The Beginning of the Ongoing: Acts 1 (7)

Pray Psalm 22.23-25
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

Sing Psalm 22.23-25
(Darwall: Rejoice, the Lord is King)
All you who fear the Lord, now praise His holy Name!
You children of His glorious Word, declare His fame!
We stand in awe of our eternal God, and on His mercy call.

For He has not despised the anguish of our King,
Nor from Him hid His eyes, Who knew such suffering.
Let praise arise from all who love and serve the Ruler of the skies!

Read Acts 1; meditate on Acts 1.1-4.

Preparation
1. What are the primary activities outlined in this chapter?

2. For what are these activities preparation?

Meditation
Acts 1 is like the opening chapter of a great novel. Most of the main characters are present. Some plot or direction is established. Key ideas are introduced. And a heightened sense of anticipation urges the reader to keep turning pages.

Acts relates the ongoing work of Jesus, exalted in glory, as He brings His Kingdom to earth. Jesus taught us to pray for this and to seek it as the defining priority of our lives (Matt. 6.10, 33). He overwhelmed us with glorious and memorable stories and parables illustrating the desirability of the Kingdom. As He hung on the cross, Jesus saw the Kingdom in prospect, and He rejoiced (Heb. 12.1, 2; cf. Ps. 22). For forty days more He taught His disciples the things pertaining to the coming of the Kingdom. Then He sketched out the worldwide parameters of its impact and told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem.

We can imagine that as the disciples waited in that upper room, they were filled with wonder, excitement, anticipation, and perhaps even fear. Jesus had ascended to His Father, and they must not hesitate to follow His every word: “wait for the Promise of the Father…” (v. 4).

The Promise of the Father – the Holy Spirit, sent from God the Father and God the Son – would bring the operative power of the Kingdom to earth with ineluctable power. Then the work Jesus had begun will continue with ongoing and increasing power. And all they had to do was wait.

Hear the Word. Devote yourself to prayer. Encourage your fellow believers. And attend to the daily duties God unfolds for you in your Personal Mission Field. He will send the world-transforming power of His Spirit and Kingdom (1 Cor. 4.20) in His measure and time. And then nothing will be the same.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
A very important part of this waiting was spent in remembering:
Remembering what Jesus was like while living His perfect life.
Remembering His love, and wisdom, and courage.
Remembering how He responded to everything and everyone.
Remembering what being filled with His Spirit should look like. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)

They also needed to call to mind what their lives looked like without the Spirit:
They couldn’t understand what Jesus was teaching them (Mk. 4.13; 8.17-21).
They lacked faith (Mk. 4.40).
They weren’t as kind as they could have been (Mk. 6.35,36).
They were ego-driven and selfish. (Mk. 9.34).
They slept when they should have prayed (Matt. 26.36-45)
They betrayed Him (Matt. 26.46-50).
They abandoned Him (Matt. 26.56).
They denied even knowing Him (Matt. 26.69-75).

In all this remembering, they realized they needed help. Help to make all things new. New in their hearts and minds and lives.

Remembering, they knew that:
“The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but He loves him who follows righteousness.
Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way,
and he who hates correction will die” (Prov. 15. 9,10).

“Yup. Been there, done that,” said they. But they also knew this to be true:
“…the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Prov. 15.8).

So they waited. And prayed. And they were filled with His Spirit.
And nothing was ever the same again.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5.17).

These who were self-absorbed foolish cowards became the next generation of Jesus.
These are the people who turned the world upside-down! (Acts 17.6)

We have waited.

“Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.”
(Daniel Iverson, 1926)

Now what are we waiting for?
Let’s get busy turning our world upside-down!

Reflection
1. How would you describe the believer’s relationship with the Promise of God, the Holy Spirit?

2. For what does the Holy Spirit empower us? Where does He send us to do that?

3. What do we mean by saying that the Spirit of God is the “operative power” of the Kingdom of God?

Our Lord told the disciples the work they were to do. The apostles met together at Jerusalem; Christ having ordered them not to depart thence, but to wait for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. This would be a baptism by the Holy Ghost, giving them power to work miracles, and enlightening and sanctifying their souls. This confirms the Divine promise, and encourages us to depend upon it, that we have heard it from Christ; for in Him all the promises of God are yea and amen. Matthew Henry (1662-1714) Commentary on Acts 1.1-5

Pray Psalm 22.26-28.
Psalm 22.21-31 represents the joy that Jesus saw as He was enduring the cross for us and for His Kingdom (cf. Heb. 12.1, 2). Pray for the coming of the Kingdom, by the power of God’s Promise, according to all the ways outlined in these verses.

Sing Psalm 22.26-28.
(Darwall: Rejoice, the Lord is King)
Then all the poor shall eat and praise with us the Lord.
Forever we His praise repeat and trust His Word.
Praise God above, all you who keep His vows and who His mercies love!

All nations shall repent and hasten to the Lord.
All those to whom His truth is sent shall praise His Word.
The Lord is King! His sovereign rule on high now we His people sing!

T. M. and Susie Moore

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We’re happy to provide a free companion study to our study of the book of Acts. The Ongoing Work of Christ considers the book of Acts thematically. It is suitable for personal or group use, and you may have a free PDF copy of The Ongoing Work of Christ by requesting it from us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.