PREACHING CHRIST

WE PREACH CHRIST!!!

Gospel Meetings used to be called Protracted Meetings in the 1940s, and were called Revivals by many. These are times of evangelistic outreach, lifting up and honoring Christ Jesus and letting His light of truth shine. "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." John 1:9-10 (KJV)

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." Isaiah 9:6-7 (KJV)

"For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." Heb 1:5-6 (KJV)

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. " 1 Cor 3:10-11 (KJV)

In the year of 1794, on August 4th, Rice Haggard stood in the meeting at Old Lebanon Church, Surry County, Virginia, with a New Testament in his hand, and said: "Brethren, this [New Testament] is a sufficient rule of faith and practice. And by it we are told that the disciples were called Christians. And I move that henceforth and forever the followers of Christ be known as Christians simply." This proved to be the beginning of the "Stone-Campbell Movement" in America. [The Lord's Church dates from Pentecost.]

Salvation unites the believer with Christ. Said Stone: "We urged upon the sinner to believe now, and receive salvation...No previous qualification was required, or necessary, in order to believe in Jesus, and come to Him - that if they were sinners, this was their divine warrant to believe in Him and to come to Him for salvation...When we first began to preach these things, the people appeared as just awakened from the sleep of ages - they seemed to see for the first time that they were responsible beings, and that a refusal to use the means appointed [for salvation] was a damning sin."
Walter Scott, who came to be thought of as The Evangelist used the "five-finger exercise" to help people remember: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Remission of sins, Gift of the Holy Spirit." These were man's response to God's offer of salvation. Christ is preached: His Death and Resurrection. Sinners are to believe in Christ, repent of sins, and be baptized into Christ for remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit [Acts 2:38]. With this message, Scott led thousands each year [in the 1800's] to "obey the gospel."
Unity is a command of Christ. In 1832, Stone and Campbell joined the right hand of fellowship. Stone wrote in 1833: "How vain are all human attempts to unite a bundle of twigs together, so as to make them grow together and bear fruit. They must first be united with the living stock, and receive its sap and spirit, before they can ever be united with one another. The members of the body cannot live unless by union with its head - nor can members of the church live united, unless first united with Christ The Living Head. His Spirit is the bond of union. Men have devised many plans to unite Christians - all in vain. There is but one effectual plan, which is, that all be united with Christ and walk in Him."
We "stand on the shoulders" of those who have gone before us. Their work of faith is very important to us. Read Paul's teaching in 1 Cor. 15:1-8; Titus 2:11-14; 3:3-8; Col. 2:11-14.

GOD IN THREE PERSONS

GOD IN THREE PERSONS - FATHER, SON, SPIRIT

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee:
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.
[original first verse of song #238]

"It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1:9-11

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." John 1:29-34

John had been preaching and baptizing for some six months, when we see Jesus come to be baptized also. Mark shows us Jesus apparently waiting in line like everybody else, and with everybody else. A strange way for the Messiah to enter the stage of history! The "Sinless One" shows he is willing to be a part of sinful humanity (compare Heb. 2:14-18). The visible form of the Spirit was probably for the benefit of the people there (compare John 12:30). The key to what took place at the baptism of Jesus is found in these words by Robert Brinsmead. “A thing cannot be a new covenant sign or seal if Christ as God did not give it. Neither can it be God’s sign or seal if Christ as man did not also accept it from God and give God thanks for it.” The baptism of Jesus set the pattern for him to be the first among many brothers and sisters (Rom. 8:29). We learn that this event was to be the mark of identification to show the one who was the Messiah (see John 1:29-34). In the same way, Christian baptism can be viewed as a mark of identification in which the Holy Spirit "seals" us to God (Eph. 1:13-14). God voiced his approval of Christ Jesus in a way which all those present could hear (Mark 1:11; 9:7; John 12:28). So it was Jesus the Christ, the Logos [WORD] as a human being, who came both with the water of his baptism and the blood of his death (1 John 5:6).


THE MINISTRY OF THE KINGDOM, The Holy Spirit. Jesus’ ministry did not begin until He received His “anointing” as Messiah—the empowering that came through the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him (Mark 1:10). Though conceived and born by the Spirit’s power (Luke 1:35) and sinless His whole lifetime (John 8:46), He did not attempt ministry without the Spirit’s power. He insisted John baptize Him, not for repentance, but because He knew the Holy Spirit would come upon Him at that time (Matt. 3:13–17). From that time, He is led of the Spirit (Mark 1:12) and moves into ministry— declaring the presence of God’s kingdom and manifesting its miracles, signs, and wonders (Luke 4:14, 15; Matt. 4:23–25). This pathway points each believer to the need for power, if kingdom ministry is to be advanced through us—His church. Like Him, we, too, are “born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-6). Though obviously, our spiritual birth is not as His biological virgin birth, the point remains. Spiritual rebirth saves, but spiritual endowment is needed for ministering in kingdom power. Similarly, our justification in Christ—(being declared sinless, 2 Cor. 5:21)—does not qualify for kingdom power in ministry. In His incarnation Jesus’ Person and perfection exceeded ours in every way, yet Jesus still acknowledged the need for His own receiving of the power of the Holy Spirit to pursue His ministry. What more needs to be said? Let each of us personally hear His command: “Receive the Holy Spirit!” (John 20:22). [compare Matt. 18:18–35; Luke 4:1; 9:1-2; 11:13]

"The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," Says the Lord. "As for Me," says the Lord, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the Lord, "from this time and forevermore."
Isaiah 59:20-21; Romans 11:26

Without The Holy Spirit God is far away.

WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Creation is resurrected and groans with the Kingdom - Romans 8:19-23

The Risen Christ is there Romans 8:11; 2 Cor 4:14

The Gospel is the power of life Romans 1:16-17

The Church shows forth the life of the Trinity 2 Cor 13:14

Authority is a liberating service Gal 5:1

Mission is a Pentecost Acts 2:38-39

Worship is both memorial and anticipation 1 Cor 11:26

Human action is harmonized with God Romans 14:17

Jesus said: Behold I come quickly. Rev 22:12

RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT

A. Campbell could emphasize the Oneness of God while recognizing the triune nature of God revealed in the Scriptures. He wrote in The Christian System of: "Jehovah the Father, Jehovah the Son, Jehovah the Holy Spirit."

Compare this from J.W.McGarvey in his Original Commentary On Acts.

Acts XIX: 1–7. Having sketched briefly the visit of Apollos to Ephesus, and thus prepared the way for an account of Paul's labors in the same city, the historian now reaches the point for which he had so hurriedly passed over the apostle's journey from Antioch through Galatia and Phrygia and around to Ephesus. The appointment which he left in Ephesus, as he passed through on his way to Jerusalem, is now to be fulfilled. (1) “Now while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper districts, came to Ephesus, and finding certain disciples, (2) said to them, Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? But they said to him, We have not so much as heard that the Holy Spirit is given. (3) He said to them, Into what, then, were you immersed? They said, Into John's immersion. (4) Then Paul said, John indeed immersed with the immersion of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, that is, on the Christ Jesus. (5) And when they heard this they were immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus. (6) And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. (7) All the men were about twelve.”

This passage is valuable chiefly because it shows how the apostles dealt with parties who, at that time, were immersed with John's immersion. This, no doubt, was Luke's object in introducing it. In order to understand the case, it is necessary to keep distinctly in view the facts stated of the parties previous to and subsequent to their immersion by Paul. They are called disciples, and were known as such when Paul found them; for it is said “he found certain disciples.” They were disciples, not of John, but of Jesus; for the uniform currency of the term disciple, throughout Acts, requires us to so understand it. This is further evident from Paul's question, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” The term believed evidently refers to Jesus as its object. They were known, then, as disciples of Jesus, and were so recognized by Paul.

Up to the moment of his conversation with them, Paul knew nothing of any irregularity in their obedience; for this was made known, to his surprise, during the conversation. When, therefore, he asked the question, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” he could not have referred to that gift of the Spirit which all disciples receive; for he would take this for granted, from the fact that they were disciples. He must, then, have had reference to the miraculous gift, which some disciples did not receive.

It is inconceivable that these disciples were ignorant of the existence of the Holy Spirit, hence a literal rendering of their reply, “We have not so much as heard that there is a Holy Spirit,” would convey a false idea. The supplement given is necessary to complete the sense, as it is in John 7:39, where it is said, “The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet risen.” The term given must be supplied, in the latter case, in order to avoid the denial of the existence of the Spirit previous to the resurrection; and, in the former, to avoid the declaration of an ignorance on the part of these men inconsistent with the fact that they were disciples.

This answer at once revealed to Paul that there was some irregularity in their religious history; for no one could be properly discipled without learning that the Holy Spirit was to be given. He at once perceived, too, that the irregularity must have been connected with their immersion; for he inquires, “Into what, then, were you immersed?” If the gift of the Spirit had no connection with immersion, this inquiry would have been inapposite, and Paul would not have propounded it. But the apostles taught as Peter did on the day of Pentecost, when he said, “Repent and be immersed, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It is only on the supposition that Paul knew this to be the universal teaching of rightly-informed brethren, that he inferred something wrong about their immersion, from their ignorance of the gift of the Holy Spirit. This supposition, however, which is a necessary, not an optional one, makes the whole matter very plain. Paul's first question had reference to the miraculous gift of the Spirit; but when they said they knew not that the Holy Spirit was given, he saw that they were ignorant of even the ordinary gift, which is promised to all who repent and are immersed, and that they were immersed without proper instruction.

Their reply, that they were immersed into John's immersion, relieved the case of all obscurity, and Paul then understood it perfectly. He explained, that John's immersion was one of repentance, to be followed by faith in the Messiah when he should come. Those immersed by him believed that the Messiah was coming; but they did not, until after their immersion, believe that Jesus was the Messiah, nor did they have a promise of the Holy Spirit. They were not, therefore, immersed into the name of Jesus or that of the Holy Spirit. This is further evident from the fact that Paul commanded these twelve to be “immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus,” which the authority of the commission requires us to understand as equivalent to the expression, “into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” These points of defect, however, were not peculiar to the immersion of the twelve, but attached also to that of the twelve apostles, the hundred and twenty disciples, and the five hundred who saw Jesus together in Galilee after the resurrection, none of whom were reimmersed. What, then, led to the immersion of these parties? If their immersion had taken place, like that of all the others just named, while John's immersion was still an existing institution, no reason could be given for their reimmersion. This, then, forces us to the conclusion that they had been immersed with John's immersion after it had ceased to be administered by divine authority. Apollos had been recently preaching this obsolete immersion in Ephesus, and these persons may have been immersed by him. If so, they submitted to an institution which had been abrogated more than twenty years, and this was the defect that led to their reimmersion. The general conclusion, from all the premises, is this: that persons who were immersed with John's immersion, while it was in lawful existence, were received into the Church of Christ without reimmersion. But persons who were thus immersed, after the introduction of apostolic immersion, were reimmersed. The reason why Apollos was not reimmersed as well as the twelve, was, doubtless, because, like the apostles and the other original disciples, he was immersed during the ministry of John.
—Acts of the Apostles

Certainly the Book of Acts shows "Pentecost" as ongoing and continual.