Beginnings of the Church

As we have discussed before, when Jesus was about to leave the earth, He was with His apostles in the city of Jerusalem.  He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for power to come upon them from on high.  These are the words that He spoke, as recorded in Acts1:8:

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  Just looking at this quote gives the reader the progression of the Gospel, i.e., it will start in Jerusalem, then move out to close areas, then go out further into all the earth. 

We then can see the fulfillment, or at least the partial fulfillment, as we read in Acts chapter 8.  All of the events that occurred up through chapter 7 happened in Jerusalem.  But as we begin chapter 8, we read:

"..At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles."  This is exactly what Jesus had said in Acts 1 that should happen.  As we read further in the book of Acts, we see that the Gospel is carried everywhere, near and far. 

In today's world, with all of the high-tech communications that are available, we still face that same old stated challenge that Jesus gave.  He said in Mark 16:15,16:  "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  The message is clear; it is up to us now to see that the Gospel is carried to those who need to hear it....and seen by those who need to see it in our lives.

Have a great week!  May God bless you.