Page 130 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

would inherit Jesus’ kingdom ministry and be empowered to be His
witnesses to the ends of the earth. The disciples received this kingdom
power on the Day of Pentecost:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one
place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came
from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and
came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them. (Acts 2:1–4)

We too can receive that same power by asking God for the Holy
Spirit (Luke 11:9–13). He will empower us just as He empowered those
first disciples.

The Kingdom of God and Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost was an important day in the history of the
Kingdom. On that day, God empowered His church to take the gospel
to the ends of the earth. Let’s take a closer look at the relationship
of the kingdom of God to the outpouring work of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost.

The Kingdom Coming in Power

Jesus linked the kingdom of God to Pentecost. Before He was crucified,
He told His disciples, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here
will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with
power” (Mark 9:1). This was a prophecy concerning the outpouring of
the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven,
He again linked the kingdom of God to the outpouring of the Spirit at
Pentecost. Luke writes, “He appeared to [His disciples] over a period of
forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3, emphasis added).
It is interesting that the translators of the King James Version end this
statement of Jesus with a colon (:). When a writer uses a colon at the
end of a sentence, he is signaling to the reader that an explanation or
expansion of the thought is to follow. Luke reveals Jesus’ final teaching
on the kingdom of God:

::: 122 :::