God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit [Acts 13]

38"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,39and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

 

When I marked every mention of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in Acts 13, it became clear that this chapter is remarkable in that it presents all three persons of the Trinity working together. There are few places in the Bible where that happens. Beginning in verse 16, Paul presented the history of Abraham's family, the Jews, and a clear proclamation of the gospel of Christ in the context of that history! Nearly every verse from 16 on contains a reference to God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. God is at the center of of Abraham's family throughout the ages. However, there is a remarkable turning point in this chapter as Paul declared that he was done preaching to the Jews and was going to take the gospel message of Jesus to the Gentiles. Therefore, what that means is that Abraham's family was radically expanded on that day to include people from all nations and ethnic groups. So now that history of Abraham with God at the center is my history because I am a believer and it is your history, too, if you have put your hope in Jesus. I love what Paul said in verse 38 (above), because it gives the bottom line impact of Jesus on my life... forgiveness of my sins and freedom from living by rules. This exceptional passage ended with these words: 52And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. The freedom I have is not from God, but freedom to choose to live for God by continually asking God to keep me filled with His Holy Spirit that empowers me to live for Him and thus be filled with His joy.


We praise You that You revealed Your nature and work throughout history of Abraham's family and that through Jesus, we get to join that amazing family, Your family. Cause us to walk in the freedom we have in Christ to live by the Spirit and not by rules. Keep us looking to You for all we need to keep on being filled with You and with Your joy.

Beth Warlick, 4/29/2009
Feedback:
Robert Ahner 02/06/2019 22:19
The target of this book was to take a gander at a disputable subject matter.The terrific, great contended postulation that OT adherents were recovered by the Holy Spirit however not inhabited by Him as God stayed in the sanctuary. Extremely great offset to Sinclair Ferguson's and John Owen's contentions.

ref: https://laustan.com/