Acts 2 is conventionally understood as the “birthday of the church.” It is the day on which Peter gave a sermon that outlined Hebrew history leading up to that point (and which never mentioned hell, curiously), and culminated with the Holy Spirit coming upon scores of people from all regions of the world and speaking in their own native languages. You see, Pentecost was the Hebrew scriptures realized.
The Hebrew Scriptures Spoke About It
Joel 2:28-29 says, “And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My menservants and maidservants, I will pour our My Spirit in those days.”
This is what Peter was referencing in Acts 2.
God’s Spirit poured out on “all people.”
No more divisions or separations. No more “who’s in and who’s out.”
Faith is no longer a club for the spiritually elite, the pure Jewish descendants, the ones from the right class of society, the dogmatically correct, etc.
“All people.”
It is a massive shift and a massive outpouring. This is a day that is about everyone, without restriction. The tower of Babel is undone, not that everyone is now speaking the same language, but everyone is speaking the same content… the restoration of all things in Christ.
In Light of This, What is the Church?
And the people of the “One Breath” are the ones that give witness to that mystery before it is fulfilled in its totality. The church is not a building or an institution, although, it can happen in those spaces. The church is simply the Edah (the Hebrew word for “witnessing gathering”), the eclectic collection of martyrs (the greek word for “witness”). The church is simply the collection of people that vulnerably give witness to the mystery of their own stories in light of the overarching story of the reconciliation of all things.
THE day that the church was established was supposed to be a radical shift forward in integration, inclusion, etc. It was to be a day of humanity’s spiritual evolution in light of the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth being the Christ, and pouring out the Spirit on “all people.” So may we live accordingly!
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