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Realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God.
The Scriptorium

Acts 3 and 4

The new community brims with life in the Spirit.

The Heart of God: The Covenant People (2)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24.27

Read and meditate on Acts 3 and 4.
The reality of the Kingdom became immediately apparent in Jerusalem. Suddenly, a new community began to emerge, doing things the city of Jerusalem had never seen before. The promises of God’s covenant began to be lived realities, and all could see the undeniable effects of Jesus having risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.

For reflection
1.  How many different aspects of God’s covenant and Kingdom can you see represented in the healing of the lame man in Acts 3?

2.  The religious leaders of Jerusalem could not deny that a great miracle had occurred. Still, they tried to stop the proclamation of the Gospel. Why? What does this suggest about the power of sin? What does it teach us to expect as we work to make the Good News known?

3.  Review Acts 1.8. How can you see this promise being fulfilled in the incident involving Peter, John, the lame man, and the religious leaders?

4.  How did the covenant community respond to the threat made against Peter and John? What does this suggest about the role of prayer in the life of the covenant community?

5.  The first efforts to stop the proclamation of the Gospel only strengthened the resolve of the covenant community. How did the Spirit manifest His power in them, to make them even more a sign and outpost of the Kingdom of God?

Summary
The covenant community of the people of God thrives on prayer, obedience, and the power of God’s Word and Spirit. God’s people living out God’s redemptive work bear fruit for God’s glory, as all three of the unifying threads of revelation come together in the Body of Christ. How would you describe the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the covenant community?

Closing Prayer
O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
Let them be confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.
But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

Psalm 71.12-17

T. M. Moore

Two books can help you gain a fuller understanding of the terrain we will be covering in this series. Kingdom Documentsprovides a concise overview of the primary teaching of the Old and New Testaments, and shows, through early Church creeds, how our forebears understood the primary teachings of God’s Word. (click here to order). I Will Be Your Goddevelops more fully the idea of God’s covenant and leads us to consider the practical implications of our covenant relationship with God (click here).

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course,
Introduction to Biblical Theology, offers a parallel study of our theme in this series, using brief video presentations and the workbook God’s Covenant: An Introduction. All courses at The Ailbe Seminary are available without charge.

We are happy to be able to offer each week’s Scriptorium studies in a free weekly PDF, suitable for personal or group use. You can download all the studies in this series by clicking here. Please prayerfully consider sharing with The Fellowship of Ailbe through your giving. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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