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May the Only True God Yahweh bless you abundantly.
Pastor Sylvia Chan
In Acts chapter 1 we saw that after the resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles (minus Judas) for a period of forty days. He taught them many things concerning the kingdom of God. He told them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and then to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. The apostles returned to Jerusalem, and they chose another disciple Matthias to replace Judas. Today we continue to study Acts chapter 2.
ESV Acts 2:1-13 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” (Act 2:1-13 ESV)
Here it says in verse 1, “When the day of Pentecost arrived”; the word “Pentecost” (πεντηκοστή) means the fiftieth (50th) day, which is the Jewish harvest festival held on the fiftieth (50th) day after the Passover. It is the second of the three great Jewish festivals celebrated at Jerusalem yearly. The Jews from different parts of the world would come to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival.
On the day of Pentecost, the disciples of the Lord Jesus were gathered together in one place, when suddenly a strong wind filled the whole house. Then what seemed to be tongues of fire came to rest on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages. When the other people heard the violent sound, they came out to take a look, and they heard these Galileans speaking in their own languages declaring the mighty deeds of God. The people were amazed, and said to one another, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” But some people mocked the disciples, saying, “They are filled with new wine.”
Please take notice here, that from these few statements we see that the languages that the disciples spoke were intelligible words to hearers; this is very different from the speaking in tongues today, where quite often both the people who speak in tongues and the hearers don’t know the meaning of what they are speaking.
Continue readingToday we begin to study the book of Acts, an important book. What is this book about and why is it important?
The life and the teaching of the Lord Jesus were recorded in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. After the Lord had been crucified and then resurrected from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and gave them the commission to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. The disciples then carried out the Lord’s commands, and their activities are recorded in the book of Acts. Therefore Acts is a bridge between the Gospel accounts of the Lord Jesus Christ and the preaching of the Gospel after the Lord’s resurrection.
ESV Acts 1:1-8 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Act 1:1-8 ESV)
Continue readingCrucifixion is an ancient form of execution in which the convict was nailed or bound to a cross, and was left on the cross to die of a slow death. The Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross on Friday, then he was resurrected on Sunday. Therefore Christians commemortate his crucifixion on Friday and his resurrection on Sunday.
Do you think the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is important? If you don’t believe in him, you would see that his death is not important at all, and it has nothing to do with you! But your unbelief would not reduce the importance of his crucifixion. If you don’t believe, you would simply miss the opportunity to receive the eternal blessing from his crucifixion, and you would be rejected from the Kingdom of God.
On the contrary if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, his crucifixion on the cross has changed your life completely, and the blessing you receive would last to eternity.
Continue readingToday we are going to study another title of the Lord Jesus Christ, a man of sorrows.
NASB Isaiah 53:1- 4 1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD (Yahweh) been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isa 53:1- 4 NASB)
This passage, Isaiah 53:1- 4, describes a man of sorrows (v.3); he had no stately form or majesty, no attractive appearance; he was despised and forsaken of men. He was acquainted with grief; people didn’t even want to look at him, and they hid their faces from him. He bore our griefs, he carried our sorrows, yet people thought he was stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
This passage is a prophecy by the prophet Isaiah, who was active from 740-681 BC. We can estimate roughly this passage was written around 700 BC, around 700 years before Christ.
Christians see Isaiah 53 as a prophecy of a suffering servant of Yahweh God, namely our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Jewish rabbis see Isaiah 53 as referring to the nation of Israel collectively as “Servant of Yahweh God”.
If you are interested in the teaching of the Jewish rabbis, you can go to study their writings. I am not going to explain their teaching; here I am explaining the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Continue readingToday we are going to study another title of the Lord Jesus Christ; it is a very familiar one: the son of man.
This is the Lord’s favorite title for himself; he refers to himself almost exclusively as the son of man.
“Son of man” simply means man. In Israel today, people still use this term “son of man” to refer to a man. Prophets Ezekiel and Daniel were referred to as “son of man” in the Hebrew Bible.
NASB Ezekiel 1:28-2:1 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD (Yahweh). And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. 2:1 Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” (Eze 1:28-2:1 NASB)
This passage says that Ezekiel saw the glory of Yahweh God, which was like the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. When Ezekiel saw it, he fell on his face, then he heard a voice speaking, and the voice of Yahweh God said to him, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” Here Yahweh God called Ezekiel “son of man.”
NASB Daniel 8:16-17 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai (אוּלַי), and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.” (Dan 8:16-17 NASB)
Here in Daniel 8:16, the archangel Gabriel was called, presumably by Yahweh because who would have the authority to give a command to archangel Gabriel except Yahweh God himself; Gabriel was called to explain to Daniel the meaning of the vision; then in v.17 Gabriel called Daniel, “Son of man…”
These two passages show that the term “son of man” simply means man.
Continue readingSo far we have studied two titles of Jesus Christ: The Messiah and the Advocate. Today we will study a third title of the Lord.
ESV Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (Heb 4:14 ESV)
Here it says that Jesus the Son of God is our great high priest. What does it mean that he is our great high priest? In order to understand the meaning of this title, the high priest, first we have to look into the Law in the Hebrew Bible to understand the duty of the high priest.
Continue readingLast time we studied the title Messiah in a series of messages on the titles of Jesus Christ. There are lots of titles for the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible, today we are going to study another title: The Advocate.
NASB 1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; (1Jo 2:1 NASB)
Here Apostle John says that Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father Yahweh God. First of all, what does this word “advocate” mean?
The original Greek word for “advocate” is “παράκλητος” (paraklētos); its basic meaning is one who is called alongside to help, especially called to one’s aid. In a court of justice, it is a legal technical term for the legal assistant to the defendant. In its general sense, it is one who pleads the cause of another person.
This word in its wider sense can mean comforter, counselor. That is why the Holy Spirit is also called paraklētos.
NASB John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (Joh 14:16-17 NASB)
Here the Lord Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. The original Greek word for “helper” in this passage is also parakletos, the same as the Greek word for “advocate”.
Continue readingSo far we have studied several titles of Christians and several titles of the Church, indeed there are in the Bible many titles of Christians and many titles of the Church. We have studied only the more important titles, but there is a lot more we have not studied yet. From time to time we will go back to studying some meaningful titles of Christians and titles of the Church.
Today we are going to study a new topic: The titles of Jesus Christ. There are more than one hundred titles of Jesus Christ in the Bible. The first title we are going to study is “The Messiah”.
Many years ago an elderly Christian sister asked me during a Bible study: How come we often say “Jesus Christ” instead of just “Jesus”? What is the meaning of “Christ”? I told her, “Jesus is the Lord’s name, Christ is his title; for example, President Reagan: President is his title, Reagan is his name; or Prime Minister Churchill: Prime Minister is his title, Churchill is his name. Similarly, in the case of Jesus Christ, Jesus is his name, Christ is his title.”
Continue readingSermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan
Today we are going to study another title of the Church.
ESV Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (Eph 5:23 ESV)
Here Apostle Paul says that Christ is the head of the church just as the husband is the head of the wife; he compares Christ to the husband and the church to the wife.
Christians often use this verse to illustrate the human relationship between husband and wife, but few study it as the relationship between Christ and the church.
Continue readingToday we study another title of the Church, this is the 6th title we are studying.
NASB 1 Peter 2:5 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1Pe 2:5 NASB)
Here Apostle Peter is telling us that Christians are living stones, and that we are being built up as a spiritual house to offer up spiritual sacrifices to Yahweh God.
Since we have studied Christians as living stones in an earlier sermon called “Titles of Christians (#10) Living Stones,” please refer to that sermon. Today I will not repeat the part about living stones, but will only focus on the Church as the spiritual house.
We Cannot Isolate Ourselves from Other Christians and Live by Ourselves
This title “the spiritual house” tells us that we cannot isolate ourselves from other Christians and live by ourselves. Here Apostle Peter compares Christians to stones that build up a spiritual house, but one stone by itself is not enough to build up a house, no matter how big and wonderful that stone is. Just one stone is not sufficient. We need many stones to build a house.
There is no room for individualism. Today many Christians don’t want to relate to other Christians; they say they don’t need to go to Church, for they can worship God and meditate on the Word of God at home; that is not Christianity in the Bible. Our concern is not only for our own salvation. Even though salvation is important, that’s not our only concern. We are baptized into one body. As living stones, we are being built up together as a spiritual house of Yahweh God.
Continue reading
Gospel and Salvation 