Will you please turn to the book of Acts, chapter 2? We will read from verses 1 through 4, and then verses 36 through 47.
And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him.
And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.
They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need.
And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved.
Dear Heavenly Father, we gather here in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to thank Thee that Thou hast promised us that if we meet in the name of Thy beloved Son, Thy presence is with us.
We thank Thee that Thou art here with us, and we are in Thy presence. Lord, we do desire to remove our shoes, because we are standing on holy ground. Lord, what hast Thou to say to us? Speak; Thy servants hear.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I thank the Lord for the opportunity of being with you, dear brothers and sisters. As I waited upon the Lord concerning this time, I felt it may be of the Lord that we should share together on this matter.
God willing, we will consider the church in Jerusalem today, and tomorrow morning the church in Antioch. Probably, brothers and sisters, you would like to know why I feel led in this way.
Because I believe that God has one work to do on earth. As a matter of fact, He has only one work to do.
You remember our Lord Jesus once said:
My Father worketh even until now, and I work also.
What is the work of God the Father? What is the work that our Lord Jesus works? You remember our Lord Jesus once said:
I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
— Matthew 16:18
Then, if you turn to Hebrews 11, you find in verse 10 that our forefather Abraham was looking for the city which hath the foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.
In other words, both the Father and the Son are working together for one thing. They are working to build a city—a city with foundations. They are building the church, which is to be the bride of the Lamb.
Now, this, I believe, is the work of God. In a sense, we are all called to be involved in that work.
You remember the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3 that he referred to himself and Apollos as God’s fellow workers. Then he said that we are building this temple.
So, in a sense, what God is building is what He calls us to build together with Him. Therefore, it is very essential for us to know what God is building and how He builds it.
If we do not know what God is doing, then we may be doing something very different from what He is doing, and all our labor will be in vain.
Now, how do we know what He is building? And how do we know the way that He is building it?
We do thank the Lord that He has given us examples. In the Word of God, we find what God has built and how He built it. By going back to the Word of God, we may learn precious lessons.
We may see the principles along which God works, and also the characteristics of His work.
So this is the reason why I feel led to share with you on the church in Jerusalem and the church in Antioch.
In building the universal church, God builds through the local churches. Therefore, when we look at these local churches as we find them in the book of Acts, we may learn very precious lessons. We may be instructed as to how we should be engaged in this work.
To me, the church in Jerusalem and the church in Antioch are not just history. They are very personal to me, and I believe they will be very personal to you too.
Now, this morning, we would like to share on the church in Jerusalem, because the church in Jerusalem is the first church that God built on this earth. From the building of that church, we may learn some very essential principles.
First of all, we would like to mention a universal law. There is a universal law. It is called the law of travail.
There is no birth without travail. This is a universal law. It not only governs the physical world; it also governs the spiritual world.
We know that no one will be born without travail. There will be no church without travail.
The church is born; it is not formed. It is born, not organized, because the church of God is a living organism.
So if there is no travail, there can be no birth of a church. The church is born through the travail of our Lord Jesus.
The Word became flesh. He emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a man. Being found in fashion as a man, He was obedient to God even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
We remember when our Lord Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, how He travailed in prayer, how He agonized, and how He shed tears. How He cried unto His Father:
Not My will, but Thy will, be done.
He travailed in the garden of Gethsemane, and He travailed on the cross at Calvary:
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
Out of the travail of our Lord Jesus, the church is born. You remember that, after He was dead, a soldier came and thrust a spear into His side; and out of His side came blood and water.
Blood for the remission of our sins; water giving us divine life. The blood and water that came out of our Lord Jesus are the materials for the building of the church.
That is the reason why Isaiah 53 says that He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.
But we must remember that the travail is not limited to God the Son. As a matter of fact, for the birth of the church, God the Father also travailed.
Think of the travail that He must have gone through in giving up His only begotten Son. Think of the pain and sorrow that He suffered when He Himself crushed His Son on the cross.
No wonder darkness filled the earth, as if the Father hid His face from what He was doing. It is the travail of God the Father.
And the same thing happened with the Holy Spirit, because on the day of Pentecost it is said that there was a wind blowing through the house. But in the original, it is hard breathing. It is the travail of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit filled the house, and those who were in the house were filled with the Holy Spirit. So you find here the travail of the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit travail together for the birth of the church.
No wonder the church is so precious to God.
But as you read Acts 1 and Acts 2, you will find that together with the travail of the Godhead, there is the travail of the saints.
You remember when our Lord Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives. He told His disciples to return to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father.
You find one hundred and twenty believers gathered together in that upper room in Jerusalem for ten days. They prayed together with one accord in prayer before God.
They were not just there waiting passively. You find that they gave themselves with one accord to continued prayer.
After they had prayed for ten days, on the day of Pentecost, suddenly the Holy Spirit came.
So, brothers and sisters, this is a law. This is a principle that governs the church. This happened in the forming of the first church, and this shall happen in the beginning of every living church.
Wherever there is a living church, it has to come by birth. But there can be no birth without travail.
Not only has our God travailed, but you will find that there must be believers on earth in sympathy with God, cooperating with Him, giving themselves to travailing prayer.
Where there are people who are travailing in prayer, there will be a spiritual birth, and that is how the church comes into being.
So I do hope that, brothers and sisters, we will hold fast to this basic universal law, knowing that the church is not something to be organized. The church must come through travailing prayer.
That is the first thing we want to share. Now, secondly, the one hundred and twenty believers were together for ten days. We can say that these one hundred and twenty believers were the elite of all the believers at that time.
You find that at one time our Lord Jesus appeared to five hundred brethren, but in the upper room there were only one hundred and twenty. They were the faithful ones.
Among them were the eleven apostles, some women who followed our Lord Jesus while He was on earth and ministered to Him, the brethren of our Lord Jesus, and, of course, the mother of our Lord Jesus.
So you find these one hundred and twenty believers were the cream of the believers. They were together praying with one accord.
Oh, what a beautiful picture this must be. If we had a congregation of one hundred and twenty believers like them, I think we would be very much satisfied.
It is hard to find on this earth a congregation so faithful, giving themselves so much to prayer. Nevertheless, they were still a congregation of one hundred and twenty members.
Put it another way: you had one hundred and twenty believers. If you looked at each one of them, every one was good. They were able to come together and even pray with one accord.
I think it is very difficult to find such a congregation today. It is really a wonderful picture, and yet it was just a congregation of one hundred and twenty believers.
Now, on the day of Pentecost, something wonderful happened. As they were praying together with one accord, suddenly there came a sound out of heaven, as if someone were breathing very hard.
You know, when a woman is giving birth, her breathing will be hard breathing. It is the breathing of God.
With that breathing, suddenly it filled the house. Tongues as of fire fell upon each one, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke of the mighty works of God.
The rumor went out, and many people gathered together. I believe it was not in that upper room, because the upper room was too small. Most likely they moved to Solomon’s Porch, and many people gathered around them, hearing them tell of the great things of God.
Now, this is Pentecost. So far as history is concerned, the church begins at Pentecost. Of course, the concept of the church began even before the foundation of the world; but historically speaking, the church begins at Pentecost.
Now, what is Pentecost? Whenever we think of Pentecost, what appeals to us most is the sound and the sight: a wind blowing, hard breathing, and tongues like fire falling upon each one.
To many people, this is Pentecost. But remember this: these are only secondary. These are only circumstantial. The real meaning of Pentecost is something different.
What is Pentecost? We say Pentecost is where there is a baptism with the Holy Spirit. Now, what is the baptism with the Holy Spirit?
Peter stood up with the eleven, and Peter began to preach to the people concerning the Lord Jesus. He spoke of His crucifixion, He spoke of His resurrection, and he ended his message with this.
The people who gathered around them were amazed. They did not know what it meant, and some said, “These people are filled with new wine.” Peter said, “No, no.” Peter said, “This is that which was spoken through the prophet Joel.”
What does it mean? He concludes with this statement in Acts 2:36:
Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.
What is this? This is that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ.
So what is Pentecost? Pentecost is that God has made Jesus, whom they crucified, both Lord and Christ.
The coming of the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus as the Lord and Christ. To put it another way, the coming of the Holy Spirit shows us that Jesus is Head over all.
This is Pentecost. Whenever the Holy Spirit comes, He reveals to us that Jesus is Lord and Christ.
Together with this, we find in 1 Corinthians 12:13. The book of Acts shows us the fact, but the epistles explain the fact. If you want to find the meaning of Pentecost, you have to go to the epistles.
In 1 Corinthians 12:13, it says:
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
What did the Holy Spirit do on the day of Pentecost? What is the meaning of the baptism with the Holy Spirit? In one Spirit, you were all baptized into one body.
So, brothers and sisters, Pentecost is, on the one hand, the revealing of Jesus as Lord. He is the Head over all. On the other hand, Pentecost reveals the body of Christ.
In one Spirit, you were all baptized into one body. Formerly, you were Jews; you were Gentiles. But now you were all baptized into one body and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Before Pentecost, you had a congregation of one hundred and twenty individual members. Even though they gathered together and prayed with one accord, yet they were one hundred and twenty individuals.
They could come together, and they could separate from one another, because they were only a congregation and were individual members.
But something glorious happened on the day of Pentecost. Instead of being a congregation of one hundred and twenty members, they were baptized into a body of one hundred and twenty members.
Now, this is a difference of heaven and earth. A congregation of one hundred and twenty members can be an organization, but a body of one hundred and twenty members is an organism.
So here you find that the church is formed. The church is a body. It is the body of Christ, and it is made up of living members. We are members one of another in the body.
As the body cannot be separated from the head, and the head and the body are one, so we cannot be separated from one another. Whether we meet together or whether we are in our homes, there is no separation, because we are members of one body.
Now, brothers and sisters, this is what God has done on the day of Pentecost, and this is what the church is.
Do you really see that Jesus is the Head over all? Do you hold fast to Him as your Head? Are you conscious of the body, or are you just conscious of your own self?
Are you conscious that you are only a member of a universal body? This is what God has done.
So this is the second thing I want to share with you: the meaning of Pentecost. It is the headship of Christ and the oneness of the body of Christ.
Then, thirdly, we would like to see how people enter into this body. We know that on the day of Pentecost the one hundred and twenty were baptized into one body.
The very same day, three thousand were added to the body. How were they added into the body?
You know that this was the time when Jewish people gathered from all over the world in Jerusalem. According to the law of Moses, the children of Israel were to go to Jerusalem three times a year. Pentecost was one of those times.
So people gathered from all over the world in Jerusalem. When they heard Peter and the eleven apostles speaking, they were pricked in their hearts.
Remember, these were Jews. They kept the law and came to Jerusalem to worship. Of course, some of them were Gentiles, proselytes, and they were also there.
When they heard about the Lord Jesus—His crucifixion and His resurrection—they were deeply touched in their hearts. They asked, “What shall we do? What can we do to be saved?”
Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. Then you shall receive the promise of the Father, the promise of the Holy Spirit, which is promised to you and to your children, both near and far.”
Peter exhorted them with many other words, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” The people believed and were baptized, and three thousand were added to the church.
Now, who were in the church in Jerusalem? We find the one hundred and twenty. They had a long background with the Lord, and we may say they were pretty mature.
They believed in the Lord Jesus, followed the Lord Jesus, and were faithful to the Lord. Now they were baptized into one body.
But on the day of Pentecost, the three thousand were newly born. They were born on the day of Pentecost.
How were they born? They not only repented of their sins; they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They were saved from the perverse generation, and they received the promise of the Holy Spirit.
They repented of their sins and had their sins forgiven. They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, baptized unto His death.
They were saved from the perverse generation. In other words, they were separated from the world. That perverse generation rejected the Lord and crucified Him. They had been in that generation, but now they were saved from it.
They separated themselves from the world to be with the Lord Jesus, and they all received the promise of the Holy Spirit. They received the Holy Spirit, the indwelling Spirit, and were baptized in the Holy Spirit into the one body.
They were soundly saved. That is the composition of the church in Jerusalem.
What was the life of the church at that time? In Acts 2:42, it says:
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
That, in a sense, sums up the life of the church. You find that these three thousand one hundred and twenty members were not members of an organization.
In an organization, some may be active members and some may be inactive members. But if you have a body, you cannot have many inactive members and only a few active members. If that is the case, you must be paralyzed.
Here you find the three thousand one hundred and twenty members: there was not one inactive member. Everyone was living and active.
Whether you were among the one hundred and twenty mature believers or among the three thousand newly born believers, the mind of Christ was so real and living in them. They persevered; they continually occupied themselves with these things.
Not just for one day, not for one month, but they persevered, continually occupied with these things. Now, these four things represent the life of the church.
First, they persevered in the teaching of the apostles. Now, you know that “teaching” is singular, but “apostles” is plural.
At that time there were twelve apostles, and later there were many more apostles. We remember Paul was an apostle. Yet, even though there were many apostles, their teaching was one.
How can that be? You remember the story of Martin Luther. He was the reformer. Martin Luther said that Paul’s letter to the Galatians was his Catherine, because Catherine was his wife.
He was wedded to the letter to the Galatians, because Galatians speaks of faith, and Paul used that as a sword for the Reformation. He fought the battle of the Reformation with Galatians.
He had very little respect for James’s letter. He called the letter of James an epistle of straw.
To him, Paul’s teaching was justification by faith, and James’s teaching was justification by works. He felt that these two teachings were so different that, if you followed Paul, you could not follow James; and if you took James, you had to leave Paul.
But here you find the teaching of the apostles. Why? Because apostles do not have their own teachings. They only teach what they have received from the Lord.
You remember Paul said, “What I have delivered to you is what I have received from the Lord.” They do not have their own special teaching.
Yes, they have their special emphases, because the teaching of our Lord is so full. No one apostle knows all the teachings of the Lord. It takes all the apostles to teach the teaching of our Lord Jesus.
They bring different aspects of the teaching of our Lord, but the teaching of the Lord is one. It may be taught by Paul; it may be taught by John; it may be taught by James. Each vessel is limited, and can only deliver a part of it.
But the teaching of the apostles is one. They teach us of our Lord Jesus. They do not want us to follow them.
You remember the Corinthian believers said, “I am for Paul,” “I am for Apollos,” “I am for Cephas,” “I am for Christ.” Is Christ divided?
Paul said, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord.” Thank God, in the beginning of the church, they continually occupied themselves with the teaching of the apostles.
Nobody said, “I am for Peter,” “I am for Andrew,” or “I am for Philip.” They received the teaching through the apostles, but it was the teaching of Christ.
In other words, they saw no one but Jesus. Now, this is church life. Church life is not following this one’s teaching or that one’s teaching, however accurate that teaching may be.
Remember, church life is engaged in the teaching of Christ. We preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. They all persevered, occupied with that. This is church life.
Not only did they continue in the teaching of the apostles, but also in the fellowship of the apostles. Again, “fellowship” is singular, while “apostles” is plural.
Why are there many apostles and yet only one fellowship? What is that fellowship?
If you turn to 1 John 1, John explains what the fellowship of the apostles is:
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
What is fellowship? In this universe there is a fellowship different from all the fellowships in this world.
It is the most exclusive fellowship in the universe. In this world, you have fraternities and clubs, but there is one fellowship that is the most exclusive in the whole universe, and it began before the foundation of the world.
It is the fellowship of the Godhead—the fellowship of the Son and of the Father. The Father and the Son fellowship together in the Spirit.
It is the sweetest, most glorious, most wonderful fellowship in the universe. There is perfect oneness, perfect harmony, no controversy, and it is full of peace and joy.
This is the fellowship of God the Son and God the Father. In that fellowship there are only three members: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
One day God said, “We want to expand Our fellowship. We want to receive more members into the fellowship.”
How did He do it? He did it by giving His only begotten Son. Through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus, giving us divine life, we may be drawn into that fellowship.
So in 1 Corinthians 1:9, it says:
God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
What is the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ? It is His fellowship with His Father. Here you find that God expanded His fellowship to include us.
First, through the apostles, He revealed Himself to them. By seeing and hearing Him, they had fellowship with God the Son and God the Father. They knew the Father and they knew the Son.
Now they report to us what they have seen and heard. As we receive what they report to us, we have fellowship not only with the apostles, but also with God the Father and God the Son.
It is a fellowship in life. It is a fellowship in the Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, if you do not belong to any country club, do not be sad about it. You already belong to the most glorious, most exclusive fellowship in the universe, and you do not need to pay anything.
Nobody else can join if they do not have the life of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, do you appreciate that fellowship?
People pay a lot to join a club and enjoy its privileges. They go there to play golf and to have meals. Brothers and sisters, do you enjoy the fellowship of the apostles?
I am afraid many believers do not even know that they are in that fellowship. Are you in fellowship with your brothers and sisters, your fellow members of that fellowship?
What is fellowship? Fellowship is the sharing of Christ. You share with your brothers and sisters the Christ that you have seen and heard, and your brothers and sisters share with you the Christ that they have seen and heard.
The Apostle John said that your joy may be full. Why are God’s people so poor spiritually? Because we do not fellowship with one another, or our fellowship is too limited.
“I will fellowship with you, but I will not fellowship with him.” Then you find that Christ is being limited. Our fellowship is universal—the fellowship of the apostles.
Peter fellowships with us. When you read 1 Peter and 2 Peter, if you receive what he has written, you fellowship with him. When you read Paul’s epistles, you fellowship with Paul, and Paul is fellowshipping with you.
If you share Christ with your brothers and sisters, and receive what your brothers and sisters share with you of Christ, how full of joy we must be.
Enjoy your privilege. The early believers persevered in the fellowship of the apostles. No wonder they were people full of joy.
Then you find, thirdly, the breaking of bread. The teaching and fellowship of the apostles are more on the doctrinal side. The next two things—the breaking of bread and prayers—are more on the practical side.
By the breaking of bread and prayers, the teaching and fellowship of the apostles are expressed.
The breaking of bread is very important. Why? Because our Lord Jesus asked us to remember Him.
The breaking of bread is a fellowship. If you read 1 Corinthians 10:
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?
The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?
Seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body.
The breaking of bread is a fellowship. It is an expression of our fellowship.
In taking the loaf, we are fellowshipping with our Lord Jesus. At the same time, we are fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters.
As we drink the cup, we are fellowshipping with the blood of the Lord Jesus. We enjoy afresh the preciousness of His blood.
In the breaking of bread, we worship God, and we are joined to one another.
In the early days, you find that the Christians broke bread every day. In Acts 2, whenever they had their meals, they broke bread. They remembered the Lord, remembered that they were all one body, and this strengthened their life together.
They broke bread from house to house because they loved the Lord and they loved one another.
Then, prayers. The prayers here are not individual, personal prayers. They are corporate prayers. They came together to pray.
They prayed with one accord. They prayed for the interests of the kingdom of God. They met every situation with prayer.
You remember when Peter and John were threatened by the Jewish council. They came back to their own company and reported what had happened.
The whole church, with one voice, prayed to God. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and with boldness they testified to the Word.
How we need to pray together. We not only need to come together to remember the Lord at His table; we should also come together to pray.
That is the early church. If you do not pray with your brothers and sisters, you do not know the preciousness of church life.
Finally, you find that they were together. They were not only together physically; they were together in one spirit, and they loved one another.
Nobody said, “This is mine.” They were totally delivered from self-possession. They shared with their brothers and sisters.
There was such love among them. No wonder, in the first century, people said, “Look at these Christians. See how they love one another.”
That is the testimony of the church. That is the church in Jerusalem.
We do praise and thank the Lord. When the church began on earth, it presented to us a glorious church. The church in Jerusalem is what every church should be.
May we learn these lessons from the church in Jerusalem. Do not look at it merely as history, as past history. Take it to your heart, that what happened in the church in Jerusalem may happen to us.
Let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for giving us a glimpse of the church in Jerusalem. We thank Thee for showing us what Thou hast done.
May it be true with us today. Thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever. Thou art faithful, and Thou who hast begun a good work will certainly perform it.
We do want to offer ourselves to allow Thy Holy Spirit to perfect the work which Thou hast begun, that Christ may be glorified.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.