#1 A COMMUNITY THAT RELIES COMPLETELY ON JESUS
By definition, a Spirit-empowered group of Christ-followers is completely reliant on Jesus. In fact, the book of Acts gives the impression that Jesus is controlling the success of His plan through His Spirit (and sometimes 'angels FROM the Lord') from His seat at the right hand of the Father. Where do we see this? The Lord Jesus is the one "adding to their numbers daily" (2:47) as "His hand is with His followers" (11:21). The angels FROM the Lord are the ones who (among other things) open up the jail to rescue God's people (5:19; see also 8:26; 10:3, 7, 22; 11:13; 12:7-11, 23; 27:23). The Spirit of the Lord is providing guidance to His people (16:7). The Spirit of the Lord is making people receptive to the gospel message (16:14). Clearly Jesus is present among His followers through His Spirit. Why should we believe anything has changed since then? And so it only makes sense that God's people would fervently rely on Jesus (even today)!
What else characterizes a group of Spirit-empowered Christ-followers?
#2 A COMMUNITY THAT BRINGS THE GOSPEL TO OTHERS
The book of Acts is also a story about the successful spread of the WORD of the Lord (that is, the gospel message). Check out how many times the WORD (gr: both rama and logos) is referenced (2:41; 4:4, 29, 31; 5:20; 6:2, 4, 7; 8:4, 14, 25; 10:36, 44; 11:1, 19; 12:24; 13:5, 7, 44, 46, 48, 49; 14:3, 25; 15:7, 35, 36; 16:6, 32; 17:11, 13; 18:11; 19:10, 20). In fact, Isaiah 55:10-11 seems to form the backdrop for this successful spread of the WORD of the Lord. How so? God's WORD goes out and does not return empty (or void) but rather accomplishes God's purposes (this is especially evident on Paul's first missionary journey!).
This is what we see in the book of Acts: God desires His WORD to spread to the ends of the earth and this is precisely what happens. But notice something important. God doesn't accomplish this with a magic wand. NO. He uses His people to spread the WORD of the Lord! In fact, after Stephen's stoning (Acts 7-8), it's almost as though God FORCES his people to GO and spread the WORD. And so we see that this Spirit-empowered community of Christ-followers proactively spreads the WORD of the Lord by courageously engaging outsiders because they know that God is in control and that His WORD-decrees will never fail. This is what authentic faith looks like!
What else characterizes a group of Spirit-empowered Christ-followers?
#3 A COMMUNITY THAT PREACHES THE COMPLETE GOSPEL
We find the church in the book of Acts preaching a complete gospel. What do I mean by this? Well, today it seems like ‘the forgiveness of sin’ gets all the emphasis in the gospel message. But according to the book of Acts, this is only half of the equation. While the gospel message in the book of Acts clearly includes ‘the forgiveness of sin’ (2:38; 5:31; 13:38; 26:18), the kingdom of God (that is, God’s transforming rule in this world) is also vital to the message (1:3; 8:12; 19:8; 28:23; 28:31).
So
why does this matter? Simple. The ‘forgiveness of sin’ is what we need to ENTER the kingdom of God BUT God wants more for us that this! God wants us to live transformed lives as His kingdom people! And understanding the ‘kingdom of God’ helps us know how to LIVE this way. And so a Spirit-empowered group
of Christ-followers will not just teach ‘the forgiveness of sin.’ NO. That risks leading to ‘easy believe-ism’ and ‘cheap grace.’ A Spirit-empowered group of
Christ-followers will preach a complete gospel by emphasizing BOTH forgiveness
and sanctification (that is, kingdom living). After all, the end-goal of the
gospel is NOT the forgiveness of sin (which is nothing more than a fire
insurance policy)…it is kingdom living (that is, sanctification or being set
apart for God’s pleasure and purposes).
What else characterizes a group of Spirit-empowered Christ-followers?
#4 A COMMUNITY THAT ABANDONS ALL TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL
The early church was characterized by total abandonment to Jesus' cause. How so? They were constantly looking out for the needs and well-being of others. This is why they shared their possessions with each other ‘as any had need’ (2:45; 4:34)! And so when someone had a need, the community would chip in by selling their possessions until the need was met. Sure this is descriptive (and therefore NOT prescriptive) BUT this is the type of thing that happens in a Spirit-empowered community! Why would we NOT want our churches today to show this same level of concern for others?
What else characterizes a group of Spirit-empowered Christ-followers?
#5 A COMMUNITY THAT DESIRES TO REACH ALL PEOPLE
The early church was about the business of reaching ALL types of people. The movement of Jesus began in a familiar location, Jerusalem. But then it spread to a whole bunch of unclean, sketchy people: an Ethiopian eunuch in Samaria (Acts 8), a Gentile centurion (Acts 10-11), and then all the way to Rome. This might not sound like a big deal BUT devout Jewish people at this time did not associate with these types of people. But the early church followed God’s leading and reached out to ALL people without prejudice. This allowed for God’s plan from the Old Testament to continue to advance beginning with the reuniting of the divided kingdom (Judea-Samaria) and ending with the blessings of God spreading to ALL nations. What does this teach us? When God’s people are selective in who they are willing to reach, the spread of God’s Word is stalled (or at least slowed down). We need to move the gospel outside of our Jerusalem (usually a church building or Christian fellowship) and bring the hope of the gospel to ALL types of people!
May the church today be characterized as a group of Spirit-empowered Christ-followers!
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