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When Did the Church Really Begin?
Kendall Faull
1. He said that the day the Church began
was in the upper room when Jesus breathed His breath on them.
John 20:19 and 22, “19 Then the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week,
when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the
Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto
you…22 And when he had said this, He breathed on [them], and saith unto
them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:”
2. And he went on to say that this fits the Scriptures a lot better because Jesus breathed His breath on them once.
3. And the
rest is just the Holy Spirit working through them,
4. And
that if you put it on the day of Pentecost, then what do you do with John
chapter 20?
5. And
he says that if the day of Pentecost is the beginning of the Church, then the
rest of the Book of Acts is actually rebirths of the Church.
Answers to the
above six points:
§
It started for me when
I was baptized and it started for you when you were baptized, but it started as
an entity when the first person accepted it. (That was Pentecost.)
§
Again, why does the
Holy Spirit’s authority to proclaim forgiveness being given to them in John
20 signify the beginning of the New Covenant? The Spirit came upon people
many times before in the Old Testament.
§
Here Christ says in: John
20:22-23, “22 And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are
remitted unto them; [and] whosoever’s [sins] ye retain, they are retained.”
§
So when did these
apostles first offer the forgiveness of sin? When did they first use their
authority to say who was forgiven and who was not? Pentecost!
§
Now if the apostles
were given the keys to the kingdom as in: Matthew 16:19, “And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” When
did Peter first use the keys and “unlock” the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven to
men? When was the door to salvation first opened for the Kingdom of Heaven? Pentecost!
Acts 2:1-4, “1
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared
unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Acts
2:32-33, “32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see
and hear.”
§
When did Jesus receive
the promise of the Father through the Holy Spirit speaking through David? After
he was exalted to God’s right hand.”
§
When was Jesus exalted
to God’s right hand? Was it before or after He breathed on them in John
20:22-23? After!
·
The breathing of the
Holy Spirit in John 20 is not one of the last things Jesus does.
·
In fact Thomas wasn’t
even there when the “breathing” happened. The Church started without him if
this instructor is right. How is it that he stood up with Peter and the 11
others and preached and spoke in tongues when Jesus had skipped “breathing” on
him? Did Jesus breath on Thomas later? Was that the second beginning of the
Church? Does this mean the “breathing” happened twice, and not once as your
professor said? There are so many questions that do not add up!
·
The call of Peter comes
after Jesus breathed the Spirit on them. So even after the Church started, one
of it’s main preachers had to be reinstated, and called again to minister
before he even started.
·
When did Jesus ascend
to the right hand of the Father and pour out the Holy Spirit? Mark 16:19-20, “19 So then after
the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the
right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the
Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”
§
Now if Jesus did not
receive the Holy Spirit to “pour out” until after He was exalted to the right
hand of God, and He was not exalted until after He ascended 40 days after the
resurrection, how is it the Church began before that in John 20?
§
Explain to me how the
Kingdom began before the King was coronated and enthroned in Heaven.
John 7:38-39, “38 He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the
Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was
not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
§
See, the Holy Spirit could
not be given until Jesus’ glorification. That happened at His ascension. Jesus
had not been glorified in John 20:19, because He was still showing His
resurrected, pre-glorified body to Thomas [i.e., holes in hands and side].
§
He was not yet at the
“right hand of God” and “glorified” so the Holy Spirit had not in-dwelt anyone
yet.
§
It is important to
understand the difference between the out pouring of the Holy Spirit and the
indwelling of the holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit “came upon” people all through the
Old Testament, as we have already shown. But in the New Covenant we have the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is much greater. There was the Holy Spirit
performing miracles through the apostles before Jesus died, but it’s not until
Pentecost that men are offered the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at baptism.
When was the first time it was offered? Pentecost!
§
Now read: John 14:16-17, “16 And I will pray
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you
for ever; 17 [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you.”
·
The Holy Spirit is called the “counselor.”
·
The Holy Spirit is presently “with” them.
·
There is a difference between the Holy Spirit being
“with you” and “in you.”
· The Holy Spirit would not be “IN” them until later.
§ John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you (Apostles) into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
§ John 15:16-17, “ 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.”
§ The Holy Spirit comes from the Father.
§
The Holy Spirit of Truth will testify about Jesus
through them (i.e., preaching & the Bible).
§
John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth;
It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you.”
§ They could not receive the Holy Spirit unless Jesus would “go away.” Where was He to go when He sent the Holy Spirit? He said, a few verses later in: John 16:10, “Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.” Jesus didn’t go to the Father until the ascension which was after He “breathed on them” in John 20.
·
Was John 20:19-20
where they actually received the Holy Spirit or the divine promise of being
Holy Spirit inspired in proclaiming forgive-ness? Was this the beginning of the
Church where the gates of the Kingdom were opened to all men or is this where
His disciples were commissioned to be sent to men just as Jesus had been
commissioned by the Father?
·
If what happened to
them in John 20 was the same as what the Father did to Jesus, which is
what Jesus says in verse 18, then why was not Jesus’ commission from the
Father, the beginning of the Church, instead of in John 20?
·
How do you explain
Jesus’ words on the day of His ascension?
Acts 1:5, ”For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall
be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
§
John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God.”
§
John 3:5, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God.”
§
II Corinthians 4:16, “For which cause we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day.”
§
But when did the Church
begin as a structured, open, saving organization, as a body, as a temple, as a
growing organism? Pentecost!
§
The Holy Spirit in
dwelt the people of Samaria, but Peter and John had to go up and “lay hands” on
them to give them the “out pouring” of the Holy Spirit, so they could do
miraculous signs and wonders.
§
The Holy Spirit caused
some unsaved people to speak in tongues to show to Peter and the others that
they were candidates for baptism, salvation and the indwelling of the Spirit in
Acts 10.
·
Acts 10:44-48, “44 While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost
fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which
believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them
speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid
water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as
well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”
·
There is a difference
between receiv-ing the indwelling at baptism and the Holy Spirit “coming upon”
someone to perform a miracle. The later is in both Old and New Testaments,
but the former is only offered in the New Testament and is first offered
at Pentecost!
I have answered your questions. NOW LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION OR TWO:
§
When does Peter say the
Church began?
§
What does Peter
consider “the beginning of the Church?”
§
You know your
professor’s opinion and you know mine, but what does the inspired Apostle say?
WHEN WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE CHURCH?
§
Notice what he says
about how they spoke in tongues, that the Holy Spirit had come on them as it
had on the apostles “at the beginning.”
§
Now when did the Holy
Spirit first come upon the apostles and cause them to speak in tongues? Pentecost!
§
Peter here refers to
Pentecost, not the breathing of John 20 as “the beginning.”
§
So I say, without fear
of being successfully refuted, the day of Pentecost was the beginning of the
Church.
You are doing well. Do not be afraid to question your professors in what they say. Do not be afraid to question what I have taught you, even as much as you love and respect me. Don’t take my word for it. Compare everything you hear with the Scriptures. If you respect me and my teaching, then always verify what I have taught you with what the Bible says. The greatest way you could honor my work in your life is to study the Bible and follow what you believe it says, not what I told you it said.