Skip to main content

Our King's Strategy

The events of Acts 2, though seemingly insignificant to the average Roman citizen at the time, marked the launch of the beginnings of God’s promised Kingdom. On that day of Pentecost, the risen King, Jesus Christ, sent His Spirit to empower His disciples and set in motion His grand strategy for bringing blessing to all the families of the earth just as he promised to Abraham.

When the Spirit came, the Spirit empowered the disciples not only to speak in many languages but also to forge a new family—a community bound together in love and devotion to Jesus and one another. Acts 2:42-47 describes this family’s radical practices:

Devotion to the Apostles' Teaching: 

Believers wholeheartedly committed themselves to learning and living out the good news of Jesus and his kingdom, reordering their lives to align with all Jesus’ commands that were now made clear by the Spirit.   The Spirit filled them with a love for God and his ways.

Devotion to Fellowship: 

Far more than casual connections, their fellowship (koinonia) was a sacred bond that united them across social and cultural boundaries. They shared possessions, opened their homes, and practiced sacrificial love, embodying the unity of God’s Kingdom family.  They were filled with the sacrificial love of Christ.

Devotion to the Breaking of Bread: 

Sharing meals, including the Lord’s Supper, was an act of unity, grace, and remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice and the good news of his resurrection. These meals required extending the same forgiveness and grace to each other that Christ had shown them. The Spirit filled them with gratitude and empowered them to embody the gospel message in a powerful way.  

Devotion to Prayer: 

Together, they sought God daily, acknowledging His presence and relying on His guidance and power.   The Spirit filled them with the love of God and they couldn’t go a day without connecting with, speaking with, God in prayer.

The King’s strategy, as revealed in the New Testament, is the Church:

The Church in the New Testament is a Spirit-empowered household (A Family of Families) that proclaims and embodies the good news of Jesus and His Kingdom.

Not everything about this grand strategy was fully understood at first, but the full revelation came through the Spirit, particularly in the book of Acts and the letters of Paul to the churches.  

  • Through faith in Jesus, people from all nations are being brought into this new multi-ethnic family as heirs of God’s promised Kingdom (Ephesians 2:18-19, 3:6).
  • This family is built on the foundation of the apostles’ teaching and held together by Jesus Himself (Ephesians 2:20).
  • God’s presence dwells in this family (Ephesians 2:22).
  • Through this family, the wisdom of God is being revealed (Ephesians 3:10).
  • All of this is according to God’s eternal purpose and plan in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:11).
  • Paul is more fully revealing the plan/administration for being this unique family through which God is making disciples of all nations (Ephesians 3:4-10).

The New Testament letters complete the picture by outlining the instructions Jesus gave by His Spirit through His apostles. These teachings guide us in following Jesus in every aspect of life and in building our lives and churches on Christ’s strategy for bringing the blessing of His Kingdom to the nations through His Church. 

Yet, over the centuries, the Church has often strayed from this strategy, adopting human-centered methods that rely on power, control, or entertainment. These approaches have grieved the Spirit, replacing the Spirit-dependent work of devotion to Jesus and his ways with strategies that seem more efficient or culturally aligned.

Today we have 2,000 years of church history filled with man-made traditions and strategies that confuse us and distract us from carefully building on the grand strategy laid out for us in the pages of the New Testament.  

Much of how we practice our faith today does not require the Holy Spirit, because it does not require us to be devoted to these foundational things found in Acts 2:42.  As a result the miraculous love of God, which the Holy Spirit causes to resound within us, is at best turned down to a minimum—if not completely turned off as the inconvenient, slow, and messy work of submitting to discipleship in the Word, fellowship, hospitality, and prayer gets pushed to the margins to make room for programs and strategies we have convinced ourselves are better than the simple way of Christ. 

The King's Grand Strategy is the Church—a family of disciples devoted to the Apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer, multiplying out into the world as outposts of God's kingdom, speaking and embodying the good news of Jesus.  Are we building our lives and churches on His plan?

  • In what way is the church at the heart of Christ’s grand strategy to bless the world with the good news of Jesus and his kingdom?  How do we know if we are lining up well with Christ's plan?

  • How much of your church experience has involved being devoted to the things listed in Acts 2:42?  What fears or barriers get in the way of our devotion to these things?   

  • How can we carefully build on and align with His strategy better in our particular situation?





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

READY: What Jesus says about being his family at the end of the age.

We need to think carefully and take a closer look at what Jesus says about living 'ready' for his return as his family at the end of the age.   This resource was written to help steer people toward the heart of Christ's instruction and away from fear-driven and often divisive speculation about living in the end times. In these days of rapid change and uncertainty, this short book will help reveal Christ's heart toward us and instill hope-driven strategies to live ready for his return. Whether you're a believer seeking answers or simply curious about New Testament perspectives that relate to today's chaotic world, this brief guide is designed to inspire thought-provoking discussions about implementing Jesus' teachings for living as His family in our world, until He returns. For those leading a ministry, participating in a small group, or simply seeking clarity in a confusing world, this simple study will challenge and inspire you to embrace Christ's calli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Handling God's Word

  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.   2Timothy 2:15   We live in confusing times.  In our society, we are daily bombarded with information that claims to be accurate through television, radio, the internet, billboards, newspapers, magazines and more.  Throw in some misinformation and a few conspiracy theories and the 'information overload' is not only overwhelming but down right confusing.  The popular notion that truth is subjective, fluid, and ever-changing from situation to situation is an attractive concept when we are faced with so many claims of 'truth'.   Simply put, most people choose their truth from a buffet of 'true' claims that are often in stark contradiction of each other.  It is in the middle of this chaos that the followers of Jesus preach Jesus' claim that he is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Do Church As Family?

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.    -   Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV What is the big purpose of your earthly life now that you belong to Jesus Christ?  The New Testament reveals that God's explicit will for your life involves serving Christ by pursuing his way of life and joining him in making disciples.  All of which brings glory to his name. (Col 2:6-8, 5:17, Matt 28:18-20, Acts 1:6-8) How are you going to do this? Well, that's the million-dollar questi...
Post a Comment
Read more