The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all foretold in their writings of the beginning of Christ’s church. In Matt. 16:18, Jesus said that He would ‘build’ His church. He then said that the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. This meant that death would not prevent Jesus from ‘building’ or establishing His church.
Jesus was raised from the dead by His Father and, being the first to rise from the dead, never to die again, he destroyed “him who had the power of death; that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15).
Jesus here also stated to Peter that He would give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven and that whatsoever Peter would bind on earth “shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever would be loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven.” This had reference to the things that Peter would preach about salvation thru Jesus as recorded in the book of Acts. The things that Peter preached were no more and no less than what Jesus had commanded the apostles to preach (Acts 1:2). Included in the commands to “call upon the name of the Lord”, are examples of people doing things that constitute “calling”. Their actions were “works of righteousness”, because they were acts of obedience.
Obedience is the correct response to Jesus’ commands which were preached by the apostles. Obedience is still how one “works righteousness” today, regardless of nationality. Peter stated this in Acts 10:34-35. He then mentions several times in Acts 10:36-43 of how God ‘foreordained’ salvation in Jesus. There are specific things to believe and specific commands to be obeyed in “calling upon the name of the Lord”. These statements and commands are found at the end of the four gospels.
- Matt. 28:19-20 – “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
- Mark 16:15-16 – “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
- Luke 24:47 – “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
- John 17:18 – “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”
Jesus further stated to the apostles in Luke 24:49, “I send the promise of my father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Acts 1:3-5 says of this conversation, “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” This statement here in Acts 1:4-5 was what Luke was referring to in Luke 24:47, 49.
This “promise” in Luke 24:49 was the same as the “promise of the Father” in Acts 1:4. The mention of the “power from on high” in Luke 24:49 was again mentioned by Luke in Acts 1:8 as follows: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
This explains why the Holy Ghost was to come upon the apostles. It was to give them “power”, but power for what purpose? What were they to do once they received this power? We need only to read what they did AFTER receiving this “power”. Acts 2 tells us. This power came and it was connected with Peter being given the keys to the kingdom and to the building of Christ’s church. This “power’ came when the Holy Ghost came upon them. The ‘power’ was to preach salvation in Jesus in languages other than the Galilean tongue. Notice this observation is made by those who heard the apostles speak in Acts 2:8, 11. To be able to speak in a foreign language was a miracle indeed, but if there were any other miraculous works performed by the apostles in Acts 2, what verse so states?
Please observe also that the things spoken in “other tongues” WERE UNDERSTOOD by the audience and this audience was not yet saved. So, sinners heard preaching in an unknown tongue, and understood how to call upon the name of the Lord. IS THIS WHAT WE FIND TODAY IN PREACHING?
But let us notice something else unique to the building of Christ’s church. What was the ‘ROCK’ upon which Christ’s church was to be built? Look again carefully at the conversation between Peter and Jesus in Matt. 16:16. (See also Mark 8:29 and Luke 9:20) What had Peter stated just prior to Jesus’ statement that “upon this rock I will build my church”? Whatever Peter said prior, would be the ‘ROCK’ upon which the church would be built.
We find that John records Peter’s words in John 6:68-69 as follows, “Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” To recognize Jesus as the Christ is to recognize that He has “words of eternal life”. This has reference to His TEACHING. Jesus had earlier stated in this same chapter of John in verse 63, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Jesus’ teachings are the words of eternal life BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN INSTRUCTIONS OF HOW TO CALL UPON HIM.
Our mere hearing them without compliance is to make His sacrifice in vain. Jesus died for all mankind, yet all are not saved are they? If so, they why are there still pleas going out for people to accept Him? Those who gladly received Peter’s words in Acts 2 were baptized and added to Christ’s church by the Lord. Have you? If not, why not?
Perhaps the answer lies in what you were preached in how to “call upon the name of the Lord”. Were you told to “call” with the same response as Peter gave?
Remember, sinners heard preaching in an unknown tongue, and understood how to call upon the name of the Lord. IS THIS WHAT WE FIND TODAY IN PREACHING?
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