The increasing opposition of the Jewish authorities didn't crush or even temper the apostles' zeal; to the contrary, it heightened their sense of their identity and calling as sharers in Christ and gave a new dimension to their witness. Thus the Church continued to grow and flourish in spite of outside opposition and persecution. Ironically, it was this very growth that would introduce a new threat to the Church's well-being and witness in the world. By divine design, the greatest threat to the Church - and one that is ever-present in every place and time - is bound up in its very existence and progress as the Church of Christ. As long as the Church is truly the Church: a community from every tribe, tongue and nation bound together solely by faith in Christ and common-union in His shared Spirit, it will face the challenges of human diversity and the threat to unity it poses. Though the first believers in Jesus were all Jewish, the Hebraistic/Hellenistic differences among them brought them face-to-face with this challenge very quickly, and their lesson is valuable for the Church in every generation.
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“ Great Sermon! ” Another great reminder of what The Church is, biblically (and is not). Rather than loving and embracing our different callings and giftedness, we 'naturally' still tend to think fleshly. And to the extent this happens, the more today's church mirrors the one Paul wrote to in 1st Corinthians! Understand what Christ's church is - and press into your part/role, and enjoy the other members' parts/roles. His Church looks like a people from every tongue, tribe and nation, because it is. Please forget trying to: 1) build Christ's church (numbers) or 2) make your local assembly look like you and 'people like you'. His way, laid out in scripture, is His Church, embrace Him and enjoy His body! In light of these things, what kind of people ought we to be?
