St. Luke writes a sequel to his gospel that is called “The Acts of the Apostles.†“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus BEGAN to do and teach until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.†(Acts 1:1-2)
The work that Jesus accomplished from His conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary to His Ascension to the right hand of God the Father in heaven was just the BEGINNING. He’s just getting started. There’s a LOT MORE WORK to do.
And that work He will do THROUGH THE APOSTLES whom He had chosen. That is, He will continue to do His work through the One, Holy, Christian and APOSTOLIC Church.
This is the APOSTOLIC CHURCH to whom “he had given commands through the Holy Spirit†when He met with them on Easter Eve and showed them His hands and His side and ate a piece of broiled fish before them. “And then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.†(Luke 24:36-48)
He has done (past tense) the work of bearing the sin of the whole world and putting it to death in His body on the cross and thereby making peace between God and man. And the Father has done (past tense) the work of raising Him from the dead, thereby opening the gates of heaven itself to all who believe in Him.
And HE WILL DO THE WORK (future tense) of getting the message out to ALL NATIONS in EVERY AGE until the Last Day comes and the WORK is finally over. The work that He has done, He has done through the disobedience and rebellion of those who rejected Him. The work that He will do, He will do through the obedience and acceptance of those who receive Him. Continue reading