United Church of God

Letter From Dan Dowd - June 7, 2019

Letter From Dan Dowd

June 7, 2019

Sabbath Thought - More of the Story

There are many times when I wish we had more recorded for us in Scripture. One such instance is the event recorded for us in Acts 1. What I find interesting is in verse 3: "He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God," (NIV). Christ did not just suffer and die from crucifixion and then after three days and nights rise from the dead - and that was the last the NT church heard from Him. He interacted for weeks with that embryo of a Church that didn't scatter after his death.

Here is what I would like to know from this short tease that Luke records: What did Christ teach them?; What questions did they have?; Did He elaborate on the meaning of the Holy Days?; Did He give them further instruction as to where to go to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom?; Did He explain what "the Promise of the Father" would mean to them - that is what having the Holy Spirit would mean for them personally and collectively?. Christ taught them Pentecost had a meaning that they didn't understand previously, and then He told them that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days (Acts 1:4-8).

Obviously, we don't have answers to these questions (or others) we may have. What we do have is Luke's account of what that early New Testament Church believed, taught and lived - and the impact that began to have on the known world. Later we have Paul's letters to the various Churches of God - what they needed to overcome, his clarification and teaching of God's doctrine of the Gospel and his (Paul's) faithful example. There is no major Christian denomination that exists today that teaches the Gospel message that Christ, the Apostles and later other faithful members of God's Church taught.

I suspect that early Church thought a lot about what Christ said, but I also suspect that they didn't really understand what He was talking about. If that was the case, they certainly did when Pentecost finally arrived (Acts 2:1-4). Christ didn't do this act in secret. The Apostles and other disciples were not left to figure out on their own how to go about preaching the Gospel message. Christ very publicly and dramatically gave His Church the Holy Spirit so that all gathered on the Temple Mount would know what took place. What an awesome display of the power of the Holy Spirit - men and women who were considered uneducated were speaking all kinds of different languages!

Let's back up here a bit and consider what Christ Himself brought to this whole discussion. Christ is the only way to become like the Father (John 14:6). He is our helper in our calling (John 14:16) - our "parakletos" (par-ACK-lee-tose), our consoler, intercessor and advocate. The Holy Spirit indeed helps us - it bridges the gap between our natural carnal nature (Romans 8:7) and the spiritual nature God seeks for us to replace that carnal nature with. Along with the power of the Holy Spirit, we also have the help and assistance of Jesus Christ in our life (John 14:27-28). Christ is able to do far more for us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit than He would be able to do if He was still flesh.

God's Holy Spirit will impact the lives around us, because of the indwelling of that Holy Spirit in us. We love one another in a way the world doesn't (1 John 3:5-14, 16, 23). We are there to help bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). God's way of life becomes such a part of us that we reflect Him without even really thinking about it (Matthew 25:31-46). This type of love can only come through Jesus Christ and God's Holy Spirit dwelling in us.  As it does, it will change us and it will be reflected in how we treat one another - in and out of the church. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God," (Romans 8:14).

Pentecost, like all of God's Holy Days, is one more part of the story of God's plan of salvation for all of mankind. There are so many stories recorded for us in Scripture that only give us a hint of what took place, or intrigue us enough to want to know more. But - we also have a wealth of knowledge and understanding of what God has done and is doing in making Himself a people. Let's not forget that we are part of the story now! Let us remember the part of God's story we have in His Feast of Pentecost.

I wish you a profitable and value filled Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

7 June, 2019