Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 305

October 31;   Acts 1:1;   90/260(II);   ‘Just Getting Started’

Acts 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach  NIV

Luke, the ‘author’ (really the Holy Spirit is), of the Gospel of Luke, is now about to write the Book of Acts as well.  What is so exciting about this verse is one word, ‘began.’  The implication of the word began, is that Jesus was not finished with what He began to do.  At this time, the Lord Jesus had been crucified and then rose from the dead.  He appeared to His disciples and others several times, but was seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  How was our Lord to continue the ministry He had begun, since He is at this time in heaven?  The answer is easy, Jesus will continue His ministry through His Church, the Body of Christ.  The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Head of the Church and we, Christians, are His body.  The Bible also teaches that Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches of that Vine.  In essence, the Lord Jesus and His Church are one.  Jesus commissions He Church to continue His ministry in John 17:18, telling us, “As the Father sent Him, He sends us.”  He tells us also in John 14:12 that we will not only continue His ministry, but do greater works.  The greater works will be in quantity, since every Born Again, Spirit filled Christian is empowered by the Holy Spirit just as the Lord Jesus was.  When we consider that the Holy Spirit also puts God’s supernatural love into our spirit when we are saved and deposits the fruit of the Spirit into our spirit as well (Galatians 5:22-23), each Christian has been given the character qualities of Jesus.  What this verse is teaching, if you choose to believe it, is that we Church, in a real sense, are right now, Jesus Christ on this earth.