According to Eph 2:19 & 20 the saints of God "are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." Now lets understand that the apostles where special men of God chosen before the foundation of the world to teach the good news concerning the church. Since we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophet lets take a look at what they had to say.
Lets begin in Jeremiah 3:17 "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart." Now we notice that all nations shall be gathered unto it and neither shall they walk any more after their evil heart. Moving on turn to Micah 4:1-5. Notice verse 2 "And many nations shall come, and say, come, and let us go up to mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." In both of these verse remember where this is going to take place. That is correct Jerusalem.
Next lets take a look at what Jesus told the apostles concerning the church. First turn to Mat 16:13-20, verses 18 & 19 "And I say also unto thee, That thou are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Now we see that the church belongs to Jesus. Jesus also gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Following Jesus death and resurrection he gave his apostles their instructions. Matthew 28:19 recorded them as "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Pay close attention and notice that he did want them to baptize in the Name. What is the Name of the Father? St. John 5:43 Jesus speaking "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name him ye will receive." What is the Name of the Son? Mat. 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins." What is the Name of the Holy Ghost? St. John 14:26 Jesus speaking "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance." So the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is Jesus.
Now we heard how Matthew recorded Jesus' instructions now lets look at Mark. Remember Mark heard the same instructions as Matthew and he gave us the same information just in different words. Mark 16:15 & 16 "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." If someone didn't believe they would have no reason to be baptized. So Jesus said you must believe and be baptized. Lets move on to read what Luke heard. Luke 24:46-49 "Where did it say it would begin? Continue to verse 49 "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." So the apostles were instructed to wait in the city of Jerusalem for a power from on high.
Lets slow down here a minute and remember the things that have been prophesied and instructed: (1) Begin at Jerusalem, (2)preached unto all nations (3)Peter has the keys to the kingdom of heaven, (4)they were told to wait at Jerusalem for a special power, and (5) repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name.
It is now time to go to Jerusalem where the apostles obeyed the Lord and laid the foundation of the church. Acts 2:1-5, verse 2 "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." This was that power from on high they were waiting on. Verse 5 states "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven" The place is Jerusalem and devout men out of every nation was there. Continue in Acts 2:14 "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted his voice, and said unto them, ye Men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:" Who has the keys to the kingdom of heaven? Who is now going to speak? Everything that the prophets prophesied and the Lord told the apostles to do was now taking place. What was supposed to be preached on this day? That's right repentance and remission of sins. Look at Acts 2:37-41, 37 "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?" These men out every nation under heaven asked Peter and the apostles what to do. Peter having the keys to the kingdom of heaven said 38 "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." Peter preached repentance and remission of sins to every nation and gave the whole world the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Everything that was suppose to happen did exactly as the Lord planned it. We are not finished read verse 39 "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." This promise is for you and I as well, but we must accept this promise by doing exactly what they done that day. One last verse 41 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." So three thousand souls were baptized the first day. Did Peter tell us wrong? Would the other eleven apostles allowed Peter to tell us wrong?
As you can see all the requirements where met on the Day of Pentecost. The apostles obeyed the Lords command by preaching repentance and remission of sins to every nation under heaven. Peter used the keys to the kingdom of heaven and gave them to the rest of the world. It is so simple, just let the promise that accounted for those three thousand souls account for you. Repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
コメント