Acts 1:4 - 5 “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. (5) For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
It is my conviction that this was Jesus’s final farewell to the church He had started. I understand that most believe that the church started in Acts 2, but I believe that the Lord Jesus Himself started the church during His earthly ministry. I also am a convinced man that it was the leadership of the church that the Great Commission was given too. Therefore, I must conclude that the authorized power to present the gospel message, the authority to teach all nation, and the power and authority to baptize belongs to the local church. The New Testament covers a lot of years, basically from 27ad to 90ad (they years are not exact but and example) therefore a lot happened in those 60 or so years. Jesus started calling His church out after His temptation, Matthew 4:18 - 20 “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. (19) And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (20) And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” Until this time the preaching of the gospel was in one man’s hands, John the Baptist who was in jail when Jesus started calling out His church body. Here in Acts chapter 1 we can see the church that Jesus started and it was located in Jerusalem. Acts 1:12 “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.” Just as Jesus gave the church leadership the great commission, He also here gives them other commissions. (1.) “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem…” The church was never to act on their own, she has always waited on the leadership and the power of God, either in Jesus or the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus had ascended the church was to wait on their empowerment of the Holy Spirit. (2.) “but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” This means the church’s power would be totally immersed by the Holy Spirit, every move would be under the authority and leadership by the Holy Spirits empowerment. The church should never act alone of God’s power. (3.) The church did not know God’s plan, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” Since the church did not know the plan of God, it could not execute anything without the power of God who is Omniscient. The churches today should never move until the Holy Spirit has clarified the Fathers go ahead. After Jesus had left the church, she must have felt alone, saddened, but they continued to hold worship services, (13) And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. (14) These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” We also see the church membership vote on a replacement for Judas who betrayed Jesus. (26) “And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” (My personal opinion on this vote is a whole story in itself.) However, the vote shows to us that the church, 120 members in place made a choice and made a vote to select another Apostle. The thought here is (1.) the church existed before Acts 2, and (2.) the church must be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to make any move. The churches are not alone because Jesus’s promise to them was God would never leave them alone but that the comforter would always be with them and their empowerment would be the Holy Spirit. We see the results in chapter 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” All I can say is, Wow!
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