Study 1 — God at Work After Pentecost: The Big Idea
Pentecost changed the disciples from people who had witnessed Jesus' ministry into people who participated in His continuing work.
Jesus had risen from the dead. He had instructed His disciples. He had ascended into heaven.
But the story wasn't over.
In fact, Acts begins where the Gospels leave off.
Jesus told His disciples:
“Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me...”— Acts 1:8
That gives us the key to understanding the early Church:
Jesus went to the Father, but His work on earth continued through the Holy Spirit working in His people.
1. Pentecost Was a Beginning, Not an Ending
We sometimes think of Pentecost as a spectacular event in the past:
the disciples gathered together
the Holy Spirit came
tongues of fire appeared
people spoke in other languages
Peter preached
thousands believed
And then we move on.
But Acts doesn't move on from Pentecost.
Acts shows what Pentecost produced.
The Spirit-filled disciples began preaching.
They healed.
They served.
They suffered.
They prayed.
They evangelized.
They established churches.
They crossed cultural boundaries.
They carried the Gospel beyond Jerusalem.
The important question therefore isn't simply:
“What happened at Pentecost?”
It is:
“What did God do after Pentecost?”
And perhaps even more personally:
“What is God doing now?”
2. God Worked Through Ordinary People
One of the most encouraging things about Acts is that God didn't choose a group of famous religious professionals.
Peter was a fisherman.
Andrew was a fisherman.
James and John were fishermen.
Matthew had been a tax collector.
The disciples were ordinary men and women who had been transformed by Jesus.
Peter is particularly interesting.
Before Pentecost, Peter had denied Jesus three times.
After Pentecost, Peter stood publicly in Jerusalem and proclaimed Jesus.
What changed?
Peter didn't suddenly become a different kind of human being.
He became a Spirit-empowered witness.
That distinction is important.
God doesn't necessarily wait until we become impressive.
He works through people who are willing to be used.
3. God Was Building His Church
Jesus had said:
“I will build my church.”
Pentecost demonstrated that He meant it.
The Church wasn't created merely as an institution.
It was a living community of people who believed in Jesus, received the Gospel, gathered together, prayed, worshiped, learned, served, and reached others.
Acts 2 gives us one of the most beautiful descriptions of the earliest Christian community:
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
Notice the balance.
They learned.
They fellowshiped.
They worshiped.
They prayed.
And they reached people.
The Church was both a family and a mission.
4. The Gospel Began Moving Outward
The geographical movement of Acts is fascinating.
Jesus said:
Jerusalem → Judea → Samaria → the uttermost part of the earth.
And that is essentially the structure of the book of Acts.
Jerusalem
The Gospel begins where Jesus was crucified and resurrected.
Judea
The message spreads into the surrounding Jewish territory.
Samaria
The Gospel crosses an enormous cultural and religious barrier.
The ends of the earth
Eventually the Gospel reaches Gentiles, Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, and beyond.
This was not simply human expansion.
It was God at work.
One of the great lessons of Church history is that the Gospel repeatedly moves farther than its first believers expected.
The early Church did not have modern communication.
No internet.
No printing press.
No automobiles.
No airplanes.
No Christian publishing industry.
And yet the Gospel spread across the Roman world.
Why?
Because God was at work through His people.
5. Persecution Did Not Stop the Work
Here is one of the great surprises of Acts.
We might assume persecution would destroy the Church.
Instead, persecution often helped scatter believers into new places.
Stephen was killed.
Believers were persecuted.
Christians left Jerusalem.
And what happened?
They carried the Gospel with them.
Acts 8:4 says:
“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”
Think about that.
The people who were scattered became missionaries.
The enemy intended to silence the Church.
God used the scattering to spread the Gospel.
That gives us a profound principle:
God can work through circumstances that appear completely contrary to His purposes.
What looks like defeat may become an opportunity.
What looks like an ending may become a beginning.
What looks like scattering may become sending.
6. God Even Transformed an Enemy
Perhaps the most astonishing example is Saul of Tarsus.
Saul wasn't neutral toward Christianity.
He actively opposed Christians.
He believed he was doing God's work by trying to destroy the Church.
Then Jesus met him on the Damascus road.
The persecutor became the preacher.
The enemy became the missionary.
Saul became Paul.
And Paul became one of the greatest witnesses for Christ in history.
This is another major theme of Acts:
God doesn't merely work through circumstances. He transforms people.
That should give us hope for people we may consider unlikely candidates for faith.
If God could transform Saul, He can transform anyone.
7. Peter Wasn't the Only One God Used
There is another important lesson here.
We often remember the great names:
Peter.Paul.Stephen.Barnabas.James.
But the early Church was filled with people whose names are barely remembered.
That is important because most Christians will never become famous.
And that's okay.
God's work isn't measured by fame.
A person who teaches one child the Scriptures may be doing something enormously significant.
A person who encourages a discouraged believer may change the direction of that person's life.
A person who quietly prays may never know what God accomplished through those prayers.
God's kingdom is much larger than the names history remembers.
8. What Does “God at Work” Mean for Us?
This brings the study home.
The question isn't simply:
“What did God do in Acts?”
The question is:
“Is God still at work?”
If we believe the New Testament, the answer is yes.
The Holy Spirit has not retired.
Jesus has not stopped building His Church.
The Great Commission has not expired.
The Gospel has not lost its power.
And God still works through ordinary people.
So perhaps the most important question isn't:
“Am I important enough for God to use?”
Instead ask:
“Am I available?”
Questions for Our Study
Let's take these slowly rather than trying to answer everything at once.
1. Why do you think Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit instead of immediately sending them out?
2. What changed in Peter between his denial of Jesus and his preaching at Pentecost?
3. Why do you think persecution actually helped spread Christianity?
4. What does Saul's conversion teach us about people we might consider “unlikely” candidates for faith?
5. Who are some of the “ordinary” people God has used in your own life?
6. Most importantly:
Where might God be asking you to be available to Him now?
Our theme for September
I would suggest that we carry one sentence with us throughout this study:
Pentecost was not merely something God did once; it revealed what God intended to continue doing through His people.
The early Church is therefore not simply history to study.
It is a testimony to what God can do through people who trust Him, obey Him, and make themselves available to Him.
And that gives us a wonderful way to begin our September journey:
Look at what God did then—and ask what God is doing now.
**************************************Lord, send the old-time power,
the Pentecostal power!
That sinners be converted
and Thy Name glorified! -Charles H. Gab¬ri¬el, 1912
**************************************
Ye shall be My witnesses,
Was Jesus’ last command,
To every kindred tongue and tribe,
In every clime and land;
Go, tell them of our Christ and say
His kingdom is at hand,
Refrain
Who will go and witness for Jesus?
Tell it out, tell it out,
The blessèd Gospel sound,
Tell it out, tell it out,
The news the world around,
Till the name of Jesus has
Been heard wherever man is found,
Who will go and witness for Jesus?
Jesus has commissioned you
And me to go or send,
A messenger in His dear name,
His glorious cross defend;
And He has promised to be with us,
Even to the end,
Refrain
God has said be of good courage,
Neither be afraid,
Though mountains seem to hedge the way,
He says be undismayed;
For Jesus is our captain and
Will always be our aid,
Refrain
Hear the suffering millions crying
For the living bread,
When Christ was here His words were,
Let the multitudes be fed.
Then haste wherever man is found,
For all His blood was shed,
Refrain
Words & Music: James M. Kirk, in Rose of Sharon Hymns (Hymn Book Committee of the Mennonite Brethren of Christ in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, 1917)
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