It's a free gift.....but only to those that live in obedience to Him.
Acts 5:32 (KJV) [SUP]32 [/SUP]And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
well, right there in The Acts of The Apostles, it is said "
we are his witnesses of these things" < meaning
them.
they witnessed those things.
and Who else is said to be a witness?
the Holy Spirit.
the Holy Spirit is given...to those who obey the Gospel...well what is it - the Gospel Israel first heard?:
Acts 2
22“
Men of Israel, hear these words:
Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested
to you by God
with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as
you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
24
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29“
Brothers, I may say
to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us
to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31
he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32
This Jesus God raised up,
and of that we all are witnesses.
33Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and
having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he
has poured out
this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
34For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’
36Let
all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that
God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38And Peter said to them, “
Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
....
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And awed came upon every soul,
and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
well, that looks like it was a specific series of events, in history, very real, and without which we have no CHURCH....
the church having been built on the FOUNDATION of the prophets and the Apostles (who did many mighty Acts), with Jesus the Cornerstone.
Jesus' Acts on earth are recorded, but is He walking in Judea in Person today?
or did the Plan move forward?
Peter isn't standing in Jerusalem
today saying this:
Acts 2
Peter’s Sermon
at Pentecost
14But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of
Judea and all who dwell
in Jerusalem, let this be known
to you, and give ear to my words. 15For
these people are not drunk, as
you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But
this is what
was uttered through the prophet Joel.....
he
quotes Joel, who foretold of Pentecost, at Jerusalem, in Judea...a long time ago.
meaning, he was saying that Joel's prophecy had come to pass...then.
right then.
all that Miraculous activity, just as foretold by all the prophets...
came to pass.
it was the Promise. the disciples, who were Christ's witnesses, became the Apostles, who also performed mighty Acts,
as Luke said.
Luke said:
Luke 1
1In my former book, Theophilus,
[The Gospel of Luke - which had an end] I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2
until the day he was taken up to heaven,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
3After his suffering,
he presented himself to them and
gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one occasion, while he was eating with them,
he gave them this command:
“Do not leave
Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but
in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
and so didn't it happen just that way?
according to Luke it did.
