The Progress Of Redemption
Apostles and The Church ( or...Ghost)

Bible Sections Covered
Acts - Jude
Progress Events
The Gift Of The Holy Spirit
John 16:5-15 - Jesus promises to send 'a helper', the Holy Spirit, who will work within the world and God's people (the church). To the Church, the Holy Spirit brings :
John 16:5-15 5. "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, `Where are You going?' 6."But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7."But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8."And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9.concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10.and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11.and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. 12."I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13."But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14."He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15."All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
New Family (Eph 2:11-22, 1 John 3:23-24)
Eph 2:11-22 11.Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands-- 12.remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13.But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14.For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15.by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16.and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17.AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; 18.for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19.So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, 20.having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21.in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22.in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
1 John 3:23-24 23.This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24.The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
We are made members of a new family, united by the task of loving each other more than ourselves.
Sanctification (Rom 8:9-11, Col 3:8-11, Gal 5:22-26)
Rom 8:9-11 9.However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10.If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11.But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Col 3:8-11 8.But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9.Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10.and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-- 11.a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, k barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
Gal 5:22-26 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
We are made to be more like Christ.
Gifts (1 Cor 12:12-26)
1 Cor 12:12-26 12.For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13.For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14.For the body is not one member, but many. 15.If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16.And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17.If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18.But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19.If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20.But now there are many members, but one body. 21.And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22.On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23.and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24.whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25.so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26.And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
We are made to help out the rest of the Church ("God has so composed the body...that the members may have the same care for one another").

The Impact Of The Holy Spirit
Immediate :
The immediate spread of the church, as recorded in Acts, follows the pattern Christ laid out in Acts 1:6-8
Acts 1:6-8 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7. He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8. but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Jerusalem
The dramatic spread of the church started at Pentecost, 50 days after Passover / Christ's death and 10 days after the Christ's declaration at the Ascension.
At Pentecost, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, preached the Gospel (Peter's Sermon), and added 3,000 to the church. (Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:37-41)
Acts 2:1-4 1.When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2.And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3.And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4.And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Acts 2:37-41 37.Now when they heard [Peter's sermon], they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38.Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39."For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." 40.And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" 41.So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
Judea / Samaria
If Jerusalem is Austin, Texas is to Judea as Oklahoma is to Samaria. Kind Of.
The Church spread to Judea and Samaria as the result of persecution in Jerusalem (who says bad things aren't good?) (Acts 8:1b). Samaria being a despised place, confirmation that Samaritans were accepted by God was given to the Apostles (Acts 8:13-17).
Acts 8:1b And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regious of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Acts 8:14-17 14.Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15.who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16.For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17.Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
The Rest Of The World
'Rest of the World' really means Gentiles. The salvation of Cornelius shows that God is definitely including the Gentiles in the salvation of Christ (Acts 10:44-48), and the following missionary journies of Paul (and others) spread the Church throughout the world.
Cornealius
Possibly to ensure that the Church understood that Gentiles were a full part of the Church, God arranges a vision for Peter to declare the inclusion of the Gentiles, followed by a meeting with Cornelius ("a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually", Acts 10:2) who was "divinely directed by a holy angel to...hear a message from [Peter]" (Acts 10:22).
Cornealius and his family accept the Gospel and were given the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:44-48 44.While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46.For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47."Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" 48.And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
Paul's Missionary Journeys
The rest of Acts shifts from Peter to Paul (Acts 13-28 is basically Paul's story). Paul carries the Gospel through Asia Minor, into Macedonia and Greece, then finally into Rome itself.
Intermediate :
Sin
Men, even those with the Holy Spirit, are sinful; the Church displays sin even from the start.
The epistles confront sin :
1 Corinthians (Selfishness, Sexual Immorality, Arrogance, etc)
Galations (Incorrect beliefs)
1,2,3 John, Jude (False Teachers)
etc
Success
The Church is not a story of pure failure however; God's work is indeed accomplished (though maybe not as perfectly as we would dream.)
These patterns are borne out simultaneously in the rest of history, even (gasp) today in this very room. (stare awkwardly at your neighbor)

Application
General Ideas
God is still in charge, God is still not in a hurry, Man is still sinful, God is still holy, God is still loving
 
Love the church; work for her
The Holy Spirit does enable your sanctification and has given you the ability to benefit others.
Holiness is part of Christianity - pursue it, and look forward to receiving it increasingly.
You do have things to offer - everyone does. (correspondingly, everyone has needs)
Teaching is not the only gift. Love is the basis of all gifts (1 Cor 12,13.
Christ's view of the church
Eph 5:25-27 25.Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26.so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27. that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
So - spend your time building the Church (making disciples, encouraging believers, sharing redemption with others).