Page 132 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

Much the same thing happened at Pentecost. There, Jesus transferred
His kingdom power to His disciples. Peter Kuzmic said, “The Pentecostal
narrative is the story of the transfer of the charismatic Spirit from Jesus
to the disciples.… Having become the exclusive bearer of the Holy
Spirit at His baptism, Jesus becomes the giver of the Spirit at Pentecost”
(1988, 525). This transfer of Kingdom power had a twofold effect on
the disciples:

• Public witness: The disciples immediately began to proclaim the
gospel with great power and results (Acts 2:14, 41, 47).
• Powerful demonstrations: Their preaching was accompanied by
demonstrations of supernatural power (v. 43).

Following the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, Peter stood and
announced that Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled. God was pouring out
His Spirit on “all people” (2:17). The Spirit’s power was now available to
all who would repent and follow Christ. Peter emphasized that the gift
of the Spirit was for “all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God
will call” (v. 39). Kuzmic comments:

The power of the kingdom was no longer to be limited to
Jesus and the apostolic circle. The Pentecostal promise of
God—“I will pour out my Spirit on all people”—was fulfilled.
This means that in and through the church the Spirit is to
continue and to universalize the kingdom ministry of Jesus
himself. (1988, 524)

At Pentecost, the church experienced the “powers of the coming age”
(Hebrews 6:5). We can experience that same power today when we open
our lives to the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom Ministry of the Church
A New Kingdom Community

At Pentecost, Christ founded a new Spirit-anointed community
whose purpose was to carry out the mission of the kingdom of God.
The church became the visible Spirit-empowered representative of God’s
eternal kingdom.

::: 124 :::