Act Five: Spreading the

News of the King & The

Mission
of the Church

Scene One: From Jerusalem to

Rome
All that Jesus continues to do and
teach (Acts 1:1)
Acts tells the story of the continuing
mission of the exalted Christ by His
Spirit to give salvation to the church,
and through the church to the whole
world.

Exaltation of Jesus

Coronation day: installation of

rightful king

Place: Right hand of God (Acts

2:33)

Name: Lord (Phil. 2:9-11)

Hidden (Heb. 2:8f.)

Work of Exalted Christ

Subdue his enemies (Acts 2:34f.)

Makes disciples (Matt.28:18-20)

Pours out blessings of salvation (LkActs)

Directs world history (Revelation)

The book of Acts, the

epistles, and Revelation are
predominantly about the work
of the exalted Jesus in the
church and in the world.
-Hendrikus Berkhof

Exalted to the right hand of

God, he has received from
the Father the promised Holy
Spirit and has poured out
what you now see and hear.
(Acts 2:33)

Pentecost: Coming of Spirit

Spirit pouring out

Jesus
Luke 3:21-22

Spirit pouring out

Church
Acts 2:1-13

Pentecost: Acts 2:1-13

Old Testament Promise

Jewish feast of Pentecost
Firstfruits
Inclusion

of nations

Wind and fire: Powerful presence of

God
Tongues: Salvation for the nations

Pentecost: Acts 2:14-41

Peters Sermon Outline

Spirit means last days (17-21)

Life of Jesus (22)
Death of Jesus (23)
Resurrection (24-32)
Exaltation (33-36)
Response with promise of the Spirit
(38-39)

A question about the kingdom (Acts 1:6)

An answer about the Spirit (Acts 1:8)

It is not so much the case of

where Jesus is there is the Kingdom,
as
where the Spirit is there is the
Kingdom.
-James Dunn

Era of Witness
Spirit

K in g d o m
m issio n o f
Jesu s
to I s r a e l

d e a th
r e su r r e c tio n
e x a lta tio n
P en teco st

K in g d o m
m issio n o f
ch u rch
to n a tio n s

Pentecost: Acts 2:14-41

Witness to the Kingdom:

By Spirit through incarnate Jesus

(gospels)

Of the exalted Christ by the Spirit

through the church (Acts)

Mission

Israels mission to be light to nations:

Failure!

Jesus fulfills Israels mission

Jesus gathers new Israel to continue

mission to nations

Church continues Israels, Jesus mission

From Pentecost to Church

Formation of new Israel (1:12- 26)

Pentecost (2:1-13)
Peters sermon (2:14-36)
Response: 3000 added (2:37-41)
Formation of ideal witnessing
community (2:42-47)

The Spirit Forms a

Community: Acts 2:42-47

Devotion to apostles teaching,

fellowship, breaking of bread, and
prayer: Celebrating and nourishing
kingdom life (v. 42)

Life of kingdom manifested: Attractive

good news people (v. 43-47)

Lord adds to number (v. 47)

Story of Acts (1:8)

Witness in Jerusalem 3:1-6:7

Witness in Samaria and Judea 6:812:24

Witness to Ends of Earth 12:25-end

Acts narrates the progress of the gospel

from a small gathering of Jewish disciples
of the earthly Jesus in Jerusalem, across
formidable cultic, ethnic, relational, and
geographical boundaries, to Paul's bold
and unhindered preaching of the risen
and ascended Jesus to Gentiles in Rome.
Acts is unmistakably a story of missionary
expansion, which is announced in 1:8 and
confirmed along the way with the socalled progress reports.
-Rosner

Witness in Jerusalem:
Continuing Jesus Mission

Word and deed (3:1-26)

Suffering (4:1-22)

Prayer (4:23-31)

Work of God (6:7)

Attractive life of community (4:32-37;

6:1-6)

Witness in Samaria and

Judea

Beyond Jerusalem
Unplanned

expansion by persecution (8:1-

3)
To Judea and Samaria

Beyond Apostles
Stephen,

Phillip (6:8-8:40)
Common believers (8:4; 11:19-21)

Beyond Jews
Gentiles

(10, 11)

Witness to the Ends of the

Earth

Antioch: First Gentile church

Pauls missionary journeys

Pauls trials and witness

To Rome

Church as a Missionary
Community: Nearby and
Faraway

Pattern in Antioch (Acts 11, 13)

Christians: Evidence of grace of God

in church at Antioch (11:23)

Great number of people brought to

the Lord (11:24)

Sent Saul and Barnabas (13:1-3)

Spontaneous Expansion of the

Church (Roland Allen)

Attractive life of the community

Spontaneous evangelism by common

members of the church

Planting new churches

Pauls Pattern

Pioneer church planting (Rom.15:23)

Three

missionary journeys

Build them up for faithful witness

Visits

on journeys

Letters

The Apostle Paul

Rabbinic training: old age and

age to come

Prophetic
Spirit

Expectation
Messiah

Sin
Death
Evil
Satan

Knowledge
of God
Love
Joy
Justice

OLD AGE

AGE TO COME

The Apostle Paul

Rabbinic training: old age and
age to come
Rejects Jesus proclamation that
the age to come has arrived
Converted (Acts 9:1-18)

Sees everything in a new way

Pauls Teaching

The kingdom of God has dawned

in Jesus death and resurrection

New Testament Fulfillment

Powers
of
sin
death
evil
Satan

OLD AGE

Power of
Spirits
renewin
g
work
AGE TO COME

The whole content of Paul's preaching

can be summarized as the proclamation
and explication of the eschatological
day of salvation inaugurated with
Christ's advent, death, and resurrection.
It is from this principal point of view and
under this denominator that all the
separate themes of Paul's preaching can
be understood and penetrated in their
unity and relation to
each other.
-Ridderbos

Pauls Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned
in Jesus death and resurrection
Nurturing the life of Christ
Organic: Growing up to
maturity
Architectural: Building on a
foundation

Pauls Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned
in Jesus death and resurrection
Nurturing the life of Christ
New life and new obedience

New Life and New

Obedience

Obedience based on what God has done

Resurrection life in the Spirit
New relationship to God: Justification,
reconciliation, adoption
Obedience motivated by love
Obedience normed by law
Whole of human life

Pauls Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned
in Jesus death and resurrection
Nurturing the life of Christ
New life and new obedience
For the sake of the world

For the sake of the world

Exemplary and attractive

The Christians lifestyle should not

only be exemplary, but also
winsome. It should attract outsiders
and invite them to join the
community Their exemplary
existence is a powerful magnet that
draws outsiders toward the church.

For the sake of the world

Exemplary and attractive
Public life of culture

the obligation of Christians to

live as citizens in the world of
politeia [the public life of the state]
in a way that is worthy of the
gospel.
-Winter

Pauls Teaching
The kingdom of God has dawned
in Jesus death and resurrection
Nurturing the life of Christ
New life and new obedience
For the sake of the world
The coming of the Lord

Ending of Acts
Why so abrupt? Loose ends?
Story of Acts has not ended
Continues today until Christ returns

the ending of Acts is truly an

opening to the continuing life of the
messianic people, as it continues to
preach the kingdom and teach the
things concerning Jesus both boldly
and without hindrance.
-Johnson

Scene Two: And into All the

World
Tasting and Displaying the
Kingdom:
The Churchs Witness
Our Place in the Story

Our Place in the Story

What time is it? Where are we at in

the story of the Bible?
Light to the world: Continuing Israels
mission
Gen.12:2-3;

Gal.3:14: Channels of

blessing
Ex.19:3-6; I Pet.2:9: Model people
Is.49:6; Matt.5:14-16: Light to the world

Making known the kingdom:

Continuing Jesus mission

Summary: Jesus Kingdom

Mission

Announced reign of God with words

Demonstrated reign of God with deeds

Explained kingdom of God with teaching

Embodied reign of God with life

Prayed for reign of God to come

Suffered for reign of God

Formed community to live under rule of

God
As

the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

Jesus has not left us with a rigid

model for action; rather he inspired
his disciples to prolong the logic of
his own action in a creative way
amid the new and different historical
circumstances in which the
community would have to proclaim
the gospel.
-Bosch

Our Place in the Story

What time is it? Where are we at in

the story of the Bible?
Light to the world: Continuing Israels
mission
Making known the kingdom:
Continuing Jesus mission
Bearing faithful witness: Continuing
the mission of the early church

Bearing Faithful Witness:

Continuing the Mission of the
Early Church
Foretaste
Preview

We have a foretaste of the Kingdom

Actual

taste now
Complete meal in future
We are previews of the Kingdom
Actual

footage of movie/kingdom
Designed to interest viewer in future
movie/kingdom so they will want to participate

Bearing Faithful Witness:

Continuing the Mission of the
Early Church

Foretaste
Preview
Following the church in Jerusalem and
Antioch (Acts 2:42-47; 13:1)
Witness to Gods rule over all of life

Following the apostles, the church is sent

Sent with the gospel of the kingdom
to make disciples of all nations,
to feed the hungry,
to proclaim the assurance that in the name of
Christ
there is forgiveness of sin and new life
for all who repent an believe
To tell the news that our world belongs to God.
In a world estranged from God,
where millions face confusing choices,
this mission is central to our being,
for we announce the one name that saves.
Contemporary Testimony: 44

The rule of Jesus Christ covers the whole

world.
To follow this Lord is to serve him
everywhere,
without fitting in,
as lights in the darkness,
as salt in a spoiling world.

Contemporary Testimony: 45

Embodying salvation means...

...living under Christs lordship
in all of life.

Sacred/Secular Dualism
(See Wolters p.66-68)

Sacred

Secular

Prayer
Activities
Worship
Minister
Profession
Missionary
s
Church
Family
Realms

Making love
Watching TV
Journalist
Politician
University
Government

Clash of Kingdoms
Antithesis

Kingdom
of darkness

Kingdom
of God
Creation

Bearing Faithful Witness:

Continuing the Mission of the
Early Church
Foretaste
Preview

Following the church in Jerusalem

and Antioch (Acts 2:42-47; 13:1)
Witness to Gods rule over all of life
To the ends of the earth

Our Place in the Story

What time is it?

Already/not yet era of kingdom
Act five: Church continues the
kingdom mission of Jesus
Foretaste
Preview
Witness to Christs rule over all of life
To the ends of the earth

What does it mean to live in

the Biblical story today?

As university students
As citizens
In a world of poverty and overconsumption
In a world of diminishing resources

End of Act Five