“Understanding the Kingdom of God” Lesson 13, Part 2 – The Beautiful Plan of Salvation
The Gospel of Luke ended with the final ascension of Jesus at Bethany. In obedience to His final instructions, Jesus’ followers went to Jerusalem where they tarried in prayer and waited for the promise of the Father.
Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Acts begins exactly where the Gospel of Luke ended. The apostles and disciples went to Jerusalem. They prayed together there and waited for the promise.
About 120 of these disciples were together in an upper room during the Feast of Pentecost. In Acts 2 they were suddenly all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit of God gave the utterance. This lesson brings forth clarity as to what happened, and what that experience is.
It was so real that others saw it, heard it, and wanted it. That same day an additional 3000 or so were also born again.
All of those who received the Holy Ghost (Spirit baptism) were then baptized by immersion in water in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38-39).
This was what Jesus had referred to when He initially told Nicodemus he must be born again. Being born again of the water and of the Spirit gives us entry into the Kingdom of God. It is the New Covenant.