Principles of Assembly Reception [antikvár]

Principles Of Assembly Reception In the beginning of the formation of the Assembly of God, as recorded in the book of Acts, the reception of believers into the Christian company appears clear, distinct and simple. Acts Two When the disciples of Christ were assembled in the upper room, waiting for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:13,14), the Holy Spirit descended from the glorified Christ in heaven. This divine Person baptized them all into one body, the body of Christ now being formed on earth. As the message of salvation in Jesus Christ went forth, many believed, repented, were baptized with water in the name of the Lord, were indwelt by the Holy Spirit and added to the Assembly of the living God (Acts 2:36-41). They became part of that "one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-13). As united believers in Christ, "They persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers" (Acts 2:42, N.T. by JND). They were one in doctrine and in the fellowship of divine life in Christ. They had fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and with one another in the light, as the apostle John expressed it years later (1 John 1:3,7). Note the divine order of Acts 2:42: Doctrine, the teaching of the apostles communicated to them by the Lord and the Holy Spirit, and fellowship therein, preceded the breaking of bread in the Lord's supper. How fitting is this divine order! Fellowship is mutual sharing; it has the sense of partnership. How appropriate that these believers in Acts two should give visible and symbolic expression to their common faith and divine life in the Savior by breaking bread together. It expressed divine association and communion. Years later, the apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians, expressed the same basic principle: "The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: we are all partakers of that one bread" (1 Cor. 10:16-17). 3