God International Kingdom (Acts 1:1-9)
Introduction
The book of Acts is the second volume of Luke's two-part work. Luke writes this second volume to the same audience as his first volume. His gospel records the historic work of Christ. It is the invitation for Theophilus and the world to see that Christ is the Messiah for the nations. His second volume, Acts, records the impact of Christ’s mission.
Our struggle is that we might think Christ has left his church. However, Acts is communicating that Christ is very much present with his body until the end of the age. Luke communicates that the ascended Lord remains present with his church through the Holy Spirit, actively advancing his kingdom.
The Book's Summary
Luke opens Acts by grounding it firmly in his Gospel. The same Christ who died and rose appeared to his disciples with many proofs, teaching them about the kingdom of God. The book of Luke ends with the disciples witnessing Christ being taken to heaven. Acts opens with the disciples gathered around Christ, receiving their marching orders, and then Christ being taken to heaven.
Luke is picking up where he left off, and for good reason. Luke is building continuity between Christ's earthly mission and the ongoing mission of the church in the Holy Spirit. These two volumes are meant to be read together as one story. The first volume is the basis for the church, Christ’s completed work, and the second volume is the power given from on high. The second volume assures us that Christ really is with his church until the end of the age.
Why Enter into Glory?
Christ instructs his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. What is this promise you might wonder? It is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This fulfills what John the Baptist announced: one is coming who will baptize with the Spirit. John's baptism identified people with the Messiah’s mission. The people are identified in a mission that is not complete.
In order for Christ to complete his mission, he must live a perfect life, die on the cross, and be raised to life. The final event is Christ entering glory. The temptation is to think that Christ restores a physical kingdom. However, Christ must ascend into heaven. He must sit on the right hand of God while the church heralds his gospel message. The Holy Spirit baptism now confirms and seals God's people in a mission fully accomplished. The fire that is associated with judgment does not consume the Lord’s people, but cleanses them.
So, when Christ enters glory, it is the declaration that the precedent is set for the prophet’s word to have partial fulfillment. When Christ returns, he brings the full physical fulfillment.
Why the Disbelief?
We would think that the disciples would cherish this promise. However, when the disciples ask whether Christ will now restore the kingdom to Israel, they reveal a common misunderstanding. They want the glory kingdom now. They want the full physical blessings of Christ’s kingdom. They understand the prophets to promise: the messiah, judgment, and then physical blessings. They fail to understand the depth of the fall. Sure, the heavens and earth will have continuity, but they are to be fully glorified without any remnant of sin. Christ cannot just put a Band-Aid on this world.
Christ redirects them: the timing of final restoration belongs to the Father alone. Now is not the time for full glory. What the church is called to is witness and herald. The Gospel will be preached beginning in Jerusalem, to Judea (wider district), and Samaria (a mix of Jewish/Gentile heritage). The gospel will then go to the ends of the earth.
This is the intention of the Abrahamic covenant coming to its full spiritual flowering: blessing going out to all nations through a Spirit-empowered, gospel-bearing community. The new covenant is not new in substance, but it shows the intention of the promise made to Abraham. The intention has been for the nations to receive the benefit of Christ’s work. However, the disciples did not expect the delay between the first coming of Christ and the second coming. They struggle with disbelief because they expected the full glory of Christ’s kingdom.
Conclusion
The church today lives between two great events: the ascension of Christ and his return. We are in the New Covenant. This is not new in the radically different sense. It is new in the sense that it is confirmed and qualitatively different. It means that the intention has always been for the nations to embrace the messiah. However, now we see the revelation of that intention.
Right now, we live as Spirit-empowered people, united and rooted in Christ. As we journey together as a people set apart in Christ, we are bearing witness to his gospel and caring for one another as we go. Acts is not a record of a church left to fend for itself. It is the story of a church sent, empowered, and united to the living Christ.
May we be a people who walk in Christ's power, a people who wait for our Savior, and a people confident that he has set a historic precedent that will never be overturned.