Creation. God’s Spirit hovers over the waters. The wisdom and imagination of God is set
loose to make the worlds. Prophecy. God’s Spirit inspires preachers to call God’s
people to account for sin and to imagine an age to come when all the people of
the earth will worship God in unity and peace.
Jesus. The breath of the Spirit leaves his body on
the cross and enters the disciples hearts, filling them with peace. Pentecost. The sending of the Holy Spirit fanned the
flames of fledgling faith into a wildfire of witness and service in the name of
the risen Lord Jesus. Jesus’ disciples
became public witnesses, announcing that God has indeed inaugurated a new age
through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus of Nazareth. This new age will be characterized by love,
peace, and mercy for the sinner and the outcast. The promise of eternal life with God gave
them confidence to face trials and death with hope and courage. They boldly and passionately called God’s
people to believe in Him and walk in His ways.
They demonstrated the Spirit’s power with stories of Jesus and
miracles. People are healed. Widows are fed. And the community of believers grows and
expands, reaching from the margins of the Roman empire to its very center—Rome itself! In one generation, this Jewish messianic
movement becomes an unstoppable global phenomenon. The first three centuries of the Christian movement
was the age of belief. The gospel story
was told and demonstrated by faithful Christians, who made a difference in the
lives of non-believers. They too became
believers, who began to adhere to this community of the resurrection. Baptism, Eucharist, prayer, and giving marked
the life of the believer. There was a
clear distinction between the Christian community and the non-Christian
community. Believing in Jesus was a mark
of distinction that subjected you to persecution, and maybe even death. Believers met in secret. Despite the hardship, the movement grew rapidly. Believing in Jesus and belonging to His
church mattered. Through the Spirit
people experienced the presence of God and the flourishing of life.
