This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Considering the Church” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, October 31, 1993.

This morning we are reading first of all in the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 1. And we are beginning with verse 1. Give your attention to the Word of God. The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen.

To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs. being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. 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 Judea and in Samaria. and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And then, turning over to the second chapter, we begin reading verse thirty-seven. Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. In the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. And here came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be said.”

Then turning over to the last chapter in Acts, Acts twenty-eight, beginning with verse twenty-three, “…and when they had appointed him a day, that is, Paul, there came many to him into his lodging, to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word.

Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive. For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.’ And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had great reasoning among themselves. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”

Oh Lord, we have had enough of the words of men. And we would have your word. We would have it in full. Please God, if there is resistance in us, May you remove that resistance this morning. We ask, therefore, that we might hear what you have to say and that hearing obey. For Jesus’ sake, Amen. The book of the Acts of the Apostles is an exquisitely complex and challenging piece of work.

In it, we watch the immediate impact of the transition of the ages. In it we behold the immediate impact of the transition of the ages. The monumental, unparalleled change brought about in the history of redemption, and in the history of the world for that matter, because of the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. We witness the impact of this transition in a calculated way upon ancient Jewish and even Gentile institutions. and even those institutions that have in the past been stamped with God’s imprimatur, particularly the temple in Jerusalem. Now, God himself directs the impact of this great transition, specifically by his Holy whom he pours out upon those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son.

Those who are now gathered together in Jesus’ name. Here then, set before us in the book of the Acts, is the beginning stages of God’s new order, taking shape in the church, the church being so prominent in the acts of the apostles. This new order, then, taking shape as it does in the church, takes shape in the face of Jewish hostility and Gentile indifference, when such indifference hasn’t joined the hostile ranks of the Jews.

The Church of God, as it is called in Acts 20.28, summons Jew and Gentile to the kingdom of God. That kingdom being a kingdom of transcendent nature that cannot, because of its inner character, cannot acquiesce to Jewish or Gentile worldliness or earthiness. The Church of God belongs to the higher plane. of the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is to be understood at that higher plane. But belonging to this higher plane that the kingdom of God is, does not mean that the church is to be complacent or static. or that it is to be detached from the world.

The Church of God is engaged for God’s glory in Christ-like service in the world. Service played out particularly by the Apostle Paul, who becomes a central figure in this biblical book. A man whose wife, as it is depicted in this book, bears the mark of a self-conscious conformity to Christ. Now, such service, as we see in the Apostle and reinforced everywhere throughout the book of the Acts, extends to Israel and the nations the message of redemption in the forgiveness of sin.

And such service is consistently offered despite opposition, despite stonings from the Jews and imprisonment from the Gentiles, in the certain confidence, as the Apostle Paul says in Acts 14.22, in the certain confidence that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. It is this perspective Namely, the prospect of entering the kingdom of God that orchestrates so much of what we hear, so much of what we find of the Church’s life in the Book of Acts. The prospect of entering the kingdom of God, indeed the Church herself, moves through humiliation. She moves through this time of suffering to the exaltation in her own resurrection and in the consummate restoration of all things.

Now, not only is this perspective given us in the book of the Acts an antidote to any temptation in the direction of complacency and apathy towards the world. Since we are moving, we are on the move, it serves as a perfect therapy for this man to whom this book is written, Theophilus. You may recall that when he is first introduced to us in the Gospel of Luke, he is called Most Excellent Theophilus. He bearing, therefore, a title reflective of high honor and position within the world in which he lives.

So this matter of us moving towards the kingdom of God, the prospect being our entrance into the kingdom of God, is an antidote against any temptation we might have in the direction of complacency and apathy towards the world, but it also serves as perfect therapy to this individual to whom Luke writes. And it serves as perfect therapy for any other Christian who might think that the gospel is the sure-fired shortcut path to power, privilege, and a plot of ground in this created order. God is not particularly flattered by believers or by a church that gain high position within the cultural settings of this world. And I might add at this point that this is as much the issue of the Reformation and its doctrine of justification as anything that Luther might say with respect to the righteousness of God and our righteous standing before God in Christ.

But while the Book of the Acts has as a dominant theme this prospect of the kingdom, the prospect of our entering it, our future entrance, we the Church, into that kingdom through suffering, it also proves to be a first-class apologetic for the paradox of the Christian life. Thus, by all means, we await our entrance into the kingdom of God, but we also delight in the blessings of that kingdom given to us already, as if we had already entered it.

The conclusion of Acts powerfully yet subtly communicates this paradise. The Apostle Paul is the prisoner, you note, at the conclusion of Acts. He is the prisoner of the Roman government, a fact that makes it clear that he presently faces many tribulations and must, in the predicament of those tribulations, anticipate his entrance into the kingdom of God, he not having yet arrived.

However, Paul is also free. Notice the emphasis and the wonderful note upon which this biblical book concludes. Paul is also free. He is free in his reception of all who seek him out, free in his preaching and teaching of the gospel. The very last verse of this book makes that evident.

Now, Paul’s freedom, remarked upon here at the conclusion of Acts, should not be read in strictly historical manner, but also along theological lines. Paul is a prisoner to Jewish intrigue and to Roman complicity, but he is also a free man in Christ. his freedom speaking to us of that grand liberty that belongs to all of those who believe in Jesus.

And this freedom, here is the point, this freedom is of a peace with the kingdom of God. It is a present kingdom blessing enjoyed by this believer, the Apostle. as if Paul were not waiting to enter the kingdom, but had already done so. The conclusion of Acts, therefore, is most positive and helpful to us. We too, in various ways, experience a binding, because we continue in this world and await our entrance into the kingdom of God. But at the same time, we are free men and women in Christ, and our freedom transcends any religious opposition or political constriction. Our freedom is the very air of the kingdom of God into which we have already entered. in this precious book of the acts will set before us our present possession of the kingdom and its blessings in other ways as well.

This is most obvious when we consider the person of the Holy Spirit central figure for the Book of the Acts, who comes to the church as the great kingdom blessing. Baptism into the Holy Spirit is baptism into the blessedness of the kingdom. And baptism into the Holy Spirit is baptism into the blessedness of the kingdom. We watch as the Church, then, throughout the Book of the Acts, in its breath, is constituting is brought together, is formed through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. From that initial effusion of the Spirit in Acts 2, upon the Jews at Pentecost, to the blessing now that comes to the Samaritans in Acts 8 at the hands of Peter and John, to the grace visited upon Gentiles in Cornelius’ home in Acts 10, And finally, that grace that comes upon the orphaned disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus in Acts 18. To be a part of the Church means to be baptized into the Holy Spirit, whose presence with us means our presence in the kingdom of God. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not some sort of second work of grace. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is that by which the Church itself is constituted. We are baptized into the Holy Spirit when in fact we come into the Church.

There is Luke’s treatment of ancient prophecies that we observe in the book of the Acts. The ancient prophecies are treated in Acts in such a way that they emphasize our grasp of the realities of the kingdom in our present circumstance. Peter in Acts 2 sees the ancient prophecy of Joel fulfilled at Pentecost.

The Spirit, as the great kingdom blessing, comes upon all flesh in keeping with that prophecy. Sons and daughters, young men and old men, male and female servants, are granted a prophet’s status. That is, they are seen as those who enter into the Lord’s pretty council in his kingdom, have access to the inner chambers of God’s sanctuary. Later in the book of Acts, chapter 15, James sees the ancient prophecy of Amos fulfilled as the Gentiles approach and are included into the church. Here now is the realization of the promise made with respect to the restoration of those fortunes that had been promised to David and to his house. The long-expected kingdom has arrived. It is evident in the Church as the Gentiles stream into it, Acts 15, 16-18.

But not only is the present glory of the kingdom perceived in the gracious and blessed gift of the Holy Spirit, not only is it perceived in the complex of events that herald the fulfillment of ancient kingdom prophecy, The present glory of the kingdom is furthermore perceived in Acts in the overwhelming portrayal of the fellowship enjoyed by the Church. In this regard, I defy anyone genuinely born of the Spirit of God to read those sections in Acts that speak about the fellowship of the church and not break out into a wide grin. Most particularly, I have in mind Acts 2, verses 42 through 47. And I ask you, in looking at those verses, is there anything so sweetly compelling in all of Scripture? as pertains to the life of the people of God. And I do not hesitate, I do not hesitate to declare to you that smack dab in the center of this extraordinary text and the fellowship it describes is the rich sense of the presence of the kingdom experienced by these radiant and exhilarated people.

Now, the ways in which they express their fellowship are indeed somewhat different than we express our fellowship presently. We will not go into the reasons for those differences this morning. Nevertheless, the basic ingredients remain, binding us with them. We, with these described here, continually devote ourselves to the apostle’s doctrine and to their fellowship. How so? Through the apostles’ word.

We also break bread. We break bread together in common meals, and that’s why common meals for the saints are important. And those of you who have been engaged in hospitality week after week, having other saints into your homes know that to be true. We break bread together in common meals, yes, when we get together here, but also personally as we have opportunity in our own homes. But most specifically we break bread in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and in that common meal.

Furthermore, we with them congregate to pray. This is not individual prayer that is reflected upon here. This is the gathering together of the Church for the purpose of prayer. Do I need to emphasize the importance of prayer for the Church and even those occasions on which the Church gets together specifically to pray? If you hear in that the faint encouragement to take advantage of prayer meeting, well and good.

But we also stand ready to forego our financial advantage when others in our fellowship are in need. And thus our substance is placed at their disposal, we becoming their servants. through this means. And we are continually involved with one another, not just when we assemble, but day by day, in the various courses of our lives, in that intimate bond of our common faith.

Now, need I draw out the conclusion for you. Here is the stuff. Here is the stuff of the kingdom. Here are the realities of the kingdom, enjoyed by us already. Yes, it is true, we await the coming of the kingdom. We await an entrance into that kingdom. Our eyes train toward the future, but there is also this matter. present blessings, present realities of the kingdom communicated to us already. Truly a foretaste of eternal glory.

If you are a stranger, if you are a stranger to these things, freedom in the midst of present restrictions from the world. If you are a stranger to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, if you are a stranger to that grasp of the fulfillment of ancient prophecies with respect to the kingdom, if you are a stranger to the fellowship that belongs to the household of God, won’t you heed the message that we hear in Acts? Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, ascended, and become a member of Christ’s church. Do this that you may enter the kingdom when it comes in all of its glory, but also that that kingdom might be a blessing to you now.

Do this before it is too late. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we are thankful to you for the abundant, rich blessings of the kingdom. We thank you for our present enjoyment of them. We are asking, Lord, that we might understand the great gifts that are given, the marvelous blessings that are conferred and that we might live more perfectly in keeping with those blessings as children of the kingdom. We are asking also, Lord, that we might bear in mind that the kingdom of God asserts itself in an unqualified way at the conclusion of everything. and therefore it is imperative that we give our souls to this matter of the prospect of our entrance into that kingdom when it shall come in glory when our Savior shall return we are praying our Lord that you might bless us to this end richly and abundantly as a fellowship But here in this church, we might know, in the fellowship that we enjoy, that glory, which belongs only to your sense, through Jesus Christ.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.