Acts: The Expansion of the Church
Session 1
Estimated reading time: 27 minutes
Peter and the Two Sermons
I would like to begin this section with a question; something you can think about as we look at Peter’s two sermons. What makes a good sermon? Most people think those who stand in front of the church are going to give a sermon. With that question in mind, I looked up the definition of sermon; one of the definitions is “a lecture.” That is NOT what this is! It is not going to be a lecture. Another definition is “a talk on a religious or moral subject.” It is not that either. My prayer and trust is that this will be practical and inspiring and will motivate us to just do what the first century church did, which was preach and teach. So if you wanted to call this something, it is both a preaching and a teaching.
We will begin in Acts, chapter 1. Before we get into the topic, which is about Peter’s sermons in the first couple chapters of Acts, we will need to read the first three verses of Acts again.
Acts 1:1-3 APNT
I wrote the former book, oh Theophilus, concerning all those [things] that our Lord Jesus Christ began to do and to teach,
until that day in which he was taken up, (That is the ascension.) after he had commanded the apostles, those whom he had chosen by the Holy Spirit,
those to whom he also showed himself alive after he had suffered with many signs for forty day, while he was seen by them and spoke about the kingdom of God.
These first three verses take place at the beginning of the Book of Acts on the day of the ascension. Prior to this, Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead and had also appeared to various people individually and also in groups for forty days. Now we have to go back to the end of Luke; because the end of Luke describes those things that Jesus said after he had commanded the apostles. We need to know what he commanded them, and it is in Luke 24 beginning in verse forty-four. This was one of the last appearances that Jesus made to his disciples.
Luke 24:44-45 APNT
And he said to them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was with you, that it was necessary that everything be fulfilled that was written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms about me.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the scripture.
Oh, would you not have loved to have been there? How amazing to hear him give an exposition of the Old Testament that talked about the Messiah and how he had fulfilled it! Wow, that would have been really awesome! In verse forty-six he continues:
Luke 24:46-51 APNT
And he said to them, “So it is written and so it was right that the Messiah should suffer and rise from the dead after three days.
and that repentance will be preached through his name for the forgiveness of sins in all the nations and [that] the beginning will be from Jerusalem.
And you are a witness of these [things]
and I will send to you the promise of my Father. But remain in the city, Jerusalem,
until you be clothed with power from on high.”
And he took them out up to Bethany and raised his hands and blessed them.
And it happened that while he blessed them, he was separated from them and taken up to heaven.”
We have a little bit of the description of the Ascension, but there are three main points that he made as one of his last recorded words. He said, number one: “it was right that the Messiah should suffer and rise from the dead.” Number two: “repentance will be preached through his name for the forgiveness of sins.” Repentance for the forgiveness of sins is the next primary thing that needs to be preached. He was telling them what they need to preach. The Messiah died but he rose again. That is number one. Number two: repentance is for the forgiveness of sins. Number three: you can “be clothed with power from on high.” They had not quite gotten to that point yet. However, those are the three things that we are going to see that make up the best sermons in the world.
We can now go to Luke, chapter one, because Luke and Acts are a pair, like two bookends. Luke tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life and ministry here on earth. Then Acts, chapter one begins the story of what he continues to do as being the head of the body in the church today.
Luke 1:1-3 APNT
Because many have wanted to write the accounts of the works of which we are persuaded,
according to what they delivered to us, those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word at the first,
it seemed [good] to me also, because I had carefully attended to all of them that I should write down everything in order for you noble Theophilus.
This is the main purpose for which he writes Luke and Acts:
Luke 1:4 APNT
that you would know the truth of the words by which you were taught.
The purpose for the Gospel of Luke and the Books of Acts is to show us and we could know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what we believe and why we believe it. Now we need to understand that also. We will go back to Acts, chapter one: the day of the ascension. I read a funny little commentary about the day of the ascension. The author was talking about the resurrection appearances. When he refers to the last day, the author states, “It’s not a resurrection appearance. It’s a resurrection disappearance.” I am not certain about that one, but we will continue to see what happens. We will continue with verse four.
Acts 1:4-5 APNT
And as he ate bread with them, he commanded them that they should not leave Jerusalem, but that they should wait for the promise of the Father, about which [he said], you have heard from me.
For John baptized with water, yet you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit after not many days.
The first thing he did was eat bread with them. The King James version says, “…being assembled together with them,” (he was meeting with them) however, it actually means that he ate bread with them. Symbolically, because he ate bread with them, he was actually taking a covenant of salt with his disciples just prior to the ascension. Why did he do that? So they would be committed to do what he had commanded them to do. They agreed, and made that commitment; they were committed to do what he had commanded them. The second thing he told them; they were going to be baptized. In what? Holy Spirit! “For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The word baptized is such an interesting word. It actually means “to immerse” or “to be immersed in.”There are many arguments over whether you should be dipped or sprinkled and so on. However, with the holy spirit, there is a translation that you can use: the word dye; meaning “to dip a cloth into a bath of dye.” You dip the cloth in the dye and it completely changes the color of the cloth. When we are baptized in Christ, we get a totally new inside color–which is actually Christ and holy spirit. We are dyed like cloth! We become a totally new creation. Romans talks about it. That is a wonderful way to think about being baptized.
He then goes on and he said to them:
Acts 1:6-8 APNT
Now while they were assembled, they asked him and said to him, “Our Lord, at this time will you restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them, “This is not yours to know the time or these times that the Father has placed in his own authority.”
(BUT! BUT! BUT! BUT! BUT…. YOU DO NOT KNOW THE TIME! You do not know all the different events that will take place in the future, …but now, right now…)
“…But when the Holy Spirit will come on you, you will receive power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and also among the Samaritans, even to the ends of the earth.”
This is the key verse in the Book of Acts. You will receive power and you will be witnesses.You cannot be a witness without power. The entire Book of Acts is the history of how they first received the word in Jerusalem, then it went to Judea, then it went to Samaria, then it went to the uttermost part of the earth or to the remotest corners of the earth. The area where each of us live is fairly remote compared to Jerusalem. The Word of God has also come to where you live! We are going to see it expand throughout the entire Book of Acts. It grew and grew and more and more cities were added where people are believing, but it all began in Jerusalem.
Acts 1: 9-11 APNT
“After he said these [things], while they watched him, he was taken up and a cloud received him and he was hidden from their eyes.
And while they were staring into heaven (They were staring! They were watching him as he went up!) as he was going away, two men were found standing near them in white clothing.
And they said to them, “Galilean men, why are you standing and staring into heaven?
This Jesus (King James says, ‘this same Jesus’), who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same manner as you have seen him who went up to heaven.”
The prophecies from the Old Testament describe Jesus Christ coming back down to the Mount of Olives when he returns to the Earth. As soon as his foot touches the top of the Mount of Olives, the entire mountain will split into three parts, and there will be a powerful earthquake. When he comes back to the Earth again with his saints: this is when he is going to restore order out of the chaos the evil one has wrought! The men in white told them; this same Jesus would come back down to this exact spot just like they saw him go up into heaven. He is going to come back down. When he does, it is going to be a wondrous time.
One of the things about being a witness, if you are a witness of something, then you are speaking from personal experience, personal knowledge, or a personal understanding of something. The best testimony is always the one in which you have been personally involved. I am going to give you a really wonderful testimony which was told to me. I do not know exactly who was involved, but it was about a lady who had her appendix rupture. This is very serious because your entire abdominal cavity becomes filled with a major infection and has the potential to be fatal. The believers around her had prayed for her. When the doctor did the surgery, all of the infection was enclosed in a little ball and there were handprints around it. It was as if God had taken His own hands and gathered all the infection into in a little ball. All the surgeon needed to do was remove that little ball of infection, as if he simply was removing an appendix! These kinds of testimonies are witnesses of the power of God and what he promises he will do. Therefore they are so very, very powerful!
We will now look primarily at the two sermons that occur in the beginning of the Book of Acts. If you want to look into this more, there are many different teachings from which you can learn more about Acts and these sermons. They can be found on both the San Diego Biblical Studies website as well as the Light of the Word Ministry website. There is a teaching entitled “Power and Peace in Pentecost”; which contains a description of the rushing mighty wind and the fire coming down. However, the power that was shown on the day of Pentecost was when they spoke in tongues. We will now look at that in chapter two of Acts.
Acts 2:6 APNT
And when that sound occurred, (They were hearing them speak in tongues.) all the people gathered and were troubled because each one of them heard that they were speaking in their [own] languages.
There were people from all over the Roman Empire. They heard the apostles speak in tongues and they could understand it. It was a great miracle! It was power being poured out, not only to the apostles, but also as a miracle so that this is what they said in verse seven:
Acts 2:7-8 APNT
“And all of them were amazed and wondered, saying to each other, “All these who are speaking, behold, are they not Galileans?”
(It was as if they were saying, “These ignorant and unlearned people cannot possibly be doing this! They are beneath us because they live in nowhere important-Galilee! They do not know anything!” and yet, verse 8 states:)
“How do we each hear the language into which we were born?”
Then we read a list of the many different countries and places from which they had come.
Acts 2: 9-11 APNT
Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who dwell in Mesopotamia, Judeans and Cappadocians and those from the region of Pontus and of Asia,
and those from the region of Phrygia and of Pamphylia and of Egypt and of the regions of Libya that are near to Cyrene, and those who have come from Rome, Judeans and proselytes,
And those from Crete and Arabians, behold, we hear them, that they are speaking in our languages the wonders of God.
The wonders of God! That is what they were hearing. It must have been incredible. This was taking place in the temple where thousands of people had gathered for the Feast of Pentecost or Shavuot. They were worshiping when suddenly an incredible miracle happened. Fire came down from the heavens. They heard the sound of a rushing mighty wind. Finally, all the people heard them speaking in tongues, in their own languages. What they were hearing were the wonders of God. It must have been absolutely amazing! Verse 12 says:
Acts 2:12 APNT
And all of them were amazed and wondered,” (They were astonished and full of wonderment at what they were witnessing.) saying to one another, “What is this event?
That is how it is translated in the Aramaic Peshitta New Testament, but it literally means “What is this thing? What is going on? What is happening? What does it mean?” These are the questions for which we listen when seeking someone who is hungry. Are they asking; “What does this mean? What should I do? What is going on?” We should expect this response, especially when they witness a miracle; something happening when the power of God is manifested. These are the natural questions of someone who is hungry. Then we see the response from those who are NOT hungry.
Acts 2:13 APNT
And others were mocking, saying, “These [men] have drunk new wine and are intoxicated.”
There will always be those who mock. However, we look for the people who have the questions: why is this happening, what does it mean, and what am I supposed to do? They are observing it, but their heart is touched by the miracle.
This is exactly what happened afterwards, in chapter three with the man who was lame and had been lame for 38 years. He was lying at the temple gate Beautiful, and had been lying there since he was born. He received his healing at the hands of Peter and John in verses
6 & 7. Immediately he began walking and leaping and praising God in verse 8. He went into the temple. Everybody knew this man because he had been a beggar at the Beautiful gate of the temple for years! Everyone who came into the temple passed by and saw him every day. They obviously recognized him. Again, there was an outpouring of power and it was very obvious the man who had been lame was now able to walk.
Acts 3:10-12a APNT
And they recognized that he was that beggar who sat every day and asked alms at the gate that was called Beautiful. And they were filled with amazement and wonder (Here again, we see the wonders of God!) at what had happened.
And while he held Simon and John, (Peter and John), all the people, being amazed, ran to them, to the porch which is called Solomon’s [Porch].
And when Simon saw it, he answered and said to them….
He then proceeded to give a sermon, or “a preach and a teach.” This is the introduction to the two times Peter speaks: immediately after they spoke in tongues and the question was asked, “What is this thing?” They asked a second time in chapter three, “What is going on? Why is this happening?” The people were confused yet they wanted to know, “what is happening, what is this thing, why is this going on, what is going on?”
Now we know the setting of both of these sermons is Solomon’s Porch-the exact same place. We now need to look at Acts 2 again, because the first thing Peter does, he begins with scripture.
Acts 2:16 APNT
But this is that which was spoken by Joel the prophet;
This prophecy in Joel is really very powerful. It continues, in verse 17 and 18 with a quotation of a prophecy in Joel 2:28-32.
Acts 2:17-19 APNT
IT WILL BE IN THE LAST DAYS, said God, [THAT] I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH. YOUR SONS WILL PROPHESY AND YOUR DAUGHTERS AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS.
AND ON MY SERVANTS AND ON MY HANDMAIDENS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS AND THEY WILL PROPHESY.
AND I WILL GIVE SIGNS IN HEAVEN AND MIGHTY WORKS ON THE EARTH, BLOOD AND FIRE AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.
This prophecy in Joel is about the day of the Lord when Christ comes back to Earth and begins to set things right by bringing justice to the evil one and his kingdom. There will be many different signs; verse 20 continues:
Acts 2:20 APNT
the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord will come.
The people were asking questions again. “Why are you reading this scripture, it has not come yet. Is it coming? “Is that what you are talking about?” No! Peter pointed out; the important point is:
Acts 2:21 APNT
AND It will be [that] everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will live (will be saved).
This is the reason he selected this particular section of Scripture. In addition to showing them that the spirit would be poured out on everyone; Peter was also showing them, if you call on the name of the Lord, you will be saved.
He sets the entire sermon with scripture. In addition, it is very appropriate because seven weeks before this, at the time of the crucifixion and resurrection, there was a tremendously powerful earthquake and the sky turned dark before Jesus died. There were multiple signs taking place at that time. Many of the people who were now at the Feast of Pentecost probably would also have been at the Feast of Passover when they witnessed those things. Peter, by prophecy and by revelation, was explaining to them that this particular passage of scripture was not completely fulfilled at that time. However, two key things from this section were now fulfilled: the pouring out of the spirit and everyone that calls on him can be saved.
Remember in the beginning we saw that Jesus commanded them: number one, they should preach that the Messiah died and rose again, and number two, there needs to be repentance for forgiveness of sins, and three, they would be clothed with power from on high. Those are the three points that he commanded them to preach. That is exactly what Peter did in both of these sermons.
We will now look at the first aspect of Peter’s sermons; the Messiah suffered, but he was raised. His sermon continues in Acts 2. Right after he quotes the prophecy in Joel, he continues.
Acts 2:22-24 APNT
Men, sons of Israel, hear these words!
He was bold! He was quite different than during the forty days before and during the time of the trials. Peter had been the one who denied Jesus. Peter had been the one who had been behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. Peter had gone fishing and did not know what he was doing. As soon as he spoke in tongues on the day of Pentecost, and he truly understood all Jesus Christ had told him at the ascension, then he went forward with incredible boldness. He then continued with:
“Jesus, the Nazarene, a man who was shown to you by God with miracles and with signs and with mighty works that God did among you by his hand, as you know,”
(You know this! You were there! You saw him!)
“this [man] who was set apart for this by the foreknowledge and will of God, you delivered into the hands of ungodly [men] and you crucified and you killed.”
But God raised him (Immediately, from the beginning, he told them: “God raised Jesus Christ from the dead!”) and he released the cords (the bonds) of Sheol, (of the grave) because it was not possible that he should be held captive in Sheol (the grave).”
He then quotes another section of Scripture from Psalm 16 in which David prophesied about the coming Messiah: “…for thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave…”
Acts 2:25-28 APNT
For David spoke about him, I FORESAW MY LORD AT ALL TIMES, FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE MOVED.
BECAUSE OF THIS, MY HEART REJOICES AND MY PRAISE FLOURISHES AND ALSO MY BODY WILL LIE DOWN IN HOPE,
BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN SHEOL (in the grave), NEITHER WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR INNOCENT [ONE] TO SEE CORRUPTION.
YOU HAVE REVEALED TO ME THE WAY OF LIFE. YOU WILL FILL ME WITH GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.
Peter continued quoting Psalms.
Acts 2:29-31 APNT
“Men, our brothers, allow me to speak boldly with you about the patriarch David, who is dead and also buried and whose tomb is with us until today.
For he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn oaths to him: of the fruit of your loins I will establish [one] on your throne.”
And he foresaw (David saw it ahead of time, as a prophet.) and spoke about the resurrection of Christ: HE WAS NOT LEFT IN SHEOL (in the grave) NEITHER DID HIS BODY SEE CORRUPTION.”
Finally, verse 32 is the culmination of it.
Acts 2:32 APNT
This Jesus has God raised and all of us are his witnesses.
We have seen him! He is alive! He is alive! He really highlights and emphasizes the resurrection.
Next we will look at Acts, chapter three, which begins with the healing of the lame man at the temple gate Beautiful. This section is not quite as long; we will begin in verse 12:
Acts 3:12 APNT
And when Simon saw [it], he answered and said to them, “Men, sons of Israel, why do you wonder at this [man]? (He was speaking of the man who had been lame and was now healed) Or why do you look at us as if by our own power or by our own authority, we did this, so that this [man] would walk?”
“This is not about us. We did not make this man to walk. It was not by our power.” This is really the truth about what happened to the lame man.
Acts 3:13-15 APNT
The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, after he had thought it right to let him go.
But you denied the Holy and Just [one] and requested that a murderer should be given to you.
(He pointed straight at them.) and you killed the prince of life! whom God raised from the dead. And we all are his witnesses.
God raised His Son from the dead. It does not matter that you killed him. It does not matter if everyone was against him. God raised him from the dead and his body is never going to see corruption, Ever! He IS the prince of life. Verse 16 continues:
Acts 3:16 APNT
And by the faith of his name he has strengthened and healed this [man], whom you see and know, and faith that is in him has given him this wholeness before all of you.
In both chapters two and three, the very first point is Messiah suffered. Yes, he suffered and died, and you were part of it, but …God raised him from the dead! Everything is focused on the resurrection. If we go back to chapter two in verse 36 again, we see:
Acts 2:36 APNT
Therefore, all the house of Israel shall truly know that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, Lord and Christ.
God glorified his son, as Peter described in chapter three. He also made him Lord and he made him Messiah. That is why someone like the man at the temple gate Beautiful could have faith in his name, in his character; because he is now Lord and he is now Christ. He is glorified. He is the glorified Messiah. He is not a dead one anymore. That is why we can have faith in his name.
The second point is about repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We are continuing in Acts 2.
Acts 2:37 APNT
And when they heard these [things], they were moved in their heart[s]… (They were moved in their hearts. King James says, “they were pricked in their heart”.
Another translation says, “they were cut to the heart.” Their hearts were touched. They were cut. They were deeply moved.) …and said to Simon (Peter)
and to the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, our brothers?”
There is the question. There is the open door for the witness. What should we do?
Acts 2:38-39 APNT
Simon said to them, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, so that you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is to you and to your children and to all those who are far away, those whom God will call.”
“Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.” We will now look at the meaning of this word “repent.” Repent means “to turn back” or “turn around;” as if you are walking in one direction, then you stop, turn around and walk in the completely opposite direction. You turn back. In Acts chapter 3, we learn about Peter’s second sermon: repentance.
Acts 3:19 APNT
Repent, therefore and be converted, so that your sins will be blotted out and times of rest will come to you from the presence of the Lord.
“Repent and be converted:” turn back around and be returned to God. The word “converted” is similar to re-turned. You turn back so you can be re-turned to God. The sin were blocking the people from God. They were heading down a road of sin that seemed endless, but if you repent and turn around, then you are able to return to God. When you return to God, He then pours out his spirit. That is what it means to be converted. Verse 19 states, ‘your sins will be blotted out.’ They will be wiped away. I thought of it like text messages on a cellphone, You continue to hit delete, until, eventually all of the unwanted messages are deleted. Unfortunately, you need to keep hitting delete as you receiver more messages. When God forgives our sins, he does not need to keep deleting them one by one. He simply clicks “delete all” and it is done. Once and for all! Just like that, all of our sins are blotted out!
In addition to our sins being blotted out; we have the refreshing, “the times of rest (or refreshing) will come to you from the presence of the Lord”. Why? Because we are turned back to God. Then we can then come into a relationship with Him and have complete refreshment and rest. We can then lie down in the green pastures, be quiet, and be quieted on the inside. It is no longer about sin; it becomes about our relationship with God through Christ. The times of refreshing are now. They are now! We still have this message to give to everyone. You can repent. You can turn around. You can change. You can develop a loving relationship with our Father, and you will find complete refreshment and all the sins are wiped away.
The last point in Peter’s sermons is about being baptized or being clothed with power.
Acts 2:40-41 APNT
And with many other words he testified to them and begged them, saying, “Live apart from this perverse generation.”
And some of them willingly received his word and believed and were baptized.
(They were dyed. They were dipped. They were dipped and totally immersed in Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ.)
And there were added in that day about three thousand people.
About three thousand people from all over the Roman Empire were added to the church that day; from the very beginning! Not all of those people stayed in Jerusalem. They stayed for the feast, but afterwards, they went home. Because they spoke in tongues and were baptized, they went home with this witness; “We have received power. We were clothed with power from on high.” Speaking in tongues was the proof that they truly had holy spirit in them, that they were clothed with this new baptism that was not water. It was baptism of the spirit.
We will now go back and read Acts 3:19 again, because it is about the repenting.
Acts 3:19-20 APNT
Repent, therefore, be converted, so that your sins will be blotted out and the times of rest will come to you from the presence of the Lord.
And he will send to you him who was prepared for you, Jesus Christ. (Yeshua the Messiah.)
He was prepared for you. He was prepared. It was prepared that the gift of holy spirit would fill us completely, from the top of our heads to the tip of our toes. It would be all in all. It would be power. We would truly be baptized and filled. It continues in verse 21.
Acts 3:21-23 APNT
whom it is required for heaven to retain, until the fullness of the times of all those things that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets of old.
(He is coming back. His foot is going to touch the top of the Mount of Olives.
In verses 22 and 23, Peter uses scripture again to truly solidify his point.)
For Moses said, the Lord will raise up a prophet for you from your brothers like me. Hear him in whatever he speaks to you. And it will be that every person that does not hear that prophet, (referring to Jesus Christ.) That person will perish from his people.
If you call on the name of the Lord, (meaning God), if you call on the name of God, He has provided his son to be in us. Everyone who believes and calls on him will be saved. Everyone who does not will perish.
Acts 3:24-26 APNT
And all the prophets from Samuel and those who were after him spoke and preached about those days.
You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God established with our fathers when he said to Abraham: In your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed.
He has first appointed to you and God has sent His Son to bless you, if you will be converted (you will turn to God) and repent from your evil [ways].
Once again he spoke about repentance. The three points Peter spoke about were exactly what Jesus Christ had told the apostles they should preach. The Messiah suffered but was going to be raised on the third day. He was raised! They should preach about repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Thirdly, they should preach about the baptism with holy spirit and as a result, they will receive all that is in Christ and walk out on power. The power of Peter’s sermon in Acts, chapter 2, culminated in verse 41 with about 3,000 people believing what they heard. In addition to that, immediately after the incident with the lame man being healed at the temple gate Beautiful, another 5,000 people believed (Acts 4:4.) They immediately began being witnesses from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth.
To consider my initial question to you: “What makes a good sermon?” Perhaps this is a topic to ponder on and discuss with other people. These are some of the things that I saw while studying Peter’s sermons. A good sermon touches the heart. It uses scripture, and prophecy as well, to help people understand. It teaches what is available in Christ, in the resurrected Christ. It motivates us to change, to turn back, to do something different. Finally, number five, it is a testimony to the power and wonders of God and how to walk in that power of being clothed with Christ.
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