Study #20: The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new Believers (Acts 2:41

Study #20: The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new Believers (Acts 2:41 - 47)

Acts, Chapter 1.1: Many Jews of the Diaspora believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1 - 2:47)

§Unique Introduction: Jesus gave his Great Commission and the Apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot (1:1 - 26)

¶Opposite The Lord Jesus gave his Great Commission to his first church (and all future churches) to take the Gospel to the entire Earth (1:1 - 8)

¶Opposite The Apostles cast lots to choose an Apostle to replace Judas Iscariot (1:9 - 26)

§Complement Body: Peter preached the Gospel to foreign-born Jews and about 5,000 confessed Jesus as their Messiah (2:1 - 40)

¶Unique God poured out his Holy Spirit upon the Apostles; and this miracle brought many foreign-born Jews around them (2:1 - 13)

¶Complement Peter preached that the miracle of speaking in foreign languages came from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:14 - 21)

¶Complement Peter preached that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was also from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:22 - 28)

¶Opposite Peter pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Jehovah as proof of the resurrection of Jesus (2:29 - 36)

¶Opposite Peter called the Jews to repent and turn to Jesus Christ; and be baptized as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins (2:37 - 40)

§Complement Conclusion: The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new Believers (2:41 - 47)

¶Complement After baptism, the new converts continued in the teaching and fellowship of the Apostles (2:41 - 43)

¶Complement The spiritual growth of the new converts resulted in even more souls being saved, which were added to the Assembly (2:44 - 47)

Comment: The Bible text of Acts 2:41 - 47, arranged according to the Golden Ratio design:

§Unique Conclusion: The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new Believers (2:41 - 47)

¶Complement After baptism, the new converts continued in the teaching and fellowship of the Apostles (2:41 - 43)

Opposite Then they that gladly received his Word were baptized;

Opposite and the same day about three thousand souls were added to the Assembly.

Complement And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Complement And fear came upon every soul;

Unique and many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles.

¶Complement The spiritual growth of the new converts resulted in even more souls being saved, which were added to the Assembly in Jerusalem (2:44 - 47)

Opposite And all that believed were together; and they had all things in common.

Opposite And they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Complement And they, continuing daily with one accord in the Temple, and breaking bread from house to house, ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart;

Complement praising God, and having favor with all the people.

Unique And each day the Lord added to the Assembly the ones being saved.

Comments: There is not a lot of text in the Conclusion Section of Chapter 1 of Acts, but there is a lot of meaning and good instruction for Born-again Christians.

Remember in the previous studies, that I mentioned that the foreign-born Jews who were listening to Peter were already saved, because they were Believers under the Old Covenant. The only difference between them and a Christian was that their faith was no longer valid, since Jesus had died, and risen again from the dead, which did away with the Old Covenant of animal sacrifices through the Temple and the priesthood of Aaron.

So at that time, they were like a fish out of water, and the only Way back to their God, Jehovah, was to come to Jesus Christ. This transition of transferring faith from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant is called Completion, or being “made complete”:

Hebrews 11:38-40: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, did not receive the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they apart from us should not be made complete.”

This transition only occurred at one time in history, from the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ until the last person died who had been saved under the Old Covenant system of animal sacrifices, which was probably around the end of the first century or earlier.

We will study this transition in a great more detail in the Letter to the Hebrews, after this study in the Book of Acts.

But these approximately 3,000 Old Covenant believers had now been baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, and had joined the Assembly of Christian believers at Jerusalem.

Recall from a previous study that I believe that they were baptized in the Name of Jesus, because Peter wanted them to specifically identify with Jesus as their Messiah, something that was very important for them to do, because previously they had been in denial about the claims of Jesus to be their Messiah. For a Jew to openly identify with Jesus as their Messiah was considered blasphemous and evil among the unbelieving Jews. We will see this reaction from the Council of the Jewish Sanhedrin to the sermon of Stephen the Deacon in Acts 7:57- 8:1:

“Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears; and they ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, who was calling upon God, and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, hold not this sin against them!”And when he had said this, he fell asleep; and Saul was approving of his death.”

Secondly, notice that the first thing these new Christian Believers did after they confessed Christ as their Savior, was that they were baptized in deep water.

Baptism is very important for a born-again Christian, because it is the first step of obedience for that believer since he or she received Christ.

Baptism cannot wash away sin; we have discussed this point over and over again, but it is good to repeat it, because many are deceived about this, because their church (usually “protestant”, “Catholic”, or Charismatic/Pentecostal, and some liberal Baptists) teaches it; and they are not biblically trained enough to understand that Baptismal Regeneration is false teaching.

Water cannot wash away sins: only the Blood of Jesus Christ, because of our faith in the Finished Work of Christ on the cross for our sins, can wash away our sins forever, because He paid for all of our sins with his perfect Atoning sacrifice for us.

But after one has trusted Jesus as their Savior, baptism in deep water is the very first thing that should occur, as soon as possible, because you will never be right with God as a Christian, if you have not done that.

Baptism in deep water is a REQUIREMENT for a new Christian, not an option! If you want the blessing of God upon your life as a Christian, you MUST obey the command of Christ to be baptized in deep water.

Romans 6:3 - 5: “Do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized as a sign of his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, in the same manner as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of Life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also walk in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Notice from this text that IF you want to walk in the likeness of the resurrection of Jesus, you MUST BE “planted together in the likeness of his death”.

If you fail to obey the command of Christ to be baptized after you trusted in Jesus Christ to be saved, you will struggle constantly with sin, bad thoughts, and demons. You will have no spiritual victory in your life, and you will be miserable!

And when you have obeyed the command of Christ to be baptized in deep water, then you will be filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and immediately begin to enjoy the blessings of knowing Jesus Christ in a personal way. The Christian Life will be joyful instead of filled with spiritual trouble.

The Bible doesn’t refer to this experience as the “baptism of the Holy Spirit”, but I believe that we are baptized in the power of the Holy Spirit when we obey the Lord in Believer’s Baptism. My life was transformed in many ways after I was baptized in deep water in my church after I had trusted Christ. It is very important for you, if you have not done that.

Thirdly, notice also that these new Christians “continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, and in breaking of bread (the Lord’s Table), and in prayers”.

They didn’t go home and forget about their faith in Christ, and continue in their old lives of sin, like so many have done. I’ve seen it many times, haven’t you?

Jesus said that the evidence of true, saving faith was an abundance of fruit that remains:

“And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places, where they did not have much earth; and immediately they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth; and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up, and choked them; but other seeds fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” Matthew 13:3-8

John 15:5: “I am the Vine, you are the branches; he that remains in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:16: “You have not chosen me; but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”

Finally, notice that the obedience of these new Christians to the teaching of the Apostles resulted in even more people trusting in Christ and being saved, and joining the Assembly of Christians in Jerusalem:

Acts 2:46-47: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the Temple, and breaking bread from house to house, ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart; praising God, and having favor with all the people. And each day the Lord added to the Assembly the ones being saved.”

When believers in Jesus Christ are walking in obedience to the Word of God, the Lost people around us take notice! They can smell a hypocrite a mile away, but they can also tell when Christians are right with God, and showing their Love for Christ in everything that they do. They will be convicted of their own sins, and will be much more willing to listen to the Gospel of Christ when the person telling them the Gospel is actually living for God.

If they know that you are a hypocrite (smoke a little bit, chew a little bit, drink a little bit, cuss a little bit), then they are going to reject what you are telling them about Jesus!

I saw many “Christians” as a teenager, who “smoked a little bit, chewed a little bit, drank a little bit, and cussed a little bit”. And I said to myself, “I don’t do those things, but I’m not a Christian. So why should I be saved? What exactly am I going to get saved from, when I am at least as good as them?”

Do you see? A real, clean walk with God is essential if you want to be believed when you tell someone else about Jesus Christ. Some preacher has said, “Your walk talks, and your talk talks; but your walk talks, louder than your talk talks!”

These new Christians in the church in Jerusalem were walking right and talking right; as a result, souls were being saved, and added to their church.

If your church is dead and not growing with new Believers added on a regular basis, this might be your problem. Selah; meditate on this.

Are you saved? Has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how to be saved? If not, you need Jesus Christ as your Savior, right now, because you are a sinner, and Jesus Christ came to the Earth over 2,000 years ago to be born of a virgin, live a perfect sinless life, and die on the cross for your sins; and then, He arose from the dead on the third day to demonstrate that He was God, and that He has the power to save you, if you repent of your sins, and call upon Him to save you.

There is NO OTHER NAME under Heaven that can save you and forgive you of your sins: Peter said,

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me: for I am meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest to your souls: for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for [it is written], “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:12-13

Here is a prayer that you can use to repent and trust in Christ right now. May the Holy Spirit of God help you to do it right now:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.