion certificate will be sent to your email upon completion of all 36 lessons.

Pray for wisdom and understanding as you absorb this Spirit filled, faith building, knowledgeable material (John 8:32). If you would like to comment or ask a Bible question, please do. Lord willing, a Bible answer to your question will be provided.

To the good God of Heaven and Earth be the Glory as His Will is done (1 Corinthians 10:31). We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35; Ephesians 4:15). The Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572427827731

LESSON 1.31: THE KING BEGINS HIS RULE

Loved one, the apostles went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. They were very happy. When they entered the city, they went to the upper room where they were staying.

The apostles were all together. They were constantly praying with the same purpose. Jesus' brothers and some women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, were there with the apostles (Acts 1:12-14).

Matthias Is Chosen To Take Judas' Place

After a few days, there was a meeting of the believers (Acts 1:15-26). There were about 120 of them. Peter stood up and said, "Brothers and sisters, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit said through David that Judas would lead men to arrest Jesus. [Judas was paid money for doing this. But when he saw what was done to Jesus, he was very sorry, and he hanged himself.] So now another man must join us and be a witness of Jesus' resurrection."

The apostles put two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas. The other man was Matthias. The apostles prayed, "Lord, show us which one of these two men you choose to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs. Lord, show us which man should take his place as an apostle!"

Then the apostles used lots to choose one of the two men. (Lots were rocks or sticks used for making a choice.) The lots showed that Matthias was the one the Lord wanted. So he became an apostle with the other eleven.

The Apostles Receive The Holy Spirit

When the day of Pentecost came, the apostles were all together in one place. (Pentecost was a Jewish festival that came fifty days after the Passover.) [READ Acts chapter 2].

Suddenly a noise came from heaven (vs. 1-4). It sounded like a strong wind blowing. This noise filled the whole house where the apostles were sitting. "They saw something that looked like flames of fire. The flames were separated and sat upon each apostle." The apostles "were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages. The Holy Spirit was giving them the power to do this."

The People Were Amazed

There were many godly Jewish men in Jerusalem at this time. They were from every country in the world. A large group of these men came together because they heard the noise. They were surprised because as the apostles were speaking, every person heard in their own language. They were all amazed at this. They did not understand how the apostles could do this (vs. 5-7a).

They said, "Look! These men that we hear speaking are all from Galilee! But we hear them in our own languages. How is this possible? We are from many different countries, but we can hear these men in our own languages! We can all understand the great things they are saying about God" (vs. 7b-11).

The people were amazed and confused. They asked each other, "What is happening?" But others were laughing at the apostles, saying they were drunk from too much wine (vs. 12-13).

Peter Speaks To The People

Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles. He spoke loudly so that all the people could hear. He said, "My Jewish brothers and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me. I will tell you something you need to know. Listen carefully. These men are not drunk as you think. It is only nine o'clock in the morning! But Joel the prophet wrote about what you see happening here today. This is what he wrote: 'God says, "In the last days I will give my Spirit to all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. In those days, I will pour out my Spirit to my servants, men and women" (vs. 14-18).

Peter said, "My fellow Israelites, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you. He proved it by the miracles, wonders, and miraculous signs he did through Jesus. You all saw these things, so you know this is true. Jesus was handed over to you, and you killed him. With the help of evil men, you nailed Jesus to a cross. But God knew all this would happen. It was his plan—a plan he made long ago. Jesus suffered the pain of death, but God made him free. God raised Jesus from death" (vs. 22-24).

Peter continued, "David said this about Jesus... 'You will not leave me in the place of death. You will not let the body of your Holy One rot in the grave.' ... David was talking about Jesus rising from death. We are all witnesses of this. We saw him! Jesus was lifted up to heaven. Now Jesus is with God, at God's right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Jesus, so Jesus has now poured out that Spirit. This is what you see and hear... Let all the people of Israel know this for certain: God has made Jesus to be Lord and Christ. He is the man you nailed to the cross!" (vs. 25-36).

For 2,000 years, people had looked forward to this day. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and all the prophets had looked forward to it. Even Jesus had pointed to it. Now, the time had finally arrived. This was the day when Jesus sat down next to God to rule over His kingdom.

About 3,000 People Enter God's Kingdom

When the people heard this, they felt very, very sorry. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" (v. 37). Peter said to them, "Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for the people who are far away. It is for every person the Lord our God calls to himself" (vs. 38-39).

Peter warned them with many other words. He begged them, "Save yourselves from the evil of the people who live now!" Then, those who accepted what Peter said were baptized. On that day about 3,000 people were added to the group of believers.

The believers continued to meet together. They spent their time listening to the teaching of the apostles. They shared everything with each other. They ate together and prayed together (vs. 40-42).

Life In The Kingdom Of God

Many wonders and miraculous signs were happening through the apostles, and everyone felt great respect for God. All the believers stayed together and shared everything. They shared a common purpose, and every day they spent much of their time together in the temple. They were joined in their hearts, and they had the same spirit. They also ate together in their homes. They were happy to share their food, and they ate with joyful hearts. The believers praised God and were respected by all the people (vs. 43-47a).

With great power the apostles told the people that the Lord Jesus was truly raised from death, and God blessed the believers. More and more people were being saved every day (Mark 16:16), and the Lord was adding them to the group of believers – the church of Christ (Acts 2:47b; Matthew 16:18).

Truths To Remember

1. Peter unlocked the door to God's kingdom. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus promised to give Peter the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19). Peter would be the first to open the door and invite people into the kingdom.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to the apostles, and they received power from heaven. Peter preached the Good News about Jesus Christ. This Good News was the key that unlocked the door to God's kingdom. About 3,000 people believed Peter's message and were baptized. These new followers came under the rule of the King.

2. Anyone can be forgiven. The people who heard Peter's message that day had done some very bad things. They had rejected the One whom God had sent to save them. They had laughed at Him, insulted Him, shamed Him, and killed Him on a cross. They had murdered the One who had come to give them life.

We may think that God could never forgive us of all the bad things we have done. But that is not true. No matter what we have done or failed to do, God still loves us and wants to forgive us. Even if we have been God's enemy, God wants to be our friend. If God forgave the people who murdered His Son, He can forgive you and me.

3. We must change our hearts and lives. God wants to make an agreement with us. He will forgive us if we will turn away from sin (repent) and follow him in paths of goodness. We must say "No!" to sexual sins, worshiping idols, witchcraft, hatred, cursing and saying bad things to other people, cheating, lying, making trouble, being jealous, angry, selfish, causing divisions, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. Repentance means leaving such things behind (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

4. God forgives us when we are baptized. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the people, "Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

These people believed that Jesus was Lord, but they still needed to repent and be baptized. When they said "No!" to sin and were baptized (immersed) in water, God forgave them through the blood of His Son (Matthew 26:28).

The apostle Paul explained the meaning of baptism in his letter to the Romans. He said, "When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and we shared his death. We were buried with Christ so that we could be raised up and live a new life—the way Christ was raised from death by the power of the Father, so we now live a new life" (Romans 6:3-4).

In baptism, we are united with Christ in a death like His. We are also united with Christ in a resurrection like His. When we come out of the water, we are born-again new persons. We are joined with Christ in a new relationship. We are dead to sin and alive to God (vs. 5-7; cf. John 3:3-5).

5. When an obedient person is baptized, God gives him the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32). On the day of Pentecost, Peter gave two commands: (1) "Change your hearts and lives," and (2) "Be baptized." Peter also gave two promises: (1) "Then God will forgive your sins," and (2) "you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). At the time of our obedience to water baptism (immersion), the Holy Spirit begins to live in our bodies (Acts 5:32).

As the Holy Spirit lives in our bodies, He helps us grow spiritually. He helps us quit doing bad things, and He gives us strength to do good things when we try. He helps us develop His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-25; cf. 2 Peter 1:5-11).

He gives us life and freedom from sin. The Spirit Himself joins with our spirit to say that we are God's children. He helps us with our weaknesses (Ephesians 3:16). He even helps us pray as we should (Romans 8:5-16, 26-28). In other words, the Holy Spirit helps us to change into the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).