But one of the elders said, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and loose its seven seals." - Revelations 5:5

« Doctrines :: Was the church born on the day of Pentecost?

Was the church born on the day of Pentecost?

Pastor Ronald David Kosor’s comments are below highlighted in red.

Many people believe that the Church, which is Christ's Body, began on the Day of Pentecost. Many of the books in my library teach this. They tell us that on the Day of Pentecost both the Jews and the Gentiles became one body and had fellowship with one another.

So much confusion exists in the Church today simply because sincere believers are following the traditions of men rather than the Word of God. Therefore, they have no explanation to those who believe in and practice signs, miracles, and gifts as recorded in the early part of the book of Acts. Only as we realize that the experiences recorded during this period were exclusively for the nation of Israel (for the Jews require a sign I Cor. 1:22), can we explain why the Church which is His body does not believe in or practice these same manifestations in this dispensation of the grace of God.

I think there are churches today that do.

For this reason, I am giving you fifteen reasons why the Church which is His body could not have started on the Day of Pentecost.

1.     There was a church already in existence at Pentecost. The Bible does not say the church began at Pentecost. At Pentecost, believers were "added to the church" (Acts 2:47). So it must have already been in existence before, or how could they have been "added?" There was a church before this (Mart. 18:15-17). This was a Jewish church.

In Acts 2, regardless, if the church specifically started there, we know it was all Jewish believers and this is what should be important to us as Gentile believers. I believe this was the beginning of the "Jewish believers being filled with the Holy Spirit as a sign". Later in Acts 10, we finally see it happened to Gentiles 7-10 years later. There is a difference between Jew and Gentiles in the church. This supports that view--the Jews are different, always have been and always will be different than us Gentiles.

2.   At Pentecost they were baptized with the Holy Spirit for power (Luke 24:49). Christ was the Baptizer (Mart. 3:11; Acts 1:5). It is the Holy Spirit who baptizes us into Christ (I Cor. 12:13). In Acts 2, Christ was the Baptizer; and in I Cor. 12:13, where we are "baptized into Christ," the Holy Spirit is the Baptizer. Whether you use the word with or "by," it is still the Holy Spirit who does the baptizing. Not in Acts 2, but in I Cor. 12:13 we find we are baptized into the "Church" where Jew and Gentile are one.

So many use this verse today to say there is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond or free, man or woman-- if this was true, then homosexuality would be ok; women could be Overseers of churches; and there would be no difference between Jews and Gentiles. We know this is not true because the scriptures clearly teach us there is a difference between the groups. They are all one in Christ, but they all still have specific roles. Many members, but one body. The leg cannot do what the eye does. God is a God of order. The whole New Covenant is written showing this difference between Jew and Gentiles "in Christ". Please read Acts 15 and 21-- you will clearly see Jewish believers are instructed to obey the laws of Moses, even after believing in Christ. Gentile believers are instructed not to bother with circumcision and the law of Moses, and they are to abstain from the 4 decrees. There is a difference between Jew and Gentile--even in Christ.

3.   Everything that happened at Pentecost was in direct fulfillment of prophecy. Peter quotes Joel and David in Acts 2 and in Acts 3:24. But Paul says that the truth about the Body of Christ or the Church was a mystery not in prophecy (Eph. 3:1-9; Col. 1:24-26). Isn't it very difficult to believe every prophet of old predicted that which had been hidden from ages and generations and hid in. God from the beginning of the world? (Eph. 3:9).

4.   At Pentecost believers were to be baptized in water for "remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). This is what Peter taught. But in the Church, which is His body, Paul tells us we are freely given Christ's righteousness for the remission of sins (Rom. 3:24-26). Peter's message in Acts 2 was different from that later revealed to Paul (I Cor. 1:17).

Peter is the one in Acts 15:8 who was bold enough to stand and say, "And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us." God gave them (the Gentiles) the Holy Spirit just as He gave us (the Jews) (Acts 11:15) in the beginning." This relates directly back to Acts 10 where Peter received the great sheet revelation and for the first time Gentiles were filled with the Holy Spirit. They all knew there was a difference between Jew and Gentile in Christ. This is what the GREAT JEWISH Council (the Jerusalem Council) WAS ALL ABOUT which is founding ACTS 15. What were we (the Jewish believers) to do with the Gentile believers? They knew they had to be handled differently than the Jewish believers.

5.   In Acts Peter preached to Israel (Acts 2:22, 36; Acts 3:12-26). Israel had not been set aside as yet. But in order for the Jews and Gentiles to be reconciled in one Body, the Church, Israel had to be first cast away. Before the message of reconciliation went to the Gentiles, Israel had to be cast away (Rom. 11:15, 32; Eph. 2:16).

6.   At Pentecost, Peter preached to Jews only (Acts 2:22, 36). He did not go to a Gentile till Acts 10, and then he had to have a special revelation from God or he would not have gone. Also the others would not preach to the Gentiles (Acts 11:19). If the church began at Pentecost and Jews and Gentiles were made one there, why did they not preach to the Gentiles in Acts 11? The Church, which is His body, is a joint body of Jews and Gentiles; but at Pentecost there is no mention of Gentiles. **

I agree totally!! ! This was a 7-10 year period after the so-called "Pentecost", where Jews were being added to the church. So the church existed, but it was simply just Jewish believers until Acts 10. The big question came in Acts 15, where the Jews were trying to decide, what were we( Jewish believers in Jesus)to do with them( Gentile believers in Jesus)? Were they (Jewish believers in Jesus) to circumcise them (Gentile believers in Jesus) and direct them to observe the Law of Moses? The answer was clear: No! JEWISH BELIEVERS IN JESUS can observe the Law of Moses and circumcise their children if they choose to, BUT, Gentile believers in Jesus are not permitted to. They are to abstain from the 4 decrees found in Acts 15.

7.   Not only was Israel not cast away at Pentecost but we find the first real offer of the kingdom to Israel here. It was because of the rejection of the King and the kingdom that a new dispensation under Paul was revealed. The kingdom was not offered in the gospels as many teach because Christ had to suffer before it could be offered. The O.T. prophets testified to this fact (I Peter 1:10, 11). Christ also said this in Luke 17:24, 25 and Luke 24:25, 26. The kingdom was not "offered" in the Gospels; it was said to be "at hand" (Mart. 3:2; and Mart. 4:17). Before this it does not say that it was offered, in the sense that it could be set up before the death of Christ. Before His death, it could not have been set up - he had to suffer first, and then enter into His glory.

I agree totally. The church did not begin until after the resurrection of the Christ! It (old covenant) had to be finished, done away with, until it (NEW COVENANT) could begin. I might as well hit another partial truth taught in the church today; --- Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. This is a partial truth. What did HE do when HE fulfilled the law? Look at Ephesians 2-- He abolished the law in His flesh by nailing it to the cross. He took it out of the way. "Abolished the law" here means to destroy; to annihilate.

8.   Peter said at Pentecost, the last days for Israel had arrived (Acts 2:16, 17), not the first days or birth of the Church.

9.   Pentecost was one of Israel's annual Jewish feast days (Lev. 23), which had to do with God's redemptive dealings with His nation, Israel, in the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. It is plain that Pentecost had to do with Israel and not the Church, which is His Body.

This is where the church has been mislead to think the day of Pentecost was for them. It was a Jewish feast, a Jewish festival. Gentiles were not permitted to be there.

10. A part of the feast of Pentecost was the presentation of the two loaves as described in Lev. 23:17-20. Those who start the church in Acts 2 say these two loaves represent the Jew and the Gentile in the Church of this dispensation. This cannot be, since the Church which is His Body was "hid in God" till Paul. Also the Church is not two loaves but one (I Cor. 10:17).

This is incorrect. It was not hid until Paul. It was hidden until the revelation of the mystery. Peter received this revelation also in Acts 10. This is what needs to be seen--- the difference between Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ. Two different parts make up one body, yet in that One body, they are still different. My legs are different than my eyes (praise the Lord), but they are still of the same body!!! Just different functions, different operations.

11.The baptism which baptizes us into Christ (His Body, the Church) happens just once; it is never repeated in the life of the believer (I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). Through this baptism we are taken out of Adam and placed into Christ. This happens only once, and gives us security. You see, this baptism results in the believer in Christ being in Christ forever and his life is hid with Christ in God. This gives us eternal security (Rom. 8:1). Now this could never be said about the Holy Spirit baptism that took place on the Day of Pentecost because that baptism was often repeated (Acts 1:5,8; Acts 2:4; Acts 11:15-17; Acts 19:6). Peter received this baptism or filling at least two times after Pentecost (Acts 4:8; Acts 4:31).

This is true-- many believers today just think they receive just one baptism. The apostles, were “having just been filled" several times after the infilling in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit anointing is just like filling a cup with water and pouring it out. Like Jesus did with the woman with the issue of blood-- Who touched me? Virtue left me... When this virtue-- "the anointing", "the Holy Spirit", leaves us, it must be refilled. "Having just been filled" over and over.

12. The baptism which occurred on the Day of Pentecost was a definite experience that they knew took place (Luke 24:49). If this baptism was not a definite experience that they knew took place, how could they have known when the promise had been fulfilled and when they were to stop their period of tarrying? When Peter was called upon to defend his ministry to the uncircumcised household of Cornelius (Acts 11:1-18), he explained that while he was preaching, the Holy Ghost fell on them a~ on us at the beginning. This was not only a definite experience for Cornelius' household, it was something Peter saw and heard (Acts 11:15-17). Now the baptism found in I Cor. 12:13, where we are baptized into His Body, is not an experience. In fad, many who are saved do not even know it happened the moment they were saved. They were taken out of Adam and baptized into Christ. They don't know this until someone tells them or they read it in Scripture. Many things happen to us at the moment of salvation, such as redemption, sanctification, justification and others. And not one of these is an experience. So we see, the baptism at Pentecost and the baptism in I Cor. 12:13 are two different baptisms.

Acts 11:15-17 that is listed above is the same as Acts 15:7-1. This supports the direct correlation between the GREAT SHEET REVELATION in Acts 10 and the GREAT JERUSALEM COUNCIL found in Acts 15! Both support the view that the Gentiles believers were not filled with the Holy Spirit until Acts 10, and they were separate from the Jews in Christ, and were given separate decrees than the Jews in Christ. This is the entire reason why the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and the elders had to make decisions regarding the Gentile believers in Jesus spoken of in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council.

13. The economy of the Day of Pentecost is entirely different from that of today. In Acts 2:44, 45 they "had all things common." In Acts 4:34, 35, they sold their possessions and "laid them down at the apostles' feet." This was because those who believed in Acts 2 and in Acts 4 fully expected to go right into the kingdom. It did not happen because Israel as a nation rejected this offer; they were set aside, and the age of grace was ushered in. Today Paul tells us, "If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (I Tim. 5:8).

I AGREE.

14. Peter on the Day of Pentecost condemned Israel for crucifying Christ (Acts 2:22, 23), and he also demanded repentance and water baptism for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:36-38). This is not how we preach or present the message of the cross today. Paul proclaimed the crucifixion of Christ as good news (I Cor. 1:18), and he also gloried in the cross (Gal. 6:14). Paul was the first to preach that Christ was set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His shed blood (Rom. 3:25, 26).

I AGREE.

15. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost in fulfillment of prophecy given to Israel. He came to enlighten them and enable or empower them to be able to live out the kingdom rules - not to start the Church, which is His Body. This was a repetition of an O.T. promise (Acts 1:4; Luke 24:49; Ezek. 11:19-20; Ezek. 36:25-29; Isa. 32:15; Joel 2:28-32). Again, how could Pentecost be the beginning of the Church, which is His Body, for it was not in prophecy (Col 1:26 Rom 16:25; Eph. 3:9).

 

By Pastor David Eroh