While the book of Acts is basically a history of the early church, there is a lot of theology that can be gleaned if the reader just takes the time to really dig into the meat that is marinating in the milk. As we delve into some of that meat, I find Jesus with the disciples at Bethany, where He is ready to ascend into Heaven. Just before He leaves He gives instructions for the men to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the gift He promised from the Father,
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
(Acts 1:4-5)
In spite of the intensive teaching they received from Jesus on the kingdom, His disciples were still confused, because they asked,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
(Acts 1:6)
For us to read this 2000 years later it may sound like a stupid question. After all, throughout His three year ministry, Jesus spoke about the Kingdom to come numerous times and in many ways. Now, Jesus often used the phrases, “The Kingdom of God,” or, “The Kingdom of Heaven,” all they heard was the promised kingdom and by now they knew that He was the King that was promised by the ancient prophets. So while we may question why they were still clueless, we need to understand that they were raised to believe that the prophecies foretold the restoration of the earthly kingdom of Israel to its former glory.
Ever since God handed Moses the Law, the Israelites understood that they were a special nation which lived under God’s kingdom on earth. Through the years they had moments of rebellion and were even removed from the land, but they always believed a Godly remnant would revive God’s kingdom when the Messiah, a descendant of David, would reign as King. Sadly, just as they were tone deaf to the times Jesus warned them that he would be arrested and put to death, they were also not listening with discerning minds when Jesus taught them about the kingdom to come.
I can only imagine their thoughts about Jesus being unstoppable, because He even defeated death. In their minds there is nothing the Roman Empire can do to stop Him. Add to this mindset, that they now know for a fact that Jesus is the One the prophets spoke of when they wrote about the Messiah setting up His kingdom. After all, Jesus Himself even taught them to pray for such a thing, or they obviously thought so,
“When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”
(Luke 11:12)
In response to their question, Jesus would tell them that the time is in the Father’s hand. Yet what was even more important, and what the disciples did not yet understand was the kingdom Jesus preached about was already here. It was ushered in by Him, just not in the way they expected. Eventually the disciples would come to understand exactly what Jesus was referring to, and in time Paul would eloquently put it to words that every Christian should understand..
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 14:17)
While this response was specifically pertaining to the hot topics of Paul’s day, as to whether one is free or not to eat certain foods. Paul wanted them to understand that our liberty in Jesus and freedom from the law is good, but not if we use it to destroy another brother in Christ. Thus the kingdom of God is not about judging each other over simple matters, because these are shallow earthly things like a physical kingdom on earth the disciples were expecting. Instead, the real issue is far deeper than such mundane matters. The kingdom of God is about a man’s personal relationship to God who sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us so that we will live a righteous life in peace with joy.
This is the kingdom of God in a nutshell. If we strive for this type of relationship with God, through Christ Jesus via the Holy Spirit, then we will have reached the point in our life where we can honestly say we have entered the Kingdom of God. Jesus told the Pharisees, in Luke’s Gospel, that the kingdom of God is working within believers even though it may be difficult for others to observe at times. This is because the changes are inside us and not always visible. Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians, that we are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells within us,
“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
(Luke 17:20b-21)
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
(1 Cor. 3:16–17)
As we go forward in the book of Acts, we must understand that it’s always been God’s plan to save all men, not just the Israelites. Thus from the moment God created the Heavens and the earth, He set things in place so that Salvation for all mankind would be available. By doing so He made sure there would be avenues available for men to seek the truth so they could grope for the Lord, in their quest to find their Creator and learn of His salvational plan. Even in countries that are not so friendly to GOD, there are those inside these nations whom God has put in positions to help others who are searching for Him. Mind you, God’s divine purpose of saving souls will not be hindered.
“so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us”
(Acts 17:27)
Now inevitably some will be left wondering about my claim that God is in ultimate control. Which will lead some to question what my take on election vs free will is. Well, just because God is controlling future aspects of the world, does not mean our lives are predestined with no free will. Without getting too far in the weeds, I will offer the following on how my belief in “Free Will” pertains to what I have written above on Acts 1:6.
It must be understood that, because God is omniscient, He knows everything, what is, what was, what will be. From the very nano second God decided to create the heavens and the earth, He knew everything that would happen. Our thoughts, desires, and He even knows what might be, as attested to by this question David asked,
Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will deliver you.” So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.
(1Samuel 23:10-13)
Thus He knew who would accept Him and who would reject Him. Just as He knew the choices Moses and Pharaoh would make, so too does God know what choices in life we will make, and because of that foreknowledge, He will guide us in a path He wants us to take.
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
(Exodus 9:13-16)
Even King David was chosen and then guided by God to become King of Israel. Now, just because God chose and guided him, God still allowed David to enjoy his free will. Like all men, David’s biggest challenge was the battle for the desires of his flesh. David loved the ladies, and thus had numerous wives, even though God commanded Moses to tell them that when they asked for a king, that kings shall not multiply wives. Well David had multiple wives, and he still went so far as to have an affair with a married woman. To add sin upon sin, David tried to cover the pregnancy of Bathsheba by ultimately having Uriah, her husband murdered. Even so, God knew David would repent, and while his whole family would pay dearly for his evil acts, God still worked through the weaknesses of him and his descendants to bring into fruition His ultimate plan of salvation for all mankind.
Thus in all His control of things, God still allows us free will. Yet, if God did not guide things in some way for mankind to find fellowship with Him, then mankind would eventually destroy ourselves. Jeremiah tells us,
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
(Jeremiah 17:9)
Well God knows the heart, and He searches it to find the good in us. God does not want men to perish, He wants all to come to the saving grace, and because God knows our hearts. God is long suffering, and will give us uncountable chances to change before He turns us over to a reprobate mind. Even the great Nebuchadnezzar was eventually humbled to the point where he could only look up and praise, honor and extol the God of God’s and honored the King of heaven. God saw something good, and Nebuchadnezzar came to believe.
Like road signs on a freeway, man needs guides to steer us into the right directions so we can reach our destinations. This is why we can never be saved on our own. It took God’s sinless Son to bear our sins by becoming sin so that we can become the righteousness of God. Yet it still takes us to trust the road signs, which takes free will on our part to choose, and yes sometimes we need faith that the information on the road signs are correct. For salvation, it ultimately takes a freewill faith to trust the message given to us by Christ’s sacrifice on that cross.
I pray those who have ears to hear, will hear His voice and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Leave a Reply