A very important change has occurred in the way God forms his people. In the Israel of old God formed his people through natural offspring. But in the Church, the true Israel, God is forming his people not by natural kinship but through supernatural conversion to faith in Christ.

Christians, according to the New Testament, are men and women who know exactly where they are and what they believe. As the apostle Peter put it when he wrote a letter to Christians later on in his life: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). That is the basic point from which we start.

Jesus was crucified on the grounds of blasphemy. He claimed to be the Son of God (Luke 22:70–71). The Jewish rulers rejected this role of God in Jesus’ life. Therefore, if a person rejects the role of God in the life of Jesus, that person supports the charge of blasphemy.

WE MUST BE READY FOR THE BATTLES THAT RAGE ALL AROUND US AND IN US. DO NOT GO INTO BATTLE UNPREPARED, THE SPIRIT WORLD WE DO NOT SEE DOES AFFECT US HERE ON EARTH. OUR ARMOR IS SPIRITUAL AND OUR BATTLES ARE SPIRITUAL.

“Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun.”

The fear of the Lord is fear of fleeing out of his fellowship into the way of sin. Therefore the fear of the Lord is full of peace and security and hope. It keeps us near to the merciful heart of God, our fortress, our refuge. Isaiah 8:13“The Lord of Hosts, … let him be your fear, and let him be your dread, and he will become a sanctuary.” A proper fear of the Lord keeps us near him where we need not be afraid.

Being filled with the Spirit means, basically, having great joy in God. Since the Bible teaches that “the joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10), it also means there will be power in this joy for overcoming besetting sins and for boldness in witness.

God wants us to see the unwavering purpose of the Holy Spirit. God wants us to see when the Holy Spirit says something, it will be fulfilled, even if it takes a thousand years.

When you are born again and put your faith in Christ, the Spirit of God unites you to Christ so that you are part of his body and a fellow-heir with him of eternal life.

Christ’s work of redemption is completed, and the church’s work of evangelism begins. Acts chronicles the initial stages and features of that unfinished work, and sets the path the church is to follow until the end.